One day you're happy, and the next, a freak accident exposes your boyfriend's dirty little secrets in the worst possible way.
I lost the man I loved, my trust in people, and my home in less than one afternoon.
At least I know that I've pushed past...
When we finally broke free of the city's congestion, we flew.
Heading southbound, Alfred navigated us through long stretches of dark highway lined with towering trees interspersed with large green reflective signs.
Gray pushed a few of the control panel buttons on his spaceship car and the windows glided down to let in a jet stream of wind. My hair whipped around like I was in a Beyonce video and I tossed my head back to enjoy the powerful engine at my fingertips.
The brine of the ocean evaporated, replaced with rubber and asphalt and pine sap. Above the windshield, the true glory of the stars emerged. Free of the big city lights, thousands of twinkly dots swathed the velveteen sky to highlight the spectacular glow of the moon.
It was the perfect rain-free night for a drive.
We zipped through forest-lined stretches of highway until Alfred instructed us to turn off at the next exit. I obeyed, dutifully slowing the car to an appropriate speed.
A new smell seeped in through the windows, like rotten eggs or boiling Sulphur and smelling salts. It was so pungent the air felt thick.
"Ugh, roll the windows up," I complained gagging on the heavy poop stench.
"Yeah, we're in farm country now," Gray chuckled, taking control of the buttons again to help.
"We are?" I was fascinated, but it was nearly impossible to see because there were no streetlamps.
We drifted past a few sprawling businesses with ill-lit hand-painted signs advertising a variety of illegal fireworks and weed. Not a single car passed us on the road. Everything felt eerily still.
"Pull off at the blue sign up ahead," Gray lifted a tatted hand to point at my turn.
His car's engine was nothing more than a quiet purr as we slowed to take the sharp left turn onto a dirt road. Potholes littered the way, testing the car's delicate suspension. The wheels crunched over gravel and dirt while I leaned forward to see what was beyond the dust and headlights.
Gray switched on the high beams of his car with a cheeky smile.
"Oh, that's better," I commented.
"You don't drive much?" Gray asked softly.
"Nope," I glanced at him. "I'm pretty sure my license is crazy expired."
For a second he thought I was telling the truth and his face drooped into total panic. He relaxed into carefree laughter, the same one that tickled my pelvis at the gallery, the moment he realized I was just ribbing him.
"About fifteen more feet," Gray was tapping something into his phone, turning off the GPS system and pulling up a selection of music. "Then stop the car."
The high beams illuminated the acres of field that we were driving along. The road never curved or dipped into a hill. Save the craterous potholes, everything out here seemed to be flat, flat, and flatter. Wisps of golden grass and winter brambles twirled in the breeze outside, brushing the side of the car to create a pleasant white noise.
I sighed heavily. "You're not planning on murdering me out here, right?"
Gray's entire body shook with laughter, something I very rarely saw. Seriously, it was like hanging out with a whole new man, someone who actually enjoyed having fun, and liked being around me.
"No," he was still chuckling as he opened his door to climb out into the blustery night. "Put the car in park, but keep it running and wait there."
I sat dutifully, though a little wary too. I was so used to fighting with him that I had no way of knowing what Gray had in mind for us.
His masculine form strolled around the front of his curvilinear car to open the driver's side door for me. Even weirder, he held out a hand to help me climb out.
A thunderous chorus of crickets assailed my ears interspersed with the occasional croak of a distant frog. I sucked in a deep breath to appreciate the fresh air and wide-open space, forgetting where we were.
"Yeah," Gray patted my back gently as I gagged on the methane-laced air. "I forgot to tell you to breathe through your mouth out here."
My coughing subsided by his third clap on my back, but he didn't remove it when I'd finally regained composure. Instead, he guided me around the front of his car to step on his front bumper.
He sat back on the hood like he didn't care about its fancy paint job or the expensive price tag.
"C'mon," he gestured for me to join him, again offering a hand.
I scooted up next to him until our arms were almost touching. Gray was invading my space bubble, and yet, it hadn't occurred to me to mind.
The hood was hot beneath my backside, but the chilly wind was cooling me down. Kind of like us. Fire and ice.
"Where are we?" I asked, finding his light green eyes in the moonlit darkness.
"We're about eighteen miles outside of Tacoma," he replied, urging me to lean back to rest against the windshield like him. "In a little town called Kent, where I grew up."
My breath hitched at the name. That was where Elijah was from too.
His family had moved to a swanky planned community on Mercer Island after Elijah graduated from high school. His father had owned a bunch of car dealerships in King County, so they had enough money to live wherever they wanted.
Apparently, Julie hadn't been impressed with the Kent school district, and that had prompted their move. After all, she still had Sarah and little Lucas to raise.
"I can't picture you farming," I joked, trying not to use my nose.
"I never did," he said quietly. "Much to my parent's dismay."
"Do they still live out here?"
"Yeah," he sighed. "As far as I know."
I wasn't sure what to do with that information. I knew that Gray didn't talk to his family much, but I didn't know why. Elijah made it sound like it was a touchy subject, and I didn't know if Gray and I were the sort of friends who knew stuff like that about each other.
"I don't come back here much," Gray told me, his eyes trained on the stars. "But I used to love doing this. Just sitting out and watching the cosmos. It's a good place to think and clear your head, you know?"
"Yeah, once you get used to the smell," I giggled, folding my hands over my stomach to stargaze with him.
The music from Gray's car drifted with the wind, licking the cool guitar melody of Incubus' mega-hit, Love Hurts past our ears while the bass notes vibrated through the stylized chasse.
For a while, everything was fine. The stars glimmered. The moon yawned bright and silver overhead. The crickets and frogs chirped their noisy reprise. The breeze layered its harmonies through the blades of grass and willowy tree trunks beyond.
"How many girls were there?" I blurted out.
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