The Girl Who Fell(103)
“That’s probably a good idea.” Mom digs in her purse, hands me her keys.
I look at Dad and he gives me a shy grin. A year ago I would have thought my parents hooking up was gross, but now I find myself rooting for them. Hoping that forever is possible for some.
“Do you need anything?” Dad asks. “I could take you home.”
“I’m fine,” I say.
I see the way Mom’s hand moves to cover Dad’s. “She’s fine,” she whispers. Her reassuring words make me believe I will be.
“Okay, drive careful.” Dad stands to give me a hug and I kiss Mom before ducking out of the room. I muster all my strength not to look at Gregg again.
As I walk to the car, my feet crunching snow, I breathe in the icy air. It makes me feel awake for the first time in a long time.
I am again that girl, walking across the Boston College campus, my future so clear.
I get in the car and start the ignition.
“Miss me?” The words reach me from the backseat.
Chapter 35
I jump, my head nearly hitting the car’s ceiling. My heart thuds outside of my body.
“Miss me?” Alec repeats from the backseat. Through the rearview mirror, I see he’s smiling.
Fear vines around my ribs. “How are you here?”
He leans forward. “Surprise is important in a relationship.”
I adjust Mom’s rearview mirror. “We’re not in a relationship.”
“You’ve made that clear.”
“I’m not alone. My parents will be out any minute.”
“Why are you lying, Zephyr? I saw your mom give you the keys.”
He grabs the back of my hair and twists my head toward him. He gives me a quick, rough kiss, his teeth crashing against mine. I fumble with the keys in the ignition, calculate my chances of running across the ice and back into the reception hall, but it would be impossible in these heels.
“Drive.” He pulls my hair tighter and I turn the key. “We need to talk.”
“Alec. Don’t do this.”
“Please don’t tell me what to do.” His teeth are clenched. His anger brewing.
“Okay. I’ll drive.”
He climbs into the front, slips his hand into my coat. He thrusts open the flaps to study my dress. I feel his palm skate over my breast. He lets out a low whistle. “Your place.”
I turn on the wipers and can see through the windows of the hotel, all the guests dancing. I hate putting the car in gear.
“So you had a good time?” He traces a circle into the cold windshield.
Fear erases everything before this moment. “It was okay.” I catalog the whereabouts of my cell phone. Deep in my peacoat. My parents too far away. Gregg, oblivious. It is just me. Me and Alec.
I pull onto the road.
“I see your father’s back. Looks like everything’s working out for you, huh?”
“He was here for my mom.” I adjust the wipers, fumble for control.
“That’s cool. I like weddings. I like the commitment. How two people promise themselves to one another. Remember when we did that?”
“Alec—”
“Don’t. We need to talk but not while you’re driving. I want you safe, Zephyr, and the roads are bad.” He turns up the music. I drive slowly.
When we reach my house, Alec follows me in. He takes off his jacket. I pull mine tight around me.
“Take your coat off, Zephyr. I need to see that dress.”
“Alec, what are you doing?”
He moves to me, slips one shoulder free of my coat, then another. The air on my skin feels wrong, invasive. He drops my coat to the floor. His fingers trace the line of my collarbone, the length of my arm. Gooseflesh rises, but not the way it used to.
“Alec, you don’t want to do this.”
“Don’t make the mistake of telling me what I want.”
“You’re scaring me.”
He laughs. “I’m scaring you? You bailed on our future together. You don’t think that’s a little scary? To trust you like I did and then”—smack—his two palms slam together right in front of my face, barely missing the tip of my nose. I step back, stumble over my coat in a heap.
Alec catches me, his hand around my waist. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve done for you, Zephyr? How much I would still do for you?”
I slink away from him, move to the sink, brace my hands against its lip.
He drags his fingers through his hair. “I saw you dancing with Gregg. I saw him shove his tongue down your throat. I saw you let him shove his tongue down your throat.” He lunges toward me then, grabbing my arm too hard.
“I don’t know what you think you sa—”
“DO NOT lie to me!” His face consumes mine. He harvests a deep breath, makes a study of my cleavage before running a finger down the path from my neck, through my chest. “Look at you, practically naked. No wonder he thought he could fuck you.”