Page 16 of One Good Crash
Like seriously, what was my name again?
Oh yeah. Cassidy. Cassidy McAllister.
That settled, I reached again for the door handle, only to stop in mid-motion when he said, "Wait."
I dropped my hand. "For what?"
"A question. What happened back there?"
I didn't bother asking where or what he meant. I knew exactly what he'd seen – a girl fleeing a limo on a street where limos didn't belong. But none of this was his problem, and already, I'd inconvenienced him beyond all reason.
I forced a smile into my voice. "Nothing."
"Are you in some sort of trouble?"
Oh, boy. Was I ever.I had no job, no money, and no idea where I'd be sleeping tonight. Cripes, when I put it that way, even in my own head, I felt like a total loser.
But it wasn't always this way. Until just a week ago, I had a decent apartment, a wonderful roommate, and a job that actually paid the bills – as long as I wasn't too extravagant, anyway.
Luckily for me, I was almost never extravagant, probably because I'd seen firsthand the dangers of loving things more than people.
Still, his question hit a little too close to home, and I shifted in my seat, only to remember – belatedly, stupidly – that it wasn't a seat I was shifting on. It was the lap of a complete stranger.
What must he think of me? I didn't even want to speculate. "Everything's fine," I said, even as I pushed open the car door, scrambled off his lap, and found my footing near the curb of the street. And then, standing there like a complete idiot, I glanced around.What now?
Already, the traffic ahead of us had moved forward at least two car lengths, which meant that Jax's car was stopped in the middle of the road for no good reason – with both doors open, no less.
And yet, the cars behind us weren't passing.
Why?
Searching for some clue, I looked to Jax. Taking his sweet time, he eased out of the passenger's seat and joined me on the street. He gave me a long, penetrating look before asking, "Is there someplace you've gotta be?"
This was a very good question. Unfortunately, I had no good answer, or at least none that wouldn't sound totally pathetic.
In reality, I had no place Icouldgo.
I tried to think. I had maybe ten whole dollars in my wallet. Was that enough for cab fare? A hotel? Anything?
Not hardly.
At the recollection of my wallet, I stifled a gasp. "Oh, shoot."
Jax frowned. "What is it?"
I gave a nervous laugh. "I almost forgot my stuff."
Earlier, I'd placed my things underneath the passenger's seat, intending to swoop them up on my way out.
I glanced toward his car only to feel myself cringe all over again. My cell phone and wallet were nowhere in sight, which meant that they were probably still safely under the seat. But the tampon?Thathad rolled out into the open.Of course.
And there it was, sitting there in the middle of the floor-mat like some sort of tiny pink neon sign, announcing to everyone – well, to Jax, anyway – that I was on my freaking period, even though I wasn't.
Right then and there, I vowed I'd toss that stupid thing into the very next waste-basket I came across. The vow lasted only a split second before I considered how awful it would be to not have if I needed it.
I heard myself mumble, "I don't suppose you have a paper bag."
"For what?" he asked.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16 (reading here)
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185