Ghost Flowers

45. CRACK

The house was dark and quiet. Savana was waiting to hear the chainsaw noise from her dad's bedroom. Then she knew it would be safe to sneak out.

Savana stared at her phone as she lay in bed. Her hair was still wet from a shower. After their field trip, she felt more tired than usual. The memory of Damon giving her a birthday present kept replaying in her mind. She tried to imagine what Landon would give her. But she couldn't think of anything.

The memory of Valentine's Day popped into her mind again. She tried to shake it off. Firmly believing that he wouldn't forget something like that again. Things had improved between them, at least, she thought.

The wind was slightly chilly, but it was still warmer than when she was with Landon last. She stood at the end of her driveway, looking down at her phone again. Fifteen minutes had passed since she sent him the text to come over. He had never taken that long before.

Did he fall asleep?

The sound of his truck came from around the curved road. He shut his lights off when he got closer to the driveway. He stopped long enough for Savana to hop in and shut the door. The truck drove a short distance before turning the lights back on.

About a mile down the curvy road, they reached a hill. On top of the hill was the dead-end road they always parked at the end of.

Landon held her hand the entire drive. Savana felt a million butterflies in her stomach. She was excited and nervous about what he would say next.

The moon shined very brightly. It looked peaceful out. The windows were rolled halfway down, and Savana heard an owl nearby.

Landon parked his truck, intertwined his fingers with hers, and gently squeezed her hand.

"So?" Savana grinned nervously as she looked up at him. His blue eyes glistened.

"So?" He smiled slyly at her and leaned in close. His hand wrapped around the back of her neck, and the other hand was on her thigh. Their lips met.

Savana didn't feel an electric shock when they kissed, but the butterflies in her stomach plunged into chaos. But there was something different this time. A different taste. What was it?

She groaned and pulled her lips from his. "Were you drinking?"

"What?" Landon was caught off guard. He thought he had chewed enough gum to get rid of the smell.

"Were you drinking before coming to get me?" Savana studied his eyes.

To her knowledge, Landon hadn't drunk anything since they started seeing each other. She shared her concerns with him about his drinking. He seemed to understand and told her he wouldn't do it anymore.

"A tiny bit, I was just hanging out with some buddies from school." His hand was still around her neck. He pulled her back in. "Now, come here, babe." He kissed her harder this time.

Savana was caught off guard now. She got lost in the kiss for a few minutes until his hand moved up under her shirt. He was quick.

"Landon!" She tried to push his hand away.

"What?" He laughed.

The hand under her shirt moved to the back. Landon searched for a way to unhook her bra. His tongue was more forceful in her mouth.

"I don't know, Landon." Savana felt embarrassed. She didn't want him to see her topless.

"It's not like I haven't seen them before." Landon laughed again.

"What?" She squeaked.

They both panted between kisses and words.

"When you fell into that pool at that party, remember?" He smirked.

Savana had forgotten about Landon seeing her in the white-turned-transparent dress. She was always more concerned about Damon seeing her like that.

Suddenly, her bra came undone. It was a strange feeling. Before she could react, his hand moved back to her front and groped one of her breasts. She jumped.

"Landon! I didn't say yes!" She shouted.

Finally, she could push him away, and both hands were off her. She felt extremely frustrated.

"What the fuck?" He shouted as he still faced her.

"Can you slow down please?" Savana was surprised by his first reaction. She fumbled with her bra to get it hooked up.

"I have been slow! Fucking snail speed!" He shouted again.

"Well, it's still not slow enough for me!" She finally hooked her bra up and leaned back into her seat.

"What's your fucking problem?" Landon straightened up in his seat.

"My problem is that it's my birthday and all you've done is shove your tongue down my throat!" At that moment, Savana didn't realize she was holding back tears.

"You seemed to like it a couple of minutes ago." He huffed and looked out the windshield.

"At least Damon gave me something for my birthday." Savana knew mentioning Damon was a terrible idea as the words came out of her mouth.

Landon jerked his head back to face her. "He did what?"

She jumped and squirmed in her seat. "Yeah, he gave me a bracelet. Did you even get me anything? Were you even going to say happy birthday?"

Landon smacked the top of the steering wheel. Savana jumped again.

"Why the fuck is he giving you shit?" He leaned in close to her face.

Savana had never seen his eyes so full of rage. His whole body tensed up, and looked like he wanted to swallow her whole. She instinctively pushed her back against the passenger side door.

"I know you don't like him but he's my friend." She trembled.

"Are you fucking him? Is that why you won't let me touch you?" Landon reached out to grab her arm.

CRACK

Savana slapped him hard across the face. The anger in his eyes slowly disappeared when he saw shock and fear on her face. He tried to calm himself down. But before he could say anything, she opened the passenger door and ran outside.