He slid into the driver seat, immediately throwing the car in to drive and took off at mach ten. The wheels spun, squealing and leaving black rubber on the road behind us. I gripped the edge of my leather seat. A dense dust of gravel kicked up behind us, making it impossible to see.
No one said anything on the ride home. Lexi sulked in the back, and I was afraid that if I opened my mouth, I might lose it. Tears were already burning the back of my eyes, and my throat felt closed up.
The whole night hit me like a blizzard.
We dropped Lexi off at her house, and she went storming inside, giving Chase the cold shoulder.
He sighed heavily. “God, I hate this holiday.”
Leaving him downstairs to stew on his personal hatred, I headed upstairs for the bathroom. The need to get out of this costume was stifling. Striping the patched dress, I tossed it haphazardly into a corner of the bathroom. In nothing but my skivvies, I started scrubbing the cracking make-up from my face. Minutes later it felt like I was trying to scrub away the events of the night, but it hadn’t worked. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I could still feel Brody’s hands piercing into my flesh. I could still see the arrow sticking out of the tree instead of my chest. I stared in the mirror at a girl who looked traumatized; my blue eyes were wide and an unusual shade lighter.
Gripping the side of the counter, I heaved and shoved the tears back down my throat. I refused to go postal and give into the useless tears that were threatening to spill all over my cheeks.
Tossing on a t-shirt, I opened the bathroom door and was hit with a wave of aftershocks. My entire body started shaking. Before I could register that I was about to have a mental breakdown, Chase was there.
So much for the brave face.
He pulled me against him, wrapping his strong arms around me. I was encompassed by his warmth and the scent of dark sin. My body, still trembling, pressed up to his even though in my mind I knew I was safe.
One thing was for certain, I didn’t want to be alone. I knew all it would take was for me to ask and he would be suction-cupped to my side. In my present state, I wouldn’t mind.
“Don’t leave,” I murmured quietly. So soft that anyone else wouldn’t have heard it.
His fingers ran down the back of my hair. “I’ll be here for as long as you need me.”
Eternity, I thought.
Whoa. Where had that come from?
I knew our lives and future were tied together by forces outside my control, but eternity? Could I really see myself with Chase forever? We didn’t even have any real concrete information about what linked us together. It was always possible that this bond could be broken. Who knew? And here I was thinking about being saddled with Chase for the rest of time.
I don’t know what came over me. Maybe it was the sincerity in his words. Heck, it could have been a thousand different things. Yet, right now my brain was fried, and I didn’t want to think about it. I just wanted him close. Sliding my arms around his waist, I clung to him as the last of the trembles left my body. I was afraid to let go – afraid to let him go.
How had he suddenly become so important?
I could feel tiny chip of defense around my heart crumbling. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to lose my heart to the one person who could destroy it.
And maybe more than just my heart.
I was becoming too dependant on him.
Doomed, was what I was.
Time sat suspended as we stood there in each others arms. It was Chase who finally pulled back. “Come on, let’s get you in bed.”
The mattress shifted under my knees as I climbed into my bed. “You’re not leaving, are you?” The question tumbled from my lips.
He got under the covers beside me, eyes never wavering from mine. I scooted back, making room for him. He held his arm open and without a second thought I snuggled into his warm and secure embrace. “No, I told you I wouldn’t,” he whispered, drawing lazy circles on my back with his breath tickling my neck.
I sighed, contented. “I’m sorry about earlier tonight.”
His hand paused on my back. “Which part?”
I restrained form pinching him. He wasn’t going to make this easy. Apologizing to Chase was not on the list of things I’d ever thought I would be doing. “When I said you were stifling me…it’s not true. Well, mostly not true.”
He snorted. “That was the sorriest excuse for an apology.”
This time I couldn’t restrain myself, I pinched him in the side. “Don’t make me take it back.”
He laughed under his breath at me, and then his chest heaved. “It’s for your own good.”
My fingers played with the material of his navy t-shirt. “I know,” I agreed.