Inevitable(15)

“Yeah… Yeah… We’ll talk about it when we get there,” Zerro said hanging up the phone before the person on the other end could say something else.

“Who was that?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.

“Jared.” Rolling my eyes, I should’ve known. I should’ve known he would be the first person to go to after all of this.

“What did he say?”

One hand gripped the steering wheel while the other ran through his dark hair, pulling on it as if to relieve some tension. His eyes captured mine in a hold so intense shivers ran down my spine. I loathed him, but at the same time, my heart tugged toward him. I hated him for doing what he had done… I wanted to forget… I wanted my life to be normal.

“He found out something. And it’s about to change both of our lives.” Balling my hands into fists, I narrowed my eyes at him. He had already done something that had changed both our lives forever. It was doubtful there was anything to make it worse.

“What might that be, Alzerro, because as of right now, nothing can make what you have done worse than what it is.” My jaw ached as I clenched it. I wanted to lash out. I was so angry, so sad. I wanted to hate with everything in me.

The muscles along his jaw ticked with anger as he kept his eyes on the road ignoring my hateful comment. When he didn’t answer me right away, it only managed to add fuel to the burning fire.

“Huh? Tell me, Alzerro, because right now, there isn’t much more that can fucking go wrong. I’m homeless, parentless, and I don’t have a fucking dime to my name. Every fucking thing has been ripped from me.” Every word I said flew from my lips with ease as if they had been sitting at the entrance for some time waiting to be unleashed.

Turning his face to mine, he looked at me and then back to the road before speaking.

“I’m sorry all this misfortune has happened to you, Bree.” His eyes looked sad, but there was nothing else able to give way to a bleeding heart. He wasn’t sorry, and he didn’t care.

“Right,” I mocked turning my body and mind away from him. The trees and open fields would be better company to me than the manipulating monster sitting beside me.

As the miles passed, and the silence consumed us, my mind kept drifting back to my father. I closed my eyes just for a moment to relive his smile and simple touch. My father might have killed Alzerro’s mother, and even if I didn’t agree with it, I knew there had to be a reason. Unlike Alzerro, I knew it wouldn’t be something good. If my father worked for the FBI, there had to be a reason. It was hard enough to imagine him as someone who killed others.

Minutes passed; just as my exhausted mind began to shut down, and my eyes began to close, we pulled onto another road, and minutes later into a driveway. The house was a simple cookie cutter style looking similar to everyone else’s on the block. It definitely wasn’t Mafia style. Refusing to look at Alzerro, I undid my seatbelt and opened the door and hopped out. There were no other cars in the driveway, and I wondered why.

The front door opened as my eyes roamed the front of the house. Alzerro was left standing in front of the car waiting for me. The look on his face told me he was over dealing with me. Which was fine—I was over dealing with his killing sprees, his attitude and him, in general.

“No need to babysit me, asshole,” I said under my breath as I walked passed him completely ignoring his extended hand. The last thing I wanted from him was affection. I heard his intake of deep breath and his heavy steps behind my own.

“Welcome.” Jared’s voice met my ears, and I looked up to his face. Was this his house? What the hell were we doing here? Was this our new hideout?

Instead of saying something bitchy, I simply kept my mouth shut as I walked passed him and into what I assumed was his house. It smelled like a man and looked, well… like a bachelor pad. The walls were painted a deep gray. He had leather couches and a huge flat screen with various electronics in front of it. As I rounded the corner coming to stand in the living room, I took in the kitchen. It was simple but sleek. All black appliances lined the far wall, and it was then I started to wonder what made Jared and Zerro so different?

“I think you should sit down, Bree,” Zerro said behind me, his hand landing on my shoulder heavily. I looked down at it before bringing my gaze to meet his. His hand had brought me immense pleasure, but with it had come pain. Dark, stab yourself in the heart, pain. Such deep and angry pain, I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to come back from it. I had saved myself from the hole, not with an ounce of help from this man—he had killed my father and yet, he still felt he had the right to protect me? To tell me what to do. He had lost those rights a long time ago.