The Bad girl is a Church girl

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Lani! Can you just . . . hold on for a second," I yelled, taking two steps at a time. With the elevator spontaneously not working, Lani had succumbed to taking the stairs, in hopes that she wouldn't see my father along the way of course. I let myself pause for a moment, the memories of her chasing me not too long ago still engraved in my mind. Damn, now I knew what she had gone through. And she had done it shoeless.

She kept walking, not taking any notice of me.

"Lilani. I. Said. Stop!"

She halted. Her stance was rigid, yet filled with some type of determination. A determination to run back and finish what she had started with my father. I couldn't let that happen. My father is a very powerful man, and with the money that he had been soaking up from our business was enough to keep Lilani behind bars for the rest of her life.

My fingers itched against the palm of my hand. They were in a fidgety mood. I didn't care as much when they crawled up the length of her arms and found a spot on her slender shoulders. "Why are you running?" I questioned, breathless, with a strong need of some water.

Her mouth pursed itself and her eyes ran along somewhere else. The evening sky behind her held many purple and pink hues, making her slender figure more observant to one's eye. Lilani was something. Something for someone else though. "I'm not running," she mumbled.

I licked my lips and bent my head further down to get to her eye level. "Yes, you are."

She flicked her head the other way and dampened her lips as well. "Would you have rather me stay there and beat the living shit out of your father?"

I shook my head. "No . . . but that doesn't mean you need to run. I've seen you in action before Lilani . . . you never run away from a fight. So, why are you running now?"

"I need to get home anyway."

I straightened up to my full length. "Okay, so I'll get the limo to drop you off. You can't walk. It's nearly ten."

She shoved my hands off of her shoulders and took a wide step back. "I can take care of myself Sanders, I've done it since I was seven."

My feet had a mind of their own as they took a closer step toward her. "Well, let me take care of you for just one night then."

Mouth, please, for Heaven's sake, stop talking!

Lani's eyes widened a fraction—and if I wasn't paying attention I would have surely missed it. "My Jeeps around the corner. I think I just need some alone time to throw out my anger. I'll see you in school on Monday," she whispered.

"Let me come with you then?" I asked. I couldn't leave Lilani alone like this. Especially since she wasn't acting rationally after the incident just a few minutes before.

Her dark eyes watched me suspiciously before they drooped and closed in on themselves. "Alright. But you can't mention the place I'm taking you too okay?"

I nodded when her eyes opened. "Cross my heart and hope to die," I mumbled.

She let out an airy laugh and bent forward. "Aren't you supposed to be Christian? What Christian says that?"

"It's a figure of speech Lils."

Her back straightened out and her eyes found mine. "What'd you call me?"

I let my fingers fidget with each other as I mumbled, "I-I-I heard a-a um, Kiyoko calling y-you that and I just pre-presumed it would be okay?"

She didn't say anything. I guess she didn't need to. Her expression and the way her demeanor fell was enough for me to understand that she was perfectly fine with it. Her lashes flicked upward and her stare bore into mine. It was a little unnerving, but I was able to digest it just as she turned and started walking toward the Jeep.