Buried (Bailey Roberts Trilogy #1) Editing

27: Nobody's Fool [3rd draft]

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Bailey bit her bottom lip to keep from squealing as Damien lifted her onto the passenger side of his, surprisingly, beat up red pick up truck. "When did you get this junker?" she asked right as they both went for the seat belt.

Their hands bumped, but he pushed hers gently away. His green eyes darted towards hers, making fairly close eye contact with Bailey. His mouth curled into a smirk. "I got it." His mumble caused her cheeks to flush pink and as he reached the seatbelt around her, her heart thumbed. He was so close that the side of his face almost brushed her nose.

She let out a nervous laugh and brushed a sweaty hand against her jeans. "I only have one broken arm, you know. No broken legs either."

He shrugged simply before pulling away. Making sure she was completely strapped down, he slammed the door and jogged to the drivers' side. He quickly jumped in, giving her another slightly amused smile, as he buckled himself in, and turned the truck on. "It's not mine," he said.

"What are we talkin' about?" Bailey asked, feeling suddenly confused, and not just because of those sexy smiles he kept throwing her way.

He chuckled. "You asked me when I got this junker and I responded."

"Oh, right," she said, scratching her cheek. "So whose is it?"

"A friend of the family's, I needed to haul some stuff into storage; he needed to borrow my car for a hot date, so it worked out."

"What are you putting into storage?"

He hesitated briefly and cleared his throat. He started casually drumming his fingers against the black leather of the steering wheel. "Stuff I won't be using while I'm at college."

Her heart dropped. "Oh."

So, he was still going. Bailey hoped he'd postpone it, for at least a few more months, considering what was happening. Maybe he just needed to get away.

Bailey gave him a half-hearted smile and bowed her head, feeling the sinking weight of hopelessness pushing at her chest. Everything was changing, everyone was forgetting, and sometimes Bailey wanted to forget too.

, she wondered if her father had never cheated, if they'd never moved to Haven, she never would've met Gwen, and she wouldn't be in this situation. How was it okay for everyone else to get off the hook so quickly, so easily?

Bailey swallowed and resisted the urge to gag. Shame tasted like a mix of cigarette ashes and soda. She knew that taste all too well as of late.

"You're thinking I shouldn't go." His comment caught her off guard, enough that she remained silent and Damien took that as the go ahead to continue. "I to go. Maybe it's not technically the right time, but getting away... God, it's all I can think about, getting away from this town."

"And away from Gwen... and me?" she asked, trying to get the strain out of her voice.

From her peripheral vision, she saw him grip the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. "Bailey, I didn't mean it that way."

Bailey shrugged, ignoring the pang in her heart as she tried to let it roll off her shoulders. "Everybody has to leave sometime."

"You could come with me."

Bailey's eyes widened as she turned towards him. He didn't look at her, not even a glimpse. The lump in her throat kept her from saying yes, but she wanted to. God, she wanted to go with him. She wanted to forget the rest of her junior year, she wanted to forget this town, but most importantly that she ever knew Gwen because Gwen was a burden she hadn't asked for.

Gwen was a burden? When had that happened?

Her eyes burned as the tears collecting glimmered and slipped down her cheek. Bailey's hand covered her mouth as she tried to hold in the sob threatening to escape. When had Gwen become a burden? "She's my best friend," Bailey said, whispering broken heartedly into her hand, her face turned towards the passenger window.

Damien pulled to the side of the road. "She's my sister. The police did everything they could. My parents too. All I can do is be in the way."

Bailey tried to listen but the picturesque background just beyond the window took her breath away. It wasn't only because it was so gorgeous it was unreal, almost like a fantasy fairy village with tall grass and a flowing stream.

"Hey, this place kind of looks familiar," Bailey said, interrupting Damien.

"Well it should, it's pretty close to your house."

Bailey shook her head. "No, that's-that's not it." She turned to look at Damien even as he continued to look around the area curiously. "This is gonna sound crazy, certifiable even, but I've dreamed of this place. I-" Bailey paused and let out a chuckle of disbelief. "Not only dreamed, but I spazed out in the grocery store a while back. Totally ruined this display of oranges too. It was this horrible. Samantha— Sam was running towards me. Her feet were muddy and she was absolutely filthy and so thin. She was reaching out to me, wearing absolutely nothing but..."

"A dirty wife-beater," Damien whispered.

Bailey chuckled. "Yeah, exactly. How did you know?"

His once golden complexion was now powdered white. His lips parted and Bailey watched as the Adam's apple in his throat bobbed up and down. Damien inhaled sharply, his head shaking, his eyes wide. He raised a fist to his mouth and made a strangled, horrified sound before quickly yanking his seatbelt off. He threw open the driver's door and ran around the front of the car, his arms reached out.

Bailey glanced around the area, but all she saw was scenery-large grass, flowers, algae covered rocks being beaten by a surprisingly fast flow of water. She slipped out of her seatbelt and popped open the door, just about to step out when she heard a distanced holler.

"No! Get in, get in! We have to get out of here!"

Bailey lifted her gaze towards the stream and squinted. Her heart may as well have stopped beating at what she saw. It was exactly as she remembered. Exactly like dream. Exactly like what had happened in the grocery store a while back.

It was Sam, running towards them... in a dirty, torn wife-beater.