Kiss Me Gone Read Free Page A

then two blocks down, third house on the right."
    I wrapped my fingers around the door handle and prepared to fling it open as soon as I heard the lock disengage. My attempt at keeping the movement discreet failed. Tom hooked two fingers in the belt loop on my jeans before ordering Anna to unlock the controls on his window.
    "Keegan can come out," he said, his free hand dipping into his jacket once more to pull out his phone. He thumbed through to his texts then started tapping out a message. "Not like the bitch is raiding his parents' liquor cabinet for free."
    Hoping Tom would release his hold on my jeans if it didn't seem like I was ready to bolt, I let go of the door handle and forced my body to relax. I told myself to stay calm. When Keegan came to the window, I would tell him I wanted out of the car. He wasn't part of Tom or Anna's circle. And if he did nothing to help, I would start screaming while the window was open.
    The house's front door opened. A hulking shadow slipped out and jogged across the lawn. Throwing one last suspicious glance in my direction, Tom unhooked from my belt loop then slid across the seat and lowered his window.
    Seeing Tom in the car with three girls, Keegan put one closed hand through the window for a congratulatory fist bump. "Damn, dude. How many hotties you gonna bang tonight?"
    "At least two," Tom chuckled as he completed the gesture. Opening his fist palm up, he revealed a neatly folded twenty dollar bill.
    Keegan scooped the money up and started to pass the boy a fifth of whiskey.
    "Keegan, I want out of the car." The words released with a squeak as I searched his face for any hint of rescue.
    "And I want in," he shot back with a leering grin. "But I'm toast if my mom comes home early and finds my little sister home alone."
    "No, seriously! Help me." I begged, crawling over Tom as Anna started to raise the window.
    I reached for the closing gap, my lips opening for a full-throated scream.
    "Get your skanky hands off Tom, you bitch!" Molly pushed at me, screeching like a banshee.
    With only my face and one shoulder open to her, she slid her fingers into my mouth. One of her long acrylic nails poked at the back of my throat. I started to gag. My eyes watered with the need to puke.
    Anna accelerated and I fell back, gasping for air and blind with tears.
    Leaning into the front seat, Tom wrapped his hands around the sides of Molly's face and kissed her, their tongues slurping together before he pulled away laughing.
    "Fuck, I love it when bitches fight over me!"
    Still choking with the memory of Molly's finger in my mouth, I scratched out a fresh plea for Anna to stop and let me out.
    "Here." Uncapping the bottle of whisky, Tom shoved it at my face. "A little sip will make everything better."
    I pushed the bottle away. Molly snatched it up and took a swig then passed it back to Tom.
    "What's the matter, honey?" she asked, her voice sickly sweet again. "I thought all addicts were drunks, too. Are you in withdrawals?"
    "Let me out!" I pounded my fist against the back of Anna's headrest. The car accelerated. I realized she had just pulled onto the expressway. We were heading away from my house, not toward it.
    "Come on, one sip," Tom insisted. Grabbing a handful of my hair, he pulled my head back. The position hyperextended my neck, forcing my lips open.
    He poured the whiskey into my mouth. I coughed half of it out, but the rest burned its way down my throat and into my stomach. Dizzy and sick with adrenaline, I blinked away fresh tears as I twisted in place. Praying I could attract the attention of other drivers on the road, I looked out the windows as I banged on them.
    Clearly, it wasn't a good night for me. My mom, Anna and Molly, Tom and now the entire fucking universe seemed to be conspiring against me. We were the only vehicle going in our direction and the divide of grass was too wide for any chance of the other cars passing at highway speeds to catch even the most fleeting glimpse of