It doesn’t and when he pulls back, it’s with a grin of arrogant proportions, so I smash my lips into a smile for his benefit.
I pull away, taking a few backward steps. “See you at school?”
He nods, so I turn to leave.
“There’s a difference, you know,” he says, his tone crisp, yet calm.
I glance over my shoulder, and he continues, “In hooking up and fucking up.” His eyes hold mine. “Stay on the right side of that.”
I keep my face blank, but we both know I understand what he’s saying.
Scott’s so used to his whole crew eating up his every word and likely believes he’s offering me some invaluable advice. Unfortunately for him, he’s unaware that his words mean nothing to me.
I pull my lips in, lifting the drink in the air. “Thanks for the drink.”
“Take it with you,” he insists. “Finish it off at home.”
I nod, and I’m in my car, pulling from the long driveway within minutes.
The roads are wide open where Scott lives, the houses spread out by two and three miles, so I follow it down as I did up.
I don’t notice the speed I’m gaining, the fog in my head rivaling the one from the ocean that’s rolling up over the hillside.
A flash of yellow catches my eye, but by the time I slam on the brakes and jerk the wheel on impulse, it’s too late to correct, my speed too high.
The car whips around, the passenger side crashing into a fire hydrant where the road ends and someone’s land begins.
I gasp, my breathing harsh as my gaze flies out the window.
Water pounds against the side, taking the mirror clear off and spraying into the air. It beats down against the hood, splashing all around.
I managed to keep my arms firm on the wheel, my body only whipping slightly, and it takes effort to pull my hands from the leather. Inspecting myself quickly, I spot merely a few cuts and scrapes on my arms from broken glass maybe, but that’s it. The airbag didn’t even go off or else there’d be blood pouring from my nose, I’m sure.
My forehead falls to the headrest, a humorless laugh escaping me.
And then my door is torn open.
I scream, my hands flying to my chest. Instantly, I’m met with wide and wild blue eyes.
Ransom stands there, panting. The color is drained from his face and his brows are drawn in so tight they’re nearly touching.
His gaze darts over every inch of me, his hand flying to my legs where he pinches near my knee. When it jerks in response, he falls to his ass beside my door.
“Ransom... what the hell?”
His hands come up and he drags them down his face, his shoulders sagging low.
I push up in my seat, but he freezes.
His head snaps up and he darts forward, latching on to my shirt, twisting his fist in the material and yanking me closer, his mouth now inches from mine.
His glare is heavy and hardens by the second. With jerky movements, he tears himself from the ground. “Get out.”
My head tugs back. “What—”
“Get the fuck out of the car, Jameson,” he barks.
He all but tears me from the vehicle, and I reach out to steady myself on the frame when my vision demands a second to catch up.
Ransom scoffs, attempting to hold me still, but I slap his hand away, and he growls.
The water has begun to flood the ground near my feet, hitting my face as it splashes off the hood, and back behind it, the lights inside the home flick on.
He growls, getting in my face, his lip curled in disgust. “You’re lucky it was a fucking fire hydrant, or I’d tie your ass to the wheel.”
“Excuse me—”
“Go,” he cuts me off, tearing the glove box open.
My head pulls back.
What does he mean, go?
But then my ears perk, the haze in my mind clearing as the shriek of the sirens cools the blood in my veins.
Whipping around, I spot a hint of flashing lights in the sky a few miles away.
My hands fly to my head, and I spin around, but then they’re covered with another pair.
I look up into Ransom’s angry eyes.
“I said go. Fucking. Home.” It’s the last thing he says before roughly pushing me away to the point I almost stumble over my own feet. He slips into the front seat of my car. “Now, Jameson!”
The ambulance grows closer, police lights on its tail.
“It’s... it’s fine. It was an accident.”
He whips around, his eyes bulging and then narrowing. He charges me, but the sirens grow louder and he stops in his tracks, a dark, disgusted laugh slipping past his lips.
He turns back to my car.
I growl, and without a second thought, I spin and run away. I run for blocks, and then walk for miles before I realize my purse is draped over my shoulder, my phone tucked inside, unscathed.
I lift it out, and as I do, I get a whiff of myself and freeze in my tracks.
The drink.
I’m covered in margarita.
You’re lucky it was a fucking fire hydrant...
Ransom smelled the tequila on me.
“Oh my god.” I would have gotten arrested, probably a DUI, even if I consumed none, and it would have been posted on the Orange County social media pages.
If Ransom hadn’t shown up, I would be royally—
Wait.
My arms fall to my sides and I subconsciously glance in the direction I came from.
He just happened to be in Scott’s neighborhood tonight?
I was kidding before, but maybe he really is a stalker.
Disoriented, I try to shake my mind free, and pull my phone closer. I scroll until I reach my sister’s name, but once I’m staring at it, my thumb decides to hover there.
If I call, she’ll ask questions, which is fine. I could tell her what happened, and she’d have my back if I needed her to, but who will have Ransom’s?
Why is that my problem?
I squeeze my eyes shut a long moment, and before I’m forced to make a decision, my phone makes it for me, the battery dying.
Shoving it back in my bag, I walk the last two miles to my house.
My morning begins before dawn, courtesy of a hard knock on the door, two men in uniform on the other side of it. They ask me questions about my car and where I was last night.
I play dumb and claim to have been home since school the day before.
They let me know my car was totaled. Apparently, they found it in a ditch, every inch of it up in flames, and it appeared to have been chopped for parts, the stereo as well as navigation being the few examples they gave.
It takes all my effort not to smile.
Of course, he didn’t simply wait there for the cops to arrive.
As my eyes lift again, one of the officers, the younger, beefier one, narrows his, and I square my shoulders in response.
It was ‘stolen,’ what is there for me to be concerned about?
“Miss Filano.” He drags my name out as long as possible. “Mind if we see the keys, so we can note that you have them in our report. It will make everything nice and clear for the insurance claim.”
Shit.
“Yeah.” My response is a little rushed, and I nod, the door already closing as I begin to slink away. “Just... give me a second to grab them.”
My back hits the wall the moment I close the cops outside, and I squeeze my eyes shut.
“Shit, shit, shit!” I hiss, flying into the kitchen, and begin to pace, my hands tearing through my hair, trying to think, when a flash of black catches my eye.