Page 11

11

SLATER

I take a moment and admire the car in front of me. Finally. It seems like it’s taken forever, but I’m finally done putting the engine together. My dad’s Mustang is done. Well, internally. It still needs the bodywork and paint done, but the engine is growling like the mean machine it is.

“We’re done, Dad,” I say.

I close the hood and put my tools away, feeling a bit lost now that it’s done. Fixing the Mustang has been such a big part of my life and routine for so long. Now that it’s done, I’m not quite sure what to do with myself. Well, actually, I do. As the thought passes through my mind, the heat of desire fills me. But I’m covered in grease and dirt, so I need to take a shower before I call Sierra.

She’s become as big a part of my life as the Mustang. I never imagined things would go this way the day I walked in on her in Derek’s bathroom. Never imagined that the little girl I knew all those years ago would turn into the woman I couldn’t stop thinking about. She’s gotten under my skin in ways I can’t explain.

Love has never been a part of my thinking. Or my life. It’s not something I ever thought would find me. Nor was it something I was actively looking for, either. Whenever I thought about a partner, a list of wants always filled my mind. Derek calls me picky, and maybe I am. But there are just certain things about a person that I click with. Things I’d never found in another person. Things I didn’t think I would ever find. And I’ve been okay with that. Being alone is nothing new for me. It’s not something that bothers me.

Until Sierra.

She opened doors inside of me I didn’t know existed. No, she didn’t just open those doors. She kicked them in. She swept into my life and turned everything inside me upside down, and she did it without even trying. What I’ve realized is that Sierra not only checks off everything on that list I’ve got in my mind, but she’s added things I never knew I wanted, but now, because of her, I can’t live without.

Sierra’s innocence, coupled with that fiery naughty streak, is captivating. Sex with her is beyond incredible. It’s honestly been mind-blowing and shakes me to my core every single time. But more than that, just sitting and talking to her, getting to know her and learning about her life in the years we were apart, has been just as enthralling. Learning how she’s grown up from the little girl I knew into the young woman she is now has been just as enjoyable as the physical things we do together. I have enjoyed getting to know Sierra’s mind and personality.

For the last few days, I’ve been trying to figure out my feelings about Sierra. I’ve come to care about her, certainly. We haven’t been together, if that’s what we’re going to call it, a relatively short time. Weeks really. But the pull I have for her is stronger than anything I’ve ever felt. The emotions she stirs in me are more powerful than anything I’ve felt for anybody in my entire life. When I’m with her, I’m in heaven. When I’m not, I’m actively counting down the minutes until I can see her again.

Do I love her? I don’t know. Maybe. I think people use that word a little too freely and use it without knowing what it truly means. People use it so liberally these days, and I feel like it’s lost its meaning. I don’t like that. To me, love is a powerful word. It’s a word loaded with meaning and intent. And it’s a word that should only be used when you truly and honestly mean it. Not as a placeholder and not as a punchline. It’s not a word I will throw about without thinking about the ramifications of using it. The good thing is that we’re not at the point where we need to have that conversation right now. We’ve got time to figure things out.

After taking a quick shower and getting dressed, I brush my teeth and throw on a little deodorant. I think I’ll take Sierra out for a nice dinner then have her for dessert. Humming to myself, I walk out and lock up behind me, then make my way through the complex to Derek’s unit. As I approach the door, I run across Monty, who is sitting on the walkway looking up at me. Monty isn’t allowed outside. He’s never outside. Perplexed, I pick the big cat up.

“What are you doing outside, big boy?”

I approach Derek’s door and feel a cold chill rush through my veins when I see that it’s open. Not just open. The frame looks splintered, like somebody forced their way in. Something close to panic filling my heart, I rush in and set Monty down, closing the door as best I can behind me. The sound of Sierra’s voice coming from the bedroom rings in my ears. What strikes me the hardest is the sound of fear in her voice.

Rushing from the main room, I burst into the bedroom to find Sierra in the far corner of the room, a butcher knife held out in front of her in both hands. She’s shaking so hard that the point of the blade is bouncing from side to side. And standing in front of her is Stu Hopper. He turns when I come through the door, and I see that strange, creepy expression on his face I first saw when Sierra came into the bar for the first time.

After that first night she came in with Moni, Stu asked me a lot of questions about her. He mentioned her several more times and seemed interested in her. I didn’t like how he looked at her when she was in, but I recall not thinking much of all the questions at the time. I honestly hadn’t really thought about it.

But seeing him standing in the bedroom after having obviously broken through the front door, Sierra’s tear-streaked cheeks, and the terror on her face, I see that I should have. He’d clearly been harboring some sort of dark obsession. As he looks from Sierra to me, he suddenly looks scared. It’s then that I notice Sierra’s hair is mussed. The anger boils inside me, superheating the blood in my veins and filling me with rage.

“What the fuck, Stu?” I shout.

“I—I just wanted to talk to her,” he stammers.

“You need to get the fuck out of here right now, or I’m going to beat the shit out of you,” I say. “And after that, I’m going to call the cops.”

“You don’t understand, man. I was just trying to talk to her.”

“So, you broke into her place? Nah. It doesn’t work like that.”

“Sierra,” Stu says. “I just … There’s something about you I like. I just want to?—”

“Get out! Leave me alone!” Sierra shrieks as she brandishes her knife.

“Sierra—”

I don’t give Stu time to finish his thought as I grab hold of him and deliver two quick punches to his face. His head snaps back, and blood spatters the wall behind him, a pained groan bursting from his mouth. He’s not a small guy and starts to come at me, but I’m younger and faster, and I hit him with a quick flurry of punches that rock him. Stu grimaces, his expression darkening and his eyes filling with anger. He launches himself at me, his momentum carrying me into the wall behind me. Sierra cries out and looks at me, her face etched with fear and horror.

Keeping me pinned to the wall, Stu delivers a flurry of blows to my stomach. There isn't much behind his punches, so I’m able to break his hold pretty easily, and when I do, I drop my hand to the back of his head and push it down hard. At the same time, I raise my knee with some real force behind it and connect with his nose again. I hear a sharp crack that’s satisfying, but the agonized wail he lets out is even more so.

I give him a solid punch to the side of the head that drops him to the floor. He curls into the fetal position and absorbs the burst of kicks I deliver to his body. When I’m confident he’s going to stay down for a minute, I look up.

“Sierra, are you all right?” I ask.

She’s sobbing but nods.

“Good. Go call the cops.”

“But—”

“Call the cops. Now.”

The knife hits the floor with a sharp clatter, and she rushes from the room. When Stu moves, almost as if he’s going to attempt to rise, I deliver another brutal kick to his midsection, driving the air from his lungs. As I stand over him, watching him carefully, I hear Sierra’s trembling, terror-filled voice in the other room as she talks to the cops.

“You fucked up, Stu,” I say.

“I only wanted to talk to her. I just wanted to make her see that she should be with me.”

Gritting my teeth, I kick him in the gut once more. He curls into a tight ball, holding his stomach as he gasps and wheezes, trying to catch the breath I’d driven out of him. I feel like I should have seen that his fascination with her had morphed into obsession. I didn’t. I failed her in that regard. And if not for a stupid stroke of luck that brought me here at the right time, who knows what might have happened?

“The police are on their way,” Sierra says from the hallway.

I turn and see that she’s hiding around the corner, too terrified to come back into the room. I offer her a small smile I hope is reassuring.

“Good,” I reply, then turn back to Stu. “Like I said, man, you fucked up.”