The past
As soon as I pulled my head out of my ass and realized what the fuck I’d done, I ran outside. Whitney was gone. I ran barefoot down the gravel drive, but there was no sign of her.
Fuck.
She’d run off once before and hitched a ride, but that was daylight. Now it was fucking raining, pitch black, and anyone could have picked her up.
“Fuck!” I roared at the storming sky, cursing my temper and how I let Rango get to me.
Regardless of whether Whitney actually did what he said, I shouldn’t have thrown her out. I regretted it almost as soon as she walked out the door.
But not soon enough.
I ran back up the driveway, gravel biting at the soles of my feet as the rain soaked me through.
What kind of piece of shit throws a woman out in the middle of the night in the rain? Me.
I had to make sure she got home okay. I’d never be able to live with myself if something happened to her.
I grabbed my phone, dialing her number, but it went to voice mail with no answer. Palming my keys, I rushed back out of the cabin, the door slamming behind me.
I have to get to her.
I fishtailed out of the driveway, my tires breaking loose on the slick road. I almost lost control of the truck, but I wrenched it back in the direction I needed to go.
Branches swayed as the wind picked up and I navigated down the winding mountain roads. I hadn’t caught up to any taillights, and I searched the sides of the road for a lone woman walking.
I found nothing. I called her again and again, but it kept going to voice mail.
It took me almost thirty minutes to pull up in front of Whitney’s parents’ house, but it was completely dark.
Headlights blinded me as another car flew down the street and whipped into the driveway. Whitney’s aunt, the one who my mother fired, jumped out of a car and ran to the door, soaking wet. She pounded on it like a crazy woman.
Fuck. In the pit of my stomach, I knew something wasn’t right.
I climbed out of my car, and Jackie turned when I slammed my door.
“Get the hell out of here, kid.”
“No, I need to see Whitney. I need to make sure she’s all right.”
“She’s never going to be all right again.” Jackie’s voice was ragged. “You shouldn’t be here.” She turned and pounded on the door again as her shoulders shook.
Something unsettling twisted in the pit of my stomach.
My phone vibrated, and I looked down. Mother.
“What the fuck is going on?”
Jackie glanced over her shoulder and looked down at my phone. “You should answer that.”