Promise Me Darkness
Read Promise Me Darkness Online
Authors: Paige Weaver
Promise Me Darkness
Paige Weaver
Promise Me Darkness
Copyright © 2013 by Paige Weaver
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes. If you are reading this book and you have not purchased it or won it in an author/publisher contest, this book has been pirated. Please delete and support the author by purchasing the eBook from one of its many distributors.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
Published by Paige Weaver, P.O. Box 80016, Keller, Texas 76244
ISBN 978–0–9892698–0–3 (Kindle)
Cover design ©Sarah Hansen
okaycreations.com
Chapter One
This is the story of the end of life as I knew it. We thought the world would continue as it always had. Society would stay the same. People would stay the same. We were wrong. In a heartbeat, the world changed. I changed.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this!”
An Eminem song blared loudly from speakers as I followed my best friend through the smoky bar. Men covered in tattoos stood shoulder to shoulder with women in barely–there clothing. As for me, I stuck out like a sore thumb in my light pink sundress and matching sandals.
“Relax, Maddie. I just wanted to check the place out,” Eva said, bopping her head to the music as we walked through the crowd. I wasn’t sure if she noticed the nasty stares we were getting or was just oblivious to them. Knowing Eva, she just didn’t care.
I stuck close behind her, afraid of being separated among these people. Eva and I had been to many of the bars near our college and seen some crazy things but this place was just plain scary. Talk about a hole in the wall. The smoke was thick and suffocating. The music was the kind your mama wouldn’t want you listening to — loud and full of every damn cuss word that existed. Most of the bar patrons looked either like convicts or members of a local motorcycle gang. I bet a few even had switchblades hidden somewhere on them. Two college girls definitely didn’t belong in here.
“TABLE!” Eva squealed when she saw two empty chairs. Pulling on my hand, she charged forward, bumping into a couple of leather–clad men who scowled at us.
At least the seats were in the corner. Maybe no one will notice us here.
Eva could have her fun and then we could leave. Hopefully, in one piece.
“WOOO HOOO!” Eva shrieked as one of her favorite rap songs started blasting from the speakers. It earned us a few more dirty looks.
To my dismay, she started rapping along with the song. The girl couldn’t sing worth a darn but I had to give her credit for trying. I hugged my purse closer to my body and glared at her.
She was so drawing attention to us!
I hushed her but this was Eva we were talking about; there was no hushing her.
Out of nowhere a waitress appeared next to our table. “You girls want anything?” she asked with a bored expression. Her blond hair was stringy, her tank top cut too low, and her tiny shorts didn’t cover her butt. She had about an inch of makeup on and it was starting to cake in her wrinkles.
“Two shots of whiskey,” Eva yelled over the music.
The waitress nodded and walked away, her shorts trying so hard to cover her behind.
“I don’t drink, Eva, you know that!” I leaned over to shout.
Eva waved me off as she went back to singing. I cringed as she rapped about sex and someone getting shot.
We were so different. She was the exact opposite of me. Spontaneous and unpredictable, Eva was a true wild child who wasn’t afraid of anything. Some people found it amazing that we were friends but I’ve known her since the first grade — fifteen long years now. We had been through thick and thin together. There was no separating us. That’s why I had agreed to come to this dive in the first place. Needless to say, she owed me big time.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw some men staring at us, practically drooling. “Those guys are gawking,” I said.
“Wooo, babe, come to mama!” Eva growled dramatically as she studied them.
I rolled my eyes at her version of a sexy purr. She loved bad boys and these men fit the bill perfectly. They were cute if you liked the tattooed, muscular, badass type of man. I didn’t. My type was more the khaki wearing, BMW driving, tattoo–free gentleman.
The men were forgotten as the waitress appeared and delivered our shots. She took our money and stalked off, not thanking us for the tip or looking our way again.
The customer service in here rocks.
I picked up the small glass and studied it closely. It was dirty and whatever was in it smelled awful.
“I’m not drinking this,” I said, sitting it back down with revulsion.
“You’ve got to. It’s bad luck if you don’t.”
I eyed Eva with skepticism. “That’s not true and you know it.”
“Okay, well, just drink it for me. You need to relaaaax.”
I picked up the dirty glass and sighed.
The things I did for a friend.
“Okay, on three. One, two, THREE!” Eva said, smacking the table with each count.
I tossed back the drink quickly. Fire raced – no, scorched – down my throat. My eyes watered, making it hard to see. I squeezed them shut, feeling the burn as the whiskey traveled from my throat to my stomach.
Oh, shit! That was terrible!
Eva started giggling as she watched me. “Another!” she laughed, pushing the second glass my way.
“What? No freakin’ way! That was awful!” I shuddered in disgust.
“I bought it for you. Drink up. You need it.”
I knew Eva would win this argument so I threw back the drink. My throat instantly felt as if someone dropped a lighted match down it.
“I love this song! Let’s dance.”
She grabbed my hand and pulled me out onto the dance floor before I could protest or recover from the drink.
There were only a couple of people dancing but Eva didn’t care. She started moving to the bass, really getting into the music. By now, my muscles were starting to relax thanks to the alcohol. Moving my hips to the pounding beat, I began dancing.
By the second song, we were having a good time. Eva turned to shake her butt at me, sending me into fits of laughter. We started rubbing against each other, grinding to the music and acting silly.
After the song ended, I noticed we had gathered an audience. Many of the rough looking men were now standing on the sidelines, watching us. I nervously scanned the crowd, afraid we were over our heads here. These men looked at us like we were their dinner and they were starving.
I was about to tell Eva that we should leave when someone caught my attention. He was at a pool table in the back, lining up to take a shot with his cue stick. A voluptuous blonde was rubbing up against him like a bitch in heat. She wore a short black skirt, plunging neckline blouse, and five–inch stilettos. Her hands were all over him.
I watched as he took the shot and straightened up to survey the table. Turning to the woman, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer.
I sucked in a breath when I saw his profile. His ball cap was pulled low and unruly brown hair peeked out from the edges. His broad shoulders were outlined beneath a black shirt and well–worn jeans fit his long, muscular legs perfectly.
I would recognize him anywhere.
“Who’s that hottie?” Eva asked when she noticed me staring.
“It’s Ry…”
She beat me to it. “Holy
shit!
It’s Ryder!”
I felt my heart rate go spiraling out of control as I watched him laugh at something the blonde said. When he leaned over to whisper in her ear, I couldn’t look away.
Ryder Delaney was a legend around here. The women couldn’t keep their hands off him and the men were scared to death of him. He was good–looking and dangerous. A little bit bad and a whole lot sexy. And just like Eva, he was wild and liked to live life to the fullest (sometimes a little too much). He had no rules and did what or who he wanted. Apparently, he was working on his latest who — the blonde wrapped around him.
Believe it or not, besides Eva, Ryder was my best friend. We’ve known each other since we were little kids playing house in my daddy’s barn. When I was six, my dad bought the small farm next to his parent’s ranch, making us neighbors and eventually friends.
“Let’s go talk to him,” Eva said, dancing in place.
“No, he looks busy,” I mumbled with a smidgen of jealousy. His hand still rested on the blonde’s waist. The tattoos that started at his right wrist and circled around his arm, captured my attention. I remembered when he got those tattoos. I had been there.
“Pleeeease! The guy can stop kissing on that slut long enough to talk to us,” Eva said, looking the blonde up and down.
Without waiting for me, she headed their way.
Oh, crap!
I rushed to catch up with her. Eva and Ryder didn’t mix well together and that was putting it lightly.
“Hey, stranger!” Eva shouted over the music when we were within a few feet of him.
Ryder stopped sweet–talking the blonde to look our way. Under the brim of his hat, I saw his eyes widen in surprise.
Oh, wow.
The color of his eyes would never cease to amaze me. They were a clear blue that put the color of the ocean to shame. Combined with his dark tan and sun–kissed brown hair, the blueness of his eyes was striking. Breathtaking. Gorgeous.
Seeing him again, I realized how much I had missed him since leaving for college.
Was I supposed to feel this way about a friend?
My stomach did a weird flip. He was so much taller than me. The top of my head hit the middle of his chest. On a good day, I was five feet two inches; short by most people’s standards but next to Ryder, I was tiny.
“What are you two doing here?” he asked, detangling himself from the blonde’s arms. She pouted, which made me want to smile and do a fist pump.
“Clubbing!” Eva answered as she looked over at Blondie. “I would ask you the same but it’s pretty obvious.”
He ignored her her sarcastic comment.
“When did you get into town, Maddie?” he asked, leaning toward me to be heard over the music.
“A few days ago,” I answered. “I texted you but I never heard back.”
Okay, I’ll admit he was the first person I texted when I arrived in town. When he didn’t immediately answer or show up on my doorstep like he usually did, I was slightly upset.
How sad was I?