Untouched (Bay Falls High, #1)(66)

I took a shaky breath because I did not want to completely breakdown in front of them.

The tears went away and Pres, Barr, and Kip were no longer blurry.

“You don’t fucking belong here, sugar,” Pres said. “You know where you’re wanted. Where you’re needed.”

“Don’t chase memories and forget your dreams, love,” Barr said.

It was almost poetic.

I looked at him and felt my heart twisting.

“Yeah, girl, it’s like this…”

My head whipped to the other side.

Kip’s blue eyes made my heart jump around inside my chest.

“… you know this is where you lived, but that doesn’t mean you have to live there forever. Forget about it.”

I slowly nodded.

Pres touched my chin again and forced me to look at him.

“You’re coming back to BFH, sugar,” he said. “Don’t make us come looking for you again.”

And right there on cue, Pres leaned in and gently kissed my chin.

Barr kissed my left cheek.

Kip kissed my right cheek.

And then all three walked away.

My hands scratched against the building and I felt the skin of my fingertips ripping a little.

When they got back to the SUV, Barr and Kip reached into their pockets and handed something to Pres. For a split second it looked like money. Pres nodded and tucked it away into his back pocket.

Maybe gas money or something.

But then Pres got into the backseat.

Barr walked around to the passenger side.

And Kip climbed into the driver’s seat.

He looked at me and winked.

Then they left.

They left me standing there alone, in what Pres called a shithole.

Which it was.

But at the same time, how was BFH any different?

At least this town was honest.

But…

Choosing between the two…

“Fuck,” I whispered.

I was going back to BFH and staying.





When I got back to Claire’s I saw her at the end of her driveway. Which was really odd considering how long the driveway was.

Better yet, she stood outside a car that had pulled up longways to the driveway.

Standing at the driver’s side of the car, she talked to some guy.

Claire being Claire, she was animated, waving her hands and looked really pissed off.

The guy in the car had one hand on the steering wheel and looked just as pissed as she was. She finally pointed to the road and I was finally able to read her lips.

Get the fuck out of here.

I cringed, feeling bad for whoever the guy was in the car.

Claire backed up and the car started to move.

It sped up and then went slow as it passed me by.

The guy looked right at me.

And then he was gone.

I looked in the mirror, not sure why.

I crept forward and pulled into the driveway.

Claire playfully threw her thumb out like she was hitchhiking.

I stopped and rolled down the window.

“Tell me that was a breakup,” I said.

“That?” she laughed. “That was… just give me a ride back to the house.”

“It’s your vehicle, Claire,” I said.

She walked around to the passenger side and got into the SUV.

I drove up the driveway and she shook her head.

“I’m happy you don’t have a dick, Tinsley,” she said.

I snorted. “Um… thanks?”

“Men are stupid. All of them. Just plain fucking stupid.”

“Are you sure that wasn’t a breakup?” I asked.

“Oh, Tinsley, if that was a breakup his car would have been on fire. That was supposed to be business. But that guy has more balls than brains, which doesn’t work in my line of work.”

“Wow. Well, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Where have you been?”

She grinned and winked. Basically telling me calmly not to fucking lie to her.

So I didn’t.

“I went back home.”

“Home? Where?”

“You know where. I wanted to go see my old friends.”

Claire nodded. “How did that go?”

“Horrible. They think I’m some stuck up rich bitch. And I’m so far from it.”

“You ever hear of a concept called adapting to your environment?” Claire asked.

I parked the SUV and she reached for my hand.

A hint to not get out yet.

“What’s that mean?” I asked.

“That means sometimes to survive you adapt. We all want to be unique and all that bullshit you get printed on a piece of wood and hang on your wall, right?”

I laughed. “Sure.”

“But it’s bullshit. You adapt. When I’m looking at a building, for example. I don’t give a shit about the building, Tinsley. Or the land. Or the taxes. Anything like that. I look at the environment. The surroundings. Who I have to become to make it work. That’s what makes everything work.”

“So you’re saying I’m a stuck up rich bitch?”

“Own it,” Claire said.

“Even with a screwdriver?” I asked.

Claire snorted. “I swear, Tinsley, I will not sleep with Jacobson to keep you out of trouble.”