Page 27 of Untamed
Walking toward the river, Haylee’s wind-blown hair falls from her hat. She stops to adjust it, a flawless movement that makes her look even more amazing, and then continues to walk with me. She tells me about her latest dream where she pulled out her own tooth and it was black. She always has wild ones. Once she dreamed she was a fly and traveled through time and into people’s ears and dropped eggs inside their brains. Weeks later they became zombies.
This dream, the one she had last night, seems actually kind of normal. “So you like, just ripped your tooth out?”
She nods, kind of disturbed. “Yeah.”
I gotta admit, I am too. “Did it hurt?”
“No. That’s the weird thing.” She stops walking. “It didn’t hurt, but it bled like crazy.” And then she gets a strange look on her face, something similar to confusion and mortification. “Last time I had a dream like that was right before my dad died. I had a dream he cut my toe off and stuck it in the microwave. Then the display read diseased. He died a week later.”
Chills run through me, the hair on my neck standing up. “No shit?”
“Yep.” She pauses and takes another pull from her flask. “Looks like Violet’s busy. Lover boys looking lonely tonight.” She gestures toward the river and places the cap back on the flask.
My eyes follow hers to Joel sitting on the dock, drinking with Danny. They’re sitting on the edge, throwing a line in the water with empty cans surrounding them. The cans are a product of a lot of fishing, not a lot of catching, and a lot of bullshit between two friends.
Part of me wants to turn around and leave because I know where tonight’s going when I see Violet’s not with Joel. He’ll want to fuck me because his precious girl’s busy. She’s still a virgin too, from what I hear, and he keeps her that way. A prize I guess but a little too much like Elvis and Priscilla if you ask me. Internally, I’m picturing Joel staring at her, petting her hair and in his best Gollum voice, whispering, “My precious.”
If only Violet knew what he was doing to her. He’s destroying her because if she ever finds out he’s been with just about every chick here, her world will be shattered. I should know, I was her once. But not anymore. I’m the complete opposite now, someone who can never go back to that “good girl” status, thanks to guys like Joel who played my weakness.
Making our way toward the River, Haylee and I join the guys on the dock—for reasons I’m not sure—other than a direct result of our complete boredom. Anyone who’s from a small town will probably agree with me on this one. You’ll do just about anything for entertainment and a night out.
Haylee snorts when Joel winks at her, and then me. Idiot. “Where’s Virgin Violet tonight, Joel?” Haylee asks, cracking open a beer.
Joel squeezes the tension out of the back of his neck, then takes a drink of his beer, chasing it with a shot of whiskey. “Busy.”
Haylee and I both laugh, but I keep my distance from him, seated on the very edge of the dock near Danny.
To think Joel would actually listen and leave me alone tonight is wishful thinking on my part. It takes him a six-pack and two hours until he’s begging to take me upstairs to his room.
“Dude, no. You’re with Violet. Not happening.” I shove him away.
He tries to close the distance between us again, but stops when I hold up my palm. He sways to the left, then right, his voice low and firm. “Never stopped you before. The Maesyn I know puts out whenever I want.”
“You’ve never known therealMaesyn, ya shithead.”
I make my way to the bonfire up the river near the edge of the property. I’m surprised to see Grayer there with what looks to be a few friends he hasn’t seen in a while. There isn’t shit to do in this town so it’s not all that surprising to see him here—it’s the same people who congregate at these gatherings.
And to be honest, it’s frustrating seeing him after our encounter earlier.
I take a seat in a white plastic chair near the trees. On one side of the fire, there’s Joel and he’s sulking that I won’t fuck him tonight. On the other side, Grayer and his buddies. He’s not even acting like I’m here, but he knows I am because I see the way his eyes shift to mine when he thinks no one is looking. Whether he knows it or not.
There’s a girl about the same height as him standing next to him. I’m assuming it’s his sister, Dani, by the way she has her arms wrapped around him. I had an elective class with her once. She’s a sophomore and still in school here.
“You’re my favorite brother, Grayer,” Dani says, clinging to his side.
“You say that to all of us,” he replies, laughing as he hugs her to his side. There’s a bond there that even a four-year absence hasn’t broken.
“I know.” Dani smiles, blue eyes that match her brother’s pleading with him. “But this time I mean it.”
“Uh-huh.” Grayer removes his keys from his pocket and holds them high above her head with a smile. “Sure ya do.”
He makes her jump a few times to reach them, but eventually hands them to her. She takes them, sticks her tongue out at him and leaves.
Across the fire, his eyes shift to mine. The warmth envelopes me, the questions so obvious even when I’m not looking. When I do sneak a peek at his cobalt blues, they dip to the ground never giving me the sight I crave. He’s refusing to give me anything and it’s frustrating as hell.
Annoyed, I sit cross-legged, cracking the top to my third beer. Haylee’s in the distance in search of more Southern Comfort. Grayer’s friend beside him points to me, more than likely saying something vulgar. I can already guess what he’s saying.
“That one puts out.”
