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DJ was sitting in the grassy area just next to the truck stop, taking a break from her crew. Daisy was resting tiredly on her lap, and she rubbed behind her ear while looking at the mostly sunny sky. Tyler was certain there'd be a storm later that day, but she wasn't so sure.
Then again, she wasn't the expert.
Scott was looking at the Doppler on his tablet. Or at least he was trying to.
But his eyes kept betraying him, sliding to the left and toward DJ, taking in her purple sundress and the relaxed smile on her face. She wasn't bothering to help her brother and crew, who all seemed to be running around and doing important stuff, not wanting to waste their rare, storm-free, free time.
"You're staring again," Javi suddenly said, startling him. Scott hadn't even noticed him walk up.
"Am not," he said stiffly. Ever since the bar, Javi had been making far too many comments about Delilah-Jane for his liking.
"Are so. Those dumb sunglasses do nothing to hide it."
"I'm not staring."
Except he was. Scott had made a habit of that — staring, more specifically at DJ. She was always there, was his excuse. She was in the diner, in the gas station, at the bar, outside in the parking lot at the motels. If it were possible, Scott would've sworn that there was a clone of her running around, intentionally putting herself in his line of sight.
And maybe DJ Owens hadn't noticed, but Tyler Owens sure had. Typically, he ignored Scott, thinking he was a boring, quiet, waste of space. But now, he studied Scott each time DJ was around. He noticed the way he watched her. Noticed how he had a sneer on his face that would disappear as soon as DJ's back was turned.
Tyler wasn't stupid by any means, and though Scott was an asshole one hundred percent of the time when DJ was around, he still knew. Whether it was lust or something different, Scott had sinister intentions for Tyler's little sister, as far as he was concerned.
So, seeing Scott's gaze on his sister once more — he couldn't see Scott's eyes, but Tyler could tell by the tilt of his head — Tyler made his way over to her, intentionally standing in the way of Scott's line of sight.
"So, you ready to head out soon?" Tyler asked his sister while kneeling down to pet Daisy, who began licking his hand.
DJ looked up skeptically at the clear sky. "Don't look like we're heading out for anything exciting."
"Well, I figured we might just drive around. Get away from the station for a while," he told her, refraining from glancing at Scott. He just wanted her away from him.
