Page 14 of Sac-rifice
“Fair enough.I guess we’re both stubborn bastards, huh?”
“Without question.”
“How about we get on our rides?It’s faster, and I can help you look for your ghost?I’m getting too old to be doing this shit.”
“Okay,” I agreed.If we continued this search on foot, I might never find her.She was here, though, in our city.Sledge was right; she might be able to outrun me, but the likelihood that she could outrun my Harley was a different fucking story altogether.I didn’t want Sledge to stay with me but turning away the only other person who saw her wasn’t a smart decision.My world was crumbling around me just by seeing her, and there was no telling what would happen when I found her.The only thing I was certain of was Iwouldfind her.
* * *
“Brother, looks like she doesn’t want to be found,” Sledge said carefully, planting his boots firmly on the ground as his bike rolled to a stop.I glared at him out of the corner of my eyes and paced in front of my ride, only pausing long enough to listen to him.We’d been riding up and down the streets, trying to locate Cor for two useless fucking hours.He was right, but I wasn’t agreeing with him.If I did, our search would officially be over, and I refused to accept that after all these years, she was so close to me, and I’d lost her again.
“How about we crash back at the clubhouse and look for her after sleeping for a few hours.”
“You go ahead if you want,” I answered sourly even though he wasn’t the reason for my mood.
“Nah.You’re going, too.”
“The fuck I am.I’m going to plant my happy little ass right here,” I made an X in the dirt with the tip of my boot.“’X’ marks the fucking spot.”As soon as the letter was written in the dirt, I dropped down onto it.
“Sac, you’re no good to her if you die out here like a dumbass.”
“And just why would I die?”I chose to ignore his insult.
“I’ve seen your survival skills; they aren’t the best.”
“Ha!You just haven’t seen ol’ Sac in action.I’m telling you it’s an experience.”
“First off, I don’t want to see what you and your tic tac do behind closed doors.”Sledge shuddered and stuck his tongue out, pretending to gag.“Nobody should have to see that shit.”
“No one said you had to watch.Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.Who knows, Sledgehammer, voyeurism might be right up your alley.”
“I’m good.I like having my sight.”He shook his head, laughing while turning his key.“C’mon, brother.We’ll find her in the morning.”His shoulders tightened as he inhaled and blew out a breath.“I promise.”
My head hung low, and I closed my eyes for a second, needing a minute.It fucking killed me thinking of her being out here alone.So much time had passed since we had seen each other.Hell, since we’d spoken, and it was all my fault.I wanted to go back in time and knock the absolute fuck out of the younger version of myself for leaving her.I did try to find her, but she was better off without me.She didn’t need to be caught up with me and my shit.I would have ruined her life.Once upon a time, we were each other’s everything, but that all changed the night I became what I am today: a soulless bastard.After that, she saw me differently.I didn’t blame her.I was different.
I gave in, agreeing to put my search on hold for now.“I’ll be up as soon as the sun breaks through the sky,” I grumbled, kicking the dirt over the X I’d made.My hands were balled into fists, and I ground my teeth together.I swallowed hard, telling myself she was okay.She had to be.This was my fault; every fucking minute she’d spent alone was because of me.In my mind, I was doing what I had always done for her; I was protecting her.Reminding myself her life was better without a fuck up like me in it was the only thing that got me through a lot of days.I thought I knew pain when I walked away from her, but what I felt back then was laughable when compared to right now.As soon as she saw me, she fucking ran like she was scared of me.The thought of her being afraid of me was the worst thing I had ever experienced.It fucking gutted me.The unrelenting pain behind her eyes when she saw me was an image I’d never be able to erase from my damned memory.With one look, she stripped me down to the lovesick boy I was and ripped my heart out of my chest.
“Aye.”Sledge nodded.“We’ll find her.”
I grunted in response, too lost in my own head to form real words.I was determined to find her, but prayed it wasn’t too late to fix the damage I’d caused.
CHAPTER11
WORDS ARE IMPORTANT
SAC
Past
“Shane, will you double knot this for me?”Cor asked, running into my room with her hands over the tiny triangles she called a swimsuit.
“Yeah,” I said, pushing the word out of my incredibly dry throat, forcing myself to stare past her and into the hallway.I refused to look at her again.She was my best friend’s little sister.I shouldn’t gawk at her the way I was and tying her top for her shouldn’t make me nervous, but I was.
“You know that requires looking at me and not staring at the wall, right?”She pouted, knocking the Nintendo controller out of my hand before she dropped onto my lap.I held my breath and pinched the sleek fabric between my shaky fingers.This summer break was going to kill me, and we were only on the second week.“Earth to, Shane.”She glanced over her shoulder at me, and I gulped when the warmth of her words touched my face.Her body felt so good against mine, forcing me to use every ounce of concentration I had to make my stupid fingers work.
“I’m sorry.I know your games are important to you, but I couldn’t ask Tate to do it.You know how he is.Ever since we both hit puberty, he’s acted all weird around me, like I’m suddenly a different person because he has three chest hairs now.”Her shoulders rose and fell rapidly, and she giggled, “Isaac is allick, you have boobs.So he definitely wouldn’t tie this for me without insisting I wear one of his shirts over it.It’s not fair.If you guys get to go shirtless, I should be able to wear this.It’s a double standard, and I don’t like it.At least you don’t treat me differently.”
Her face turned toward me, and her body shifted with the movement.She was going to fall if I didn’t catch her.I dropped the strings and wrapped my hand around her, grabbing the first thing my fingers found.Her body slipped down my knees and stopped when her back smacked against my chest.
