Page 14 of Something Tattered
Whatever.
I blinked long and hard, and then turned away. The guy had made his point. There was no reason for me to stick around for further humiliation.
In under a minute, I'd be gone, and then, I'd never have to see his face again.
Or at least, that would've been a perfectly lovely scenario, if only my car had cooperated.
Chapter 7
Sitting behind the wheel, I turned the key again. But all I heard was that same click, followed by absolutely nothing.
I wanted to scream in frustration.
Already, I'd been sitting in my car for at least five minutes. Technically, it wasn't a long time, but for some reason, it felt like forever. From the corner of my eye, I could still see him, the painter guy, standing in the same spot, watching me.
Yeah – watching me make a fool of myself.
Again.
At least darkness had finally crept over the campground, leaving me sitting in the shadows, rather than on clear display. Happily, the shadows had crept over him too, which saved me the added humiliation of seeing his face.
I knew exactly what the shadows hid. Scorn. Impatience. And maybe some good old-fashioned boredom, too.
I could practically hear his thoughts.Why won't this chick leave?
I'm trying, jerkface.
Desperately, I tried the key again, only to hear that same dreaded click.
With a muttered curse, I yanked my purse off the passenger's seat and rummaged around for my cell phone. I pulled it out and turned away from the driver's side window. Away from him. The check-ripper-upper.
Holding my phone in a death grip, I pulled up Cassie's number and hit the call button. She answered with a raucous, "Hey! Birthday Girl! Where the heck are you?"
I paused. I heard noise in the background, lots of noise – music, voices, and glasses clinking. "Where areyou?" I asked.
She laughed. "I'm at T.J.'s. Where else?"
T.J.'s was one of only two local bars that had dancing on the weekends. I'd never been inside, because until today, I'd been too young to get in. Tonight was supposed to be my first time, except the plan had been for me and Cassie to go together.
Trying not to sound as hurt as I felt, I summoned up a weak laugh. "So, uh, you decided to start the party without me, huh?"
She was practically yelling. "What?"
I tried again, talking louder now. "Iasked, did you decide to start without me?"
"Heck no," she said. "We can't start anything without you. But I came in early to snag a booth." She paused. "Didn't you get my message?"
I winced. "Sorry, I haven't checked."
"Oh shoot. Hang on a sec, alright?"
I heard fumbling on the other end, followed by more clinking and a rowdy burst of laughter. A moment later, Cassie was back. "Sorry about that." And then, in a louder voice, she said, "Alright everyone, hush. I'm talking to the birthday girl."
I felt my brow wrinkle.Everyone? Who was everyone?
Other than Cassie, I had only a handful of friends, and most of them were hours away at college. Even when it came to relatives, the onlygoodone I had was Aunt Gina, who now lived hours away – and wasn't visiting until tomorrow.
More curious than ever, I asked, "Who's all there?"
