Dare You To (Pushing the Limits, #2)(57)

Denny. Traitorous *. He told Noah and Isaiah I came      for Mom.

“How did you get to Louisville?” Isaiah asks in an eerily      calm voice.

“Fuck you.” He told me he loved me. A cold sweat breaks out      on my skin and my body begins to tremble. My best friend told me he loved me.      And my mom. He forced me to leave my mom.

“Did you convince that Ryan bastard who’s been messing with      you to bring you?”

I glance at Isaiah and he swears. I yank at his hold on my      wrist. “Get off of me.”

Anger blazes from Isaiah’s dark eyes and if the anger wasn’t      coming from him, it would frighten me. He has the calm anger. The controlled      anger. The type that breaks if pressed too hard for too long. “Not until I know      you’re done thinking like an idiot and doing stupid things. You could have      gotten yourself killed. Trent’s been bragging at the bar for weeks on how he’ll      tear you limb from limb if he sees you again. He blames you for the cops coming      to his apartment the week after you went to Groveton. He forgets though, that he      has enemies everywhere.”

I hear the snap inside my head and my entire body flinches.      I’ve talked to Isaiah every night and he never mentioned this piece of local      gossip. Gossip that would have led me to act faster. If Trent blames me, then      he’ll blame Mom, and he already loves hitting her for no reason. Isaiah took me      away from Mom and left her there with that *.

Isaiah’s hand still holds my wrist and I don’t want a      backstabbing Judas touching me. Pulling my foot off the floorboard, I kick at      him, again and again. “Let. Go. Of. Me!”

He releases my arm to shove my foot off him. “What is wrong      with you?”

“You left her there to die!”

Isaiah punches the back of Noah’s chair and collapses into      the seat. His head falls back and he places his thumb and forefinger over his      closed eyes.

The flat and bitter notes of a Nine Inch Nails song play on      the radio and I sink into my corner of the car, pulling my legs into my chest.      My heart aches with the lyrics. It’s a phrase embedded in my soul, a lyric that      talks about people you love and how in the end...they go away.

Isaiah took me away from Mom; he won’t help me save her...he      told me that he loves me. What used to be my best, strongest relationship has      become a leaf withering and dying on a decaying vine.

I guess everything in life really does end.





Chapter 31

Ryan

TEN MINUTES AGO, I left      practice and found her gone. While I stood here losing my mind, deciding what to      do, Beth was out having fun with her friends. I panicked, wondering if I should      call Scott, the police, my dad. I imagined Scott’s grief and thought about how      angry my father would be when he learned I lost the niece of our town hero.

Mostly, I worried about Beth. Terrified someone took her.      Praying she wasn’t hurt or scared. Now I feel like a fool.

A few minutes ago, they pulled in and now Beth argues with the      overrated tattooed punk I’ve seen before. I don’t dare move a muscle, because      I’m terrified I’ll rip every single black hair out of Beth’s head. Planting      myself firmly next to my Jeep, I watch as Beth and her punked-out friend      continue their heated discussion.

Beth played me like I’ve never been played before. I made a      terrible mistake. I tried to like her. Screw Beth. Let her tank her life. She      agreed to go to the party with me Friday. I won the dare. Deal done.

Beth bolts from the shitty car.

“Beth!” Tattoo Guy snags her by her belt loop. “You’re not      leaving. Not like this.”

I flinch, but force myself to stay still. She wants this guy.      She left me to be with him.

“Then keep the promise you made to me, Isaiah. Take me.      Tonight.” Her eyes search him and the desperation clawing at her face makes      watching the scene uncomfortable. Whatever answer she’s looking for, he doesn’t      have. He turns his head away with his eyes cast down. The other guy closes his      door to the car and slowly approaches them, yet keeps his distance.

Great, I’m back to the odds of two against one. That is, if I      cared enough to step in. Which I don’t.

Isaiah glances at the other guy. “You always said you wanted a      home and now you’ve got one.”