Random Knigghts by Dennitra Lomax (crime books to read TXT) 📖

conversation with whomever you were going to call. Sure there were a few people with them, but they always complained about never having a signal.
“Hey, ma. I’m gonna take the car, alright?”
He had a car? Wow! Now that, is hot. Was he seriously gonna drive out to Rockwall? I mean, it wasn’t far, but still. The real question, was I seriously gonna go with him? If David found out, he’d have my head. But, for some reason, I wasn’t as concerned with that fact as I should’ve been. I mean, I can’t remember the last time I was ever out of Farrell. The thought of going to Rockwall was overwhelmingly enticing, and I just couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this. Especially not when Liam would be accompanying me.
“Alright, see ya later,” he said, into the phone.
Liam hung up, slid the phone back into his pocket, and grinned up at me.
“Ya in?” He asked.
Although my normal instincts; the ones I used to listen to; told me to tell him that I was out, my new instincts; the ones I’ve been listening to lately; told me to tell him hell yeah I was in.


Chapter Ten

The radio boomed a new favorite song of mine. Kesha-Tik Tok. I sang along, and so did Liam. Well, the best he could. He didn’t really know the lyrics, but he pretended to, and I laughed at his efforts. He drove down the main road, to Rockwall. I could be grounded for life, or worse, but that thought was far from my mind. I left all of my bad thoughts back in Farrell, and felt as free as a bird. Liam held my hand in his, and I couldn’t feel more alive.
“Ya sure you won’t get in trouble for coming out here, with me?”
I’d already told Liam my parents wouldn’t mind, but I guess he hadn’t believed me; with good reason.
“I won’t get in trouble, Liam. It’s totally cool.”
I tried out nonchalance, and it worked.
“Cool.”
He squeezed my hand, and I knew he was satisfied with my reassurance. The warm, wind blew through my hair. It was the only “breeze” I was gonna get, so I enjoyed it as best I could. Liam’s Jeep wasn’t the typical country car, but it seemed to adapt well. The dark green color of the car suited Liam well, and I knew he hadn’t lied about green being his favorite color. He took the plastic-roof top off, and zipped down all of the windows for more air circulation. He said his air conditioning was busted, and that was the reason he took everything off of the Jeep, but I think he did it because it looked cooler. Which it did. The drive took about 30 minutes, which was the norm. When we arrived in Rockwall, I couldn’t only see the difference between my town and this one, but I could feel it too. The atmosphere was more energetic, and I felt myself adapting to it. I was so excited to be somewhere new, I just didn’t know what to do with myself.
“What do you want to do first?” I asked, with so much enthusiasm Liam burst into laughter.
“Well, I was thinking we could get a bite to eat first, and then go from there.”
“Ok!”
His laughter, although directed at me, didn’t bother me at all. I doubt anything could, not today. Not right now. Liam parked in front of a restaurant and, from the outside, I knew it would be nice on the inside. People sat at fancy tables in front of the restaurant, well they were fancy to me because they weren’t any type of wood, chattering away with the individuals around them. Everyone seemed to interact with each other. I figured they all knew one another and seeing as how Rockwall wasn’t much bigger than Farrell, that was highly possible. Liam and I walked, hand-in-hand, into the restaurant and the smell of food was incredible. I hadn’t realized I was hungry, until I smelt the food. I felt the inside of my mouth watering up, and I rushed to get to a table to order something. Liam and I sat at the bar, and it was way nicer than the one in my town. Naturally. Almost everything was made out of silver steel, the chairs, the tables, even the bar. The floor was a polished, cement brown, and it meshed well with the steel. Although the décor had a cold feel to it, the restaurant was far from cold. The people made it warm.
“Here you go.”
A petite woman with chocolate, brown hair handed Liam and I menu’s. We thanked her, and began to look over the lunch section. Liam ended up ordering a burger, and I ordered a garden salad. I preferred green foods, over meat. Probably because my family ate meat way too much, if that’s even possible. Don’t get me wrong, I eat meat. I just don’t eat it every day, or in every meal.
“Liam!”
A boy’s voice carried over everyone else’s and, for a moment, everyone was silent and stared at the boy who’d called Liam’s name. Seconds later, everyone continued to do what they were doing before the interruption. Except for Liam and I. The boy made his way over to where Liam and I sat. I looked at Liam’s expression to figure out if he knew the boy or not, but his face didn‘t hold the assurance I needed. Until the boy got closer, did Liam’s eyes widen, and as soon as the boy was near Liam, they embraced in a very enthusiastic hug. They slapped each other on the back while in their hug, but this time no one looked. I wondered who this guy was, and how he knew Liam. Liam and the mystery guy turned to me, and Liam’s smile was the widest I’d ever seen it.
“This is my good friend, Max.”
So the mystery guy, Max, was Liam’s friend. Cool. They didn’t look like they would be friends. Liam looked like an athlete, in my eyes a god, while Max looked more like a bench warmer. Liam’s hair was a perfect mess, while Max’s was just a mess. Max’s smile was amazingly nice, for someone who looked like he just rolled out of bed.
“Max, this is my…Ally.”
Liam’s cheeks flushed, due to his stumble on what to label me. I flushed too, but reached out to shake Max’s hand.
“Nice to meet you, Ally.”
“Nice to meet you too, Max.”
Despite Max’s appearance, I figured I owed him a fair chance. Seeing as how, no one ever gave me one. He seemed kind, and a friend of Liam’s, was a friend of mine. Max joined us at the bar. He and Liam chatted like two school girls who hadn’t seen each other in years, which I found to be the case, while I attempted to keep up with the conversation. But, I caught the end of it.
“Dude, it was like you fell off the face of the earth when you moved!”
Max said to Liam.
“I know, I’m sorry about that. I called you every chance I got, but I guess your number changed.”
“Yeah, it did. I called you to give you the new one, but I think your number changed.”
“It did.”
They both laughed, and slurped their drinks.
“So, how do you two know each other?”
Max asked, while still slurping his smoothie.
“From school. We both go to Farrell High.”
Liam answered.
“Dude, you guys moved back to the same town?” Max exclaimed.
Liam chuckled.
“Yeah, we did.”
“Why?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
They rolled their eyes, and shook their heads in unison. Obviously sharing a moment, and I looked away to give them privacy. It felt weird sitting with them, like I was intruding on their reunion. Had I known this was going to happen, I would’ve stayed home. Yeah right, not a chance. Even though I felt a tad bit uncomfortable, I preferred it here, than home. They included me in the conversation often, but it was evident they were more interested in each others stories. Which was understandable. Max and Liam were best buddies, before Liam moved. Which was before Kindergarten, I learned. Which also made sense. I would’ve known Liam then, had he attended school. Small town, only one of anything. It amazed me how close they were at such a young age. They were practically brothers, from what they told me. Even when they were babies, they were friends. Their moms were friends, so their friendship was never their choice. Until now.
“So, what are you doing in Rockwall?”
Liam asked Max.
“I live here.”
Max’s smirk intrigued me, and I paid more attention to their conversation.
“That’s cool. At least you got out of Farrell.”
Liam’s tone was that of envy, and I envied Max too. Rockwall was way more awesome than Farrell. Not to mention, way less closed-minded. Almost anything was accepted in this town. Even me.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. Especially, since I live on my own.”
Max’s grin curved upward, evil like. I felt my eyes widen from his statement, and my mouth hung open.
“How old are you?”
I asked. He didn’t look old enough to be living on his own.
“Seventeen.”
Liam answered, for him. His statement, sounded more like a question. Max nodded, with his grin still intact.
“Why are you living on your own?” Liam asked.
Max’s expression changed. Apparently, Liam’s question caught him off guard.
“Well, my dad works all of the time. He travels a lot and pretty much lives in California, ‘cuz that’s where his business is located.”
Max shrugged after his answer, as if nothing were wrong. But a seventeen year old shouldn’t be living on their own, even though I wish I did.
“Where’s Carol?”
Liam’s voice was a low, soft whisper. I had a feeling that Carol was Max’s mom, and I was right. Max’s voice was equally low.
“She’s gone. Cancer.”
Emotion overcame me. I extended my arm to rest my hand on his. When our hands touched he looked at my hand for a moment, then met my gaze.
“I am so sorry, Max.” I told him.
He set his free hand on top of mine, without loosing eye contact.
“Thanks,” he replied.
For a moment, I was lost in his smoldering, dark eyes. They looked sad, and hurt. Very much like mine. The dark circles under his eyes told me he hadn’t slept well in days, maybe even weeks. My heart yearned to ease his pain, his hurt, in the hope that it would heal mine.
“I’m sorry too, Max,” Liam said.
After realizing our hands still held each others, I quickly dragged mine away. Max’s grin returned, and I glanced at Liam, but he didn’t seem phased by the moment Max and I just shared. After returning my gaze back to Max, his grin was gone once again.
“Thanks, bro,” Max answered.
Liam may not have been phased by the moment Max and I shared, but I sure was. When I looked into his eyes, I saw him. I saw his entire story, and it felt like he saw mine.


Chapter Eleven

“How about…FunFest?” Max asked.
We all stood outside the restaurant, pondering what fun thing to do first. Max seemed to be the perfect person for the job, since Rockwall was his place of residency. FunFest consisted of anything fun. Everything from video games, laser tag, bowling and golf, to rock wall climbing.
“Dude, totally!” Liam replied.
His enthusiasm tickled all