“Because I have no experience with boys.” I was ashamed to say this. “What if I embarrass myself in front of him? What if he doesn’t want anything serious with me?”
“I think you should give him a chance. You can’t know it if you don’t try. Besides, if you become his girlfriend, maybe Hayden won’t bother you anymore. Mateo could protect you.”
Oh no. I didn’t even put Hayden into this equation. As controlling and obsessed as he was, it would be stupid of me not to expect him to ruin my chances with Mateo. He’d warned me not to keep any male contacts on my phone or he would make them pay, so what would his punishment be if I got a boyfriend?
Hayden’s grasp on me was too tight, too suffocating. If I decided Mateo was worth a try, did I have to hide him from Hayden? Did I have to keep my relationship a secret?
“This is my house,” I told Jessica and pointed at it.
She parked the car right across my house and gasped when she looked in the direction of Hayden’s house. I turned my head to see what she was looking at and found Hayden and Blake tuning their cars in his driveway.
Blake was bent under the hood of his red Dodge Challenger, the outline of his brawny upper body clearly visible beneath his tight black T-shirt. Hayden stood in the same position under the hood of his Chevrolet Camaro, which was parked next to Blake’s car.
“Blake Jones?” Jessica said in a small voice, growing pale. The intensity of her reaction reminded me of my own whenever I crossed paths with Hayden. Was she already that afraid of him? Maybe accepting her offer to drive me home hadn’t been a good idea.
She shrunk in her seat. “Just my luck.”
“I’m sorry. They often hang together at his house, so... Anyway, thank you for driving me home. I had a great time today.”
“Me too. Melissa is super cool.”
“Really? You don’t find her too talkative?”
“I like talkative people. I don’t need to think too hard what to talk about when I’m with them.”
A giggle slipped over my lips. Really, it was impossible to get bored with Melissa.
Blake noticed us first and said something to Hayden. Instantly, Hayden spun around, and our eyes locked. He responded to Blake, not taking his eyes off of me.
“Will you be okay?” she asked me.
“I have to be. Don’t worry, I got used to it.”
That was a straight up lie. One could never get used to seeing their tormentors.
“See you in school,” I said and got out of her car. Blake left his wrench and headed to us. Oh no. Not now.
“Please, go before he comes,” I told her, but she wasn’t paying attention to me at all. She stared at Blake, frozen.
He crossed the road and stopped in front of Jessica’s Mini Cooper. He wasn’t even looking at me, openly glaring at Jessica. He kicked the bumper.
“I’m surprised you managed to put your fat ass inside this can.”
I flinched, angry at him for picking on Jessica. “Don’t talk to her like that.”
His head snapped toward me. “And what are you? Her lawyer? Since when is she mute so she can’t speak for herself?”
“I’m her friend .” I noticed Jessica shaking. Her face was white as a sheet.
“Aww how nice. You two losers absolutely suit each other.” He walked over to her driver-side door and leaned on her open window with his elbow. “Why don’t you come out? Are you that stuck in your seat that you can’t actually move at all?”
Jessica remained silent, and I got madder at Blake for terrorizing her like this. I didn’t want to just stand here and do nothing.
I went around her car, facing him directly. “Shut up. Stop harassing her.”
His eyes turned into slits. “What the actual fuck?”
He yanked my arm and threw me against the rear door. Pain flashed through my spine, pulling me into a momentary daze. I couldn’t move because Blake pressed me against the car, and my fear hit an all-time high.
“Don’t speak to me like that,” he hissed into my face, the venom in his words forcing me to shrink and close my eyes. “Look at me!” He pushed me against the car again, creating a new wave of pain, and I met his eyes, which spit fire.
I could already feel bruises forming on different parts of my body. His grip on my shoulder was too strong, and I couldn’t escape it. My strength, or rather the lack of it, couldn’t be compared to his sheer strength.
“You’re trash. You’re no one. I’ll do whatever I want, and you don’t get to say a word about it! Got it, bitch?!” I couldn’t stop myself from whining, hating myself for showing him how much he terrified me.
Jessica rushed out of her car. “Please, stop hurting her!” I could see from the corner of my eye that she was crying.
“I don’t want to. I enjoy hurting her.”
“Please!” She touched his shoulder, as if pleading him to move away from me. He flinched like someone had burned him, fear flashing in his eyes, and he let go of me.
“Don’t touch me,” he roared at her, hovering over her. He started shaking furiously, his neck veins bulging, which scared the hell out of Jessica and me. A warning siren in my head went off.
Blake had these nasty episodes from time to time when the anger would consume him, and each time he looked like he was going to fly off the handle and hurt everyone around him. I saw Hayden and Blake having a fight several times, and it was terrifying just to witness it, let alone be involved. Mix Hayden’s moodiness and Blake’s anger issues, and you got an atomic bomb.
Luckily, Masen and Josh had always been there to intervene and separate them from each other before things took a turn for the worse, but now? What could I do against Blake now? He would hurt Jessica and me in the blink of an eye.
Just as Blake grabbed Jessica, Hayden stopped in between them and pushed Blake backward.
“Leave,” Hayden told Jessica, and I looked at him in shock. He had no intention of bullying her? Was he seriously letting her go?
Blake glared at Hayden. “What are you doing, man?”
“Leave!” He raised his voice, which scared her enough to move from her spot.
She glanced at me with a guilt written all over her face. “I’m really sorry.” She rushed into her car and was gone in seconds.
I was left all alone with the two devils. I gulped.
“Why did you butt in?” Blake scoffed at him.
“Because you know what happens when you let the anger get the best of you.”
“Like you’re one to talk! You deal with the same shit, but nobody is preaching to you about it!”
Hayden was becoming angrier with each second, visibly tensing. I didn’t want to be a part of their fight, so I took a step back, hoping I could walk away without them noticing.
“You’re preaching to me now.”
“Somebody has to do it. I endured your shit all these years, but nobody cuts me any slack.”
I took another step backward.
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Why? Did I hit your sensitive spot, princess?”
I turned on my heel to dart away, but Hayden had good reflexes, grabbing my arm and pulling me back to him before I could escape.
“You need to chill,” he told Blake, keeping me next to his side, his grip on my wrist made of steel.