Predestined (28 page)

The Vincent Boys

Chapter 1

Ashton

Why couldn’t I have just made it
home without seeing them? I wasn’t in the mood to play good
freaking Samaritan to Beau and his trashy girlfriend. Although he
wasn't here, Sawyer would expect me to stop. With a frustrated
groan, I slowed down and pulled up beside Beau, who had put some
distance between him and his vomiting girlfriend. Apparently throw
up wasn’t a mating call for him. “Where’s your truck parked Beau?”
I asked in the most annoyed tone I could muster. He flashed me that
stupid sexy grin he knew made every female in town melt at his
feet. I’d like to believe I was immune, after all these years, but
I wasn’t. Being immune to the town’s bad boy was
impossible.

“Don’t tell me perfect little
Ashton Gray is gonna offer to help me out,” he drawled leaning down
to stare at me through my open window.

“Sawyer’s out of town so the
privilege falls to me. He wouldn’t let you drive home drunk and
neither will I.”

He chuckled sending a shiver of
pleasure down my spine. God. He even laughed sexy. “Thanks
beautiful but I can handle this. Once Nic stops puking I’ll throw
her in my truck. I can drive the three miles to her house. You run
on along now. Don’t you have a bible study somewhere you should be
at?”

Arguing with him was pointless. He
would just start throwing out more snide comments until he had me
so mad I couldn’t see straight. I pressed the gas and turned into
the parking lot. Like I was going to be able to just leave and let
him drive home drunk. He could infuriate me with a wink of his eye
and I worked real hard at being nice to everyone. I scanned the
parked cars for his old black Chevy truck.  Once I spotted it,
I walked over to him and held out my hand.

“Either you can give me the keys to
your truck or I can go digging for them. What’s it going to be
Beau? You want me searching your pockets?”

A crooked grin touched his face.
“As a matter of fact, I think I might just enjoy you digging around
in my pockets Ash. Why don’t we go with option number
two.”

Heat rose up my neck and left
splotches of color on my cheeks. I didn’t need a mirror to know I
was blushing like an idiot. Beau never made suggestive comments to
me or even flirted with me. I happened to be the only reasonably
attractive female at school he completely ignored. 

“Don’t you dare touch him, you
stupid bitch. His keys are in the ignition of his truck,” Nicole,
Beau’s on again off again girlfriend, lifted her head slinging her
dark brown hair back over her shoulder and snarled at me. Bloodshot
blue eyes filled with hate watched me as if daring me to touch what
was hers. I didn’t respond to her nor did I look back up at Beau.
Instead, I turned and headed for his truck reminding myself I was
doing this for Sawyer.  

“Come on then and get in the
truck,” I barked at both of them before sliding into the driver’s
seat. It was really hard not to focus on the fact this was the
first time I’d ever been in Beau’s truck. After countless nights
lying on my roof with him talking about the day we got our driver’s
license and all the places we would go, I was just now, at
seventeen years old, sitting inside his truck. Beau picked Nicole
up and dumped her in the back. 

“Lay down unless you get sick again
then make sure you puke over the side,” he snapped while
opening the driver’s side door. 

“Hop out princess. She’s about to
pass out, she won’t care if I’m driving.”

I gripped the steering wheel
tighter. 

“I’m not going to let you drive.
You’re slurring your words. You don’t need to
drive.” 

He opened his mouth to argue then
mumbled something that sounded like a curse word before slamming
the door and walking around the front of the truck to get in on the
passenger’s side. He didn’t say anything and I didn’t glance
over at him. Without Sawyer around, Beau made me
nervous. 

“I’m tired of arguing with females
tonight. That’s the only reason I’m letting you drive,” he grumbled
without a slur this time. It wasn't surprising he could control the
slurring. The boy had been getting drunk before most the kids our
age had tasted their first beer. When a guy had a face like Beau’s,
older girls took notice. He’d been snagging invites to the field
parties way before the rest of us. 

I managed a shrug. “You wouldn’t
have to argue with me if you didn’t drink so
much.” 

He let out a hard laugh. “You
really are a perfect little preacher’s daughter aren’t you Ash?
Once upon a time you were a helluva lot more fun. Before you
started sucking face with Sawyer, we use to have some good times
together.” He was watching me for a reaction.  Knowing his
eyes were directed at me, made it hard to focus on driving. 
“You were my partner in crime Ash. Sawyer was the good guy. But the
two of us, we were the trouble makers. What happened?”

How do I respond to that? No one
knows the girl who use to steal bubble gum from the Quick Stop or
abduct the paper boy to tie him up so we could take all his papers
and dip them in blue paint before leaving them on the front door
steps of houses. No one knew the girl who snuck out of her house at
two in the morning to go toilet paper yards and throw water
balloons at cars from behind the bushes. No one would even believe
I'd done all those things if I told them... no one but
Beau. 

“I grew up,” I finally
replied. 

“You completely changed
Ash.”

“We were kids Beau. Yes, you and I
got into trouble and Sawyer got us out of trouble but we were just
kids. I’m different now.”

For a moment he didn’t respond. He
shifted in his seat and I knew his gaze was no longer focused on
me. We’d never had this conversation before. Even if it was
uncomfortable, I knew it was way overdue. Sawyer always stood in
the way of Beau and I mending our fences. Fences that crumbled and
I never knew why. One day he was Beau, my best friend. The next day
he was just my boyfriend’s cousin.

“I miss that girl, you know. She
was exciting. She knew how to have fun. This perfect little
preacher’s daughter who took her place sucks.”

His words hurt. Maybe because they
were coming from him or maybe because I understood what he was
saying. It wasn’t as if I never thought about that girl. I hated
him for making me miss her too. I worked really hard at keeping her
locked away. Having someone actually want her to be set loose made
it so much harder to keep her under control.

“I’d rather be a
preacher’s daughter than a drunk whore who vomits all over
herself.” I snapped before I could stop myself. A low chuckle
startled me and I glanced over as Beau sunk down low enough in his
seat so his head rested on the worn leather instead of the hard
window behind him.

“I guess you’re
not completely perfect. Sawyer’d never call someone a name. Does he
know you use the word whore?”

This time I gripped the steering
wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white. He was trying to make me
mad and he was doing a fabulous job. I had no response to his
question. The truth was, Sawyer would be shocked I’d called someone
a whore. Especially his cousin’s girlfriend.

“Loosen up Ash,
it’s not like I’m going to tell on you. I’ve been keeping your
secrets for years. I like knowing my Ash is still there somewhere
underneath that perfect facade.”

I refused to look at him. This
conversation was going somewhere I didn’t want it to go.

“No one is
perfect. I don’t pretend to be,” which was a lie and we both knew
it. Sawyer was perfect and I worked hard to be worthy. The whole
town knew I fell short of Sawyer’s glowing reputation.

Beau let out a short hard laugh.
“Yes Ash, you do pretend to be.”

I pulled into Nicole’s driveway.
Beau didn’t move.

“She’s passed out.
You’re going to have to help her,” I whispered afraid he’d hear the
hurt in my voice.

“You want me to
help a vomiting whore?” he asked with an amused tone.

I sighed and
finally glanced over at him.
He reminded
me of a fallen angel with the moonlight casting a glow on his sun
kissed blond hair
.
His eyelids were heavier than usual and his thick eyelashes
almost concealed the hazel color underneath.

“She’s your
girlfriend. Help her.” I managed to sound angry. When I let myself
study Beau this closely, it was hard to get disgusted with him. I
could still see the little boy I’d once thought hung the moon
staring back at me. Our past would always be there keeping us from
ever really being close again.

“Thanks for reminding me,” he said
reaching for the door handle without breaking his eye contact with
me. I dropped my gaze to study my hands now folded in my lap.
Nicole fumbled around in the back of the truck causing it to shake
gently reminding us she was back there. After a few more silent
moments he finally opened the door.

Beau carried Nicole’s limp body to
the door and knocked. It opened and he walked inside. I wondered
who opened the door. Was it Nicole’s mom? Did she care her daughter
was passed out drunk? Was she letting Beau take her up to her room?
Would Beau stay with her? Crawl in bed with her and fall asleep?
Beau reappeared in the doorway before my imagination got too
carried away.

Once he was back inside the truck
I cranked it up and headed for the trailer park where he
lived.

“So tell me Ash, is your insistence
to drive home the drunk guy and his whore girlfriend because you’re
the perpetual good girl who helps everyone? ‘Cause I know you don’t
like me much so I’m curious as to why you want to make sure I get
home safe?”

“Beau you’re my friend. Of course I
like you. We’ve been friends since we were five. Sure we don’t hang
out anymore or go terrorizing the neighborhood together but I still
care about you.”

“Since when?”

“Since when what?”

“Since when do you care about
me?”

“That is a stupid
question Beau. You know I’ve always cared about you,” I replied.
Even though I knew he wouldn’t let such a vague answer fly. The
truth was I never really talked to him much anymore. Nicole was
normally wrapped around one of his body parts. And when he spoke to
me it was always to make some wise crack.

“You hardly
acknowledge my existence,” he replied.

“That’s not
true.”

He chuckled. “We sat by each other
in history all year and you hardly ever glanced my way. At lunch
you never look at me and I sit at the same table you do. We’re at
the field parties every weekend and if you ever turn your superior
gaze in my direction it’s normally with a disgusted expression. So,
I’m a little shocked you still consider me a friend.”

The large live oak
trees signaled the turn into the trailer park Beau had lived all is
life. The rich beauty of the southern landscape as you pulled onto
the gravel road was deceiving. Once I drove passed the large trees,
the scenery drastically changed. Weathered trailers with old cars
up on blocks and battered toys scattered the yards. More than one
window was covered by wood or plastic. I didn’t gawk at my
surroundings. Even the man sitting on his porch steps in nothing
but his underwear and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth didn’t
surprise me. I knew this trailer park well. It was a part of my
childhood. I came to a stop in front of Beau’s trailer. It would be
easier to believe this was the alcohol talking but I knew it
wasn’t. We hadn’t been alone in over four years. Since the moment I
became Sawyer’s girlfriend, our relationship had changed.

I took a deep breath then turned
to look at Beau. “I never talk in class. Not to anyone but the
teacher. You never talk to me at lunch so I have no reason to look
your way. Attracting your attention leads to you making fun of me.
And, at the field, I’m not looking at you with disgust. I’m looking
at Nicole with disgust. You could really do much better than her.”
I stopped myself before I said anything stupid.

He tilted his head to the side as
if studying me. “You don’t like Nicole much do you. You don’t have
to worry about her hang up with Sawyer. He knows what he’s got and
he isn’t going to mess it up. Nicole can’t compete with
you.”

Nicole had a thing for Sawyer? She
was normally mauling Beau. I’d never picked up on her liking
Sawyer. I knew they’d been an item in seventh grade for like a
couple of weeks but that was junior high school. It didn’t really
count. Besides she was with Beau. Why would she be interested in
anyone else?

“I didn’t know she
liked Sawyer,” I replied still not sure I believed him. Sawyer was
so not her type.

“You sound
surprised,” Beau replied.

“Well I am actually. I mean, she
has you. Why does she want Sawyer?”

A pleased smile touched his lips
making his hazel eyes light up. I realized I hadn’t exactly meant
to say something he could misconstrue the way he was obviously
doing.