Page 36 of Bad to the Bone

I arrive at the cabin where, for me, it all began. This is the place where I lost my heart, completely. This is the place where I made love for the first time to somebody whose heart was truly mine. I make a fire and watch the stars come out as I sip my coffee. It doesn’t take long for my phone to ring.

“It took you longer than I expected,” I say.

“Are you crazy? What have you done?” Clarice’s high-pitched scream pierces the calm of the night. I hold the phone away from my ear as she berates me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Going at it alone, or making a split from your family is one thing. An incredibly selfish, stupid thing, but not unforgivable. But this! This isn’t that, Zayne. Why would you attack your own family?”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m not attacking my family. I’m saving it.”

“Who? You mean that school perv and your cousin or whatever? You think you can protect them? You have no idea what kind of enemies you are making.”

“Why don’t you enlighten me?”

“Forget it! All I know is that if my father goes to jail, I won’t rest until I make you pay, Zayne Turner. Tell that bitch to watch her back too.”

The line goes dead and I smile. I really have to hand it to Shannon. She knows how to motivate people. I didn’t think word would have gotten back to Clarice so soon.

Two days, I tell myself. Just two more days and then I can go back to my life. Once it’s all over, I can go back to Kim and Shannon and put my family back together again. I climb into my sleeping bag in the cabin and let memories of that night replay in my mind. The desire to touch her again, to feel her warm, soft body against mine and smell her familiar smell offers its own exquisite torture.

“If it brings you back to Kim, you can endure anything for two days,” I tell myself, willing sleep to find me in this dark and cloudless night.

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