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Chapter 22: Skye
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HeartLess Chapter 23: Skye
"I'm so glad we could get together and do this!" Brandi gushes from across the table at Poco Loco, a local restaurant with the best Mexican food in town.Brandi wanted to go somewhere more upscale, but I convinced her to dine here instead. I love the food and haven't had a chance to stop in since I've returned. If I'm being forced to endure her company, I should at least get a good meal out of it. "Yeah," I enthuse, "me, too." Dad owes me big time for this. Unexpectedly, she reaches across the table and lays a perfectly manicured hand over mine. I glance down at her slim fingers and fight the urge to pull away."Now that you've moved back home, we have a real opportunity to strengthen our bond. I want us to be close, Skye. Especially with everything that's going on with your dad." Emotion gathers in her baby blues as she blinks back the moisture. "Family is the most important thing, and we need to stick together and support one another. Whatever you're feeling, you can sh
HeartLess Chapter 24: Skye
It's almost difficult to believe that fifteen minutes ago, I'd been thinking that this lunch hadn't turned out so bad and I might have misjudged her.My mistake. She's as awful as I'd always suspected. In one breath, she's crying about Dad having cancer, and in the next, she's feeling up my ex-boyfriend.It's enough to make me sick.I don't realize that a disgusted snort has escaped until Hunter twists his head toward me and catches my gaze. Humor flares to life in his eyes, and my lips reluctantly quirk upward.Is it weird that we're having a moment over this absurd situation?My heart picks up its tempo as our gazes stay locked. It's only when Brandi untangles herself from him that I'm able to look away. Just when I think my stepmother can't sink any lower, she reaches out and squeezes one of Hunter's biceps."My goodness, it's certainly obvious that you've been hitting the weights since I last saw you." She's practically eating him up with her eyes, and her voice has turned br
HeartLess Chapter 25: Hunter
"Catch you back at the house." I fist bump Sam Henderson on the way out of Poco Loco before heading to my '69 Ford Mustang parked in the lot. Mason bought it off one of his customers dirt cheap. At the time, it had to be towed to the house because we couldn't get the engine to turn over. We spent the summer before my senior year of high school fixing it up and getting it to run. My brother's friend did a custom paint job on it in exchange for some repair work, and it's been purring like a kitten ever since. No matter how much money I make, this car is my baby, and I'll never get rid of it. I slide onto the butter-soft black leather and start it up. It's music to my ears when the engine growls to life. "Damn, Price, that Shelby gives me major wood every time I see it," Eric Wixom shouts as he jumps into the pickup truck parked next to me. "Sure you don't want to sell her?""The answer hasn't changed from last week, Wixom. You can stop asking."I pull out of the lot and into
HeartLess Chapter 26: Hunter
"Where are we going?" Apprehension threads its way through her voice.It would be all too easy to explain that I wasn't paying attention, but then I realize it's not true. Muscle memory has taken over, and I'm headed to the beach. The one we used to call our own.Goddamn, this really was a shit idea on my part. I should turn around and head back to the relative safety of campus, but I'm powerless to pump the brakes and jerk the wheel."Where are we going?"I press my lips together, afraid of the answers that might escape. After a mile, I pull into the small parking lot that overlooks the ocean. I cut the engine and allow the saltiness of the air to waft over me. Skye and I used to come here all the time. We'd have bonfires at night with our friends. She'd sit between my outstretched legs, and I'd bury my face in her hair as the wind blew through it.I can't come here without thinking of Skye. The two will forever be entwined in my mind. She's been a beach girl for as long as
HeartLess Chapter 27: Skye
I hear a knock on the door before Lanie pokes her head inside my room. "Please, tell me you're not still studying."It's clear from the books and papers spread out on the bed that I'm knee-deep in homework.My gaze stays locked on my computer screen as I finish typing the last sentence of a paragraph. "What gave it away?""Come on, girl!" she snaps with annoyance. "You can't study your life away. That's no fun.""When did I ever say I was interested in fun?"Fun. As if that's anywhere on my radar.How can I focus on something so frivolous when Dad's treatments aren't knocking out the cancer? We keep waiting for him to turn a corner, but that has yet to happen. The chemo makes him sick, and he has a hard time keeping anything down. More importantly, the medicine hasn't lowered his numbers. I'm losing hope, and it feels like time is running out. Most days, I walk around with a sick knot at the bottom of my belly."Yeah, that's part of the problem. You've become a real stick-in
HeartLess Chapter 28: Skye
As I survey the beach, looking for a place where we can set down our stuff, my gaze zeros in on Hunter. Like most of the guys, he's decided to forego a shirt and is only wearing a pair of brightly colored boardshorts. Unlike them, if the NFL doesn't pan out, he could find work as an underwear model. There's not an ounce of fat on the guy. Each muscle stands out in sharp relief against the brightly shining sun that beats down on his bare chest. My mouth turns cottony, and my lower belly clenches in response.My reaction to him is enough to have me spinning around and hightailing it to the car. This was a terrible idea. I shouldn't have let Lanie talk me into it.Hunter jumps in the air and spikes a volleyball over the net. The other team misses the shot, and the ball lands in the sand. Skimpily clad girls standing on the sideline bounce up and down as they cheer. Hunter knocks fists with a few teammates before getting ready for the next set.Lanie prods me from behind, and I t
HeartLess Chapter 29: Skye
What am I still doing here?I should have taken off hours ago, but I didn't want to give Hunter the satisfaction of driving me away.A high-pitched giggle erupts from across the bonfire. I focus more intently on the label I'm trying to peel off the beer bottle in my hand. I don't have to glance over there to know that it's the same girl who attached herself to Hunter like a barnacle before crawling onto his lap.The last time I looked in their direction, her arms were twined around his neck as if she was afraid he might try to make a run for it. Although, that doesn't seem likely. As far as I can tell, he's enjoying the fawning attention.A thick lump of nausea has taken up residence at the bottom of my belly. It hasn't budged since Hunter called Josh over. No matter how hard I try to banish it, the tension refuses to dissipate. Whatever Hunter said to Josh was enough to scare him away.For a few fleeting moments, I had considered marching over to Hunter and demanding why he did
HeartLess Chapter 30: Skye
Why won't he go away and leave me alone?I bob in the water, watching Hunter from twenty yards away. I knew he wouldn't wade in after me. He's hated the ocean ever since his parents died. I had assumed he would hang around for a couple of minutes before getting bored and taking off. Instead, he plunked himself down in the sand. What's worse is that he doesn't show any signs of leaving. When I dived in thirty minutes ago, the water had felt invigorating. Now my fingers are pruney, and my teeth are chattering.I'm cold.If Hunter hadn't shown up, my swim wouldn't have lasted more than fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, he tried ordering me around like he has the right to tell me what to do.I don't think so.I'll be damned if I let Hunter Price dictate anything in my life. He's been a total jackass since I've returned home.My feet are firmly planted on the sandy bottom, and my arms are wrapped around my upper body as the water brushes against my chin with each new wave that rolls
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