Defiant Attraction by V.K. Torston

Author:V.K. Torston [Torston, V.K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-11-15T16:00:00+00:00

SEVEN

Geranium

Saturday...

Bangs echo loud and my eyes snap open. For a panicked second, I can’t remember where I am. Every part of me Dan isn’t touching feels cold. Even with so little light, I can see my own breath rising like fog. The early morning glows blue through the windshield and my throat feels dry.

“Open up,” a voice barks from outside. “I know you’re in there.”

“Fuck.” Dan rubs his eyes and whispers, “Put your clothes on, babe.”

Babe. The way he said it was so tender, so familiar. I pull on my dress and he tugs on a shirt before wrenching open the back door. There’s an assault of bright light and I shield my eyes on instinct.

“Your vehicle is parked unlawfully. And I’m going to need to conduct a sobriety test before I can allow you to drive.”

“Yeah, sorry, Officer,” Dan says.

The cop shifts his flashlight and I can finally see him clearly. His grey crew cut is as standard issue as his paunch but his eyes shine an unexpected shade of topaz. The combination reminds me of an owl.

He asks Dan to blow into a Breathalyzer and runs his license for outstanding warrants. I’m relieved when Dan checks out on both counts.

“Excuse me, miss? Young lady?” The policeman’s flashlight bounces back on me and I squint. “How old are you?”

“Eighteen.”

“You sure about that?”

“Positive.”

“All right, well.” He gives the side of the truck a slap. “Better get on your way then.”

Humiliation stings as I climb into the front seat and hug my sweater tight across my chest.

“Hey.” Dan settles down behind the wheel and kisses my cheek. “It’s okay.”

The ignition shudders and I check my phone. Five missed calls from my mom and a text from Hannah.

So I guess ur “sleeping over at my house”. Don’t worry…“my mom” confirmed when Audrey called ;)

Hannah has always had a shockingly similar phone-voice to her mom. Relieved, I text her back a long, caps-locked thank you. As soon as the engine warms up, we blast the heater and let hot air blow over us. I finally relax from our sudden awakening just as we pull onto 75.

A bright-red heart peeks out from under Dan’s sleeve. Even though his biceps is mostly covered by t-shirt, I know that the tattoo includes a loop of gray ribbon emblazoned with the word “Mom”. It occurs to me that I don’t know her name.

“Elenore,” he says when I ask. “She went by Lyn.”

“It was cancer, right?”

“Yeah. I was in junior high when she got diagnosed.” Something only faintly resembling a laugh rises from his chest. “It was the only reason Dad ever stopped hitting her.”

I don’t know what to say to that. I don’t think he needs me to say anything.

“I started taking off school to take care of her,” he goes on. “She was on this really intense chemo and anyway, I ended up having to repeat eighth grade. After she died, I started selling her leftover painkillers.”

“Is that why you went to that school in Texas?”

“That was part of it.

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