Secrets And Lies

Chapter 8: Revenge Is Sweet.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter took me forever to write and even longer to edit. Let me say that the events in this chapter aren't what I condone. It involves some teen drinking and reference to drug use. That being said, it does happen, and I'm not writing this book with rose-colored glasses. Thank you, and please vote and comment. Any suggestions and constructive criticism are welcomed.

Ryan's POV

After Foster assured me that his nineteen-eighties Ford ranger would indeed make it to my house, I reluctantly got in. Of course, I said a silent prayer to the big man upstairs. I seriously doubted his judgment, what with his choices in friends and now in trucks. Despite this obvious character flaw, I felt myself relax during the easy conversation between us. I hit the home screen on my phone, no longer feeling the need to have nine-one-one at the ready.  It felt almost surreal that I trusted someone new so quickly.

Foster informed me that he received the video that Axel took and that it probably wouldn't make many waves with the rest of the school. According to him, I looked like I was having fun, and it wasn't something to be embarrassed over. Shortly after his words of encouragement, our conversation shifted to a subject that we spent the rest of the ride talking about; Taylor. Foster played a one-sided game of twenty questions to find out more.  As much as I enjoyed his bashful curiosity, after he asked her favorite color, I had to put an end to it.

"Black, the next question you ask me better be whether or not you should ask her out." I turned in my seat, giving him my full attention. To my delight, he turned a beautiful shade of red.

"I..I...if I did, would she go for it?"

"It's pretty safe to say that she would."  The genuine smile he responded with was enough to warm my heart. 

As we turned off the main road, I got distracted by a billboard advertisement for boxer shorts, and it had nothing to do with the ripped model that was wearing them. I instantly remembered a prank Sloane had pulled on Quade. I asked Foster to make an unscheduled stop at the nearest drug store.

Unfortunately, he felt the need to accompany me. I liked Foster and trusted him to a point, but he was Axel's best friend, and who knows what else would inspire me while I was there. I didn't want the Asshat tipped off. Figuring that all men were the same, I stretched the truth.

"I'm just going to grab tampons..." I walked towards the shelves stacked with feminine products. No longer feeling his presence right behind me, I looked over my shoulder. "Are you coming?"

" Uhh...I...I'm just gonna..." He motioned towards the front door with his thumb, his face more than a shade redder.

"Wait in the truck?" I asked. He nodded, turned, and almost knocked over a rack of condoms on his way out.

Laughing and shaking my head, I grabbed a box that I didn't need. What could it hurt? It made me feel better to know I wouldn't be lying. Not completely. On the way to the register, I picked up what I  came here for. As I was paying, I examined everything I had put into the small handbasket. I concluded that I was overly cautious. There was no way Foster would think anything I had was suspicious. I put the bag in my purse and hopped in the unreliable-looking pickup.

Once we turned onto my street, I had him park a couple of houses from my mine. He thought that maybe I was afraid I would be in trouble for being with him. He was, for the most part, right. I would be interrogated if my mother saw me with anyone with a Y chromosome. I didn't want to get into that with him.  I assured him this wasn't the case and blamed my dad for having a problem with Forest's mode of transportation. It was true. Sheriff Mike Fitzpatrick would have an issue with what he was driving. The warden came from a long line of mechanics and raised around stock cars his entire life. He always cautioned us on the dangers of vehicles that were less than safe, and Foster's looked like it was on its last mile.  Foster laughed incredulously at my explanation.