Chapter 2
“What a piece of junk, breaking down in the,
middle of nowhere!” Tiffany whined, glaring at my SUV.
It was my car, by the way.
She was trying to make a killer TikTok video for
her followers, speeding like a maniac, and that’s why we were stranded.
But did she feel bad? Not even a little.
Just then, a beat–up semi–truck with no plates
rolled up through the dust.
I knew exactly what was coming: Tiffany would
be begging for help.
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42
And then she’d offer to “compensate” those four guys with a little something extra.
Last time, she ignored my warnings, got totally brutalized, and then blamed me.
Now, thanks to her parents‘ rage, I was coyote food.
But not this time, oh no.
The plan I’d replayed in my head a million times was finally going down.
“Help! We need help!” Tiffany shouted, waving
her arms like a maniac, just like before.
The truck screeched to a halt in front of us.
The driver, some dude named Earl, rolled down
his window, his eyes raking over Tiffany’s tank top with a sleazy grin.
“Well, well, what have we got here? Two little
princesses in distress.”
Tiffany batted her eyelashes at him.
“Our car broke down, could you give us a ride?”
The squinty–eyed guy in the passenger seat
smirked, “Sure thing, dollface. But it ain’t free.
Eight grand, take it or leave it.”
Tiffany hesitated, then yanked down her
spaghetti strap a little lower.
“I’m just a student, barely scraping by. How
about we pay for the ride… differently? I’m a
dancer, so I guarantee you guys will like it.”
They looked at each other, grinning like wolves.
“Well, now, that’s an offer we can’t refuse. Hop
on in, the ride’s gonna be long, and we were
getting kinda bored.”
<
Tiffany looked thrilled, grabbing my arm to drag
me along.
This time, I didn’t stop her. I just yanked my hand away, staring straight at Earl.
“Hey, the rescue squad should be here any
minute, and I have to stay with the car. My sister’s just joking about the whole payback thing. After we get out of this hellhole, I’ll make sure her parents send you the money for your troubles. I’ll send you my venmo right now, no
problem.”
Last time, these guys didn’t just rape Tiffany,
they sold her to some real lowlifes.
They were animals, but they were also greedy.
Earl immediately pulled out his phone. But
Tiffany stopped him, glaring at me and
whispering.
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42
“What’s your problem? You’re not coming with
me? You don’t even care if I go with them? What kind of sister are you? It’s getting dark, who knows when the squad will get here, stop
playing it safe.”
I almost laughed.
Last time, I was desperately trying to save her,
and she called me a prude.
Now that I wasn’t interfering, she was pissed,
like I was failing to take responsibility for her.
I said, “This is your choice, right? You’re a
grown–up, so I’m sure you can handle this.”
Then I scanned Earl’s QR code with my Venmo,
but Tiffany burst out, “My parents aren’t rich,
they wouldn’t pay for a taxi. Her family has
money, if you want a payment, you gotta take
her.”
<
I felt my blood run cold.
In this deserted wasteland, she was practically
yelling out our personal information.
Like she wanted to tempt them.
Well, fine then.
