Page 58 of Ride or Die (The Shores #1)

CHAPTER ONE

SIMONE

I watch the taillights of Colton’s Camaro make the final turn out of The Shores. There they go, off to live their happily ever after. I swallow the huge lump in my throat and pinch my arm to override that emotion, to stop the tears.

Don’t show weakness. Never show weakness.

Standing at the suburb’s mini strip mall, I shiver, feeling the chill in the air. May is hit and miss for weather, and tonight it’s on the cooler side.

“Hey sweet thang!” some thug yells across the parking lot at me. I ignore him and pull out a cigarette, lighting it and looking off in the other direction. I cross my arms over my chest, trying to keep some warmth in my thin frame.

Amber and Talia stand close to me, chatting about the last job they were sent on. They seem to have fun doing it, but I fucking hate it. I don’t have sex to get men off, I have sex to get me off. And doing this job, I’m never getting off.

I look at the corner again and my heart sinks, knowing that’s the last time I will ever see my sister.

They will never come back around that corner.

I may have hated them, but they worked hard to get out.

Colt treats her like a queen, and he’ll make sure they never came back to this place. I can’t fault him for that.

I will admit I was a bitch and pulled some fucked up shit on my sister, but I had my reasons. I’m not the asshole everyone thinks I am. I’m doing what I have to do to survive here.

I’m also not the smartest person, and therefore, I don’t make the best decisions. I use my sass and looks to get by, and unless I find a man to take care of me, I’m destined to remain a product of this fucking suburb.

Hopefully one day Layla will understand I did what I had to do, even if that meant treating her like shit in the process.

Now I’m left living in a world of messed up shit. In one night, my fucked-up parents were killed and my sister left, leaving me all alone.

Only God knows what will happen to me now…