Sinners' Playground (The Harlequin Crew #1) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,7

learned a good life lesson. "Be nice to dogs and I won't have to come back. And go help your dad with the bags you little shit."

He ran off, seemingly too stunned for tears and I grinned down at my new board.

Wait a minute, this wasn't just any old skateboard, it was a motherfucking Element Board, sweeeet. That kid really was a spoilt brat and my day just got way better.

I dropped the skateboard to the road and hopped on, kicking off the asphalt for a while to build up some speed then letting the hill take me as I rode it towards the town.

As I tried not to focus too heavily on what the fuck might be waiting for me when I arrived back in Sunset Cove for the first time in ten years, I noticed the sound of hurrying paws trailing me and glanced back to find the mutt chasing me down the street.

"It wasn't an open invitation," I called out to it and it barked back happily.

I pursed my lips but I guessed the two of us were having a pretty shitty day so I couldn't really justify making a fuss. No doubt it would get bored of chasing me soon enough anyway.

It didn't take long for the sound of a car following me down the road to reach my ears and I glanced back, spotting the silver Audi cruising along the road in the distance. I had to assume the dad wouldn't appreciate me robbing his kid, so I quickly turned down a side road which ran towards the beach where there was a sign for a surf and turf beach hut swaying in the wind.

The little bar was open and as my stomach growled again, I decided to give in to its demands and feed it.

I flipped the board up as I hopped off of it, pleased with the fact that I'd clearly managed to retain that skill from my childhood as I strode down to the bar and grabbed a menu from the polished red counter.

I perched my ass on a bar stool in the sun and quickly picked out the cheapest thing on the menu that might shut my rumbling stomach up. A bowl of French fries were two dollars but I could upgrade that with a veggie burger if I pushed to five-fifty.

"Can I take your order, sweetheart?" a peppy voice asked and I looked up to find a woman smiling down at me. "Holy mother of fuck - what happened to you?" she shrieked and I flinched, wondering what I must look like for her to have reacted like that.

"My boyfriend punched me in the face, strangled me and dumped me in a shallow grave a few miles from here," I said blandly, slapping the menu down on the table and pointing out my burger. "I'll have that please."

The woman gaped at me some more then started nodding as she scribbled my order down. "Drink?"

I eyed the milkshakes with longing then groaned, shaking my head. I was on a damn budget after all. "Tap water will do."

The server backed away and I had no doubt that I was about to become the latest subject of kitchen gossip, but there wasn't much I could do about that now.

Once she was out of sight, I surreptitiously lifted the silver napkin dispenser and tried to use it as a mirror. I could make out some purple bruising to the left side of my face which would explain the tenderness and it looked like my throat had finger marks wrapped around it too.

Fuck Shawn. I hoped he got eaten by a fucking alligator. Or a bear. Or a really hungry rat.

The woman returned with my food, the basket of fries overflowing to the point of insanity and an extra heap of salad to go with my burger. She added a chocolate shake to the mix, patting my arm and giving me a wink as she dunked the straw in it.

Well shit, if I'd known that I could get free shakes just by showing up looking like shit places then I would have done away with my makeup years ago.

I sighed as my own joke fell flat in my head and I felt weirdly like crying over that fucking milkshake. People weren't nice to me. I didn’t mean that in some self pitying bullshit kind of way either. It just wasn't like that in the world I lived in. No one did shit for nothing; everything