“Ruining your life. Is that what you think I’m doing?” I snarl. When she folds her hands over her chest, pushing her perky little tits up, I turn my head and focus on the road again. I don’t need her tits distracting me.
“Yes,” she replies with way too much attitude. It makes my blood boil that she thinks I’m trying to ruin her life, when in fact I was only trying to help her.
“Why, because I told your father Brad was bragging to his mates that he was going to invite you to his house this weekend, to get into your pants?” I practically scream. What I say, and the way I say it, takes her by surprise. Her beautiful green eyes widen and the colour partially drains from her face.
“What?” she asks in a horrified, disbelieving tone.
“Yes. Just before he pulled you onto his lap yesterday, that’s exactly what he said.” I try to speak a little calmer this time. Even though she’s getting on my nerves with her attitude, I don’t want to scare her.
“He did not,” she barks.
“Believe what you want. You think I’d make that shit up?” I look in her direction as I speak. I can tell by the shocked look on her pretty face she believes me.
“He actually said that?” she whispers. I can clearly hear the sadness in her voice.
“Yep,” I answer. Her head turns towards the passenger side window. She doesn’t speak another word for the longest time. I kind of feel bad now, but she needed to know. That guy is a snake.
“Where are we going?” she eventually asks when I turn onto the main road that heads towards town. I’m still getting used to navigating my way around this area, but thankfully Ross is good at giving directions.
“I told you. To get parts.”
“I thought you were making that up to piss Brad off,” she states.
“Why would I do that?” I ask reaching over to grab my cigarettes.
“Because you’re an arse.” Her comment makes me chuckle. “You do know Jennifer Darcy is the school slut, right?” she informs me. Who the fuck is Jennifer Darcy?
“Who?” I have no idea who she’s talking about.
“Jennifer Darcy,” she repeats.
“Never heard of her. Might need to look her up though,” I joke.
“She’s the girl who climbed through your window last night,” she says in a disgusted tone.
“Was that her name?” I ask smirking.
“You’re a pig.”
“You almost sound like your jealous,” I tease, because that’s exactly how it sounds, and that surprises me.
“Hardly,” she scoffs.
“You are, aren’t you? I bet you wished it was you sneaking through my window last night instead of her.”
“You’re delusional,” she says when I pull up at a red light. I look in her direction. My eyes lock with hers. I’m shocked by what I see. I was only messing with her, but by the way she’s looking at me makes me think there’s some truth to what I said. Surely she couldn’t wish that. She acts like she can’t stand me.
Something passes between us. I’m not sure what, but I almost want to reach out and touch her. Kiss her. Whatever it is, it’s quickly broken when the car behind me sounds his horn, alerting me the lights have now turned green. Suddenly, I don’t like where this is heading.
I should’ve let her catch the damn bus.
••••
We travel in silence for the next twenty minutes. When we reach our destination I pull into a parking spot. “You gonna stay in the car? Or do you want to come with me?” She shrugs before answering.
“I guess I’ll come,” she says removing her seatbelt.
Indi’s dad recommended this place to me. Apparently he’s been friends with the owner since high school. He deals in new and used parts, but specialises mainly in classics. Ross was going to call him today and let him know I was coming in. He said he’ll look after me.
Indi falls in behind me as we head towards the shop front. From the street you can see it’s attached to a large factory type building. That’s probably where they store all the parts.
The bell chimes above the shop door when we enter. A man in his mid-forties walks out from the back room. “Well if it isn’t little Indiana Montgomery,” he says as he makes his way around the counter. “Look how much you’ve grown.” She’s grown? How fucking small was she? She’s only pocket-size now.
“Hi, Mr. Gregory,” she says hugging him.
“Let me look at you.” He pulls back, studying her face. “You look just like your mum did at this age. God rest her soul.” What? Her mum’s dead? Looking at her face I see a fleeting moment of sorrow pass, but a smile quickly takes over. I’ll admit I did wonder why I hadn’t seen her mum around, but it never occurred to me she didn’t have one. That makes me feel sad for her. Growing up, I would’ve been lost without my mother. She’s all I have. Here I thought she had the perfect life. I guess I was wrong.
“My dad says that a lot,” she replies with a sad smile, and he gives her a sympathetic look.
“You must be Carter,” he says, eventually turning his attention to me. “Ross told me you were dropping by.”
“Yes. I am,” I answer, grabbing hold of his extended hand.
“Warren. Warren Gregory,” he says.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sir.”
“So you’re after parts for a ‘75 Monaro I believe?” he asks.
“That’s right.”
“You’re in luck. Come out the back and I’ll show you what I have,” he says, turning and heading towards the door over by the far wall. Indiana and I follow.
••••
I’m beaming by the time we leave. That place is like spare parts heaven. I got everything I needed, plus I was able to put a few of the larger, more expensive things aside until I can come up with some more cash. Fuck knows how I’m gonna do that. My cash fund has just about run dry. I may need to find a job.
“Wanna get something to eat while we’re here?” I ask as I load the last of the parts into the trunk.
“You want to eat something? With me?” she asks surprised. I guess I don’t blame her. I’ve been an arse. I’m not sure why I even asked. I guess I’m hungry.
“I’m hungry,” I say with a shrug. I don’t want her to think this is a date, because it isn’t.
“Okay.” We make our way towards the burger joint a few doors down. I’m already regretting asking her. What the hell am I gonna talk to her about? I don’t do shit like this. I don’t go out much. I’m definitely not what you’d call sociable.
We sit in silence as we both scan the menu. “The burgers are great,” she says. “My dad brings me here sometimes.” I make eye contact with her over the top of my menu. A burger sounds good.
“Are you guys ready to order?” the waitress asks when she approaches our table.
“Can I get a burger, fries and a chocolate shake?” I answer before looking in Indi’s direction.
“I’ll get the same,” she says closing her menu. I’m impressed. I thought girls like her ate lettuce or tofu, shit like that. I’ll be interested to see if she actually eats it.
When the waitress leaves, silence falls over us again. I watch her as she looks around the restaurant, anywhere but me. She looks nervous and a little uncomfortable. Makes two of us. I’m not a fan of small talk.
“So, tell me about your mum,” I ask out of the blue. Fuck me. Why can’t I keep my mouth shut? When her eyes meet mine I see sadness. It tugs at me for some reason. She doesn’t say anything at first. Now I feel like a dick.
“Oh, you heard Mr Gregory did you? Not much to tell,” she eventually says. Her hands are twisting nervously in front of her. I can only gather how hard this subject is for her to talk about. “She died when I was six. She had a brain tumour. I don’t remember much. My dad tried to shield me from it. She was in a lot of pain and spent most of her time in bed. My dad struggled with her death. Still does. It couldn’t have been easy for him. He had a full-time job, a sick wife and a small child to contend with.” I see sorrow cross her face. It’s fleeting, but I definitely saw it. I guess that’s understandable.