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“No . . .” I do want him to stay, but I don’t want him to alter his plans for me. “It’s okay. I just thought you might want to get away from them,” I whisper, and he smiles.
“I do, but Ken’s excited for me to come because Max likes the opposing team. I think he thinks it’ll be funny to watch us give each other crap or something.” Then he leans in closer so only I can hear him. “Are you sure about hanging out with that guy? He seems nice, but Hardin will probably try to murder him.”
“I think he can hold his own,” I assure him. “Have fun watching the game.” I lean down and press my lips against Landon’s cheek.
I jerk away quickly and cover my mouth. “I’m sorry. I have no idea why . . .”
“It’s okay.” Landon laughs.
I look around the table and I’m relieved to see that everyone seems to be in engaged in conversation. Thankfully my embarrassing show of affection went unnoticed.
“Be careful, okay, Tessa? And call me if you need me.”
“I will. And if you get bored, come back here.”
“Will do.” He smiles. I know he won’t get bored watching the game with Ken. He loves spending time with the only father figure in his life, something that Hardin doesn’t share the same enthusiasm for.
“Dad, I’m an adult,” I hear Lillian huff from across the table.
Max shakes his head once with authority. “There is absolutely no need for you to be out running the streets here; you’ll go back to the cabin with us. That’s final.” It’s obvious that he’s one of those men who love to have complete control over everyone in his life. The nasty smirk on his hard face confirms it.
“Fine,” his frustrated daughter responds. She looks to her mother, but the woman stays silent. If I had another glass of wine, I would call the jerk out, but I don’t want to upset Ken and Karen.
“Tessa, are you coming back with us?” Karen asks.
“No, I’m going to stay here for a little while, if that’s okay?” I hope she doesn’t mind. I watch as she looks to Lillian and then behind me to where Robert stands in the distance. I get the feeling she has no clue about Lillian’s sexual orientation, and she’s annoyed by the way Hardin was behaving with her. I love Karen.
“That’s fine with us; you have fun.” She smiles approvingly.
“Okay.” I return her smile and walk away from the table without saying goodbye to Max and his wife.
“We’re good to go; she’s not allowed to stay,” I tell Robert when I reach him.
“Not allowed?”
“Her father is a jerk. I’m sort of glad, though, because I’m not sure how I feel about her. She reminds me of someone. I can’t quite put my finger on who . . .” I let the thought trail off as I follow Robert to an empty section of the restaurant. A few tables sit in the closed-off area, bare save for unlit votive candles and salt and pepper shakers.
As we sit, Zed’s mutilated face flashes through my mind. I ask Robert, “Are you sure you’re okay with hanging out with me? Hardin may come back, and he has a tendency to assault people . . .”
Robert pulls a chair out for me and laughs. “I’m sure,” he answers.
Taking the seat across from me, he refills our Styrofoam cups with white wine, and we toast, the cups’ soft material bending slightly and lacking that clink of glassware. Nice and cozy, unlike the rest of this hard-edged restaurant.
Chapter forty-two
HARDIN
I’ve called every damn taxi company between here and college trying to get a ride back home. No one accepted, of course, because of the distance. I could take a bus, but public transportation really isn’t my thing. I remember the way I used to cringe when Steph would mention Tessa taking the bus to the mall or to Target. Even when I disliked Tessa . . . well, when I thought I did . . . I’d still panic at the thought of her sitting alone on the bus with a bunch of fucking creeps.
Everything has changed since then, since those days when I’d tease and taunt Tessa just to get a rise out of her. Her face when I left her on the balcony of the restaurant . . . maybe it hasn’t changed at all. I haven’t changed.
I’m torturing the girl I love. That’s exactly what I’m doing, and I can’t seem to stop. This isn’t all my fault, though—it’s her fault, too. She keeps pushing me to go to Seattle, and I’ve made it clear that I’m not giving in on that. Instead of battling me, she should just pack her shit and come to England with me. I’m not staying here whether I’m expelled or not—I’m bored in America, and it’s been nothing but shit for me. I’m sick of seeing my dad all the time; I’m sick of everything here.
“Watch where you’re going, dick,” a female voice says in the darkness, startling me.
I sidestep the figure before I run into her. “You watch where you’re going,” I fire back, without stopping. Why the hell is this chick out here in front of Max’s cabin, anyway?
“Excuse me?” she says, and I turn around to look at her just as the motion-sensor light clicks on from the cabin’s porch. I get a good look at her: brown skin, curly hair, ripped jeans, biker boots.
“Let me guess: Riley, right?” I roll my eyes at the girl in front of me.
She puts a hand on her hip. “And who the hell are you?”
“Yep, Riley. If you’re looking for Lillian, she isn’t here.”
“Where is she? And how do you know that I’m looking for her?” the feisty girl challenges.