Page 15 of Jagged Line Paradise

The truck door slams shut outside, and she climbs off me. I watch as she readjusts her clothing and I realize just how fucking much I want to see her naked, stripped bare. I want to count every freckle on her smooth skin.

Fuck.I wonder if she has anyon her ass cheeks.

The trailer door creaks open, then slams shut with a bang and Avalon jumps. My dad makes her jittery and I know she’s anxious to leave now that he’s home.

I don’t blame her.

I stand and pull my jeans back on. I wiped my cum off her with the black T-shirt I’d taken off before we got started, and I don’t bother to find a new shirt to put on. I’m not going far. “Come on. I’ll walk you out.”

I open the door and creep out into the hallway, turning back and holding my hand out for her to take as I step forward. When she puts her palm in mine, a ripple of warmth spreads from where her small fingers curl around the sides of my hand. That warmth forces a stupid grin to my face as I take the two steps down the narrow hallway with her hand in mine and my arm stretched behind me.

There’s apop,then afizzas my dad cracks open a can of beer. “What are you doing home? Aren’t you usually out with those sluts on Tuesdays?” He grabs the remote from the end table as he plops down on the old, striped couch.

Jesus Christ.

I hate him so much. He’s the reason Mom died. He enabled her drug habit, especially when he moved us to Paradise Park when I was ten. Drugs and sex are two things that are too fucking easy to get in this place. It’s why I struggle so hard when Lonnie tries to tell me this place is paradise to her. I don’t know why she thinks she loves it—probably because she’s never been anywhere else.

My grip on Lonnie’s hand tightens as I lead her past, not bothering to respond as we walk right between him and the TV. I see him smirk at her from the corner of my eye, a signature twist of his lips that I unfortunately inherited from him—along with his dark hair and dark eyes.

He might’ve been attractive when he was younger, but the years of manual labor as a mechanic for a local trucking company and his excessive drinking have really caught up to him. We might’ve had a nicer life, too, if he didn’t throw all his money away on booze and hookers. His skin is sallow where it was once a warm light-brown color, and his brown eyes have almost become black with the way the dark shadows circle them.

His usual taunting lilt returns to his voice just as Lonnie and I get past him. “Oh, I see. You brought one of the sluts home.”

I whip around as we reach the door, pushing Lonnie behind me. “She’s not a slut,” I say as my teeth grind together.

He brings out the fucking worst in me.

His nostrils flare as he sniffs the air in an exaggerated manner. “You’re a fucking liar, son. I can smell it on her. You two been fucking in your room?”

“I’m not—” Lonnie starts, but I hold up my hand to silence her. She doesn’t need to defend herself to him.

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. You know Avalon. And I swear to God, if you ever talk to her like that again—”

“Then you’ll what, son?” Eerie shadows flicker across his dark eyes and his body stiffens with barely controlled rage.

I know that look.

It’s the same look he always got before he’d come after me with his belt, or a paddle, or cane...whatever he felt like coming after me with. It still makes me hesitate in fear after all these years. He hasn’t hit me since I got big enough and wise enough to hit back, but that fucking look is just so sinister that it still scares the shit out of me.

I shake my head and turn to walk away, pushing the door open for Lonnie.

“Why don’t you stay, Miss Avalon? Come sit on my lap.” He pats his thigh. “I’ll show you what it’s like to be with a real man.” He chuckles.

I shove Avalon out the door before he can say another fucking word to her. She practically jumps off the two steps to get away and I follow, slamming the door shut behind me.

“Fucking asshole. Sorry, Lonnie.”

“He really creeps me out.”

“Yeah, he’s a creepy asshole.”

Her arms cross over her chest and she looks at me with slanted eyebrows. “I’m not a slut,” she says with all seriousness, as if she needs to say it to defend herself.

I run a hand through my thick hair and my jaw ticks in anger at my father for putting that idea in her head. “You’re not a slut. Never. Not even close.”

“Tuesdays?” I’m not sure if she’s asking a question, so I don’t immediately reply. Then, a slow smile creeps across her cheeks. There’s a little twist on one corner of her lips that shows amusement. “So, the rumors about Alexis and Chloe…? They’re true?” She chuckles a little, looking down at her feet as she kicks her foot in the dirt. “And I thought I knew you, Andrés Hernandez.”

Her smile and laugh tells me she’s not exactly mad, but I’m confused why she’s not upset about it. The rumors were true, obviously, and they were pretty fucking dirty.

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