Page 6 of Driftwood Daffodil 3

Then again, I probably wouldn’t have time to run a support group once Maw Maw found out about my unwanted fiancé. I’d be grounded to my room for eternity. Or beaten senseless with a rolling pin.

Either was plausible, but still didn’t compare to what my brother was going to do. And all because some asshole biker–who probably also had good dick–told him everything. Or told him something. Neither of which was a good scenario.

“Fuck you, Snake.” I growled at the phone number in my hand.

Fuck Snake and his good dick.

Now I had to deal with the brother factor. Why couldn’t Kato just be annoying? Throw mud in my face and steal my Halloween candy, that kind of thing. I mean, he did do that, but it was the overprotective crap that was out of control. It got him locked up.

Kato once threatened a second grader because he kissed my hand. And he liked that kid. There was no telling what he would do to Gio. Sure, it might take a couple of years considering the whole prison situation, but he would find a way to do something. That much I was sure of.

Fuck my life.

Sighing, I looked down at the wet shorts sticking to my legs, then rolled my eyes over to the boat with the dusty fishing rod. It felt like yesterday when I was digging up earthworms for bait, and now I was considering crawling in the dirt with them.

Was it too much to ask for a typical teenage experience? Sure, I had some of the typical things like an idiot boyfriend my parents would never approve of, and slight alcohol dependency. But other teenagers didn’t have to deal with things like the possible murder of their best friend’s boyfriend.

Why did Chuck have to say anything? Why couldn’t he keep his mouth shut and carry on? Memphis said he would talk to him, but I wasn’t sure that would help. For over a year now, I’d been trying to throw a wrench into their perfect relationship, and failed every time. Although, this could be considered a win. Technically, they were fighting over me.

And was I celebrating my victory? No. I was standing on a dock, holding a strange biker’s phone number, while water dripped off my soaked clothes, and I contemplated on how to join the earthworm population.

I looked down at the splotches of water on the dock, then cocked a brow at my feet. I was missing a sandal.

Fantastic. Guess my virginity wasn’t the only thing I lost in this fucked up situation. It might be time to contemplate my life choices. How bad was it when Mr. Garibaldi’s ongoing varmint war was the least insane thing happening?

They weren’t kidding when they said senior year would be the toughest. On the upside, college applications should be a breeze compared to the stress of visiting my brother—which I would have to do soon. Lord knows what that Snake guy told him.

Well, I’d just have to convince Kato that it wasn’t true. If I could convince Memphis that gators were dragons in disguise, then I could convince anyone of anything. Mind you, Kato wasn’t a six-year-old dumbass.

So, I might have to come up with something a little more believable than dragons. And there was the issue of getting into see him. Minors weren’t allowed to visit inmates without an adult. A bullshit rule, in my opinion.

Maybe I could flirt my way in? Walk up to a guard, showing some cleavage and flutter my lashes.

I snickered at the thought. Like that was ever going to happen. First of all, I didn’t have cleavage, not to mention I couldn’t flirt my way out of a wet paper bag. I tried once when I got pulled over and wound up with an extra ticket.

I’d have to rely on an adult for this one. There was no way Maw Maw would let me skip school, and Veda didn’t like to leave the house when she had to so she was out.

My brow rose.

Atlee was eighteen. He enjoyed annoying Gio almost as much as I did. I bet I could convince him to take me. All it would take was a simple…

Shit.

Turning my head, I looked over my shoulder at the glistening water of Quackwater lake where I had tossed my phone.

Damnit.

Maw Maw was going to kill me. Maybe I could use the opossum excuse again. I still couldn’t believe she fell for that.

I threw my head back and let out a long, “Ugh.”

Now I was going to have to hear the ‘you are so irresponsible’ lecture again. Clearly I couldn’t be trusted with a phone. I’d proven that time and time again, yet she kept giving them to me. Who was the irresponsible one in that scenario? I should be the one giving her a lecture. Could this day get any worse?

The answer to that question was yes, yes indeed it could.

The worst of the day came in the form of a blue Range Rover that kicked up rocks as it curved around the side of Moe’s garage and headed toward the lake.

My eyes rolled. Apparently my fiancé found me. Maybe he would look for my missing shoe and I could drown him.

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