Page 103 of Dark, Forbidden, & Taboo

Raking a hand back through my hair, I sit up and put one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the key hanging from the ignition.

This isn’t like me at all.

I’ve hated her for as long as I could fucking remember, and seeing her again only served to drudge up all of those memories again.

I can’t believe I mentioned the ruler,I think with a groan.

If she still had the damn thing, I’d more than likely try to break it on her ass the way she did mine.

“I gotta get out of here,” I mumble as I turn the key and start my car.

Turning to glance over my shoulder, I begin to ease my car back a bit so I can pull out and drive away, when something catches my attention out of the corner of my eye.

Putting the vehicle in park, I press the button to lower my window and let out a low whistle.

When Ava glances around the street with confusion on her face, I chuckle. “Hey!”

She raises an eyebrow when she sees me waving at her, then holds up a finger. I watch patiently as she disappears around the side of the house with a garbage bag, then reappears, wiping her palms on her jeans.

“What are you doing here?” she asks curiously as she leans down slightly and peers in through the window.

“I got lost. Thought I would stop and see if I could get the GPS going,” I lie with a shrug and friendly smile.

She grins as she folds her arms on the window frame, and I chuckle.

“Wanna go for a ride?”

The words are out of my mouth before I have a chance to second guess the idea, and the way her eyes light up tells me that she’s not going to turn me down.

“Yeah,” she replies enthusiastically, “just let me lock up quick.”

I run a hand over my face and internalize a groan as Ava runs back toward her house. I have no idea what the hell possessed me to ask her to get into my car, and I’m not sure what I’m going to do with her.

She’s not the prize in this.

She’s the pawn, and I have to figure out how to use her accordingly.

After a few tense moments of me trying to think of a way to talk myself out of this, Ava is pulling the passenger door open and slipping into the seat.

“Buckle up,” I tell her softly with a quick glance. ‘I have a feeling we’re going to be in for a hell of a night.”

___

We find ourselves at a small park in the middle of town. I figured it would be the safest place to take her and I’ve been pushing her on the swing she jumped on the moment we got out of the car.

Ava seems to be in good spirits, happy enough to talk about anything, and I decide now is as good a time as any to find out about the bitch that made my teenage years a walking nightmare.

“Hey, so how come your aunt goes by Celeste now?” I ask nonchalantly as I give her back another gentle push.

Ava straightens her legs, then tucks them on the way back, and I give her another dutiful shove.

“Ava?” I ask after the third push, still not having received an answer.

“Because that’s her name,” she calls back as her body swings up into the air.

I catch the chains when she comes back toward me and bring her to a halt.

“What? I thought she was a nun?” I ask, peering around at her.

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