Break Away: A Midwest Small Town Romance Read online

  I try with every ounce of my being to bury myself in the job that I returned to. But I just can’t get those brown eyes out of my head. And that sassy attitude. Damn I would love to take hold of her and hmmm. But she is so young and has so much going wrong in her life. I just need to make sure that Crew leaves with me when the next storm wreaks havoc.

  That’s it. That’s all. And no more.

  Ting

  I grab my cell off the dash of my truck and see that it's an unknown caller.

  Noah is me Sofod are u yup

  What the fuck?

  I toss the clipboard that I'm holding over the backseat, not caring where it lands. I hit call as I turn the radio off and listen for her voice. Straight to voicemail. Fuck. I hit send again. Voicemail. One more time. Voicemail. I hit end and text her back.

  She responds, but in ways that I need a fucking decoder to understand. She’s been drinking and she's in the woods? What the fuck?

  Before I know it, I’m doing ninety down a podunk country road. I’m headed to the town square. They’ll know the little fucker that took her out and they’re gonna get a hold of him for me. Or else.

  The square is full of them. Hormonal teens thinking they know it all. Vaping, wasting their days watching TikTok and screwing whoever they can get into bed. Hell, I was them once, just a different generation.

  I stand there waiting as they text this person, then that person, and within three minutes I am punching his number into my phone from the cab of my truck.

  He answers on the second ring.

  “Yup, who this?”

  “This Cameron?”

  “Yeah. Who wants to know?”

  “Friend of Sofia’s. Where is she?”

  “Fuck if I know?”

  Oh, you so don’t want to fuck with me little boy.

  “Is she with you right now?”

  “Fuck no. She can go to hell. Took her out for a nice dinner and then to a quiet spot to talk and ended up having a little disagreement. So, I left her.”

  Disagreement. huh.

  “Where did you leave her?”

  “Who the fuck is this? I ain’t telling you shit, I don’t even know who the fuck you are.”

  “Well, let’s just put it this way. If you don’t tell me where the fuck she is, right now, I will beat you until you can just barely breathe. So, I would start talking because my truck is being put into drive as we speak. Either it will drive to pick up the girl that you left in some fucking woods because your dick was too small for her, or it will drive to your house where you sit behind your garage smoking weed like a little pussy. Yes, the same way I got your number is the same way I know where you live and what you are doing right now. So, I would start fucking talking because my truck is being put into drive.”

  Dead silence.

  “Kishwaukee Forest Preserve off of Mulford.”

  “Great, now do yourself a favor and stay the fuck away from Sofia. Because if you ever so much as look at her again, I will fucking kill you!”

  I hang up on him as I tear out of town. I am so worried that something has happened to her. God, if he did anything to her! I have no idea what I am going to find when I get there. I think about calling the cops, but I don’t want to get them involved. I don’t want to cause any problems for her by welcoming the law into her home. God knows what they would have to say about her living conditions.

  As I’m driving to Rockford, I can’t keep my mind from drifting back to that night. The night I found her letter.

  Damnit, stop Noah.

  The GPS tells me that I have arrived at my destination. I slow down just enough so that I can scan my surroundings. I look for any sign of her and start to panic until my headlights graze over her body, curled up on a wooden bench. I cannot get out of my truck fast enough. Relief rushes over me as I see her lift her head off of the bench. I get down on my knees and lift her face so that I can see if he has physically hurt her.

  Thank God.

  I still want to kill the fucker for leaving her here.

  When I gently pull her off the bench, she stumbles backwards, and I wrap her in my arms. Her body fits mine like we were made from the same mold but broken apart.

  I stroke her hair that is soft like I have never felt before and try to calm her down.

  The need to protect her before, is nothing comparable to what I am feeling now. Rage begins to build within me as I start thinking about earlier and how I had tried to warn her to be careful. The phone calls and texts that went without an answer send me over the edge. I force her to look at me so she can see how angry I am.

  Drunken eyes stare back at me and I watch as exhaustion begins to set in.

  She throws more sass my way and when I grab her arm, so she doesn’t fall, again, she screams at me.

  I flinch. Her words are full of pain and slice at my heart like razor blades.

  My heart aches for this lost girl that pretends to be so strong. I jump down.

  She is quiet on the ride home, I'm sure she is passed out and I start to wonder how I am going to get her into her trailer. That doesn’t seem to be a problem though, because as soon as I walk around my truck to get her out, she comes back to life and starts giggling and calling me Mr. Bossy Pants. I try my hardest not to laugh at her because I am livid with her and need her to understand the danger that she put herself in. I fail epically though, and a chuckle escapes my mouth.

  I get her settled into bed and stare down at her. I feel like the breath has been stolen from my lungs and my heart begins to race. I fight back the urge to crawl into her bed and hold her in my arms. I am falling for her and as hard as I try to fight it, every day that I am with her, it is getting harder and harder to deny. I want so badly to do for her what I didn’t do for Cami.

  I pull my hand from hers, turn off the light, and leave her to sleep it off.

  I toss and turn for the remainder of the night on that worn out, smoke-smelling couch. I pretend to be asleep when Mona, her mom comes staggering in at four in the morning. I jump at the sound of her bedroom door slamming shut and lay awake for another hour before I finally drift back to sleep.

  After what seems to be less than an hour of shut eye, I feel my eyelids being forced open by tiny little fingers, followed by the sweetest giggle that I have ever heard. I rub at my face and slowly sit up to find Enzo kneeling on the floor beside me. He looks up at me, all smiles and ready to start the day. I look around at the dirty, run down trailer that he calls his home and shake my head. I know that his mother isn’t going to be up for hours and I want Sofia to

  rest, so I make my way to the kitchen to make us something to eat. I am enraged to find nothing in the cabinets or fridge and decide to go to the store and buy some stuff for breakfast. I grab what looks to be a booster seat from 1996 that is sitting next to the front door and we head out to my truck.

  As I pull out of the trailer park, swerving to avoid all of the potholes in the makeshift gravel road, I look in my rearview mirror. A mop of messy curls and big blue eyes are staring back at me. How in the hell did I get myself wrapped up in this mess? I have no idea, but I know that there is no way in hell I can walk away now.

  What was that amazing smell?

  I sit up slowly, running my fingers through my hair. My head feels heavy, and the pounding headache is almost too much to bear. I swing my legs to the floor and sit on the side of my bed for a minute, rubbing my temples with my fingers. I am still in my dress from the night before, and my brain feels fuzzy.

  The house smells of bacon. It takes me back to when my Nonna was alive. Waking up to her standing at the stove humming a tune as she flipped eggs and fried bacon. We would all sit and eat breakfast before my mom had to go to work at Medina, the nursing home in town. My mom would share stories of patients that she cared for and also the ones that she lost. My mother got fired from that job shortly after Nonna’s death, because of the pills.

  The sound of Enzo’s belly laughing snaps me back to reality.

 
; Oh how I love that sound.

  I slip out of my dress and grab a T-shirt from my dresser. I pull it over my head as I make my way down the hall to the kitchen.

  “Sissy, sissy.” Lorenzo is standing in the middle of the kitchen, jumping up and down, clapping his hands. He looks adorable in his Spider-Man pajamas with MeeMee tucked under his arm, his curls bouncing on top of his head.

  “Noah is making Mickey Mouse pancakes! I didn’t even know you could do that, Sissy?” He runs up and gives me a big hug. I kneel down and wrap my arms around him. He lays his head on my shoulder and I start playing with his hair.

  “Oh is he Baby Bear?” I look up at Noah, who is standing with his back to me flipping a pancake on the stove. He looks down at me and smiles.

  “Sissy, I’m not a baby, I’m a big boy.” I tickle him and he starts squirming and giggling in my arms.

  “Oh that’s right, you're a kindergartner now. How could I forget?” Enzo runs to Noah and wraps his tiny arms around his leg. Noah looks down at him and ruffles his hair. I have never seen Enzo with a man. I can’t help but smile as I watch him laughing and playing with him.

  “This little guy got home from his sleepover this morning and woke me up. Your mom didn’t flinch, so we have been hanging out while you slept off what I'm sure is, a killer headache.” He winks at me as he opens the fridge and pulls out some orange juice.

  Orange juice? Where did that come from? We can’t afford orange juice.

  “I figured that I would make us some breakfast but saw that you didn’t have anything here, so me and Enz ran to the store and got some groceries. I hope you don’t mind that he tagged along?”

  “Um, no. Not at all. Thank you for the food, but you didn’t have to do that.”

  Can he be any sweeter?

  “Don’t worry about it. You're probably thirsty as hell and I got you some aspirin for that head of yours.”

  He pulls a bottle of aspirin out of a grocery bag sitting on the counter and pours some orange juice into a glass. “Here, take these.” He drops two pills in my hand, and I take the juice from him.

  “Thank you. But I usually drink Coke.” He shakes his head and pushes the glass to my lips.

  “Coke is the worst thing you could drink. It will rot your teeth out of your head. Drink.” I squint my eyes at his bossy command, toss the pills in my mouth and gulp down the glass of juice. I will never admit it, but this orange juice is pure heaven on my parched tongue.

  “Happy?” I roll my eyes and hold the empty glass out to him. He smiles at me all big and takes the glass over to the sink.

  “Yes, very.” He sets my glass in the sink and goes back to cooking, pulls a plate out of the cabinet for Lorenzo, and starts putting food on it. “Here ya go buddy. Two Mickey Mouse pancakes.” Enzo reaches up and takes the plate from him, his dimples dancing as a huge smile spreads across his face.

  “Sissy, can I eat on your bed and watch cartoons?” He looks up at me with those big blue eyes and lashes to die for.

  I can’t resist.

  “Yes, but just for today. We are not making this an everyday thing.” He nods his head yes and runs off down the hall.

  “Thanks for making breakfast for him.” I notice my phone sitting on the kitchen table and go to sit down and check if I have any missed calls or texts. Only a missed text from Ezra wanting to know how my date went.

  “No problem, he’s a great kid. And breakfast is kind of my specialty.” He walks over with a plate of food for me and sets it down in front of me.

  “Thank you, it looks amazing. And yes, he holds the key to my heart.” I grab the syrup and start pouring it over my pancakes as he sits down.

  “So, you wanna tell me what the hell happened last night?” He gives me a questioning look as he pops a piece of bacon into his mouth.

  He even chews bacon sexy.

  “No, I think I’m good there. Thanks for the ride though, I really appreciate it.” I set the syrup down and start cutting my pancakes.

  “Yeah, um, that wasn’t meant to be a question. What the fuck happened last night?” He doesn’t take his eyes off me as he grabs the syrup from the middle of the table.

  Oh, challenge me? Game on.

  “Well, like I said, I don’t want to talk about it.” I get up to grab a Coke out of the fridge. “Want one?” I hold it up and smile, knowing damn well he doesn’t. He glares at me from across the room. “I take that as a no.” I open it as I fall back into my chair.

  “Listen Sofia, you had me scared shitless last night. Your drunk texts, hunting you down and then when I finally found you, well something happened to you. I want to know what the fuck happened!” He’s raising his voice and becoming agitated.

  “Noah, you are really starting to irritate me.” I stab at my pancake and glare across the table at him.

  “Well, let’s see, you go out on a date and by the end of the night, you end up alone and sobbing in the woods almost a half hour away from your house? Then you text me for help and when I ask you what the fuck happened, you won’t tell me?” He’s pissed off and getting angrier by the second.

  “I really don’t owe you an explanation. No disrespect, but you are no one to me. I said thank you for the ride, what more do you want?” I am on my last nerve with this man, and he is jumping up and down on it.

  “Maybe I want to be someone, did that ever cross your bullheaded self? And yes, I want to know the fucking truth. I think you at least owe me that!” Now he's so loud that he’s going to wake my mother.

  “Bullheaded? Noah, lower your voice! Jesus, you’re going to wake my mother up.” I pick up my Coke and take a drink.

  Oh, this man.

  “A herd of elephants wouldn’t wake that woman up and I will lower my voice when you tell me what that punk ass bitch Cameron did to you!”

  How does he know his name?

  “How do you know who I went out with last night?” I narrow my eyes at him.

  I never told him his name.

  “And how did you know where I was?”

  “Oh, so now you want me to answer your questions? Huh. Isn’t that funny?”

  I don’t think anyone has ever irritated me this much!

  “Fine. You first, though.” I set my drink down and lean back in my chair, crossing my arms in a huff.

  “That’s fair.” He drops his fork onto his plate and tousles his sexy bed head hair with his hand. “I was at a job finishing up some work when you texted me. I couldn’t get a hold of you and then you ignored me, so I freaked out and jumped in my truck. I drove to the town square and there were a bunch of kids hanging out there. I asked them if they knew you and they said they did. So, after a few of them texting this person, then that person, I found out that Cameron had taken you out. I got his number and called him.”

  “You called him?” My heart stops. I’m dead.

  What. The. Fuck.

  “Yeah, I did. He said that he took you to eat and then to “talk” and you both got into a disagreement, so he left you.”

  “Oh my God, Noah, I can’t believe you.” I’m even more humiliated than I was last night. If that is even possible?

  “You were in trouble, Sofia, and don’t forget, you called me. After talking to him, I knew that there was more to the story so I told that fucker that if he ever so much as looked at you again, I would fucking kill him!” Stone cold eyes stare back at me. His words stir unfamiliar emotions within me.

  I am pulled between slapping him clear into tomorrow and slamming my lips against his.

  “I can't fucking believe you did that! I have to go to school with him! You need to leave! NOW!” I grab his plate and march it over to the sink. I turn on the faucet and begin washing dishes with a vengeance.

  “I don’t really care if you are humiliated. He left you in the woods, alone! Now tell me what happened!” He storms over to me and I can feel the heat radiating off his body as he waits for me to answer. “Tell me. Now.” I have no idea why, but the authority in his voice
is making my knees weak. To avoid the fact that I am very turned on by him right now, I begin angrily scrubbing the syrup off a plate.

  “I let things get a little carried away. That’s all.” I pull a towel out of the drawer and he rips it out of my hand, grabbing my wrist and spinning me around so that I can face him.

  That was unexpected.

  “Please Sofia, tell me.” His eyes soften but he still has a hold of my wrist. I rip it away and squint my eyes at him.

  “Whatever. Things got heated between us and he wanted to take it to the next level. When I told him no... he wouldn’t stop.” I watch the ocean blue in his eyes turn dark and foreboding. He shakes his head as he rubs at the back of his neck.

  “Did he… you know, did he fucking hurt you?”

  “No. I fought back and that's when he told me to get out. Then he left. It was all stupid and I am mortified that I even let it go as far as it did.” I look away from him, humiliated and ashamed.

  He takes my chin in his hand and softly tilts my face so that our eyes meet. “Don’t. Don’t you blame yourself. No means no, no matter how far you let it go. When you said stop, he should have stopped.”

  Tears start to well up in my eyes and I look away. Last night, the Mustang, the woods, now...it is all too much.

  “Noah, why did you come get me last night?” I can’t stop a tear from slowly trailing down my cheek.

  He pulls me to his body, wrapping his arms around me. I rest my head on his chest as he softly runs his hand over my back.

  I don’t want to pull away.

  “Sofia, I have to be careful around you, I just can’t seem to think straight since you came into my life.”

  Oh. My. God.

  “What is there to think about?” My thoughts are conflicted as he presses his forehead to mine. I can feel his hot breath on my face.

  “Sofia, I’m no good for you. I don’t want to hurt you, but I can't seem to let you be. I haven't stopped thinking about you since you walked through that front door.” He slowly begins pushing me backwards across the kitchen floor. My heart starts pounding harder with every step that he forces me to take. The breath that I have been holding releases as he presses my body against the wall.