Free Home by JW Phillips Page B

Trucker’s.
    Trucker held closer to Julie and kissed her
softly on the forehead, completely ignoring everyone. Julie felt
relieved, safe, and touched with his arms around her.
    “Slumming it?” Ian asked.
    Trucker stared at Ian, his expression
impassive. Ian shuffled back uncomfortably. “Leave. Now,” Trucker
said with a small, cool smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
    His voice was soft and somehow made Julie
woozy. His normal, gorgeous, fine-features grew cold and barbaric;
there was a killing glint in his beautiful blue eyes. Those eyes
focused on Ian and didn’t waver in the slightest.
    Ian’s eyes widened, his head hung slightly.
He stumbled as if he couldn’t leave fast enough. Julie was
immobilized by the horrific feelings emanating from Trucker.
    “Ignore them, Angel. They have no idea,”
Trucker whispered. His grip around her tightened, almost
painfully.
    Julie was relieved to see Tori and Tiffany.
She practically busted out of Trucker’s arm and headed to them.
Trucker was on her heels. For a moment, she enjoyed the brief
respite from the commanding influence that was Trucker Castleman
before she was knocked into the overbearing influence that was Tori
Phillips.
    “Hi,” Julie said with a small wave.
    Tori yanked Julie’s arm and lugged her
across the parking lot. Tiffany stood staring at Trucker,
bewildered.
    “Why didn’t you tell me?” Tori’s voice
boomed over the traffic, the loud music blaring from a nearby car,
and the crowd.
    “I did tell you, you just didn’t believe
me.” Julie shrugged her shoulders and turned on her heels, leaving
Tori looking dumbfounded.
    “We got the tickets,” Julie said as Trucker
jerked on her belt loop and brought her firmly next to him.
    “Stay close. Promise,” Trucker said, so low
Julie barely heard him. “Promise me,” he said, more forcibly.
    “I promise,” Julie whispered. Well, he is
definitely not ashamed of me.
    “Good girl . . . I really dislike
people.”
    Trucker ignored those who called him, never
shifting his eyes from Julie.
    “Butter or no butter?” Tiffany finally spoke
up and asked. Tiffany was Julie’s sweetest and dearest friend. She
was unswervingly loyal to Julie and Trucker beguiled her.
    “Whatever you want,” Trucker said and smiled
down at Tiffany. “I like her. She looks out for you,” Trucker
whispered in Julie’s ear.
    It seemed half of their small junior college
was there, and Julie didn’t care. She did notice they walked around
Trucker like he had an invisible untouchable wall up.
    The Cineplex was full when they entered the
theater. Trucker held Julie’s hand tightly. He didn’t scope out the
other girls. He made Julie feel like she was the only girl there.
Julie eyed Tori and Tiffany texting and figured it was about
Trucker and her, but didn’t care. She would have rather been there
with just him anyway. They had to sit toward the front and she
wondered what the other kids from Promise Land were saying.
    “Am I boring you?” Trucker asked.
    Julie realized she was yawning. It had been
the longest most perfect day of her short life. She laid her head
over on his shoulder. He halfway pulled her onto his lap, and she
fell asleep before the opening credits were even finished.
     
    *******
     
    The sight of the sleeping angel in his arms
was heart-stopping. If Julie only knew sleeping in his arms was the
most dangerous thing she could ever do and deathly scared Trucker.
The pain he experienced from the innocent aura she emitted didn’t
bother him, and was eclipsed by the great joy he received by just
holding her. His other side even agreed that he didn’t deserve to
be in her presence, but the monster in him also had ideas of his
own. Trucker felt it trying to come to the surface. He wanted a
closer look at her, to feel her skin, and smell her sweet scent.
Trucker buried it deeper inside him. He wouldn’t let anything hurt
her, even himself. He involuntarily tightened his arms around her
as she slept