Finding Paige: (The Paige Diaries #1)

by D. K Lake

  Chapter 14

  I don't know how I managed to keep my breakfast down. My tummy is turning, although I don't think I will throw up. I empty the small trashcan that Em keeps in the corner. It's got unicorns on the outside and she's had it since she was ten. I place a plastic bag inside just in case and keep it close by. I'm so thirsty, though.

  I tidy up the dorm room and try to get in some reading but it’s hard to concentrate because my head is a mess. All I can think about is what happened last night. I drop my book on the nightstand and pull the covers over and curl up. Last night is catching up on me. I feel too tired to read and I'm bored of waiting for Em to come back.

  ***

  The door wakes me up and I hear Em lumping around. I check the clock on my nightstand and see it's already 4 o'clock. I've slept for most of the day.

  "Hello, yoooou." Em says, moving around the bedroom so fast it's hard to keep track of her.

  I sit up and try to wake myself up and it's only then I notice another figure standing inside the room.

  Spencer is leaning against the wall with one knee bent and a phone in his hand.

  "Afternoon," he says to me but I don't respond and stare at Em as she packs clothes into her schoolbag.

  "Em?" I get up and follow her over to the closet. "Where have you been?" I whisper, glancing back at Spencer, wondering what the hell he's doing here.

  "I messaged you to let you know I wouldn't be back." she replies.

  I look back at Spencer awkwardly. "Can we talk for a minute?"

  "Sure." Em responds.

  "Alone." I whisper.

  She looks at me with a strange smile. "Spence is cool."

  "Okay, but I really want to talk to you....alone."

  "It's okay. I need to make a call," Spencer says.

  He slips out the door and Em just glares at me.

  "Well, that was ruuuude of you." she says with a smile.

  "What are you doing?" I watch as she grabs some underwear and shoves it in her bag.

  "I'm staying at Spencer's tonight. We're going bowling and getting takeout. I would ask you to join us, but something tells me you'd say no."

  "You hardly know him."

  "I know enough to know I like him. We spent all night chatting and then we went to the 24/7 and got slushies. He's nice."

  "He could be a serial killer."

  She laughs. "He's not a serial killer. You can even ask Maverick or Addie. He's just a dealer."

  "Just a dealer? Like that makes it any better."

  "He doesn't do drugs, he only distributes. Anyway, you were chatting with him last night and you two were getting on like a house on fire."

  "We were?"

  "Yes. You're funny when you've been drinking."

  "What have you been doing all day? I thought we were supposed to go to your house today to get the rest of your things?"

  "I've been at the garage with Spencer for most of the day. And I’ve already phoned Mom and told her I'll drop by tomorrow."

  "What garage?"

  "The one that belongs to you-know-who."

  "Dario." I whisper to myself.

  "Oh, so you do know his name." she teases. "Spencer also helps out with repairs at the garage."

  "Was anyone else there?"

  "Where? At the garage? Maybe." she says, and she knows what I'm asking. "Actually…Boston was there and we had a nice little chat about you."

  "What?"

  "Nothing bad." She zips up her backpack. "So, do you wanna come bowling with us?"

  "No." I deadpan. "You're really going to ditch me to spend the night with Spencer?"

  "It's Saturday night and I want to have some fun before Monday morning."

  "Em, are you sure it's a good idea to be hanging out with this guy. He might not be a bad person, but who he associates with probably aren't the safest of people."

  She shrugs. "I don't care. Unlike you, I see what I want and I take it."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "It means, I'm young and want to enjoy myself and not worry about all the little hang-ups."

  "I am enjoying myself. I had fun last night with Maverick."

  "Uh-huh,"

  "I like Maverick."

  "Okay. Then why don't you phone him and see what he's up to tonight instead of sitting around here, hmm?"

  "We made plans for tomorrow."

  "Then come bowling with us tonight."

  "No, I think I'm just going to finish my reading."

  Em lets out a frustrated sigh. "Boring."

  She reaches for the door handle and opens the door and Spencer is waiting on the other side.

  "See ya," she sings and Spencer nods his head at me before she pulls the door shut.

  I grab dinner at the cafeteria and sit on my own and feel like a bit of a loser. This place is dead. Everyone is elsewhere, having fun, and I'm stuck here. I want to ring Maverick and ask him what he's up to but I don't want to come off as too clingy. We set a date for tomorrow, so I leave it alone and venture back to my room. I end up on my bed, bored out of my mind, watching Netflix on Em's laptop.

  Outside in the corridor, people are making a ruckus and someone's got their music up really loud and I give up trying to follow the movie. I fall back on my pillow and my hand finds its way underneath to where Dario's shirt is still hidden. I slowly pull it out and breathe it in.

  Ugh. What is wrong with me?

  I'm sitting alone on a Saturday night sniffing his shirt. I need to get rid of it.

  I check the time on my cell and see it's only 9 o'clock and it's still early for most people. I can't take this anymore. The noise coming from next door is driving me mad and any chance of trying to get to sleep anytime soon isn't going to happen. That nap didn't help. I feel wide awake.

  So I do something I will probably regret come tomorrow and fix my hair and makeup, and then I change into my leggings and favorite pink sweatshirt and slip on my snuggly boots. I make sure I have everything and lock the door behind me and venture outside to wait for my ride.

  The Uber driver is one of those chatty people that doesn't stop talking.

  "It's a bit late to be visiting the auto shop," the nosy Uber driver asks.

  "I know the owner." I say to shut him up.

  He pulls up outside the garage. There’s colorful graffiti all over the brick walls and a large sign advertising the garage. The shutters are pulled down but I can see a light on inside and there's rock music blasting on the other side.

  "Thanks," I say and hop out before he can ask me any more questions.

  I watch the car pull away before I knock on the side door, but the music's so loud no one hears me. I try the handle and surprisingly it's unlocked. I step inside the door and pull it closed behind me and look around. The place is a lot bigger on the inside. There are cars up on ramps and tool trolleys everywhere. The lights are harsh and blinding. I wander further inside, searching for any movement. I don't even know if Dario's here. Whoever is, can probably call him for me though.

  I see movement down the other end and put on a brave face and walk toward the body I can see bending under the hood of the car, turning the stereo down a few notches on the way, but before I reach the person, a familiar dog appears and trots over to me.

  "Charlie?" I say surprised, reaching down to pet him.

  Charlie is my neighbor's dog before we moved. But what is he doing here?

  A head pops up from under the hood and I realize it's Dario. He looks surprised to see me at first, but he soon plasters a casual smirk on his face.

  "Why do you have my neighbor's dog?" I demand, trying not to stare at his chiseled abs. How did they get like that? They weren’t that hard-looking the last time I saw them. Is he working out?

  Why do you care?

  "Hello to you too." He wipes his hands on a rag.

  "Well?"

  "I have no idea what you're talking about?"

  "This is the same dog that used to live next door to me before I moved to Ne
braska. He belonged to those hippies that we're always traveling. We used to feed him and walk him when they were gone."

  "Maybe they shouldn't have got a dog if they weren't going to look after him."

  I gape at him. "You stole him?"

  "I didn't. JT took it upon himself to take the dog off their hands."

  JT Torres is one of Dario's friends that got him started in the drug business, and his brother, Mitchel Torres, is the guy that's obsessed with my sister. He's trouble and the reason why we had to move.

  "He didn't kidnap him or anything. He gave ‘em fifty bucks." He smirks. "Well, he left them a note with the fifty bucks inside."

  "So, he did kidnap the dog?"

  "It was more of a rescue mission. You and your mom took off and there was no one there to feed him."

  "The neighbor across the street was feeding him."

  "His bowl was empty when we turned up."

  "What if the police find out?"

  "They won't. He was never reported missing, so I don't think his owners were that bothered about him."

  "Poor Charlie," I rub behind his ears.

  "Poor Charlie? That dog eats better than I do. And it's Wolfgang now, not Charlie."

  "Whatever. You're all mad. Kidnapping dogs. Dealing drugs. What next? Bank robbery?"

  "We're saving that for next Thursday," he jokes, picking up the t-shirt that is hanging over the hood of the car and pulls it over his head.

  I shake my head at him and open my tote bag, searching for my phone because I need to order an Uber again to take me back.

  Why hadn't I thought this through? I have no ride. No way to get out of here.

  "How was your night?" he asks as I rummage through my bag.

  "Good actually. After you disappeared it was much better. Maverick is..." I smile, chewing on my lip to get a reaction. "Well, let's just say we had fun. He sure knows how to make a girl feel good."

  He watches me carefully and the smile on his face is suddenly wiped clean off.

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "Nothing. Just we um...." I laugh it off. "Oh, nothing. You don't want to hear about what we did behind closed doors."

  "No, please. Go on," He folds his arms with this curious look on his face.

  "No, it's too personal."

  "Paige," he warns.

  "We um...had sex. Three times, actually. It was pretty intense." I lie.

  "No, you didn't." he deadpans.

  "How would you know?" I say, my hand resting on my hip.

  "Because I stayed all night to make sure he stayed out of the bedroom you were sleeping in. He only checked in on you twice."

  "That's not how I remember it. We messed around and he did this thing with his tongue."

  "Right." Dario mutters.

  "He said he can't wait to do it again." I say knowing it will get the reaction I am hoping for.

  "He said what?!" Dario snaps.

  "Ha! So, it was you!"

  "Was it me what?" He pats down his pockets and digs out his phone.

  "You know what I'm talking about?"

  He studies me for a moment.

  "Refresh my memory," A smug smile plays on his lips.

  "It's not funny! I woke up and thought...I thought..."

  "You thought that lover boy munched your box last night." He bursts out laughing.

  "It was you!" I cry.

  "Would you prefer it if it had been some stranger?"

  "I would prefer it if you hadn't have done it at all. You didn't even ask me if I wanted you to do that. I feel violated."

  "You weren't complaining last night. Wait a minute. I've got it all on video." He holds his phone in the air and I hear myself moaning.

  No, no, no, no, no.

  "Ohmigawd. Delete that!" I lunge at him to try and take the phone and he holds it up in the air out of my reach. "Give it back!"

  "Ummmm...let me think about it." He taps his chin.

  "Forget it. I’m not playing this game with you. I’m calling an Uber," I say and a moment later my phone is lifted out of my hand and he darts through a side door.

  I chase after him and he closes the door behind me and locks it, and then pockets the key.

  The devilish smile on his face lets me know I'm in trouble.

  Chapter 15

  "Hey! Unlock that right now!" I demand.

  "In a minute. Come and have a drink with me and I'll let you have your phone back."

  He goes over to the fridge in the corner and I let my eyes wander around the room. It looks like an office. There's a desk, a filing cabinet, but there's also a kitchen area at the back with a sink and cupboards. When I turn around I nearly trip over a random sneaker lying on the floor and then I see a pull-out bed with crumpled sheets and pillows.

  "Who sleeps in here?" I ask, hugging my arms around my body.

  "That would be me. I moved out for good."

  "You left? Is your mom okay on her own?" I say, remembering vaguely that he had told me he was sleeping at the garage.

  "She's fine. My stepfather might be a dick to me, but he's never hurt her or my sister. He's just had it in for me since day one."

  I notice a dresser behind the door with a TV on top and the rest of the space is filled with alcohol bottles. Dario comes back over to me with two beers in his hand. I can see he's tucked my phone into his pocket.

  "Here," he says, holding the beer out to me.

  I keep my eyes on him.

  "It's okay, P. One beer and I'll let you have your phone back."

  I huff and snatch the beer bottle from him.

  "Sit," he says and guides me to the bed area and pushes me down and takes a seat next to me.

  "How's college?" he asks.

  "It's great. Everyone's friendly. It's different from high school." I take a sip of my beer.

  "I bet." He tips his beer bottle back. I glare at him and he notices. "I'm just sayin’ I'm not surprised everyone's being friendly if you go around wearing hardly any clothes."

  I frown and look down at my sweatshirt and leggings.

  "Not now. I was referring to that skimpy piece of fabric you wore that first night you ran into me."

  "I didn't run into you on purpose. I didn't see you. And it was Em's dress."

  "I already guessed that. You don't wear clothes like that."

  "What does that mean?"

  "It means you're not like Em."

  "Well, maybe you don't know me that well. Maybe I like wearing those clothes." I say knowing full well it's a blatant lie. I'm not as confident as Em and I never feel comfortable in anything that shows off too much skin, but it's up to me what I wear.

  "Anyway, it's none of your business what I wear." I try to stand up and he wraps his hand around my wrist and pulls me back down.

  "It is my business if other guys start pawing at you." he says, letting go of me.

  I groan and shake my head. "We're not together, Dario. I can date who I want."

  "You can try." he mutters and drains the rest of his beer.

  "What?" I’m not sure if I heard him correctly.

  "Nothing." he grumbles.

  I finish my beer as quickly as possible to get this over with. I want to get out of here and I need my phone to call an Uber.

  "There, all finished." I set the empty beer bottle on the floor and stand up, holding out my hand for my phone. Dario leans back and digs my phone out of his pocket and hands it over.

  "Thank you." I say and spin around and head for the door and rattle the handle, forgetting he had locked us in.

  "Can you unlock the door?"

  "It will cost you." he says, the corners of his lips lifting into a crooked smile as he leans back on his elbows to watch me.

  I let out a breath, scanning the room for another escape route and all I see are the windows that are up near the ceiling. Well, there goes that plan.

  "You said you'd let me leave if I had one drink with you."

  "No. I said I'd let you have your phone ba
ck if you had a drink with me. Unlocking the door wasn't part of the agreement."

  "Just unlock the door. I want to get back to the dorm."

  "Nope. You didn't say please."

  "Pleeeease." I ground out.

  "Nope." he repeats with a big grin.

  "Don't make me come over there and get the key. I will hurt you." I warn.

  "That sounds kinky."

  "Grrr. Just give me the damn key!" I snap, storming over to him, with every intention of searching his pockets.

  "Okay! Okay!" He stands up with his hands in the air. "I'll unlock the door."

  "Thank you."

  "After you've let me kiss you."

  My mouth drops open and I quickly clamp it shut.

  "Noooo. No kissing!"

  "Then you're stuck with me for the night." He grins at me and shoves his hands in his pockets.

  "What? I'm not spending the night here." I say, my eyes darting to the bed then back to him.

  "One kiss and I'll unlock the door."

  He lifts out the key from his pocket and holds it in the air.

  I try to make a last-ditch effort to reach for the key and he lifts his arm higher and easily keeps it out of my reach.

  "Stop messing around and give me the key."

  "You want this key? Then you have to let me kiss you first." He laughs as I try a different tactic and go for his ticklish spot on his side.

  He tries to push my hands away, but it doesn't work. He's trying his best to put on a straight face and not laugh but it's not working. He backs us into the bed and hooks an arm around my waist and we both go tumbling down.

  "Give. Me. The. Keyyyy." I laugh, one hand still tickling him, and the other hand is trying to reach for the key.

  I'm so focused on the key I don't realize I'm straddling him until it's too late. How did we end up like this? His face is only inches away from mine and I can feel his breath on my lips.

  All of a sudden, the key doesn't seem so important.

  Dario keeps his eyes locked on mine as I slowly let go of his arm and my hand drops to the bed. He must sense I'm about to pull away because he tightens his hold on me. The hand holding the key shoots toward me and grabs the back of my head so I can't pull away and at the same time, he leans up and crushes his lips to mine.

  I make a little noise of disapproval. I'm about to shove my hands against his chest and put some distance between us but before I get the chance, he's rolled me onto my back and has me pinned underneath him.