Chapter 11

Jack

They nearly didn't let me on the bus. I thought I was going to lose my mind, and made it very clear to them that I wasn't going to leave quietly if they denied me boarding just because I looked like I'd been through the ringer. I had been through the ringer, which was exactly why I needed to get home. ASAP. Now that I'd decided I was headed back to Bell Springs, I wanted to be there like, yesterday.

I was tired. My eyes felt heavy in their sockets, and even resting my forehead against the window didn't help. I wanted to sink into my bed and never come out of it again, to sleep so long that my aching body wasn't aching anymore by the time I woke up. Hell, at this point a coma sounded like paradise.

I wasn't sad to put Cannon behind me, but I still couldn't stop thinking about the girl. No amount of sleep or cold drinks would help me where thoughts of her were concerned. I had a sinking suspicion that Melissa would strut around my mind for a long time to come, and I resolved right then and there that the best thing I could do was dive back into my Bell Springs life and forget this fucked up nightmare of a day even happened. If Sadie asked me about it, which she wouldn't, I would lie. I would lie my face off, even to myself, just to blot the image of Melissa's tear filled eyes from my mind because I knew I'd go crazy if I didn't.

Naomi assured me that I was making the right choice, but it didn't feel that way. I couldn't describe it, but I kept feeling this tug in my gut that told me to stay. It was like Melissa had tethered me to this place and I was going to have to rip myself free by force.

The bus began to creep out of the station, and I clenched my battered fist. I tried to picture her, wherever she was. I tried to picture her happy, even though I knew she wasn't.

"Wait!"

The voice was faint, but so high pitched and desperate that it caught my attention. There was no reason for anybody to be screaming anything at this hour unless it was directed at this bus.

I craned my neck to look out the window behind the bus, and that was when I saw her. Her arms in the air, her eyes wide and pleading, her long legs sprinting as fast as they could, but even those gazelle legs couldn't compete with this bus.

I was on my feet before I even had a second to think. "Stop the bus!" I yelled.

Was she crazy? What was she doing chasing after my bus? What was she doing here at all?

The driver shot a glare back at me.

"I said stop the bus!" I yelled again.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He looked in his rearview and saw the girl chasing the bus, but turned onto the main street anyway. "You should've said your goodbyes before we left, pal. We're not stopping until we get to Grand Dam."

The couple other people on the bus, though interested in what was transpiring, obviously agreed with the driver. Nobody wanted to fuck around at three in the morning and I didn't blame them. They all wanted to get where they were going, but the problem was that I wasn't going the same place. Not anymore.

I stormed up the aisle and stopped next to the driver. "Stop the bus and let me off," I said, as calmly as possible, though I felt anything but calm. "Please."

He ground his teeth but reluctantly pulled over to the side of the road. "I'm not waiting for you," he warned. "You get off this bus and I'm out of here."

"Great. I hope it's a good trip." I jumped down the stairs and turned to see Melissa, still running, but far behind us.

A million things hit me at once. I was confused but happy to see here there. I was worried, too, since I didn't know what had happened since I'd seen her last or if she was okay. Most of all I felt something hot deep in my chest, something that made me hustle as quickly as I could down the road, gritting my teeth every time I jostled my ribs.

Melissa stopped in front of me, panting. Her face was pink with exhaustion, hair a tangled mess. She was wearing pajama shorts and a tank top, and I could see the outline of her breasts through the thin cotton. I licked my lips, watching as she broke out into a wheezing explanation of what she was doing there.

"I'm so sorry...I know you're probably...you probably don't want to get messed up in my drama, but it meant so much to me what you did today. I—"

I didn't need an explanation. She would never have to explain herself to me. I surprised her by wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close, ignoring the biting pain that shot out from my side. It was worth it just to hold her.

Melissa melted against me, hands balled in the fabric of my t-shirt and face pressed against my chest. It felt good to have her there, like I was finally satisfying my inexplicable need to protect her. I had her in my arms now and she was safe there, and whatever she wanted to tell me didn't matter.

It felt right.

She smelled like beer, but also something feminine and earthy and all her own. I nuzzled my head against her shoulder and inhaled, feeling her pulse jump in her throat. My cock responded but I pushed the feeling down. Now wasn’t the time, but fuck if it wasn’t hard to tell my body that when she was pressed so tight against me.

After a minute or so, Melissa gently pushed on my chest until I pulled back a little.

She looked up at me, tears brimming in her beautiful crystal eyes. I pushed a piece of hair from her face, and smiled. "Hey."

She laughed. "Hey."

"You chased after my bus, crazy girl."

Melissa buried her face in my chest, groaning in embarrassment. "I'm sorry! That was such a weird—"

"Shh." I rubbed a comforting circle on her back, unable to hold back a smile at how cute she was when embarrassed. "No, I'm glad you did. I was worried about you."

She lifted her face up again, and this time she was so sad it hurt to look at her.

"Yeah, well as it turned out, I was worried about me too," she said, wiping a tear from under her eye. "Can I take you out for a bite to eat?"

My stomach rumbled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten since the afternoon. Things had been a little too crazy for me to even consider food, but now I was ravenous.

"Yeah, let's do it."

I released her and we started walking back toward the bus station. Melissa kicked gravel out of her path and stared at the road ahead, obviously troubled.

"What happened tonight?" I asked.

"You mean after..." She scrunched up her face in disgust. "After Matt hit you with the bottle?"

"Matt." I tested the name aloud. "Glad I know who to thank for the massive headache. And yes, I mean what happened after that."

"I'm so sorry I left," she said, looking anywhere but at me. "Donnie wouldn't let me stay and..."

I stopped. "Melissa. Look at me."

She turned and our gazes locked. I enunciated every word so there would be no misunderstanding.

"You do not need to apologize for anything that happened tonight. I may not know much about you, but I know that you are not at fault. Not for any of it. You're a victim, sweetheart."

She winced. "Yeah. I know. But it's like I turn into a different person when Donnie’s around, someone who doesn’t fight for the same things I normally fight for. I'm embarrassed."

We started walking, and when she threaded her fingers through mine I felt a swell of pleasure in my chest.

"You don't need to be embarrassed, especially not around me," I told her. "I'm just happy that you're here. That's all that matters to me."

We made it back to the parking lot and she directed me toward a little silver sedan. She hadn't even closed the door properly before running after the bus, which made me happy for some reason. We were quiet as we got settled. She was a vision of calm as she buckled her seatbelt and I almost forgot the events that had brought us here. Hell, staring too long at those pajama shorts would probably make me forget my own first name. I stared out the front window instead.

"You're right, you know," she said. "About me being a victim. And I know you're right. I think it's just going to take some time to mentally sort through everything that's happened between Donnie and me. I'm kind of mess in the meantime." She started driving, eyes laser focused on the road ahead of her. "Even as I'm with you, and I know that leaving Donnie's house tonight was the right thing to do, part of me still wants to turn this car around and try to sneak back into bed before he notices. Part of me is heartbroken. Part of me is just delirious. I don't know what to believe anymore."

"Don't believe anything." I looked over at her, admiring her profile, the way her chin sloped into a long elegant neck and how her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks when she blinked. "It's times like this that relying on your instincts can save your life. Until you can believe in something, you've got to trust your gut."

She glanced over at me for the first time since we'd gotten in the car, and it was a skeptical glance.

"What if my gut told me to abandon you on the side of the highway and floor it all the way to San Francisco?" she asked.

I chuckled. "Then I'd say it's been nice knowing you, Melissa, and I wish you the best in the Golden City."

Melissa didn't head back into town like I expected. We soon hit the freeway, and I began to wonder if maybe she wasn't kidding.

She must have heard my unspoken question because she smiled. "We're heading a town over. There's a twenty-four hour diner just off the highway that I think you're gonna like."

"Is there nowhere in Cannon we can eat?"

Her brow wrinkled. "It's better if we don't."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "Donnie's family is involved in almost every business in Cannon. It's great when you want to get a table quick, but not so great when you've just snuck out in the middle of the night to pick up the random stranger who is on the top of Donnie's shit list."

"Point taken. Donnie doesn’t know you’re gone?"

“No.”

“Are you going to go back?”

She stiffened, and I almost regretted asking the question. Almost. I deserved to know, especially since I was the top of his shit list, as she said.

"I don't know what I'm doing, if I'm being honest."

"Melissa,” I said in a low, soothing tone. “Why are you with him?"

Silence filled the car, and I wondered if that would be the end of the conversation until we got to the restaurant. Naomi told me Melissa liked to put up walls, so I shouldn't have been surprised when she changed the topic.

"So, are you one of those people that don't believe breakfast should be eaten outside of the morning or what?"