Rejected At First Sight (Spinoff Series)

41

I apologize for the inconsistent update schedule, but here's a little longer chapter for you guys. It's a little different, but we are coming up to the last few chapters, and things will be cranking up from here on out! Enjoy!

Ash

There were a million thoughts running through my mind.

The girl with white hair.

The sudden rain clouds had come out of nowhere.

The assault of Jay's thoughts in my mind.

But I couldn't focus on any of it as the pouring rain pounded against the open-roof jeep as we sped down the road. "Saff are you sure you're sober?" I yell out, clutching onto Jay's arm as we go over swerves and bumps.

Jay roars out laughter. I turn towards him in surprise, a smile automatically coming to my face. There was something about how he had been acting. Like, suddenly he didn't have cause for the worry lines on his forehead anymore.

But that doesn't explain the thick heavy guilt that was eating at him. I was caught off guard by the overwhelming amount of guilt that nearly suffocated me when I could sense his thoughts.

The rain hadn't really let up, and I could barely see the road ahead of us. The fully dirt-packed back-road that was.

"Shortcut my ass." I muttered. We had been driving for a couple of minutes now, and we should have been close to the house, but I couldn't see anything through the dense rain which had soaked us all.

"It's no fast lane on the interstate city-girl, but I'm willing to bet this is a lot more fun than your stiffs back in LA." Ronnie shouted back at me.

I opened my mouth with a retort, but I fell short.  The Jeep's engine made a guttural sound and slowly and shakily rolled to a stop.

"Shit!" Ronnie muttered, swinging open his door. The trees hung over the small dirt path, shielding us from the brunt of the rain.

Jay placed his hand on my thigh and gave a slight squeeze as he quickly maneuvered over me and out onto the road, Vi following him. I gulped down the sudden dryness in my throat at the gesture he played out casually. "I told you we shouldn't have gone joyriding!" Sage muttered, his head falling back onto his headrest. Ronnie popped the hood.

"The battery again," Vi said, and went on rambling with mechanical terms I didn't have a chance of understanding.

I turned towards Clementine with a raised eyebrow. Clem grinned at me, leaning close. "Isn't it hot? Vi is our little mechanic."

Sage looked back from the passenger seat. "You should see the warehouse on our property. It's filled with her franken-bikes."

"Her what?" I ask.

Clementine's eyes lit up. "Oh, that's right! You've never seen her ride before. We have an annual bike race through the woods in autumn. You'll love it!" I don't bother to correct her that I wouldn't still be here in autumn. If everything plays out right, I would be attending an ivy league school. "Vi takes old beat-up bike parts and combines them all until she gets a masterpiece." 

I nod along. "She's been the grand champion for like 3 years now," Sage says.

"4!" Vi calls to us from outside. I smile softly.

Jay walks back to us, resting his arm against the frame of the Jeep and leaning inside, his face only inches from mine. "I don't think she's going to be able to get it up and running again until we are able to bring another car up here." Jay grabs my hand and leads me outside, Clementine following me. "It will take at least an hour for Evertt to drive up here. And the rain is going to let up anytime soon."