Page 95 of Bending Under Pressure

I smile and quickly press a kiss to his neck. “You’re a good dancer.”

Keelan laughs, his torso rumbling against me. “Yeah, if you say so.”

“You haven’t stepped on my feet yet, so you must be good.”

“We haven’t moved,” he points out with a chuckle.

“I’m still counting it.” I nuzzle my face closer to his neck and inhale slowly. He always smells so good. “I wish I could sneak over and stay with you tonight,” I tell him. Being in his arms all night sounds like the perfect way to end this stupid night.

His hands glide up and down my back to draw a shiver out of me. “Me too.”

“Probably not a good thing though, considering last time.” My mind is on the heated landing on second base more so than the fact that we got caught. Kissing is all I want to do for a while.

“Yeah, probably.”

The song ends and another slow song starts. I smile when Keelan keeps us swaying. He does lead us back to our seats at the end of it though. Dad and his bride are talking and laughing at something her sister must’ve said. Before I can take a seat, Dad sees me and breaks away from her to come over to me.

“I’m glad you came, Haley,” he says as he gives me a hug.

“Me too. It was nice to learn that her family didn’t even know you had a daughter.”

Dad tenses and I almost wish I kept my mouth shut. Almost. He pulls away to warily look at me. “Haley,” he begins, but I cut him off.

“I’m really tired of hearing your excuses, so please don’t give me another one. Do you even realize you forgot to have dinner with me a month ago? You didn’t show, didn’t call or text, or anything. You didn’t mention it when you finally did call me days later either.”

His voice is low as he warns me, “Don’t start a scene. We can talk later.”

“When?” My tone is more hysterically incredulous than I would’ve liked. “You don’t call, you don’t text, and I can’t ever get you to answer your damn phone!”

People have started to turn their heads toward us and I feel Keelan place a hand on my back from behind me.

“You’re angry with me, I get it.”

“Do you?” I interrupt again. “Because you don’t seem to care, Dad.”

His jaw clenches and I know he’s had enough. It was always a sign of that I’ve pushed him too far on the rare occasions that I’ve done so. “If you can’t behave and act properly, then you need to leave.”

I gasp as if he slapped me. I stare at his hard eyes, barely recognizing him anymore. “Fine.” I grab Keelan’s jacket from the back of the chair and look at Tonya. “Hopefully, he won’t cheat on you like he cheated with you while he was married to my mother. But if he does, you deserve it.”

“Haley!” Dad snaps, but I’ve already started walking away.

Tears silently fall down my face as we get into the car. I’m grateful Keelan doesn’t try to talk to me yet. Dad asked me to leave. Yeah, I know I didn’t have to bring everything up at his wedding, but it’s not like I’d get another opportunity to talk to him about it. Everything I said was true! I lean my head against the window and close my eyes.

My mind keeps replaying the entire stupid wedding in my head the whole way home. Keelan sits idling in the driveway for a minute before I pull on the handle.

“I’m sorry, Hales.”

“Me too. I’ll text you later.” I kiss him on the cheek and then get out.

I’m dreading going inside. I’ve had too much time to think as it is and going inside won’t help

stop the thoughts. Before I can change my mind, I quietly sneak into the house, grab my keys, and sneak back out without taking the time to change. Mom and Walter were resting in their bedroom when I left and they’re still in there. I forgot to text her that I was on the way home, so she probably isn’t expecting me soon.

At first, I don’t know where I’m going. My body is on autopilot as I drive. I come to a stop on Dead Man’s Curve. Yes. Speed is what I need. It’s the perfect distraction. With a deep breath, I flex my fingers on the steering wheel and then grip it tightly. My foot slams down on the gas. My car struggles at first, but soon the needle of the speedometer is climbing higher and higher.

My heart is pounding in my chest as I start passing eighty-five. The quick glance at the speedometer was a mistake. I scream at the sight of a deer standing in the middle of my path. Without thinking, I swerve.

When I read books, they always describe the crunching of metal, the feel of the motion of flipping over, or life passing in front of the character’s eyes. It’s nonsense. My eyes close on instinct and the world eerily stops as if time is frozen and all my senses have been stripped from me.

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