Stroke Of Fear (10 page)

   “She went with me into town. Not that it’s any of your damn business.”
   Jake takes a step toward us. “Let her go. I’m going to beat your ass.”

   “No,” I screech out. “Do you not see the kids standing around? Go to your room and don’t come back over here.”

   He isn’t listening; he hasn’t since he saw Tanner’s arm around my waist. “Let her go.”

   Tanne
r’s chest vibrates with a growl, he and steadies me. “Go sit down. This won’t take long.”

   “No,” I beg
, then turn to Jake. “Please,
just go!”

   Tanner
drops his grip on me, and I grab for his arms. Jake doesn’t waste any time, pushing Tanner’s chest. Tanner’s jaw clenches, and he throws the first punch. It’s loud. A crack echoes from Jake’s jaw. Then Jake throws himself at Tanner. They roll on the ground and throw a few punches each other’s way.

   I hadn’t even realized that I’m screaming until
Cassie’s hand wraps around my mouth. “Shh, it’s fine.”  Eric comes out of nowhere and pulls Tanner off Jake.

   “Get the fuck up. The campers are watching. Fucking
calm down, Tanner,” Eric says, grabbing his arms and pinning them behind his back.

   His face is sweaty, dirt smeared against his cheek. If it were any other situation I’d be completely turned on. His chest ris
es in powerful gasp as he tries to pull away from Eric. His eyes are dark; he’s ready to fight—ready to protect me.

   Heath has Jake in a deadlock, pulling him the opposite direction. Eric doesn’t let go of Tanner until Jake is clear out of sight. He snatches away, his
finger running through his messy hair.

   “What the fuck was that about?” Eric asks.

   “He pushed me,” Tanner says.

   Eric raises an eyebrow and purses his lips. I just now notice that they’re still in their swimming suits. “Really? That’s it? He just pushed you?
” He glances back and forth between the two of us. “Where were you two today?”

   Tanner swallows and glances over at me. A small drop of blood falls from his lip,
and he spits a mouthful onto the ground. “That fuckin’ bastard got my lip.”

   Eric snorts. “Well, you got his entire face. So, I think you’re good. Can we please go to our cabins now? Before some camper
s go to get Mrs. Jones.”
   I nod frantically. Cassie pats my back and drags Eric the opposite direction. Tanner sighs and shoots his gaze to me. “Sorry. I don’t take too kindly to being pushed.”

   I lift an eyebrow and hold back a laugh. “Really? You can’t tell at all.”

***

   Tanner helps me inside
and excuses himself after apologizing a thousand times. I lock the door behind him and press my back against the wall. He fought without an inch of hesitation. He seemed so powerful and strong.

  
God, I’m head over heels for a guy that won’t even fucking kiss me. Just my luck.

  
I crawl to my bed. It’s never looked so comfortable before. Just as I grab my covers, a movement from the window across from me catches my eye.

  
I’m suddenly paralyzed—struck with a feeling of the purest terror. I can’t move. Breathe. Act. I’m just stuck in the moment—stuck
staring
. He was there; I saw him. The brim of his white polo almost covered his blue eyes, but I’d know those eyes anywhere. They haunt my dreams every night.

  
Dreaming
. That’s exactly what I’m doing. No, I’m hallucinating like I did before the doctor prescribed me the crazy pills. I blink several times. When I look back he’s gone, leaving no indication he was ever there. My eyes shoot toward the door, and it’s both deadbolts are locked. I slide onto my bed, clenching my covers.

He
can’t
come back. He’s in prison—a facility meant to keep him in. I’m dreaming. Dreaming my bad past into reality.

   Slowly, I
get up and close the blinds. I won’t see him again. It was only my imagination.

***

   I was running. Fast. Thick branches slapped against my face, but I didn’t stop. I could feel the blood dripping down my forehead, but something was behind me. I don’t remember, but I know I was running from it. It was getting closer. I was pushing through the burn in my throat, pushing through the ache in my body.

   Water crash
ed against the rocks below and stopped me in my tracks. I was at the cliff, just like last time. But I wasn’t being thrown over…not yet at least. Frantically, I searched my surroundings. There wasn’t anywhere to go. I led myself there. To the one place I dreaded the most. The one place that haunted me.

   Thunder roared
across the sky overhead. He was coming. Tugging my hands through my hair, I peeked over the cliff. The water was racing quickly from the wind carrying it. It looked so terrifying, so consuming. I screwed my eyes shut and prayed I was dreaming, that the horror in front of me was just a dream passing through.

   I felt
him. His stare. His presence. I’ll never forget his face, the calm look that was plastered there. I turned and saw him. From a distance he looked normal. Like a normal guy walking through the woods. But, I knew better. I knew what lies beneath that white polo hat was a monster dug from the depths of Hell and placed in front of me.

   His fingers twitched. He wanted
to touch me. Choke me. Watch the life leave my body. Not. This. Time. Turning around, I raised my arms above my head. A scream ripped through the air, and it took me a minute to realize it was my own. I plunged forward, the wind whipping my hair around my head. The dark water consumed me, pulling me under so far I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get up.

   My sheets are sweaty when I sit up in bed. Cassie’s alarm clock reads 3:34am.
Shit.
Cassie is tangled up in her covers when I glance over. All the blinds are closed and the door tightly locked.

  
Settling my head back into the pillow, I fall into a deep, dark sleep. 

Chapter Eight

Tanner

 
My fucking hand is throbbing. A light blackish bruise is horizontal across my knuckles. I hadn’t realized I’d hit him so hard. Good, he fucking needed it. He came at me like he knew he was going to kick my ass. That’s what made me so angry. He has no idea what I grew up around. Country boys don’t use guns to fight, they use their fists. They’re not afraid to get dirty.

   Eric waves his hand in front of my face. “Come on, Tanner. Where is your head today? Wait
—don’t answer that—you’re dreaming about Aubrey and her tight little ass.”
   Narrowing my eyes, I push his hand away from my face. “I’m gettin’ up.”

Eric laughs and tugs on a jacket. “Have you seen Jake
since the fight?”

   “No.”

   “His eyes are swollen. You really gave it to him. What happened anyway?”

   I roll my eyes. “
I told you, he pushed me. I was helping Aubrey after she had a panic attack. He came at me, so I fought him.”

   Eric
’s eyebrow rises, but I can tell he isn’t going to ask anymore. “All right, whatever, bro. Ready to go?”

   We walk toward the auditorium
, which is about a half mile from our cabins. We’re having a movie night tonight for all of the kids. Thank God Aubrey and Cassie are hosting it. If I have to cater to my little brother anymore, I’d probably kill him.

   Everyone is already in th
eir seats once we get there. The huge screen is almost as big as an actual theater’s screen. The smell of popcorn is heavy in the air. The counselors are sitting in a group of chairs to the left. We make our way down there and grab drinks and popcorn on the way.

   Eric
starts throwing popcorn at Cassie from a few seats away, and she turns around and flips him off with her other hand hiding it. He laughs and settles into his chair. Aubrey stands up a few minutes later and walks over toward the center of the auditorium in front of the screen. “Okay, guys. We’re watching
Finding Nemo
tonight. Everyone turn off their phones and enjoy!” Some of the older boys whistle at her, but she ignores them. I watch as she searches over the crowd. I’m wondering who she’s looking for when they land on me.

   A small smile rises from the corner
, and she gives me a slight wave. I wink, and a rosy color rushes to her cheeks
. God, I love that.

   I watch
her from a few rows away as she whispers to Cassie, they eat all their popcorn, and finally settle down long enough to watch the movie.

   “Damn,
how long is this? Feels like it’s been six hours.” Eric asks, shutting his eyes. “I just want to get out of here and sneak to Cassie’s cabin. We’re gonna have some fun.”

   My head snaps his way. That means Aubrey is going to be by herself.
Suddenly the movie feels like six hours long to me, too.

When the last of the kids a
re hauled out of the auditorium I find Aubrey pushing the overhead back into a side closet.

   “Hey.”

   She jumps, hitting her elbow against the wall closet to her. “Shit,” she says. “You scared me.”

   Smiling, I
reach over her to push the overhead the rest of the way into the closet. “Sorry. I guess I have a scary face.”

   She mumbles something
I don’t catch, then says, “I hear our roommates are going to have a sleepover tonight.”

   “
Yep. I heard that, too,” I say as she falls into step with me. “So, where are you gonna sleep? I mean…it’s not like you have an actual room you can go to.”

   She shrugs. “I was thinking about going to one of the other girl’s cabins.”

   “Well, if you want, you could come with me. I was just going to go to the field. I know last time didn’t go so well but—”

   “I’d love to.”

   I grin like a damn girl. I can’t help it. “Follow me.”

***

   I ma
ke sure we have enough blankets to keep an army warm. I smooth them out in the bed of the truck while Aubrey watches the sun set against the backdrop of the trees. Her shoulders are bear with her strapless shirt. It makes her tits look swollen, delicious enough to eat.

  
“I’m glad you brought me out here. I love it. This is the perfect time a day, too.” She swings her feet off the tailgate of my truck, leaning back against her palms.

   “It’s getting chilly, why don’t you come up here with me
?”

She twist
s around and bites down on her lip.
Fuck.
I want to beg her not to do that again, but I don’t. I
won’t
. I want her too much to ever tell her to stop.

   She crawls next to me,
then slides underneath the blankets. She rests her head against one of the pillows, and a sigh escapes her lips. We lie there for a long time, staring at the darkening sky. Birds fly above us, the wind blows the weeds making a quiet song.

   “Tell me about you,” she finally says. “You seem so put together. Is that a southern thing?”

   I laugh, my voice deeper than I imagined it to be. “I’m not put together at all. I never have been.”

   She snuggles into the blanket more and turns her head to face me. She isn’t wearing a lot of makeup
, and I can see a splash of freckles across her nose. Her naturally pink lips look plump. Warmth spreads to my dick, and I focus to keep him down.

“Tell me about you,” she says again.

   “Well,” I clear my throat. “I grew up in Arkansas in a small town south of Little Rock. We never had a lot of money, but I felt like we were the richest people in the world—until my dad started drinking. He tore down my family one wall at a time. Then he left. My mom remarried and then he left, too.” I sigh and rub my hands over my face. “That’s where Austin comes in. After years of my mom being verbally abused, Austin’s dad brought him out here to California. My older brother moved out here, too, and it left Mom and me by ourselves. My oldest sister had been long gone to college. She never wanted to come back. I couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t long until my no-good dad came crawling back. Mom—feeling lonely—let him in. He never left.”

   “Why did you move out here?”