Collide: A Riverbend Novel (3 page)

His eyes found Havock and
he laughed. “Let me guess, my little bro was being an
ass?"

"No, he was fine," is all I
said as I kept walking. I looked down at my greasy hands and
noticed them shaking.

He followed in his truck
slowly with his arm hanging out the window. "Get in. I'll bring you
to the house. Havock and his piece of shit can follow."

"It's a nice truck," I
mumbled then looked back at the porch. I closed my eyes and tried
to block out the sight but couldn't. I covered my ears as I hit the
ground. Tears poured down my cheeks. I couldn't do this. I wanted
my dad! I wanted this nightmare to end.

I felt hands on my
shoulders and could smell a light scent of nicotine. Havock didn't
speak. He probably wasn't sure how to handle someone like me. I
felt myself being lifted then placed into a truck. The door banged
shut, and I felt heat coming from the vents on my hands and face.
The truck slowly eased into motion, and I could tell we were
driving away. The engine was too quiet. I knew I had to be with
Garrett.

"You can relax, you know.
You'll be safe with us," Garrett said in a calm tone. His voice
carried a southern drawl heavier than most around this redneck
town.

I could hear the loud roar
of Havock's truck following closely behind us. "I just want my
dad," I whispered, pain etched in my voice. I opened my eyes and
looked out the window and wiped the tears as I tried to get
control. He didn't respond. The awkwardness was too much for him to
handle. It was for everyone.

"It was my fault Havock hit
the tree," I said softly as I tried to take some of the awkwardness
away.

His lips curled then a wide
smile spread across his face. He started laughing. "I highly doubt
that. Mom named him well."

I tried to smile a little,
but it didn't take. "I think I scared the shit out of
him."

He looked at me and smiled.
He turned his attention back to the road then flipped his blinker
towards the right. Garrett was tall. The dark haired, shockingly
handsome type of guy. The one girls probably acted ridiculously
stupid over.

He pulled along side the
curb in front of a two story blue house.

"It's not what you're use
to, but it's home." He got out and came around to help me
out.

I frowned at him. I didn't
understand why people kept saying things like that. Like Havock
calling me princess. "I like it," I said softly as I got out of the
truck. I pulled at my skirt making sure it was down all the
way.

Garrett towered over me
like Havock did. I inherited my mom's genes. Short and
curvy.

We started to walk in. I
looked over my shoulder and saw Havock smoking as he leaned against
his truck with earbuds in. He used his free hand to drum a beat on
the hood of his truck.

"He's a loner. He doesn't
like people. Just ignore him," Garrett said as he unlocked the
door.

"That I understand," I
mumbled as I entered the house. I looked around taken in by the
homey feel of the place. I loved it. Honestly, although I loved my
dad dearly, our home felt so cold. Especially, when he would be
gone, and I was alone. It was honestly my own personal prison. I
cursed myself in my head for thinking that. Dad just wanted to keep
me safe and after mom died, he let it all go to hell. He hurt too
badly.

Garrett chucked his
backpack near the door then kicked off his shoes. "I'm going to
raid the fridge. Mom said you get the guest room. It's up the
stairs, first door on the right."

I nodded then slowly made
my way up the stairs. I opened the door and walked in. I slowly sat
down on the window seat and looked around the bright
room.

It was very beautiful and
clean. The comforter was white with red roses on it. The walls were
white with the same type of roses etched around the
ceiling.

There was a bookcase filled
with books and a built in entertainment center with a TV and DVD
player. I loved it, but it wasn't mine. All my stuff, all my
clothes, my pictures, weren't here.

I sighed and slipped off my
shoes. I crossed my legs and adjusted my skirt. If I didn't do
something to occupy my mind I was going to break down again. I
pulled out my books and started working on my homework.

HAVOCK

I felt dad kick my leg from
under the table. I didn't acknowledge him. He did it again. I cut
my eyes at him. He smiled and my face remained emotionless. This
was stupid. Inviting a girl that had so many demons locked away and
now she was bringing the shit into our home. And what if someone
wanted her dead? They'd find out she was here and we'd all be in
danger. Mom didn't think this through. I stabbed my fork in my
steak and stared at as it stood on its own.

"Garrett how was school
today?" Mom asked trying to distract everyone from me.

"Pretty good," he said with
his mouth full.

"Havock?" Mom asked
hesitantly.

I looked at her and raised
a brow. "Seriously?" I wasn’t in the mood to play a scene from Full
House.

"Answer your mother without
the attitude," dad said in a warning tone.

I put a fake smile on my
face. "It was awesome!" I said with fake enthusiasm.

Dad face palmed.

Mom's cheeks reddened with
embarrassment. She looked at Reese sympathetically. "How are you,
Dear? You doing alright, considering?"

"I'm okay, thank you for
asking Mrs. Johanna," she said quietly, politely, and with a small
smile. She looked back at her plate and pushed her food around.
"Mrs. Johanna?"

"Yes, dear?" Mom pushed her
plate away and scooted her chair a little closer to Reese. Mom
couldn't get enough of helping others. She craved it.

"I don't mean to be a
bother, but what am I supposed to wear to school tomorrow?" She
asked as her face turned red. She avoided looking at
anyone.

I laughed out loud because
of the inappropriate thoughts running through my mind. I had a
suggestion, but I doubted anyone at the table would appreciate
it.

"A few of my friends and I
went shopping for you on our lunch break. You may not like a thing
we bought, but it'll get you by until I can take you shopping."
Mom's face lit up with excitement.

"Thank you," she said
softly. "I'm sure it's all fine. I'm not very picky."

The daughter mom never
had. How exciting.
I rolled my
eyes.

"May I be excused? I need
to finish my homework." Reese asked without looking at
anyone.

“But you've barely touched
your food." Mom's face was pitiful. "Was it not good? I can cook
you something else if you'd like." Mom was already standing to her
feet to head to the kitchen. Reese's wish was her command. It was
nauseating.

"No it was fine," Reese
said. Her face reddened. "The medicine keeps me from being very
hungry. I'm sorry."

Mom sat back down. "That's
right. Sorry sweetie, I forgot. But that does remind me. I stopped
by the pharmacy today and picked up your prescription. I left
everything in the top drawer in your room. You should be set for a
while."

“Thank you.”

Princess was on meds. I was
sure it was a high dose of Xanax or some other medication that
helped the crazy.

I smiled inwardly as I
caught a glimpse of her ass as she walked out of the kitchen. Dad
gave me a warning glare. I smiled back at him. Looking wasn't
hurting anything. And if I was going to go along with all this I'd
have fun while doing it.

Garrett must have got the
same view by the expression on his face. He gave me an approving
nod. I laughed.

Mom looked confused. "Did I
miss something?"

"Need help cleaning the
kitchen?" Dad asked, quickly changing the subject.

Mom nodded as tears filled
her eyes. "Could you please act like I raised you right while she's
with us?" She asked me. "She needs normal right now."

"Normal? Not sure if she
even knows what normal is, mom," I scoffed. Could this get any
stupider?

"Just try to make this
easier on her. Please," she begged.

I groaned and nodded
slightly.

Mom smiled. "Not the
enthusiastic response I'd like, but I'll take it." She stood,
grabbing a few plates on her way to the sink. Dad followed after
her.

"At least she's not ugly,"
Garrett snickered as we headed to the living room. No she wasn’t.
She was so damn gorgeous, and it annoyed the hell out of me because
I knew I couldn’t touch her.
Ever.

I heard soft footsteps on
the stairs and looked to see Reese coming down. She went into the
dinning room and grabbed the rest of the dishes then headed into
the kitchen.

I plopped on the couch and
propped my feet up on the back. "Mom has a new best friend. They'll
be doing hair and nails. It'll be fabulous," I said in a girly
tone.

Garrett burst out laughing
at me. "She's scared as hell. Mom is right; we need to be on our
best behavior. Well, you need to be."

"That doesn't sound like
fun."

He laughed and shook his
head. "Just try, idiot."

He turned up the TV and
zoned out. I looked up at the ceiling. I wasn't a bad person. I
just didn't do fake or cover up my feelings for the sake of someone
else. I was real.

I needed to smoke in a bad
way. Mom would bitch if I did it while she was up. She knew that I
smoked, but she said she never wanted to actually witness the
cancer stick in my mouth. Mom gave up telling me what to do a long
time ago. I pierced my own lip after she told me I couldn't get it
done, she signed for me to get a tattoo when I threatened to find
some bootleg tattoo artist to do it, and she stopped telling
Garrett to quit buying cigarettes for me because she knew I'd get
them from someone else anyway.

Okay, so maybe I was a
troublesome teen. I laughed.

Reese came out of the
kitchen and looked at the TV for a moment before heading back up
the stairs.

My phone vibrated in my
pocket.

Jude: Heard through the
grapevine you have a new sister.

Me: Gotta love a small
town...

Jude: WTF dude?! That is so
messed up.

Me: Yeah,
well...

Jude: What are you gonna
do?

Me: ?

Jude: With her?

I grinned.

Jude: Wait don't answer
that. I opened myself up for that one.

Me: lol

Jude: is she a spoiled
bitch?

Me: Can't answer that yet.
It's the first day.

I stuck my phone back in my
pocket and sat up. I ran my hands through my hair and stared
blankly at the TV. My foot started tapping impatiently. Mom would
just have to bitch.

I slipped on my shoes and
went out to my truck. I should've grabbed my hoodie. It was
freezing.

I opened my glove box and
grabbed my lighter and cigarettes. I sat on the hood that's all
bent and stared down at the hole in my jeans reminding me that
Reese was nothing but trouble.