Ride (Novella)

I inhaled on my cigarette, savouring the final drag. My father would lose his shit if he saw me, but my craving for nicotine had won out.

I ran my fingers over the stone wall of the church. My dad might have been a priest, but the thought of heaven brought me little comfort.

“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Revelation 2.10.

I’d heard this quoted at many of his sermons, and he really did believe it. As did the population of Grey Oaks. When you lived in a small town of religious folk, then a funeral like today had filled the pews.

Dennis Firth had been a local hero. A man who put his community first, and was forever organising fundraisers. Two weeks ago, he had dropped dead in the local market. He had only been 58 years old and seemed to be in pretty good health. Everyone had been devastated, the shock striking through the town like a flash flood.

I stubbed my cigarette out on the wall and sighed. Today hadn’t been easy for anyone. Dennis was well liked, and he had always been on hand to support his neighbours. In fact, there were times when his willingness to help others had been... strange. Even my dad had commented on it.

“Dennis should have focused on his own family and having a happy home. Things might have worked out differently then...” He’d mused, as we ate dinner last night.

I’d asked him to elaborate, but he’d refused. It didn’t bother me too much. Dennis was dead, and his wife had died a while ago. I had only been a child when his sixteen-year-old son ran away.

I’d lost my own mother when I was eleven. There was no way I could imagine running away and not speaking to my father again. No matter how much we disagreed.

I locked the main doors into the church and put my hand in my bag to search for chewing gum. My dad would not be happy if he thought I had been smoking. He was strict, and he’d drilled into me that everything I did was a reflection of him and our religion.

“I take it the fucker is already in the ground.”

I turned, completely caught off guard. My packet of gum fell to the ground as all the breath left my body.

The man stood in front of me was gorgeous.

His hair was jet black and slightly long, falling at the collar of his t-shirt. It framed his handsome face perfectly. My eyes felt like they were on stalks when they wandered over his body. A mountain of broad shoulders and pure muscle that made my heart race.

He was wearing a black t-shirt and I could see the tattoos covering his arms. It wasn’t just his appearance, though. There was this magnetism about him that was impossible to ignore. I couldn’t stop staring like an idiot.

He coughed, and I finally met his eyes, my cheeks burning red.

“Sorry, who are you?” I mumbled, trying to sound casual.

As a rather inexperienced 18-year-old, I didn’t feel equipped to speak to a man who looked like that. He had to be at least ten years older than me and he was so hot. Nothing like the high school boys I usually hung out with.

“Never mind who I am. I asked you a question before you started fucking me with your eyes.”

Oh, my God.

I felt like my face was on fire. I brushed my fingers through my long blonde hair and took a few steps back. He sighed and moved closer to me, shortening the distance between us.

“Look, I’m sorry. This town has a lot of bad memories for me, but that’s no excuse to be rude. Can you tell me if the funeral is over for Dennis Firth?”

I bit my lip and nodded, still feeling unsure of him. He was radiating anger and frustration, although surprisingly, I didn’t feel scared.

“Could you please show me to his grave? I need to pay my final respects.”

His handsome face lit up when he smiled, and I noticed he had beautiful green eyes. I swallowed and tried to find my voice.

“It’s just over here.”

I started to walk off when I felt his hand grab mine, causing a jolt of electricity to fire through my entire body. I spun around and he was staring at me, his hand still holding mine.

“You dropped your gum.” He said, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d felt it too.

I nodded in thanks and carried on walking, my brain going into overdrive with all the questions I wanted to ask.

“I’ll give you some privacy.” I muttered when we finally reached the grave. He stood so close to me that his arm was almost touching mine.

He shrugged and stepped forward. I stood as still as a statue, committing every part of him to memory. He hadn’t been wrong when he said I’d been fucking him with my eyes. What girl wouldn’t? He was almost too good looking to be real.

“Look at all these flowers, more than the piece of shit deserved.”

His voice was deep and I could hear the hatred in it. Everyone had loved Dennis. Who the hell was this man, and why was he even here?

“Sorry, who are you again?” I said, sounding way more confident than I felt.

He didn’t answer me. Instead, he undid the flies of his jeans and started to piss all over the headstone.

“I’m his son, Ryan. I’d shake your hand but…”

He turned and winked at me, and all I could do was stare. After he finished, he zipped back up and walked over to me, smiling like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

“How about we go for a beer? Get to know each other a bit better.”

His arm wrapped around my waist, and I ignored the way my body tingled at his touch.

Seriously?

He was going to hit on me after what I had just seen? I pulled away and stormed off. No matter what issues he had, there were no excuses for his behaviour.

“Hey, where are you going?” He shouted.

I was going to ignore him, but my anger took over. This was my father’s church. His behaviour had disrespected him, as well as everyone in the town who had laid those flowers down.

“As far away as I can from you. I suggest you get the hell out of here and don’t come back.” I said coldly.

He raised his eyebrows and walked towards me. I swallowed nervously. My instinct was telling me to run, but I stood my ground.

“Wow, you’re a bit of a firecracker, aren’t you? Wouldn’t think it to look at that pretty blonde face.” He said softly, an amused look on his own face.

“Only when I have to be. Like I said, you need to leave. I’m done speaking to you.”

My heart was hammering in my chest. When he’d called me pretty, I’d felt a warm rush flood my body, and it had caught me off guard.

I continued to walk away, needing to get as far away as possible from him. He seemed to be disturbed, and there was no way I should be responding to him the way I was.

“I don’t go around pissing on people’s graves for no reason. Aren’t you curious why I did that?”

Something about the tone of his voice made me stop. I didn’t realise he was right behind me till I turned and bumped right into him. My hand landed on his stomach, and I felt his muscles through his t-shirt. Before I could stop myself, my fingers had run over them. He took a sharp intake of breath as I came to my senses, snatching my hand away.

“My father was evil. He wasn’t the man everyone thought he was. Unless you lived with him, you had no idea how depraved he was.”

I felt a shiver run down my spine. When I looked at his face, I could see the tension in his jaw.

“Your father did a lot for the people around here. You’ll have to forgive me if I have trouble believing that.”

He made a face and rolled his eyes.

“Of course you believe that shit. I have no reason to lie. It’s the fucking truth. He was a monster.”

When I looked into his eyes, I knew he was telling the truth. The pain was evident on his handsome face, and his whole body was tight with tension.

“I had no idea… I’m sorry.” I muttered, looking at the ground.

He sighed.

“Nobody knew the truth. My dad was so adored by the people in this shitty town. They didn’t want to hear anything that contradicted that.”

Well, that was certainly true. Ryan ran his fingers through his hair, his eyes darkening.

“I’m sure you’ve heard all about me. The wayward son who was always getting into trouble. Everyone felt so sorry for my dad. That’s why I fucked off the first opportunity I got.”

We were both quiet. I didn’t know what to say to him. I guess there were no words to make any of it any better.

“Look, let me buy you a beer. I’m guessing you’ve finished working here for the day?”

He must have thought I was at least twenty-one years old. Although he didn’t strike me as someone who cared about the law when it came to drinking alcohol.

I knew I should say no, but… I was a teenage girl and the hottest man I’d ever seen was asking me out for a drink. Ok, so he’d pissed all over his dead father’s grave, but I kind of understood why.

Oh Lord, what did that even say about me?

“Ok, I just need to txt my fa- friend. We had plans.” I said, correcting myself.

He smiled at me again and I felt my insides melt.

“My car’s outside the church. There’s a bar at my motel, if you fancy it.”

I hesitated. Was I going to go through with this?

He held his hands up.

“I’ll drop you back here afterwards. I promise.”

I nodded and followed him to his car. It was a black Cadillac Escalade. I looked at it in surprise. I hadn’t been expecting him to be driving something so serious looking.

He held the door open for me and I climbed in, my black dress riding up as I sat down. I didn’t miss the way his eyes wandered over my legs.

What the hell was I doing? I was the 18-year-old daughter of a priest, and I knew better than to get into cars with strange men I didn’t know. Even if they did look like a Calvin Klein model...

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