Beneath Our Faults (7 page)

I told myself I was just pissed at her because she was lying. Sure, she did come over after school sometimes but it wasn't a daily thing like she was trying to insinuate. I only had Piper over when I felt like getting laid and surprisingly, I didn't want any of her at the moment.

"I've got some shit going on tonight," I replied, stopping in front of her house. My eyes traveled to my rearview mirror at the sound of a loud beep coming from the back seat. Daisy glanced down at her phone and I noticed her face fall. The girl barely said a few words after our argument in class and had stayed silent since she got in the car. My vision stayed on the mirror, watching her shove her phone roughly into her bag before wiping a watery eye. A tight ball formed in my throat when I noticed her hand brush away a fallen tear.

My attention to her was broken when Piper leaned over, grabbed my face and pulled it towards her. Pressing her lips against mine, she opened her mouth and slid her tongue along the outline of my lips. I cringed, not opening my mouth to allow her access. Fuck, I'm sure Daisy was uncomfortable. She groaned, rubbing my dick one last time before pulling away. "Call me later, baby," she gloated, shutting the door behind her and blowing me a kiss.

Yep, trying to stake her fucking claim. She was trying to lead Daisy into believing her and I were something we most definitely weren't. I would be putting a stop to that next time I talked to Piper.

"You okay back there?" I asked, twisting around in my seat to look at Daisy. "You can come hop up here, if you want?" I patted the passenger seat with my palm.

"I'm fine," she answered softly, failing to meet my eyes. I could only assume that was the answer for both of the questions I had asked her since she didn't elaborate anymore. I frowned, turning around and put my car in drive. Silence devoured the car ride home until I pulled into her driveway.

"Thanks for the ride," she rushed out, and her dark hair was the only thing I saw as she disappeared from my car. Putting my car in reverse, I pulled into my own driveway and banged my head against the steering wheel. The horn blared against my skull as I let out a tortured groan.

What in the fuck was wrong with me? It was like this chick was getting under my skin and I didn't like it. I had to fight the urge to clock every asshole talking about her ass in the locker room. Usually, I would just ignore the idiots because I had already had whomever they were bragging about, but it was different with her. And not just because she was unattainable to me.

When I looked at her, I saw more than just a pretty face and nice body. There was pain in her eyes with a touch of anger and hatred. I knew that look because I saw it when I looked at my own reflection. I knew the reason I felt that way, but I didn’t get how someone that innocent could, and for some reason, I wanted to know. I needed to know what the fuck was bottled up inside torturing her.

I ran my hands over my face. Shit, Daisy wasn't even my usual type of what everyone would expect from Layla Hudson's son. Fuck yeah, I had a type: fake, slutty and busty. I would bet my ass the girl that got embarrassed talking about sex wasn't the first two, but she did have the busty thing going on. Even in the loose shirt she was wearing, I could tell she had a bangin' body underneath it. And that ass, damn. Her ass was perfection, absolute perfection.

"Stay away from her," I whispered, hitting the garage door opener. Tommy would kick my ass and find some bullshit way to get my ass put in the slammer if I messed with her.

"D
ID YOU
have so much fun at school today?" Sophia squealed, jumping down on my bed. I had a history book opened in front of me but I hadn't glanced at it once. My mind was racing with too many things to concentrate on World War II.

"It was fine," I lied, shutting my book and crossing my legs. Yeah, if I counted being stared at by the entire student body and tormented by the school's designated mean girl fine. "Did you have fun today?"

"YES! I always have fun at school, silly. This week is the letter C which means I need to find something super cool to bring in for show and tell that starts with the letter C. Oliver said he is bringing his pet cat, Carey, so I need something way cooler than him. I don't like him because he pulled the head off my favorite doll." She crossed her arms and pinched her lips together.

"Just your luck," I said, getting up from my bed. "I think I just might have something that is cooler than a cat. You just have to promise to be extra careful with it."

She nodded her head five times quickly in assurance and I leaned down grabbing my camera bag from under my bed. "This is my camera." I lifted one of my most prized possessions out of the bag.

"Whoa," she said slowly. "This is so awesome!" She jumped up in excitement and her ponytail bounced through the air. "Everyone is going to be soooo jealous! I need to go show mommy and daddy and come up with my speech!" The camera got released from my hand quickly and she went flying out of the room. I looked up to my ceiling asking God to please let it return back in one piece.

Sinking back on my bed, I leaned my head against the headboard, thankful for some alone time. My body felt like it had been on constant overdrive the last few days with the move. My phone beeped again, reminding me of the text message I hadn't replied to yet. Grabbing my phone, I opened it, read it again and swallowed.

Dawson: You need to talk to Tess. She’s going off the deep end. I can’t believe you left without telling her goodbye.

My finger hit the reply button.

Me: I know. Tell her I’m sorry.

The phone chimed immediately like he had been sitting with the phone in his hand waiting for my answer.

Dawson: YOU tell her you’re sorry.

Tossing my phone down on my bed, I closed my eyes and allowed my body to start to relax. I wanted to call her but my finger refused to hit the send button. Instead, I shut my phone off and closed my eyes.

“G
OOD MORNING.”
My head shot up at the sound of his voice and I spotted him in front of his car, wearing another black V-neck t-shirt and holding a Starbucks cup. “I figured you might need another ride.”

“Thanks.” I shuffled over to him and grabbed the warm cup he was holding out to me.

"Good morning, Keegster!" I spun around to find Sophia barreling out the front door towards the two of us, her hair flying in the wind and tennis shoes slamming against the pavement. "Looks what I got!" The black strap to my camera bag was in one hand with my camera in the other, dangling from her fingers and almost smacking into the pavement. Great, I was certain it wasn't going to be coming back in one piece. "Daisy is letting me bring her fancy dancy camera with me today!"

Keegan grabbed it and turned it around in his hands. "This is a nice camera," he said, looking at me. My eyes stayed glued to his hand hitting the power button. My throat tingled when I realized what he was doing and I was grateful I switched memory cards before handing it over to Sophia this morning. Long gone were the pictures of Tanner and I, replaced with my scenery pictures. He flipped through the photos, pausing at each picture and eyeing it carefully before going to the next.

"I think this is my favorite," he said, pointing to the screen. I glanced over his shoulder, taking a look at the picture of the covered bridge I took in Parke County last year. It was during their annual Covered Bridge Festival Tanner and I always went to. The picture showed the falling leaves fading color perfectly, but still didn't do it justice.

"Thanks," I said, quietly, kicking the ground. "We should probably get going, though. I don't want to be late."

"You're right," Tommy agreed, coming out of nowhere. Keegan shut off my camera, grabbing the bag from Sophia and carefully placing it there before giving it back to her. "Have a good day," my uncle shouted, strapping Sophia into the car.

"So you ready for your big second day of school?" Keegan asked, opening up the passenger side door for me again. After hearing all about his womanizing ways, at least he opened up the door for girls before he tried to relieve them of their panties. I guess chivalry wasn't dead until after you screwed the girl.

"If it's as great as the one I had yesterday, than no, not really," I huffed, climbing into the seat carefully, not wanting to spill my drink on myself or in his car.

He shut my door, circling around the car. "Not so marvelous, eh?"

"No so much," I mumbled, removing the splash stick from my drink. I narrowed my eyes to peek in the tiny hole of my lid, trying to see what was in the cup, but had no luck. "What is this?"

"Caramel Apple Spice," he replied, grabbing his own drink from the cup holder. "It's practically the best thing on the planet." He lifted the cup to his lips taking a large drink. "You've never really had one of these before?"

I shook my head, putting my nose in the opening and inhaling the sweet scent of cinnamon. He raised his eyebrows looking at me curiously. I had somewhat of a strange habit. I had to smell everything new before I actually tasted it. The warm scent drifted up my nostrils making my mouth water. Lifting the cup to my still chapped lips, I took the first sip, immediately bringing the cup back to my mouth for another, letting the hot liquid run down my throat.

"Holy yum," I said, swiping my tongue across my bottom lip. "This is amazing."

"I told you."

"Definitely the best thing that's ever been in my mouth," I blurted out, without thinking. I stopped, re-said the words in my head and instantly realized my bad word choice. My face dropped as his head cocked to the side and smirked. "Shoot," I cried out, humiliated, and smacked the palm of my hand against my forehead. "Yeah, that wasn't supposed to come out like that."

"I knew what you meant.” His attention turned back to the road ahead of us. "But I don’t know if I would agree it’s the best thing that my tongue has tasted." I choked on my drink at his words and he chuckled. The car stopped at a red light and he grabbed his drink again. Lifting it up in a cheers motion, he took another huge swig. "You should be fine with Gabby and Cora by your side," he said, changing the subject and pressing on the accelerator as the light turned. "They will make sure no one fucks with you."

"Why? Because you haven't hooked up with one of them? Or because they aren't afraid of your pinched face girlfriend?"

"I see you’ve heard the rumors about me. Didn’t you mom ever tell you to believe everything you hear?” His fingers strummed along the steering wheel. "And to answer your question, no, I have never hooked up with either Cora or Gabby nor will I ever."

Poor Gabby, looks like she would have to unwrap that v-card and re-gift it.

"Why is that?"

"Cora is like breaking the number one bro code," he explained. "I would never do that to Lane. He's my best friend and family. Plus, she annoys the living fuck out of me. As for Gabby, she's Cora's best friend. I piss her off, I piss Cora off and she gets pissed off at Lane because we're related like she did when I never called her slutty cousin."

I rolled my eyes at his last comment. "Of course, she's the slutty one, not you."

"Hey now, I never said I was a perfect angel. Hopefully, she learned her lesson to assume guys want a relationship. Plus, I got mine, don't worry. Cora ratted my ass out to my aunt who then made me come over so she could give me some moralizing speech. So I now try to steer clear of pissing off my cousin's evil girlfriend. That little shit is vicious when she's mad. As for your second question, Piper is not my girlfriend, like I told you yesterday during Health."