“It’s not a death trap. It’s just…old,” I defended. Had he not noticed me driving the damn thing around for the past month?
With Darcy gone, I didn’t have much of a choice. My grandfather wasn’t a wealthy man; we made do with what we had, something the Burrows wouldn’t ever have to deal with. That family had a long history of being privileged assholes.
Con sighed and shook his head, making a hand motion over my shoulder. A quick glance in that direction showed the other Burrows brother waiting for him by their Hummer.
“I’m going to take you home.”
That didn’t sound like an offer. It came across as a statement.
When I finally looked up at him again, I had to force myself to keep breathing like a normal human being. His gorgeous eyes peered into mine, piercing, like he could see straight through me. I stared back, utterly fixated.
“Did you hear me?” he asked slowly, giving me a peculiar look.
“I can’t leave Grandpa’s truck.”
Great. How long was I staring?
“Justin can drive it back.”
He wrapped his large hand around mine. It emanated warmth, and there was a roughness to it from working at his family’s construction company.
I let him lead me towards his car, trying to ignore all the stares as heads swerved to watch us and palms covered mouths to hush whispers.
My feet moved robotically; I didn’t want to cause an even bigger scene than we already were.
I hated being the center of attention.
No matter how many times I told myself that people’s opinions of me didn’t matter, I still let them affect me.
I squeezed my drink so hard I’m surprised the Styrofoam cup didn’t explode. My gaze darted around the parking lot, seeking an invisible outlet to escape through. Time seemed to slow, and the short forty-second walk to his truck felt like it took an hour.
I could have said no, refusing to budge a single step. It would have been easy to plant the heels of my flip-flops in the ground and tell him to go screw himself.
But I didn’t.
I didn’t want to.
Maybe the venomous whispers would be worth it. The guy I’d spent restless hours gazing upon like an addict seeking out their next fix was finally paying attention to me.
“What’s up?” Justin asked as we approached the vehicle.
“I need you to drive Earl’s truck back. I’m taking her home,” Constantine explained.
“Keys in it?”
“Yeah,” I replied, darting a quick look into his hazel eyes.
“All right then.” He shrugged, brushing past me without seeking a better explanation.
Con helped me climb into the passenger seat of the Hummer before circling around to the driver side. I settled into the warm leather seat, trying not to give away that I was deeply inhaling his woodsy cologne, watching him from the corner of my eye.
He had the whole sexy bad boy thing down flawlessly, without being one of those douchebags that went out of their way to fit that mold. It was naturally him.
You know the type: tall, the body of a god, swagger that makes your stomach flip, and a voice that could melt honey.
That was Constantine.
“You cold?” he asked, already reaching to turn down the air.
I shook my head, stuffing my straw back into my mouth.
“I’m sorry for being a dick, okay? I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you, Rosie.”
He reached over and gave me a light squeeze; the concern in his voice caught me off guard. His younger sister, Victoria, was one of the ‘friends’ I didn’t associate with unless we were in the same vicinity. He had no reason to care about my welfare. But still, it made me made smile and caused my shoulders to relax some.
“I get it, but that truck is probably safer than yours. It just isn’t as pretty. He looks much manlier,” I teased.
“Manlier? Ouch. Way to wound an ego.” He rubbed a hand across his chest.
I shook my head, laughing under my breath.
“You should do that more often,” he commented, his mouth tilting up at the corner. I bit my cheek, hiding the cheesy grin that threatened to overcome my face.
This simple interaction between us felt so natural, and I didn’t feel the need to hide inside myself. It fed my fantasy of being with someone way out of my league. He was beautiful, and beauty was something I decimated. Everything I touched, I tarnished. Everyone I loved, I lost.
Not only was he beautiful, he was normal. And I was…
Well, I wasn't anything other than Roselynn Morgue. There wasn’t any specific label that defined me.
One thing was clear, though: I needed to pluck the treacherous thoughts of this man from my brain before they took over my life.
We both stayed silent for the remainder of the ride. He seemed to be dwelling on his thoughts, and I continued to be lost in mine.
Chapter Three
I watched her walk to her front door, smiling when she looked back at me and waved before disappearing inside.
The second she could no longer see me, I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. Having her so close and not being able to touch her like I wanted was fucking torture.
I loved the scent of her body wash. Mandarin and mimosa. I’d been in her bathroom enough times to know that it was the only kind she ever bought.
Watching her was one of my favorite things to do. I knew she watched me, too. Keeping it a secret from the other was one of the many things we had in common.
She didn’t know I watched her through my upstairs window.
She didn’t know I was there any time she decided to brave the outside world.
She didn’t know that sometimes I crept inside her room at night and watched the way she slept.
I wasn’t crazy or anything. On the contrary. I was like everyone else. Didn’t we all like to keep tabs on our most valuable items?
Roselynn Morgue was an incredibly special girl. Sadly, she didn’t know that yet.
I couldn’t wait to leave this town behind and disappear with her forever.
Chapter Four
Present
When my server finally came back up to me, I was ready to go behind the bar and make my own damn drink.
"Sorry for the wait. What can I get you started with?"
I stared at her for a good minute without saying a word. She looked like a Peggy Sue. She had two blonde pigtails and was donning short denims and a plaid shirt tied at the waist, and she had finished off the look with faded brown cowgirl boots.
Her large, round eyes peered down at me, a wide smile on her cherub face. I suddenly felt dramatically overdressed.
"Uh, rum and Coke, please." That seemed the safest bet. Those were hard to mess up.
"Be right back." Aimee (a quick glance at her name tag confirmed) continued to smile and waltzed away again.
Resting my chin on my hand, I pulled out my phone to check the world of social media. When Aimee sat my drink in front of me a few minutes later and asked if I wanted anything else, I politely waved her off.
As I was sipping on my tiny plastic straw, a prickling sensation started to needle the back of my neck.
Someone was watching me.
I looked away from my phone and slowly scanned the room. My gaze landed on a booth in the back corner. There were two men and two girls all piled inside, laughing and seemingly enjoying themselves.