Blind Love (Sulfur Heights Series) (16 page)

Before I can breathe
, Jake shouts, “Gas. NOW!” I slam my foot down on the pedal and we shoot off like a rocket.

Noah just
finishes his turn around, but is hot on my trail. As I push the accelerator deeper and use the last bit of muscle the Challenger has to make it down the straightaway, Jake looks out his window and finds Noah is riding right alongside of us, practically nose to nose. Then, seconds later, we fly past the finish line. We can’t immediately tell who the winner is, and frankly, I don’t care. I’m just glad I haven’t killed anyone or myself.

I hit the brakes
, making the car abruptly halt then look over to Jake, who looks back at me with adrenaline-filled eyes. We say nothing, only breathing heavily, sharing this moment of intensity together.

Mike comes running down
to us just as we exit the challenger. “You won!”

No sooner is that announcement made than
Jake lets out a manly scream and runs to me. He picks me up, swinging me in the air. “You did it, D! I can’t believe you did it!” he shouts, while continuing to spin me around in circles.

I
laugh at his boyish excitement. “No,
we
did it, Jake. I would’ve crashed if you weren’t there to tell me what to do.”

“Do you know how fucking amazing you are? Goddamn
, girl. Where the hell did you come from?” Jake’s eyes are dark, sparkling gems and I can’t help but be dazzled by them.

He sets me down and kisses the top of my head. Something I’ve notice
d Jake’s comfortable doing lately. Do boy and girl friends kiss each other like that? Should I be okay with this? My heart gets excited whenever his lips come near me, but my mind is screaming that I should put a stop to it.

The lines have been blurring since the end of our first summer. I never pass up a
chance to lie in his arms. There’s something comforting knowing Jake is next to me. He would never let anyone hurt me and I know with all my being he would never do anything to hurt me. I really do care for him and this scares me. It scares me so much that I want to run back to Memphis and get reacquainted with the person I used to be before Jake.

After w
e walk over to Mike and collect our winnings, I divide up the money, giving Jake half when he pushes it away.

“Nope, this is your first successful
win. It’s all yours. It will make up for the money you lost last night.” He winks at me and then we walk over to join the crowd growing by the beer trucks.

Jake and
I spend the rest of the night hanging out with his racing friends, staying out until the sun rises in the morning. It’s a perfect night.

***

“What is the matter with you?” I shout back to Presley who’s just told me to go to hell because I questioned her horrible behavior.

I’ve been in Sulfur Heights for two weeks
, spending every day with Presley—helping her care for Mia, cooking her meals—but the more time I spend here, the further and further withdrawn she’s become. This isn’t the first time she’s told me off, but this time I’m holding Mia when she tosses a toy at my head. I turn just in time so the toy hits my back instead of Mia.

“Just get the fuck out of here! I never asked you to be here every day. God! You’re so annoying
,” Presley shouts again. Her skin is ghostly and sweaty. She looks horrible. She never acted this volatile when she was going through her depression and anorexia. I can’t do this anymore. She has to take responsibility for herself and her child.

I quick
ly gather up Mia’s diaper bag and secure her in her car seat. “Fine. I will leave, but I’m taking Mia with me.” Presley’s face is contorted in anger and she’s struggling to catch her breath. “You need to get yourself together and fast. You’re acting like a selfish coward.”

“
Shut up! Just get the hell out of here and take that with you,” she shouts back, motioning toward Mia when she says the word
that
. How can she be so cruel toward her baby and best friend? I’m at a complete loss. What do I do?

“I
’m telling Drake about your past. You’ve got to get yourself together and get some help. I know you’re suffering. Please, Presley,” I beg.

“Go to HELL!”
she shouts then slams the door in my face.

The tear
s release from my eyes when I walk down the hall and to my car. I can’t believe what’s happening right now.

***

Two more weeks pass by and it will be the first time I’ve seen Presley since our fight. I’ve only been in Sulfur Heights for a month now and nothing is like it was before. Jake and I are blurring the lines in our relationship, Drake is unapproachable and cranky, and Presley… she’s just lost. There’s so much stress surrounding me right now; I’m torn between keeping true to my word or risking the loss of my best friend. Presley will never forgive me if I tell Drake about her past, but if I don’t, something terrible will happen. I’ve been toggling on my decision of whether to talk to Drake or not; however I’ve finally made up my mind. He has to know.

Drake
has stopped allowing Presley to be alone with Mia, recognizing she has some issues, however he is at a loss as to what to do. He’s not an easy person to approach these days, and when we mention anything about Presley, he shuts down or gets angry. I can see the broken helplessness in his eyes; he doesn’t want to see Presley for what she truly is. She’s a woman who needs help. She’s falling apart piece by piece—minute by minute.

When I
go into the apartment, Presley looks sickly, like she is on her death bed. What has happened to my friend? Enough is enough. I have to tell someone about Presley’s past. She will hate me for telling, but she’s not getting better.

H
ow should I address Drake? He’s a loose cannon. I learned that the day he confronted me about her pregnancy. Drake is a lit fuse and now, with the discussion of Presley’s well-being, my secret may be the final blow to his sanity. I have to have help, though. Drake needs to understand I only want to help Presley and the only person I think that will convince him of that is Darcie. She’s a powerful presence in the room and Drake won’t be able to ignore it anymore.

Pulling in
to the driveway, I take Mia out of the back and carry her in the house. Jake is sitting in the chair, looking a little hungover. He’s lying back in the recliner, watching sports on TV. His hair is wet like he’s fresh from the shower and he’s wearing only a pair of shorts.

“Hey
, D.” He lets the foot rest of the recliner down and kneels down to the floor. Mia is wide awake and stares happily at her uncle. “Hey, Axl. Did you miss your uncle, Jake?”

He unfastens Mia and lifts the baby in his arms. Jake is unbelievably amazing with Mia. He’s gentle, willing to help me out whenever I need it and I
’ve even gotten him to change a dirty diaper once. It was so hilarious; I almost peed myself I was laughing so hard.

It was a normal day
. I had just picked up Mia from Mrs. Fields’s apartment, feeling a little blue about the entire Presley situation when I smelled the
smell
. Needing a little cheering up, I decided I would make Jake change Mia while I pretended to be busy. I brought her into the house and set her down on the living room floor. Like he always does, Jake pulled her from her car seat and started snuggling with her.

I was in the kitchen making unnecessary noise to let him think I was really busy when I shouted, “Jake
, will you change Mia? I’m kind of busy in here.”

“Sure
.” I could hear him getting things out to change her, talking away. Every conversation he tends to have with her is about cars, and then, “AHHHHH! Gross!”

Mia began to cry and I
came walking in the room to Jake dramatically covering his nose, making gagging sounds. “Geez Louise, Jake, it’s just a dirty diaper.”

Between gagging noises
, he said, “It’s… so… gross.”

I walked up behind him, slapping him on the back
. “Jake! You’re making Mia cry. Now stop being a baby and change her diaper.”

“No fucking way
, cupcake. That’s disgusting!” He sounded nasally talking while his hand covered his nose while I was trying really hard not to laugh. He really was being a baby.

“Jake Evans, Mia may need to change your diapers
some day. Now stop acting childish and change your niece’s diaper.” I started making goofy faces to get Mia to stop her crying. When she did, she looked at her uncle like he’d lost his mind. She’s so stinking cute.

“D…
what? That’s way to disturbing to even comment.”

“Well
, it’s true. I highly doubt you’ll have kids of your own, and by the time you’re an old man, this little one may be taking care of you.” Jake’s face was contorted in bewilderment and it made me snicker. He’s such a drama queen sometimes.

“Fine, just stop talking to me about that shit.” Jake
sucked in deep gasp of air and dived in, quickly removing the diaper and wiping her clean. “This is so gross, Axl. I want you to know I wouldn’t do this for anyone but you. Oh, my God… D… I think I’m gonna puke.” He started gagging again and I returned to him with another swat on the back.

I’m not sure how he did it, but
it was in that moment that he realized that while he had been cleaning Mia off, he’d gotten some on his finger.

“Delilah! I got shit on my finger!”

I start laughing hysterically now; I’m bent over, holding my stomach, laughing out loud.

The look of horror
was all over his face as he held up his poop covered finger in utter shock. “I got fucking shit on my finger!” Jake then runs to the bathroom scouring his hands with soap, leaving me to finish the diaper change.

What a memory. Jake talks about that every single time I change her diaper
, and when he does change her, he makes sure it’s only a wet one.

I watch him as he holds Mia. She stares at him adoringly, always
loving when Uncle Jake talks to her. Although, I fear the first word she speaks will be a curse word. He and Darcie try, but it must be impossible for them to hold their tongues when it comes to nasty language.

Jake lift
s Mia up on his shoulder and rubs her back while rocking in the recliner. It’s a sweet picture and I can’t help my heart from filling and breaking all in the same action. Jake is a really great guy
—
look at the way he is with Mia
—
but his lifestyle will never change. Since I’ve been in town, there have been numerous times where he’s come from the backroom at
The Slab
with a satisfied look on his face, a girl following closely behind.

His behavior disgusts me, but why? Last summer, I could care less about what he did with girls and I even accepted it. That’s probably because Emerson and I were happy, but now our relationship is strained. I do love Emerson
—
well, I think I do
—
but there’s something holding me back from fully giving myself to him. And that something is a six foot two, smart mouthed jerk, covered in tattoos and oozing sex with everything he does.

Jake walks from Mia’s room empty handed
, and I’m shocked that I haven’t noticed he’s rocked the baby to sleep until then. Jake stretches his arms over his head then drags his hands over his face. “God, I’m so hungover.”

I glare at him
; not because I’m mad at Jake, it’s because I’m mad at myself. Still, I can’t stop myself from snapping at him. It’s frustrating. “Yeah, tramps can be exhausting.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” His body tenses and
his jaw tightens, which is the classic Jake pre-anger position.

“Nothing
.” I walk into the kitchen, snagging a glass from the cupboard. He stops me, grabbing my arm above the elbow, forcing me to look at him. I concede. “It’s just that you do this crap all the time; drinking and sleeping with random women. The result the next day is always the same
—
you feel like crap
—
and yet you do it all over again.”

“Listen
, cupcake, this is my life and I will live it how I want. Stay the fuck out of it.” His voice elevates, and by the end of the conversation, he’s yelling at me. “Why do you care so much anyway?”

I want
to tell him it’s because I’m starting to have feelings for him. I want to tell him that he’s uprooted my well devised life plan. I want to tell him so much of what my heart feels, but I keep my feelings to myself. I can’t stomach the backlash and rejection, so I say instead, “I don’t.”

I turn my back when Jake exits the kitchen, slamming the basement door b
ehind him. My mind is saying it’s for the best, though my heart feels something entirely different.

***

The day has started out humid for a late June morning, but by afternoon, it is unbearably hot. I love the summer sun. I enjoy lying in it, tanning and warming my skin, however heat like this is too much even for me.

I’m rehearsing in my head what I will tell Drake about Presley’s past when Darcie comes
in through the back door, wearing a pair of short, cut-off denim shorts and a white tank top. Darcie is a really beautiful girl. She has the most mesmerizing green eyes and gorgeous, long, auburn hair.