Southern Chance (Southern 1)

“What the hell, Jacob?” Words finally come out, and I curse at him.

“You could have gotten hurt in there.” Stopping, he puts me down right next to his truck and opens the door. In the darkness of the night, the lights from the stars and full moon shine on his face, and I see the anger. Anger and a mix of something else. Something I’m not sure I want to know. “But did you stop and think of that?”

“It’s none of your business,” I hiss; the nerve of him.

Apparently, in the eight years I’ve been away, Jacob’s patience was cut thin. “Get in the truck, Kallie.” He advances on me, not giving me enough room to do anything but get in the truck. I try to waste time, thinking Casey is going to come out any minute now with Olivia over his shoulder, and he’ll save me.

“No fucking way.” Shaking my head, I look around.

“Fine by me,” he says, and then I know he isn’t joking. His tone made it clear he was done having a discussion with me. One second, I’m standing here, and the next, his hands are around my waist and picking me up like I’m light as a feather and putting me in the passenger seat. All I can do is look at him in shock that he just did that. He gets so close to me that I have to hold my breath. “I dare you to run.” His tone is fierce and menacing. “I didn’t catch you eight years ago,” he finally says, and my mouth opens at that. “But I’m not going to make that mistake again.”

He slams the door closed, and I’m stuck here in the seat as if he put crazy glue down, and I can’t move. He gets into the truck and starts it and pulls out of the parking lot. We see Casey pulling out at the same time, and all they do is nod at each other. He turns down the pitch-black road, and he presses his Bluetooth to call Casey. He answers after one ring, and his voice is tight. “What?”

“Just giving you a heads-up that Kallie isn’t going home right away,” he says, and my head snaps up to him.

“What the fuck are you talking about, Jacob?” Casey says, and all Jacob does is disconnect the call.

“Jacob, I want you to take me home,” I say, and he just shakes his head.

“There are things that need to be said,” he says, and then he makes his way to the creek. I know he’s going there.

“We can talk tomorrow over coffee.” My hand holds onto the door for dear life. My heart is beating so fast all I can do is hear the echoes in my ears.

He doesn’t say anything to me when he parks the car and turns off the light, and he turns to look at me with his back to the door. “Kallie, we can do this one of two ways. The easy way or the hard way.”

“I don’t even know what that means,” I say, opening the door and jumping out of his truck. “Honest to God, Jacob, I have no idea what that means.”

The sound of his door closing fills the silent air. “Aren’t you tired of running?” he asks.

“Fuck you, Jacob,” I spew at him and turn to walk toward the creek. “Let’s get this over with so I can go home and forget tonight.”

During the whole walk to the creek, I just get angrier at the nerve of him demanding this shit and the audacity of him forcing me to do this. “I don’t know why we have to do this,” I finally say when I hear the creek. “There really isn’t much to say.”

“What are you talking about?” he says.

I see the rock, and I stop and turn around to look at him. I don’t why looking at him gets my stomach fluttering. I don’t know why there is suddenly a lump in my throat. Maybe it’s because he’s going to say things I don’t want to hear. “I’m talking about this conversation. It’s pretty much self-explanatory.”

“Is it?” He puts his hands in his back pockets, and his chest is so much bigger for some reason. Or maybe it’s the darkness or the shadows.

“It is.” Folding my arms over my chest, I say, “Everything that we had was a lie.”

“What?” he asks, shocked.

“So how long were you fucking Savannah?” I ask, ignoring the lump in my throat and the tears burning my eyes. “Was it the whole time?”

“It’s not what you think,” he says, and I shake my head.

“Eight years!” I shout. “After eight fucking years, all you can come up with is it’s not what you think?”

“Kallie.” He hisses my name, and I get even more angry. My stomach feels like a tsunami is in it with all the nerves I have.