Page 50 of Unraveled

I looked down just as Lisa brushed the wet mess of hair from her face, giving me a weak smile. Before I could react, before I could process what was happening or my expression could even wear my shock, Lisa pulled my head down and kissed me.

It took me a second to react through the shock, but then I tore my lips from hers as she tried to deepen the kiss.

“What the fuck, Lisa?!” I barked, beyond pissed and tempted to throw her ass back out in the water.

She ran a weak hand through the back of my hair, like she couldn’t process how ticked off I was. Hell, maybe she couldn’t if she had a concussion. She smiled up at me. “I knew you still cared. I just had to find a way to prove it and make you see it.”

“Youmadeyourself have an accident?!” My voice boomed around us, drawing more attention, and I clenched my teeth together, feeling my jaw start to tick.Of all of the dumbass things she could have done…

Lisa frowned. “Yes, but just so you could see that I was still important to you…” Her expression made a slow shift, her eyes wide and dilated, confirming my thoughts on a concussion. “You’re mad.”

“No shit! How’d you guess?”

“You’re tense. Your muscles are so tight,” she rasped as her hands began running along my upper back.

“Stop that,” I growled, storming over to the chairs I was stationed at with Emma. “And don’t say a damn thing until I’m done checking you out.” Fuck if it wasn’t still my job to make sure she was okay. This had to be the worst shit she’d ever pulled.

“But–”

I looked her dead in the eye and gave her a glare I felt could’ve put Bridgette’s to shame. “I mean it. No talking. For either of us. You don’t wanna know what I’d say. Trust me.”

“Tucker.” Hurt and panic mixed in her expression, but I ignored it, setting her down on the sand before going to radio in the accident. I grabbed the second first aid kit and knelt by her side, still refusing to look at her face. She’d done this to herself, so like fuck she was going to get my pity. I was so done with her. Completely fucking done.

Chapter 16

JET

The shop was packed today, one customer after another coming in, so when Dad had me call Ruby and Mario in for extra help, I wasn’t surprised. Mario had gotten here in ten minutes, but Ruby was just now coming through the door, darting quickly around the line of customers.

“Hey, Jet. Let me clock in, and I’ll come around and help.”

“Nope, not today. You’re needed in the back,” I called out as I searched the hooks for the right invoice.

Ruby frowned, pausing mid-step. “The back?”

“Yep. I’ve got this covered. They’re short back there.”

“Alright.” She quickly clocked in and took off out the door, the sounds of drills whirring bleeding through until it closed again.

Lucky.Dad wasn’t letting me back there and under a hood until I had my diploma.Just two more weeks. I’ll even be certified, too.Which meant I’d have more jobs I could work on than Ruby could until she was fully certified.Except even then it will only be a couple of weeks that I’ll even have much time to get back there.

It was a wake up call with how fast it was coming. My time here at the shop was limited, and my days would soon be immersed with football requirements at Ridgeside U most of the summer.

In the past, I didn’t mind working the front here at the shop, but knowing how close this chapter was all ending–and on a day like today–right now, I’d kill to get my hands on an engine or even just patch a tire.

Grabbing the invoice I needed, I smiled at the next customer, hoping my mind would stay busy with the hustle of the day instead. “Sorry, sir. Looks like you had an oil change and a tire rotation. Does that sound right?”

It was another couple of hours before we got a lull, and Dad came out from the back, wiping grease from his hands as he looked around. We had two customers in the waiting area, but for now, that was it.

“Do you need a break?” He wiped some sweat from his brow with a rag and tucked it in his pocket.

I shook my head. “I’m good. I’d rather stay busy today.” The busier I was, the less I had to think about Annie and what Izzy had confided in me this morning.

Dad eyed me for a few seconds but then nodded. “I need to make a call to check on a shipment. Let me know if you need me.”

“Will do.”

He went into his office, and I grabbed a container of wipes so I could wipe down the formica between rushes, my eyes darting to my phone under the counter when it lit up next to my sketchpad and some book Nic was loaning to Ruby.

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