Held Against You by Vining Season

Author:Vining, Season [Vining, Season]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Coming of Age, New Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
ISBN: 9781466849860
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Published: 2015-01-13T08:00:00+00:00

13. HIM

The traffic in Los Angeles is a nightmare. We sit in one spot for almost thirty minutes without moving. The smog surrounding us and the endless sea of cars makes me feel on edge. Kat has me floundering. It’s like her chatter and know-it-all smile unravel me to my core. I can’t allow it.

“Come on, move,” I growl at no one in particular.

“I’m not sure why you wanted to leave during morning rush hour traffic. This is your own fault,” Kat says.

It’s not my fault we’re on the run. Boots isn’t after me. But I don’t say anything. I don’t even look at her. The sound of her voice, the sight of her face infuriates me. It’s not her fault. It’s mine. I let her in. I allowed this.

“I always wanted to live in LA,” she says.

I focus on the brake lights in front of us.

“I don’t know what’s so desirable about this.” I glance over to see a woman on the phone, shiny trails of tears down her face. “I mean, look at this lady next to us. She’s got her power suit on, cell phone attached to her ear, two empty child seats in the back, and she’s crying.”

“When I was a kid, I would make up stories for people in their cars,” Kat says. “Let’s say she pretended to go to work like any other day. But really she called in sick, so that she could meet her lover. He blew her off and now she’s stuck in traffic, halfway between her suburban home where she lives with her husband and kids, and her lover’s apartment. She’s got no place to go and she’s wondering how she can have so much and still feel so empty.”

I stare at the woman as she covers her mouth with the back of her hand and shakes her head. More tears fall and it’s easy to believe Kat’s story.

“Or look at this guy on the other side. He’s smiling and checking his watch constantly. Maybe he’s on his way to the airport to pick up his daughter who’s been backpacking through Europe for the last two months. He missed her and is sad that she’ll be leaving for college soon. She’ll be happy to see him, but will wonder if he’s still dating that snooty bitch from Orange County. They’ll argue about the girlfriend and she’ll end up leaving for college early. He’ll miss her every day, but he won’t call, so she’ll never know.”

I turn and stare at her.

“What?” she asks.

“Jesus, Kat. Do any of your stories have happy endings?”

“Not anymore.” She searches each car as we pass, assessing the occupants and telling their invented tales. “Ooooh, look at this one. This is a good one. You do this one, Montel.”

I shake my head and keep my eyes on the bumper in front of me.

“Of course. You couldn’t possibly lower yourself.”

Her disgusted tone goads me. “Fine, you want a story? Let’s see. She’s a bottle blonde, great rack, fake fingernails.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.