I shrug. “I prefer lady of the evening, but I understand if your vocabulary is a bit limited. That high school diploma is a bitch to get.”

I see the anger in her boil to the surface, flushing her cheeks. “I’ll be sure to tell Luke you stopped by, after I’m done fucking him.” She backs into the house, slamming the door hard enough that it causes the glass panel to rattle.

My face falls, and I drop the victorious smirk I’m wearing as I step off the landing.

I should feel good right now. I just schooled that bitch and I did it without breaking much of a sweat. But now I have nothing distracting me from the wound that’s commanding my attention.

Thunder claps overhead, and I glance up at the sky that’s now ten shades darker than the light blue color I noticed stepping out of my apartment. I get into my car just after the first drops of rain hit my shoulder, wetting the thin material of my tank top. Pulling out of the driveway, I head down the street I never want to be on again. The one I should’ve avoided today.

The rain comes down in buckets, limiting my vision as I try and see the road in front of me. I’m relieved when I’m able to pull off of the busy main street and onto the back road leading to my apartment building. I can barely see anything, and having other cars around me is making that problem dangerous. The thunder startles me every time I hear it, cracking so loud it feels as if I’m submerged in the storm cloud. The only thing visible is the illuminated road in front of my headlights. Nothing else around me stands out as I lean closer to the wheel and look to the sky for an expected lightning strike, signaling the next crash of thunder. The sound of a horn blaring startles me, snapping my focus to the road as a large pick-up truck comes flying at me.

“FUCK!”

I swerve to my left, pulling off into the grass and slamming on my breaks as the maniac driver with no headlights flies by me. My hands grip the wheel, my chest heaving with quick, sharp breaths as I try and relax. I turn and look out my back window, but all I see is darkness.

That fucker didn’t even stop? He runs me off the road and he doesn’t even check to make sure I’m okay?

Why am I even surprised? I’m sure it was a man driving that thing, and all men in the state of Alabama are complete dickheads. Except the ones I’m related to.

I press on the gas to pull back onto the road but my tires spin. The car jerks forward as I push the pedal to the floor, but nothing happens. I’m stuck.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

I swing my door open, letting the rain beat down on me as I lean out and examine my tire. Only half of it is visible, the other half swallowed up by the mud. I slam my door shut and grab my phone, dialing Reed’s number. Four rings and his voicemail picks up.

“Hey, leave a…”

I disconnect the call and dial my parents, cringing when their answering machine picks up. Both of their cell phones go straight to their voicemails and I’m on the verge of tears as I scroll through my contacts, looking for someone else to call. Ben and Mia won’t be back from Georgia until late tonight, so they’re off-limits. I need someone with a pick-up truck who could help pull me out, and there’s one option, one person besides my brother and Reed who could be useful, but you couldn’t pay me to call him right now.

I do an Internet search of the closest tow company and dial them instead.

“Rick’s automotive,” the man on the other line answers.

Thunder claps again, startling me before I can reply. “Hi, I’m going to need a tow truck to come get me. My car’s stuck.”

“Where are you, miss?”

I look out my window for any sign of how close I am to the main road. “Umm, I’m on Moravia. I think… I don’t know, maybe five miles from O’Donnell Street. Could be less.”

I hear the sound of a soda can opening. “Pretty backed up today. Lot of people gettin’ stuck.” The sound of him slurping comes through the phone, followed by his quenched sigh. “Might be able to be there in a couple hours.”

I sag in my seat. “A couple hours? I can’t sit here that long on this road. You can’t see anything and I’m barely pulled off. Someone could hit me.”

“It’s the best I can give ya. Put your flashers on and we’ll be there when we can.”

I close my eyes and bite back my tears. “Fine. Do you need my keys? I really don’t want to wait here.”

“Just leave them under the floor mat. We’ll call ya when somebody gets there.”

“All right. Thank you,”

“Yup.”

I end the call and arch my back, sliding the phone into my jeans pocket. I turn the car off and place the keys under the mat before hanging over my seat, praying for an umbrella to magically appear from somewhere. I know for a fact I’ve never bothered to put one in here but it would be fucking awesome if God could just throw me a bone right now. But no. Let’s make this day suck even more for Tessa, and give her absolutely no protection from the elements.

I turn back around and swing the door open, stepping out into the mother-of-all rainstorms. The muddy river my boots sink into is slow moving and thick, like oatmeal that needs more water. I slam my door closed and struggle to get around the car, grabbing onto the hood for leverage to pull my feet out of the mud. Once I get onto the gravel in front of the hood, I stomp my feet, removing some of the muck as the rain beats down on the back of my head. I turn my head up and let it soak my front, my shirt and jeans clinging to me within seconds. It’s a cold rain, and my teeth chatter as I stand there and allow myself to get used to the feel of it. The water pelts against my skin like ice, and suddenly, the air around me seems to drop in temperature. Five miles is going to take forever, but I can’t wait in the car for the tow. Not for as long as he says it’ll take them. And especially not with assholes like the one who ran me off the road driving out here today. So, I’m walking, freezing or not, ’cause my only other option is calling Luke, and that’s not happening.