Tennessee Heat Read online

  “Why don’t you let me and the boys get a little taste? I’ll go easy on you this first time.” He made an obscene gesture with his hips and the peanut gallery started up again with the belly laughs.

  She still hadn’t acknowledged him but the closer he got to her face the angrier she became. “You need to step the hell back outta my face.” She moved around him and kept walking. Just a few steps more and she’d be home. He reached his hand out to touch her and she recoiled in total repulsion.

  “Do not touch me. If you do that again I’ll call the cops, that’s called harassment. I told you a hundred times before, I’m not interested.” This is why she never left the house. There was always a good bet that some asshole was gonna go on the prowl and she would lose her cool.

  It was getting more and more dangerous for her to stay here and she was afraid she was gonna have to take what little money she’d saved for school and get a place of her own instead.

  “That's what all you high and mighty bitches say; but, old Sammy know you don't mean it. That’s okay though, I got my eye on you. That mother of yours ain’t gonna be around much longer and then you’ll come looking for old Sammy when you get hungry enough.” He was right up in her face now, so close the stench of his breath burned her nose.

  She felt helpless because part of what he said was true. At the rate her mother was going with the drinking, it won’t be long before her liver was shot. But as to the last part of that statement, no way in hell.

  “I’d slit my own throat first asshole, now move.” Yep, no way a guy like Chase Worthington would marry someone like her.

  She might avoid the more salient aspects of her neighborhood, but she still carried the taint. Her manners and her filthy mouth were nowhere on the same par as Lisa’s and her ilk and she knew it. She didn’t let her inner thoughts show as she stared him down.

  Something was different, maybe it was the heat. Usually once she gave them the brush off they’d sling a few more inane things at her, but they’d never gone after her like this.

  Just then an ice cream truck came down the street, its music blaring out a welcome. Kids scattered in all directions, all their cries the same with pretty much the same answer from every corner.

  ‘I don’t have no money for no damn ice cream.’ Was basically the cry on each mother’s lips. She would wonder why the guy even bothered as often as he did but there was no need to.

  The little byplay between him and that Sammy guy who left off harassing her to approach the truck left no doubt as to his real purpose for being here. Disgusting.

  She was tempted to let the cops in on his real dealings, but knew that would only bring more trouble than she could handle. Things had a way of being found out in this neighborhood, and if they weren’t they had no problem choosing a victim and sticking the blame on them.

  The ice cream man was a greasy rotten tooth dirty haired scumbag that had no cause being anywhere near kids or in any profession that would facilitate such a thing.

  He looked like every mug shot of a pedophile she’d ever seen. When his eyes landed on her she rushed the last few steps to her door and walked in.

  She looked back out the window as soon as the door was closed and locked behind her. The ice cream guy and the three who’d been harassing her were still talking, only this time their focus seemed to be on her house.

  3

  The next Saturday dawned nice and sunny with a much cooler temp than the week before. After spending a whole week going back and forth on her decision, the choice was taken out of her hand when Kim called and begged her to come to the party.

  She was grateful for the excuse because the truth is, she was dying to go. Just a few days ago she’d gone to a thrift shop a few towns over where the other wealthy half lived, and spent her day off digging through second hand clothes for something presentable to wear.

  She’d found a kickass red knee length dress with spaghetti straps that fit her small frame perfectly. Showcasing her breasts without being too revealing, and hugging her hips and ass like a second layer of skin.

  She was lucky enough to find a pair of silver gladiator strap up heels that made her calves look amazing and for the first time in a very long time felt like luck was on her side.

  All that was missing was a cute little evening clutch to match her shoes. Something small enough to hold her keys and a tube of lipstick which she planned to wear for the first time.

  She didn’t let herself dwell on the fact that she was going to all this trouble because this very well might be the last time she was in the presence of Chase Worthington.

  With his sister going away to college there was no reason for her to show up at their house again, and she didn’t fool herself that her friendship with Kim would withstand the test of time.

  She wouldn’t blame her friend if she went off and made new friends who were more on her level. In this small town miles away from any major city, her choice for friends had been limited.

  It’s what she’d do if it were her. Not that she would’ve left any friends behind if they were worth knowing, but she was sure that once Kim got out into the world and saw beyond the city limits, she’d realize how unsustainable their friendship was.

  So she’d go to the party and have one last night among the rich and famous before settling down to her life of drudgery. She promised herself that she wouldn’t fall apart once it all hit her when she said her final goodbyes to the only friends she’d known, but she knew she would.

  Not only because they were going away and leaving her behind, but because it was the end of a chapter in her life. She’d been lucky enough to make it into that school only because of her excellent scholastic achievements.

  It’s the reason she’d been able to make it that far out of her neighborhood. Where she’d escaped the realities of her life for part of each day. It was the reason the people around here hated her, and the reason why people like Lisa hated her more. She didn’t belong anywhere.

  That evening she took great care with her hair and makeup, using only a light moisturizing cream and the swath of blood-red lipstick on her lips. Her hair was a perfect waterfall of black silk down her back and over one shoulder.

  She’d parted it down the middle and spent hours straightening it until there was no sign of its usual fat bouncy curls. She checked herself over a million times until her mother came out of her stupor long enough to bitch at her.

  “Turn off that damn light in there girl, you gonna pay that bill?” As a matter of fact she had been for the past three months. That and the water bill. She didn’t mind having no TV, but when she heard mice in the walls she liked to be able to see where they were coming from and going to.

  She also liked smelling part human and there was no way she could let the water be turned off. Food these days was usually an apple for lunch that the owner of the grocery store let her have, and dinner was a cup of store brand soup from the dollar store.

  She wasn’t one to cry over things she couldn’t change, so she didn’t let it bother her too much. But sometimes her mother’s selfishness was a bit much to take.

  She flicked off the light and grabbed the little bag she’d found in another second hand store and all in all felt good about herself. “Bye ma, I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

  She kissed the leathery face of the woman who she was sure from the pictures she’d found hidden in the hall closet, was once a great beauty. That beauty was another source of worry for her.

  For if her mother, a woman who in her younger years had been more beautiful than she could ever wish to be, had become the thing she now saw before her, what were her chances?

  The shit started as soon as she walked out the door. She should’ve known the street would be crowded this time of day, but it was too late to turn back now. All eyes were on her as she walked gingerly in her new shoes, wishing she could run in the stupid things.

  “Work it girl.” One of the teenage boys yelled from across the street.” She didn�
��t acknowledge but that didn’t stop the others from joining in.

  There were all kinds of innuendos and suggestive remarks thrown at her back as she kept her head straight and focused on getting the hell off that block.

  “Somebody’s getting fucked tonight.” That disgusting chant was immediately taken up by what sounded like three or more, and they all yelled it out.

  “Somebody’s getting fucked tonight.” It made her skin crawl and she fought back the useless tears that gathered in her eyes.

  “Who’s getting fucked tonight?” She knew that voice, it was the creep from last weekend, the one that had got in her face. She hurried as much as she could in the three inch heels, but the shouts kept coming.

  Pretty soon it sounded like the whole damn street had joined in and the catcalls and dog whistles started. Some idiot whistled, a shrill, ear-piercing sound that sent shivers down her spine and it seemed the faster she walked the louder they became.

  “Looking good girl. I hope there’s some left for me when you come back. I don’t mind sloppy seconds.” Everyone laughed uproariously at that and it was all she could do to ignore the insult. As if she’d let that piece of shit anywhere near her.

  The yells and whistles started up again, and then they started that disgusting chant all over. Annabelle decided to pretend they weren’t even there, but instead kept her head held high and concentrated on the evening ahead. She’d just have to figure something out for the late night trip back.

  She walked hurriedly down to the far corner where she would make the turn to wait for the trolley. She knew it wasn’t wise to ride the public transportation dressed as she was, there were even worst sub-humans out there, but there was no other choice.

  A taxi would be way too much, and she’d rather walk than show up in that neighborhood in the back of any of the hacks that still dared enter her neighborhood.

  There was only a handful of people waiting at the stop, whom she ignored by pretending interest in the empty screen of her phone. Out of the corner of her eye she saw one of the undesirables from the next block over make his way to the corner.

  From the way his head moved from side to side like a squirrel’s she knew he was up to no good. She didn’t feel in danger for her own person, but she knew she was about to see something that would spoil her day if she let it.

  No sooner had she had that thought than an unkempt young girl who couldn’t have been more than sixteen but looked like she was pushing thirty came along and stopped right in front of him. From the way she dug at her skin and shifted from leg to leg, it was obvious she was jonesing for a hit.

  The way the man grabbed her and took her down through an alley between two buildings had Annabelle wishing she had the nerve to run after them and stop what she was certain was about to happen.

  It wouldn’t be the first time she’d walked up on some female giving her body away in exchange for her next high.

  She looked away feeling that drop in the pit of her stomach. How was she to believe that she will ever escape this if she was constantly faced with it day in and day out?

  She resolved not to let it spoil the rest of her evening as the trolley came rambling down the street, but she knew she was only kidding herself.

  All the way on the trolley she fought hard not to feel sorry for herself. She was sure there were others who were worse off than she. Like that poor girl who was only a few years younger than her.

  She wondered who her family was, and how they’d allowed her to come to that state. But she knew better than most, that sometimes family wasn’t good for shit.

  She didn’t see any of the complimentary looks that were sent her way. She was too busy gazing out the window at nothing. She’d already lost what little pleasure she’d found in her appearance, and now her mind was back there with a girl she didn’t even know, but for whom her heart bled.

  4

  It had been yet another scorching day, but with evening fast approaching it had grown much cooler. She changed from the trolley to a bus to take her to her final destination and didn’t feel safe again until she was turning onto the corner that would take her to the Worthington’s mansion.

  Williams street, Harpersville, is a long, tree- lined street with old antebellum homes built before the turn of the second to last century. Wide- open lawns bordered by hedges of roses and hydrangeas were spotted with huge magnolia trees that were at least two hundred years old.

  There were a good thirty of the old homes still standing. Others had been garishly updated by well meaning new moneyed housewives with more money than taste. But the ones that had been left alone in their old graceful state, were the ones she found the most pleasing.

  Like Kim’s family home. The red brick with the Grecian columns and dormer windows. The wraparound porch that sat low as if sinking into the green grass that surrounded it, and the many plants the gardener had planted around the edge gave the place a fairy tale look.

  What was it like to grow up here? To know that you never had to worry about your next meal? Or whether or not a stray bullet would come through your bedroom window at night and kill you while you slept? She’d been sleeping on the floor for months now for fear of that very thing happening.

  As she walked down the long driveway to the home, she could hear the music blaring. The sight of all the cars that were already there made her nerves tingle the closer she got to the house.

  She hated being the center of attention and knew that she would draw it as soon as she walked in. Not because she was anything special, but because as the odd man out, she always came under great scrutiny.

  Why did I wear this dress? She knew why. She’d worn it to impress him. But now that she was here she wished she’d used better judgment and gone with the pale pink number that she’d scoffed at because it looked too childish.

  Her feet were beginning to hurt from all that walking. Something else she hadn’t taken into consideration when contemplating her fashion statement.

  As she entered the door that had been left open for guests, she knew right away what kind of evening it was going to be. Lisa and one of her best pals were already the center of attention, and knowing her, she planned on keeping it that way for the rest of the night, no matter that it was Kim’s party.

  “Come on, Lori, let’s show them how it’s done.” She grabbed the other girl’s hand and dragged her into the middle of the ballroom that the family used for this kind of gathering. At least they’d taken the pressure off of her as everyone was now looking at the spectacle.

  The two girls took ahold of each other, and started gyrating to the music, bumping their pelvises together, shaking their booties and flinging their hair back amidst gales of wild laughter. It wasn’t long before another group of girls followed suit, and pretty soon the dance floor was crowded, with the guys standing back against the wall taking in the show.

  Annabelle looked around for Kim but not seeing her friend, thought she could slip out of the room in search of her. A look around the room told her she wasn’t going to get away without being seen since the place was wall to wall people.

  It wasn’t long though, before the guys grew tired of watching and moved in to join their respective partners or any willing body. She took the opportunity to make her escape and she was almost home free when she heard her name being called out.

  “Is that Annabelle Scacci?” suddenly it felt like all eyes were on her as several members of the group turned and watched her. She was stuck, like a buck in the crosshairs of a redneck stuck. The comments started up right away and she dug her nails into her palms to steady herself.

  “Whoa, look at you!” One of the guys called out and the dancers who hadn’t noticed her until now, stopped to see the sight. The comments came hard and fast, some of them lost in the thundering base of the music that was ten times louder inside.

  Kim came rushing into the room from somewhere in the back of the house to see what all the excitement was about. It was the smile on her friend’s face th
at helped ease the nasty knot in the pit of her stomach.

  “Look at you Annabelle, you look amazing.” Kim walked over and said the words for her ears only before taking her hand and leading her deeper into the room. As she was being pulled into the other room away from the revelers she heard a very familiar voice. She should’ve known she wouldn’t escape that easy.

  “Why the hell is she dressed like a slut?” Lisa’s voice was tinged with hate and anger. “She looks good to me.” One of the guys, Carter was his name, answered. His girlfriend, one of Lisa’s pals, elbowed him in the gut and gave him a look that could kill.

  “Don’t let them get to you, you look freaking amaze balls. I want you to enjoy yourself. This is our last night together for a while, so we’re gonna do the dog girlfriend. Later for them haters.” She was already feeling better and not nearly as naked as she had when everyone was staring at her.

  When she caught the look of jealous anger on Lisa’s face a little imp tapped her on her shoulder and she decided to mess with the idiot’s head. She straightened her back, making her breasts push forward against the material of her dress and lifted her head high.

  When she heard the murmurings she flung her perfect hair back and walked out of the room, with her hips moving from side to side, each step perfectly placed like she was on the catwalk.

  Once she was clear of the room she breathed easier and was only a little disappointed not to see Chase at the kitchen island with the rest of his family. She wouldn’t have wanted him to witness that humiliation anyway so maybe it was a good thing.

  “Is that a new dress, Annabelle? You look smashing.” Mrs. Worthington held open her arms and made the sign for her to turn around. She felt silly doing it in front of Kim’s other brother and her dad, but they didn’t make any disparaging remarks and her angst soon eased.