Page 40 of Faking It With the Small-Town Bad Boy

I sigh as I fight the wrench up, pulling the crumbled portion of metal

loose.

The brace isn’t stable, not as much as it should be, and when I yank

the part free, I can hear the structure of the engine creak and shift

uncomfortably. Instantly, I know there’s nothing good coming from

that noise, and I tear myself out from under the car at once, only to

feel the engine scratch my shoulder on my way out.

A scream rips through me, my vision goes blurry with crimson, and

the engine crashes into the shop floor with a loud, deafening BANG.

I black out. Wet, in pain, and pissed off.

Even then, I see Percy Elrod in my dreams.

He keeps me company, keeps me calm, and keeps me wondering

why, of all people, I see him.

MY GIRL

Percy

It bothers me so much that Leah refuses to look into this idea more.

It was unexpected for me to even think of such a plan, but it would be

helpful for both of us. She has to need something to cope with, and

maybe that’s just a friend. The longer I sit here and stare at the

whiskey behind the bar, the more I realize that maybe a friend is

what I need as well.

Grabbing my keys, I get out of sight of the bottles immediately.

Driving the old road to the Reese house is a tedious task, and I

convince myself a few times that Leah doesn’t want to see me. She

hates me. She’s probably scared of my mental function at the same

time. Still, I know we both could use this healing. So I continue

onward until the barn comes into view.

"Something tells me she's not in the house but in the shop, working

on another car like she was when I arrived last time."

Truthfully, she looked so attractive like that—messy and unkempt

---