Abbi Glines - Misbehaving

JESS

I shouldve known better. But I was an idiot. All it had ever taken from Hank was one pitiful bat of his eyelashes and a pout, and I came running. Well, not anymore. Id forgiven him for becoming someones baby daddy. But there was only so much a girl could forgive.

Hank Granger had just screwed me over for the last time. I wasnt one to be a doormat. My momma had taught me better than that. It was time I stopped letting our history play on my emotions. He was nothing close to being a real man. The boy Id grown up loving had become a low-down good-for-nothing. Hed never settle down, and I was done letting him trample all over my heart.

He thought parking his pimped-out truck behind the bar was smart. The boy should know better than to think I wouldnt know where to look. Jackass. Id found him, all right. We were supposed to have gone out tonight. He had promised me dinner. A real date. But then hed called two hours ago and canceled, saying he wasnt feeling good. Being the dutiful girlfriend, Id decided to make him some soup and take it over to him. Big surprise that he wasnt there. Not really. I think deep down Id known he was lying.

I stepped out of the trees Id walked through for over a mile, and into the darkness of the back of the local bar, Live Bay. I didnt want my truck to be seen here tonight, and it would be easier to run on foot into the darkness if I needed to make a fast getaway.

I gripped the baseball bat Id borrowed from my cousin Rock two weeks ago when Id had to go pick Momma up from work because her car wouldnt start. Three in the morning outside a strip club wasnt exactly safe. Momma kept a gun, but I didnt have a clue how to use it. When I had asked her to teach me, shed laughed and said that Id end up shooting Hanks balls off one night in a fit of rage and refused. Not because she cared for Hank, but because she didnt want me in jail.

Feeling the weight of the bat in my hands, I smiled. This bad boy would do some serious damage. Then there was the knife in my pocket. The paint job was also going to hell, and if I had time, all four tires were going down.

As I walked around the truck that Hank had pampered and treated like a damn baby for the past four years, a sense of power ran through me. Hed hurt me over and over again. This time I was going to hurt him. Me. Not Rock. Me.

I checked the dark area around me and made sure no one was out here. The busting of the glass was going to make some noise. I wasnt sure how much I could get away with before someone caught me. Hopefully, the local band, Jackdown, would keep everyone inside entertained enough that no one would leave anytime soon.

Biting back the roar of victory I could feel pumping through my veins, I held the bat back as I shifted my feet and focused on his drivers side door window. It was going to be the first to go. With all the anger and pain that had consumed me since the first moment Id found out the boy Id loved since I was ten years old had been sleeping around on me, I swung the bat. The ski mask I was wearing protected my face. The laughter bubbling up in my chest burst free, and I continued to shatter every window on his pretty little truck.

High on revenge, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my knife and flipped it open. I decided to write a few choice words in the paint job with my sharp blade, then bent down to jam it into the front tire.

Hey! a deep voice called out, and I froze. It wasnt Hank, but it was someone.

I picked my bat back up and pulled the knife out of the tire before breaking into a sprint back into the woods. Hed never catch me, but I still needed to get this stupid mask off so I could see. Running into a tree and knocking myself out wasnt exactly a great getaway plan.

The sound of feet hitting the pavement let me know I was being chased. Well, shit. Not what I needed. I was having so much fun. Hank deserved that. He did. He was a rat bastard. I did not want to go to jail over this. Plus my momma would be pissed.

Hey! the deep voice called out again. What did he expect me to do? Stop and let him catch me? Not likely.

Other voices came from the distance. Great. He was drawing a crowd. I turned off the path Id followed earlier and headed deeper into the woods. I wouldnt have this cover for long. Id be coming out onto a back road in a few more feet. I couldnt get my truck because it was outside my mommas house. I needed everyone to think that was where I was. Id have to stay on foot and beat anyone there. Dang it.

I couldnt hear the sound of anyone elses feet hitting the ground, so either Id lost them or they were talented in the art of stealth. Breaking out of the wooded area, I stopped on the side of the road. It was deserted.

Glancing back, I saw no one. Hank would know who to come looking for, but he would have no proof. Smiling, I took a deep breath. That would be the end of us. Finally. After what Id done, Hank would never forgive me, so I wouldnt be tempted to go running back to him. Hed hate me now as much as I hated him.

JESS! Hanks familiar voice roared. Spinning around, I couldnt see him, but I could hear him running through the woods behind me. Shit. Shit. Shit. Hed come after me. Howd he find out so fast? Panicking, I looked around to see where I could run to hide from him. There was nothing but miles and miles of road. No houses, nothing.

Headlights came around the corner, and I did the only thing I could think of: I ran out into the middle of the road and started waving my arms in the air, still holding on to Rocks bat.

The car started slowing down and cut the bright lights. Thank God.

Wait . . . was that a Porsche? What the hell?

JASON

All I could see was a girl dressed in tight black clothing with lots of long blond hair, and she was standing in the middle of the road . . . holding a baseball bat. Only in Alabama did stuff like this happen. Stopping before I hit her, I watched as she ran over to the passenger-side door and knocked. The wild, panicked look in her eyes might have been disturbing if they werent a bright, clear blue with thick black lashes. I pressed the unlock button, and she jerked the door open and climbed inside.

Go! Go! Go! she demanded. She didnt even look my way. Her eyes were focused on something outside. I turned my attention to the side of the road, where she was watching with such intensity. There was nothing. . . . Then a guy came bursting out of the woods with an angry snarl on his face and I understood. No wonder she was terrified. The guy was huge and looked ready to murder someone.

I shifted gears and took off before he got any closer.

Oh my god, thank you. That was so close. She let out a sigh of relief and leaned her head on the headrest.

Should I take you to the police station? I asked, glancing over at her. Had he attacked her before shed gotten free?

Definitely not. Theyll probably be looking for me in about ten minutes. I need you to take me home. Momma will cover for me, but I gotta get there quick.

Theyd be looking for her? Her mom would cover for her? What?

It aint like hes got any proof. The only thing I dropped was the ski mask, and it was a cheapo I bought at the Goodwill a couple of Halloweens ago. Not something he can trace back to me.

I slowed the Porsche down as her words started sinking in. I hadnt just saved a girl from being attacked. If I understood this babbling correctly, I had just become the getaway car driver.

Whyre you slowing down? I need to get to my momma, like, now. Shes just two miles from here. You go up to County Road Thirty-Four and turn right, and then you take it about three-fourths of a mile to Orange Street and take a left. Its the third house on the right.