Page 24

Twenty

I might not put the sparkle in your eyes, but I’ll definitely put the ‘what the fuck’ wrinkles in your forehead.

— Searcy to Posy

SEARCY

I’d gone through several sets of emotions since that phone call two hours ago, and I was exhausted.

“Walk me through the night again,” Malone urged.

“I was with my friends. At least, I thought they were friends. But we pulled over because Byron needed to use the restroom. Since I did, too, I left the car running and got out. I had the keys in my pocket, though. My car’s really old and I can take the keys out of the ignition.

I walked inside, used the bathroom, and when I got back, the car and my friends were gone.

Byron came out, and we started talking. and Byron said that they were just going down the road for some chicken.

So, we waited, but then the store clerk told us we either had to buy something or leave, so we left.

I was standing outside, like at the corner of the building, when Byron grabbed me. ”

I tensed, not wanting to hear the rest.

A warm hand curled around my hip and pulled me to him, and I immediately leaned into Posy’s hard body.

Without even realizing it, I’d given him my whole trust.

He was in.

So deep inside my heart that I felt like he’d finally filled a piece that I hadn’t realized was missing.

“What happened then?” Malone asked.

“Then, he pulled me deep into the shadows on the side of the building and forced me down to my knees. He was so strong that I couldn’t fight him off.

He had a hold of my hair, and he was unzipping his jeans, and I just…

froze. I couldn’t fight. This wasn’t like the times before when boys got handsy because they were drunk.

Or…” she looked at me, letting me know that it wasn’t like the last time where she was able to get away.

“Before I knew it, he was shoving his penis in my mouth. And I just…bit down.”

Malone winced. “You tore it off?”

“Yeah,” she whispered. “I got it with my back teeth, and when he went to rip himself away, I held on.”

Posy’s hand squeezed my hip, likely to contain me because my body had gone rigid.

“It came off in my mouth and I just…ran,” she said. “I called my sister and walked to the Dairy Queen down the street. I didn’t know about my car, though. I thought those kids had it still. I was going to ask Searcy what I should do.”

It took three more hours at the police station.

When we got out, Gunner was still there waiting for us, though all the other guys had gone home.

He held out the helmet to Calliope and said, “Where to?”

“Posy’s place,” I said.

Calliope blew out a breath, likely because she knew what was coming.

The drive to Posy’s place took us forty-five minutes—fuck Dallas traffic.

When we all got inside, Gunner walked to the fridge and started to pull out stuff for breakfast.

Gunner began cooking eggs and bacon while making a drop biscuit in between egg and bacon flips, while Calliope and I stared at each other at Posy’s table.

It was eventually her that broke.

“I know what you’re going to say.” She sighed.

“What’s that?” I asked carefully.

“That I need to make better decisions.” She scrubbed her hands over her face. “But I swear to you, I don’t make bad ones all the time. I’m making straight As at school. I’ve applied to colleges. I’m set to graduate in December. I even have a job.”

My brows rose. “You have a job?”

“I’ve been working at Starbucks for a year now, Searcy.” She rolled her eyes. “Why do you think I get so mad when y’all make me work at the diner?”

I opened my mouth and closed it.

I didn’t know what to say.

“These are people that I work with!” she cried out. “Why would I think I couldn’t trust them? I’ve worked with them for months!”

When she put it like that…

“I even babysit on the side,” she went on. “I mean, I have a fuck ton of experience.”

I winced.

“I don’t want to live this life, Searcy.

I don’t want to be stuck at home like you, taking care of kids that aren’t mine.

” She threw up her hands. “Would I love to be a stay-at-home mom? Of course. But I want to be a stay-at-home mom when I want to be, not when I’m a child myself.

It’s terrible, I know, but I resent Kent and Anders because they feel like chains holding me down.

And honestly, Searcy, you enable our mother.

You don’t give her any consequences for her actions.

You just got added as a legal guardian, and bam, you’re taking care of us when you can barely take care of yourself.

You’ve given up every single thing you’ve ever wanted in life to take care of us, and that’s stupid.

That’s stupid! You should be able to live life how you want to live it.

You shouldn’t have to question whether or not Mom is going to be at the diner.

The best thing you ever did was hire that girl to work at the diner.

Now Mom has the help she needs, and she’s responsible for paying her.

Meaning, she has to work. I fucking cried when you told Mom you wouldn’t be coming in anymore.

For the first time in forever, you actually did something for you. ”

I sat back, stunned.

“How do you take your eggs?”

Gunner’s words were like a bucket of ice water over my head.

“Uh,” I said. “I’ll eat them however you cook them.”

“Good, because I made them all over easy without asking.” He set a plate of bacon and eggs down in front of Calliope. “Eat.”

She took a bite of her bacon and said, “This is disgusting to say, but penis has the same texture as bacon.”

I would never look at my bacon the same way again.

“I think that you might’ve been too hard on your sister,” Posy said in the dead of night.

I was lying across his chest, naked, and he was stroking his hand up and down my bare backside.

“How do you mean?” I asked.

“I think you’re judging her for not being you,” he pointed out.

“When, in reality, you should’ve judged her for her.

Not everyone has a selfless, give it all personality.

And that’s okay. Your sister is allowed to be selfish.

Nobody should have to sacrifice like you’ve sacrificed.

At least when I got Scottie, Dad had set her and I up pretty well.

He left me a business. A house that was livable.

And, just sayin’, he passed away. Your mother hasn’t died.

Your mother is still here, more than capable of cleaning up after herself.

She owns a business, she needs to run it.

She shouldn’t be relying on you to take care of your siblings.

She shouldn’t be disappearing for weeks on end with no contact.

You shouldn’t have had to get guardianship of your siblings to make sure that you could take them to the doctor or do the parent-type things when she’s gone. ”

I blew out a long breath.

His hands tightened on my butt for a short second before he said, “I hope that doesn’t hurt your feelings.”

“No,” I revealed. “I’ve been thinking about it for years, to be truthful. I hold so much anger and frustration inside, but it’s obvious that Calliope doesn’t bother. She was forced to work just like I was. Like Koda was. Like Kent. We didn’t have a choice if we wanted to keep the lights on.”

“And she shouldn’t have had to do that. No kid should,” he elaborated. “Even Scottie, who was a farm kid, didn’t have to do that. She got to go to school. If she wanted a day off, she took it, and Dad didn’t give her any flack. Because children shouldn’t be forced to work to keep things running.”

I pressed my face into his chest.

“Sometimes I hate my mom,” I blurted. “Like, not just hate. Loathe. I resent her for taking my childhood away. I resent her for keeping me here when I should’ve been able to fly free. But…I love my siblings. I don’t resent them. I love them. Even Calliope, in all her teenage angst glory.”

“Calliope would probably like y’all more if y’all didn’t represent everything that she hated,” he observed.

“You’re probably right.” I laughed as I crawled up the length of his body, hovering over him in a way that my hair curtained his face.

“You know what else I’m right about?” he asked as his hands went to my hips.

“What’s that?” I teased, my bare breasts teasing his chest.

His dog tags glinted in the moonlight that was pouring in through his open curtains, catching my attention.

I picked them up and closed my hand over them as he replied with, “I’m also right about how you’d sleep way better if you ended the night with a couple of orgasms.”

I laughed as he reversed our positions, pushing his thighs between my own and spreading me wide.

So wide, in fact, that my hips started to protest.

Just when I was about to say something, he slowly crawled down the length of my body, his mouth drawing a path from my mouth all the way down to my clit.

“Oh,” I breathed as my hands dug into his hair. “I think I might agree with you on that one.”

I loved his mouth on me.

He knew exactly what to do with that tongue, whether it was forming words or circling my clit.

Gently pushing my hips out and open, he curled one arm around my thigh and spread my pussy lips open for his tongue to explore.

“Fuck,” I breathed. “Posy.”

“Two best words on this planet,” he drawled as he went to work.

His tongue drew small, ever tightening circles around my clit. Meanwhile, his fingers that were spreading me wide were now circling my entrance.

“Oh,” I breathed.

His free hand came up, and before I could brace myself, he was sinking a finger deep inside me, his knuckles pressing against my back entrance.

I groaned at the taboo feeling of having his hand so close to something that had always been an exit only.

His finger twisted, and those knuckles dragged deliciously against those barely touched nerves, making me groan.

His mouth kept going at my clit, and before I could blink, he had me teetering over the edge into sweet oblivion.

He must’ve been in a hurry, because before I’d even gotten all the way down from my high, he was sinking into my wet pussy. His mouth came down on mine, and I tasted myself on his tongue.

“You’re so sweet,” he whispered against my lips as he slowly rocked inside of me. “Tight and hot. You feel like mine.”

“I am,” I exhaled, my arms wrapping around his shoulders. “I’m yours as long as you want me.”

He pulled back just enough that he could see into my eyes. What he saw must’ve been something he liked because he grabbed my face with one large hand and slammed his mouth down onto my own.

The nice, easy, sweet pace we’d been keeping was out the window, and like always, it turned electric.

It was as if he could never get enough.

Unable to stop it, we went at each other like maniacs that couldn’t get enough.

He pounded inside of me.

I bit his lip.

He squeezed me so tight I couldn’t breathe.

I pulled his hair.

And he planted himself deep enough that the orgasm that was inevitable shattered me.

His groan followed my own and his entire body weight landed on top of me.

My breathing went even shallower to accommodate his weight, and eventually I had to tap his side and say, “I can’t breathe.”

He chuckled and turned us, moving me until I was standing beside the bed.

I headed to the bathroom to get cleaned up and came back moments later wearing his shirt from the day before.

Crawling back into bed, I once again went to his side and laid my head on his chest.

He sifted one hand through my hair, and I was lost to sleep in moments.