When I'm With You (Little Hollow #2)

by Danielle Dickson

  As soon as we get there, Nora is bossing everyone around like she owns the place, and she calls me Kayleigh. I can’t take it, I snap. “Look, Nora, you’ve been coming to our salon for over three years now and I’ve corrected you every single time. It’s Keeley, you know that by now, let’s not be facetious. I think your table layouts are too formal, they aren’t in the right places for people to mingle and actually get to enjoy themselves without feeling rigid and regimented. So no, it’s not to my taste.” I let that settle in for a second. “And since you put me and Sam here in charge of decorating, I think that should include the tables and bales that we organized, don’t you?”

  She doesn’t like being told what for, she’s used to being the one dishing out the passive aggressiveness, so she sulks in the corner on a stool like a naughty school child with a sour look on her face.

  I turn around to see Sam run into the hall carrying the boxes from the car in her hands with wide eyes. “You okay, Sam?”

  She looks at me and smiles, telling me that everything’s fine, someone creepy looking saved her from a broken toe apparently and in my already touchy mood, my ears perk up. “What do you mean creepy looking? You can’t just describe people like that.”

  I’m hanging on her every word now, but force out a laugh to not make me sound so serious.

  “You know the way some guys look at women, like they’re pieces of meat. It weirds me out, like I said, no biggie.”

  “Yeah, so what did he look like?” I ask, heart pounding in my chest.

  “You okay, Kee? Why are you so interested in this guy?” She asks, giving me a curious look.

  She puts down the boxes she’s carrying on a nearby table and I shrug. “I’m not, I just want to know who to look out for in case he comes creeping around here again. Can’t be too careful these days, Sam.”

  She looks around the hall and gives me a ‘yeah right’ look. “What happened to not judging a book by its cover? We’re safe around here, Kee, but if you really must know, he was just one of those bikers that you see on movies with the long hair.”

  At her words, my world tips upside down. It could just be a coincidence? Then again, when have I ever seen a biker around Little Hollow before? My eyes widen and I start to feel like I can’t breathe. Everything is muted as Sam asks me what’s wrong, and I shake my head. There’s no way I’m telling Sam anything about my past, she’ll look at me in a whole different light, and it sure as hell won’t be a good light.

  I start filling my lungs with big gulps of air and my breathing starts to calm. She tells me to go home but I wave her off, I’m not leaving her on her own.

  I pick up two boxes with shaky arms.

  Are they here for me? Maybe they’re here for the garage? They might’ve heard or seen Lewis’s talent at engraving the bikes?

  Yeah, it has to be that. I won’t let myself think otherwise.

  Focusing on the task at hand, I put my all into making the community hall look like a country girls wet dream. Bunting, centerpieces with plastic sunflowers wrapped with blue ribbon in metal jugs, and fake horseshoes hanging from the ceiling.

  She has her head too involved in this fundraiser so I don’t think she even notices my nervous mood as we work our way through our insurance papers. After reading and signing every single piece of paper, and listening to Sam bitching on about it for a while, I send her for a shower so we can start getting ready for tonight.

  I rest my elbows on the counter and hang my head in my hands with a sigh. This morning has spooked me more than I thought. I just want to stay holed up in the apartment and never come out, but I’ll be safe in a room full of people, surely?

  I jump and nearly pee my pants when the buzzer goes off, signaling someone is downstairs. I tense up and tiptoe over to the small window facing the front of the salon and breathe in a sigh of relief seeing it’s just Sam’s mom, Cindy.

  I run down the apartment stairs and unlock the salon door, giving her a quick smile and invite her in. “Sam’s just in the shower, can I get you a drink?”

  I tense, hoping she won’t ask for an alcoholic drink, I can’t be bothered arguing over the fact that I won’t ever feed her addiction, but looking at her now, I notice she looks sober. Well that’s unexpected.

  Sam’s mom is an alcoholic and she likes to turn up from time to time to remind Sam what a shitty daughter she is, so I’m not holding my breath that this time will be any different.

  She shakes her head, sending her red locks flying from side to side, and sits down on the edge of the sofa. I don’t know what to do with myself so I sit in the armchair and give her another quick smile, wishing Sam would hurry her ass up.

  I sigh in relief as the shower turns off and a minute later, she comes walking out, her face turning neutral as she takes in her guest.

  “To what do I owe the pleasure.”

  “Well, it was good to see you again, Cindy, I’ll leave you two to it, I should go get myself ready.” I get up and give Sam a wide eyed look as I walk past her into the bathroom.

  I turn on the shower but don’t get in, I know it’s sneaky but I press my ear up against the door. I can only really hear muffled bits of conversation. Something about a job and computers? It’s about time she sorted herself out and got herself a job.

  I strain my ears as I hear Cindy’s voice rise, but I can’t hear anything more than mumbles.

  It stops and I furrow my brow. What’s happening out there?

  “You can go in the shower now, Keeley,” Sam shouts through.

  I bang my knee on the corner of the wall as I jump back. “Fuckin’ wall! Ouch”

  I rub my knee before pulling on my sexy shower cap so I don’t have to get my hair wet.

  I dry off and put on my outfit after moisturizing my whole body, and spraying on some perfume. I still feel a little uneasy. I don’t want to go really, but I can’t deny that it’ll feel good to put on a little makeup and let my hair down for a beer or two with my best friend.

  After loosely curling my hair and adding a blood red lipstick to my lips, I stand back and admire myself in the mirror. I’m not vain at all but I sure know how to rock the shit out of a pair of cut offs and combat boots.

  I help Sam with her hair and I admire how good she looks a little dressed up. The thought that we both need this rolls through me as I grab my purse, and we head on out to the fundraiser.

  “Fancy walking down? It’s a nice night,” she asks.

  I tense up and try to not make a big deal out of the fact that I don’t want to be out walking when it’s getting dark. I’ve felt uneasy since Sam’s run in with a biker this morning and I can’t stop staring into the shadows, my heart rate picking up as the minutes tick by.

  We make it to the community hall after what seems like ten long minutes, and I walk on in after Sam. Everyone is already halfway to being drunk, and it makes the journey to the bar that little bit longer.

  “Samantha? Excuse me please, Samantha?” I cringe at Nora’s voice, she sounds like she’s going to tell us off like children so I don’t turn around to face her when Sam does. She continues telling us that her busy body friends wanted to say thanks for doing the decorating. Like we had a choice.

  I stick my hand in the air and wave it toward the barman, ordering two much needed beers. We grab them and Sam leads us to a table in the corner, completely brushing Nora off as we do.

  The table is in the perfect place to people watch, and we do just that. We laugh at how drunk everybody is but in the back of my mind, I can’t shake the feeling of being watched again, I’m driving myself crazy. I hate country music but when a certain song comes on, Sam starts tapping her fingers against her beer bottle and mouthing the words.

  I roll my eyes and pull her up to dance. We soon get into a rhythm and get a little carried away, swinging each other around by our elbows. I’m about to suggest we go get another drink when I spot Lewis behind Sam, my eyes nearly bulge out of my head and I feel myself blush. I’m glad he’ll just chalk
it up to the dancing.

  “Mind if I cut in?” He asks Sam.

  She looks at me before bowing and heading toward the bar, leaving us alone. He pulls me toward him by my hand and wraps an arm around my waist and I freeze, staring daggers at Sam, wishing for her to turn around and get me out of this situation with him.

  “Hey,” he says, his breath fanning across my neck.

  I look up at him. “Hey, I didn’t realize you were going to be here,” I say, acting indifferent, because I realize I mainly am.

  I think I’ve finally decided that although he’s hot and extremely nice, he just doesn’t make me feel hot under the covers like he should.

  He pulls away from me slightly. “Have you seen Connor yet?” I tense up, shit! I’d forgotten all about him coming here. I shake my head as I look around. “I hope you know what you’re doing, that girl deserves to be happy.”

  We’re still moving to the beat of the music but I stop dead in my tracks at his comment, I can’t believe he just said that to me. “What’s that supposed to mean? Sam’s happiness is my main priority. She may not like him turning up, but I think she needs to hear what he has to say.”

  He furrows his brows and nods at me, pulling me closer, and begins to sway again. I watch as Sam sits back at our table and I’m just about to tell Lewis I’m going to sit with her when I see her go bolt rigid as Connor walks over to her.

  I freeze as I watch the scene play out in front of me. She doesn’t look happy but neither does he. He shakes his head and walks out, pushing his way through the crowd without so much as a backward glance. I don’t know whether to go to her or leave her be, but she makes the decision for me as she practically walks in his footsteps to get out the building.

  I go to follow her but Lewis grabs my arm. “Leave her, she just needs some fresh air.”

  I shrug his hand off my arm. “One; don’t ever grab me like that again. And two; she’s my best friend, what if she needs me?”

  He shakes his head then points to the bar and I walk off toward it.

  “She’s a big girl, I think you just need to give her a little bit of time.” He orders a beer and I order a water not feeling like drinking anymore, in fact, I really don’t even want to be here anymore but I don’t want to be rude so I follow him to the table Sam just got up from, and he sits beside me.

  “I’m sorry for grabbing your arm, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  I smile at him. I know he didn’t, I just don’t like to feel like I’m being controlled. We spend the next hour talking about random things and again it feels so easy to be around him, I feel myself relaxing. It isn’t until Connor comes waltzing up to the table that I remember Sam, they must’ve been together. I raise my brow at him in question and he shakes his head.

  “Sammy’s at the old oak tree in the park, she needs you.”

  Needs me? I say a quick goodbye to Lewis and squeeze through all the sweaty bodies to get outside, and head toward the park. It’s so dark that I start to see shadows that aren’t even there. I even start to think someone is following me but every time I look behind me, no one is there. I pick up my pace as I enter the park, and hear Sam before I see her. She’s curled up under an old oak tree, sobbing.

  I flop down beside her and cradle her in my arms. “Hey, you need to stop crying over him like this, he isn’t worth it.” I’m talking out my ass. That man is special to her and we both know it, whether she thinks she hates him or not. When she doesn’t reply, I sit her up, wiping her tears away. “Everything’s going to be alright-“

  “No, everything’s not going to be alright. He kissed me,” she sobs out.

  I sit up straighter as she tells me what happened, not quite believing he had the nerve to kiss her. I stupidly let slip that I knew about him coming and she’s not happy at all, I knew she wouldn’t be, yet I still did it.

  “You knew he was coming tonight, didn’t you? That’s why I’m wearing this ridiculous outfit and why you made sure I had my hair all done?”

  Okay, I fucked up, but I’m not letting her put all the blame on me. We go back and forth and finally she relents as I stand up and hold my hand out to her. “Let’s just go home and binge watch car crash TV, we can talk about this tomorrow.”

  She shakes her head and says she wants alone time. I really don’t want to leave her by herself but I can see she needs it, but at the same time, I really don’t want to go back to the fundraiser. I’m torn.

  I sigh and tell her I won’t be out long with a knot in my stomach, resigning myself to going back for one more drink.

  We head in opposite directions and I don’t care how it looks, I run the whole way back to the community hall feeling as if someone is following me again. Lewis is just leaving as I get there, his eyes run down the length of my body.

  “Everything alright?”

  I try to catch my breath and nod. “Sure, she wanted to go back to the apartment to be alone. You may have been right, it didn’t go very well.”

  He smirks and hooks his thumb over his shoulder, not commenting on him being right. “You wanting to go back in there? I was just leaving, I didn’t know whether you’d just gone home or not.”

  I pull a face. “Well I wouldn’t shed a tear if I never stepped foot in there again.”

  He throws his head back and laughs, holding his hand out for me. I eye his hand then shrug and wipe my sweaty palm that’s been holding tightly onto my purse, on my shorts, and take hold of it.

  “You going to walk me back then?” It comes out flirtier than I intended it to sound and I inwardly cringe.

  “Actually, I have a better idea. I’ve got something I want to show you.”

  I raise my brows at him curiously and he taps his nose, leading the way to his garage.

  I have to admit, I’m intrigued as to what he has to show me. He unlocks the side door and holds it open for me, nudging me inside as I hesitate to step into the darkness. I tense up as the door shuts behind us and I can hear my own breathing it’s that quiet. I hear a click and the lights flicker on, making me relax and turn to face him.

  “So?”

  His face lights up and he leads me over to a covered mound, I don’t even have to look under the sheet to see what it’s covering.

  “I thought you’d like to see it finished,” he says, pulling off the sheet.

  It reveals the Harley sportster 48 from the other day.

  “She’s beautiful.”

  He smirks. “She sure is.”

  I do a double take as I realize he’s looking at me, and I have a feeling he isn’t talking about the bike, I blush starting to feel a little uncomfortable. I turn my attention back to the Harley and notice the detail from the other day is crawling its way over the body of the bike. It’s badass.

  Lewis is an artist, who knew?

  “I was thinking I’d take you out on her tomorrow,” he fires out.

  I tense up, do I feel safe with him? I just smile but I don’t commit to anything. “Thanks for showing me, you’re more talented than you think. Football player, mechanic and artist? That’s quite the combination.”

  It’s his turn to blush and I feel the air getting thicker the longer he keeps his eyes trained on me.

  I clear my throat. “I should probably be getting back to see if Sam’s okay.”

  I take a step back and he follows me, not taking those steely gray eyes off mine.

  “I… I should give you my number though,” I stammer, rifling through my purse as an excuse to look away.

  He stops moving toward me and takes a big breath, pulling his cell out of his jeans pocket.

  “Sure, put it in and I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  I take it off him, put my number in, and call myself so I have his. I hand him back his cell and give him a quick wave, wanting to get out of this situation. I start walking toward the door.

  “Where are you going?” He asks.

  I stop in my tracks as Lewis watches me, arms folded, humor on his face.

&nb
sp; “Erm, home to check on Sam like I said?”

  Why is he playing dumb?

  He chuckles. “No, I meant where are you going without me?”

  Is he for real? I cross my arms. “You’re not coming home with me, Lewis.”

  He laughs, turns the lights off and locks up. “Jumping the gun there, Keeley. I was only offering to walk you home, I don’t want you walking alone.”

  I flush and look away from him. “Oh. Well in that case, lead the way.”

  I wave my arm and he takes my hand again. If I’m honest, I really wasn’t looking forward to walking home in the dark on my own, so I’m glad he’s being a gentleman. We walk in companionable silence, but even having company doesn’t stave off the feelings of someone watching me. I feel it in my bones that something just isn’t right. I need to ask Sam what that biker really looked like, even if it will bring on a lot of unanswerable questions. I’ll give her a half-truth then I won’t be lying.

  We reach the salon and I say goodnight to Lewis. He cups my cheek before placing a small kiss on the top of my head.

  I haven’t been kissed like that in years.

  I shake my thoughts away and give him a quick smile, letting myself into the salon.

  Walking into the apartment, Sam isn’t out here but her door to her room is open a crack. I knock and when I hear her sobbing, I walk in and comfort her. What happened tonight is shit, but she needs to move on now she knows what happened all those years ago. We spend the next half an hour talking about it until her cell rings out from beside her. She picks it up and her brow furrows as she looks at the screen.

  “Who is it?” I ask.

  “I don’t know, it’s a withheld number. What if it’s him?” She says, panic etching her face.

  I roll my eyes at her. “Just answer the phone!”

  She puts her cell to her ear and answers, and I just know that something is wrong. Her face drops and she suddenly looks very awake compared to two minutes ago. “I’m her daughter. What’s happened? Is she alright?”

  I walk to her drawers and pull out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt for her before going to get changed out of my shorts and into something a little comfier, this is not how I saw the night going earlier, it looks like we’re going to be in for a long one.