Kate

to love. If I didn’t know my mother would go straight to their house the second she realized I was missing, I would have run away to Delia’s family. But that was exactly where she would go first. The plan wouldn’t work if Delia were missing, too. My mother would destroy her family to get me back, and I couldn’t allow that. Not like I had allowed all the other things she’d done. No matter how badly I wanted to take my best friend, my soul sister, on this journey with me, I couldn’t.
The second her car went over that line into Mississippi, I felt like I could finally breathe.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I whispered, tears trailing down my cheeks.
“You’re freeee, Chloe,” Delia wailed at the top of her lungs before we joined The Dixie Chicks in their chorus of “Wide Open Spaces.”

1
Kate
David pushed me up against the wall of the hallway—at least I think his name was David. The music pulsed through the bar, every person dancing, drinking, not a care in the world. Lights flashed, making David's eyes glint as he tried fishing a hand up my top. He wasn’t even attempting to make it to the bathroom before we had our fun.
But that was where I drew the line. I had lots of sex with plenty of guys. This here was just another guy, another face in a sea of faces I was now not only using to forget my past but to forget a certain soldier who had wiggled his way into my life through his sister.
No matter what I was trying to forget, I was never up for doing it in front of a crowd. Though I was determined to go through with it this time. Because every time I had tried since that one afternoon after Thanksgiving eight weeks back, I couldn’t let it go anywhere. Said brute was messing with all my plans and control, and he didn’t even know it.
The humidity in the air made David’s dark hair curl around his ears, which meant mine was probably a frizzy joke. His beard scratched my face when he smashed his mouth to mine. He was a bit rougher than I usually liked, his hand still inching its way up, grazing the wire of my bra.
My head spun. Sweat built up on the nape of my neck, and my hands that clung to his belt began to tingle. When he shoved his tongue into my mouth, I about choked on it, gagging. It was hot, much, much too hot. His hand made a lazy stroke there at the bottom of my bra, but the touch only aggravated my skin.
I jerked back, my head smacking the wall. I shoved against his chest, batting his hand away from my breast. His eyes shifted back and forth, a smirk playing at his lips. “What is it, doll?” he rasped, the scent of booze shoving its way up my nostrils.
The hallway spun. He spun. Everything spun. What the hell is wrong with me? “Don’t call me doll,” I snarled. Or slurred. Same thing.
I gave him another shove when he didn’t move.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked the question that was playing through my mind. But I couldn’t think.
“Out,” I gasped when my stomach rolled. “I need air.” I pushed past him, scrambling through the crowd to get to the exit.
When I burst through the door, the thick air did little to ease my nausea, this hot flash. There was no way I had drank so much that I was getting sick. I was so careful, only had a few shots. My hands went to my knees. Hunched over, I breathed deeply.
Hot hands gripped my shoulders. “Drink too much?” David asked, sounding rather disappointed.
I stood so quickly, jerking away from his grasp, that everything spun again. Then I heaved, vomiting all over his boots.
“Shit!” he exclaimed, staggering backward.
Rancid tequila burned my throat, probably ruining my choice of drink for a while. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “I need a cab” was all I said before stumbling away from him.
He must have been one of the more decent men I had ever been with, since he walked me to the curb without griping at all about the vomit on his boots. He even called me a cab and waited with me until the car got there, making sure I was in and on my way to the apartment.
The door to the apartment snicked shut behind me, and I tiptoed as gracefully as possible down the hallway toward my bedroom at the end of the hall. Ava’s laugh tumbled through her door, followed by Cade’s low growl. I would rather they did whatever they were doing in there at Cade’s place. But she always put up with my escapades, so I kept my mouth shut when they made lovey-dovey, mushy sounds with each other.
Most days, I wouldn’t care if they heard me come in. But just then, with whatever was wrong with me, I didn’t want them asking any questions. I curled up in my bed, a fan blowing on my face while I checked my email to see if the person I was pretending I didn’t care about had written me.
And there it was. An email from Kai. He knew it was the only way to get to me; if he ever called or texted, I was always conveniently busy. My heart raced for no evident reason when I opened it.
Hey, hot stuff.
It’s been oooooh, eight weeks now. Germany sucks balls. Especially since you’ve been avoiding my calls and texts. You’re just as bad as Mia, never answering me. Most would consider themselves privileged getting any form of correspondence from me.
Though Mia does respond more now, much more than you do. I still can’t believe she’s engaged. My kid sister and my best friend. Fuck, it’s weird.
I’m gonna be out of here in a few months, when my term