“Then I should wake you up earlier.” He grinned.
“Ha ha.” I chuckled, relieved at the lighter atmosphere.
“I think doing the car thing later in the day is good,” Zack said between chews. “The shop will be closed. I won’t have to wait to use any of the equipment and we won’t be in anyone’s way.”
We finished breakfast, then divided up the chores and went our separate ways. After lunch, I finished the last of the mountain of our laundry while he went through the fridge sniffing things and tossing out anything bad. I made my shopping list, consulting him now and then.
Ready to hit the supermarket, I realized all the curtains were still closed. I peered through a slit in the panels while I waited for Zack to stow his clean clothes. A suspiciously familiar black Audi approached.
“He drove by earlier this morning when I took a break from cleaning the kitchen,” Zack said from behind me. “Nothing to worry about. It’s a scare tactic.” He found the keys and opened the front door like he didn’t have a care in the world.
I abandoned the window to face Zack. “You don’t find it annoying? Maybe a little bit unsettling?”
“Why stress over it? I can handle Daniel.” He ushered me out and locked the door.
I glanced around, scrutinizing every inch of the neighborhood, but didn’t see Daniel or his car anywhere. When would he attack — today or tomorrow? Could Zack really handle him or would Daniel play dirty and somehow catch Zack off guard?
Maybe Zack wasn’t scared. But I sure was.
CHAPTER THIRTY
We finished at the market and arrived at Zack’s house before dinner.
“Mmm. Lasagna. I love you, Aunt Cara.” He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
Meat lasagna. How could such a temptation be denied? I briefly considered throwing the whole vegetarian thing out the window. No point in fighting it. But I’d had enough craziness in my life without losing control over some stupid piece of food. I would resist, just as I had all week.
Cara wiped her hands on her apron and smiled at him. “You better not love me just for my cooking. I left a corner of it without meat,” she told me. “We don’t want you going hungry.”
“Thank you. That was nice of you.”
“Well, it’s the least I can do, since you feed Zack every morning. Your mom’s waiting for you, Zack. She’s more tired than usual today. You should see her while she’s still up for it.” Zack opened his mouth and she cut him off. “Go. Both of you. I don’t need any help just yet.”
“You sure?” I asked Cara as Zack disappeared into the hallway. Staying busy would make me less antsy about waiting helplessly for Daniel to pounce. It was coming. I could feel it. “I don’t have anything to do.”
Trevor burst through the front door and spotted me right away. “Hey.”
“Autumn.” Maya sprinted to me and filled me in on everything we’d missed after leaving Ashley’s party the night before. Ashley’s mom had stepped in vomit, almost slipping on the bathroom floor. When they were breaking up the party and sending everyone home, her parents found partiers making out in their bed. Cigarette butts were strewn across the lawn, a bed of flowers trampled beyond saving and a trash can tipped over with garbage littering the driveway. Now Ashley was limited to a certain number of guests — if she’d ever be allowed to have parties again.
“That’s terrible.” I said, distributing a stack of plates around the table. “It seemed like everything was under control when we left.”
Maya narrowed her eyes. “Somebody spiked the punch and I don’t mean with booze. I think it was Daniel. He probably figured her parents wouldn’t be able to tell the punch was drugged.”
“Such a jerk,” I said. It made sense in a twisted way. If he wasn’t able to ruin my evening by harassing me, he’d upset me by messing with my friends.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Maya said. “We’re going to that carnival tonight. You and Zack should come. It’ll be fun.”
I was so not in the mood. “Don’t you and Trevor ever want to be alone? You know, a real date, without us tagging along?”
“We get plenty of time alone. It’s fun having you two go out with us, especially when you’re getting along.”
“I’ll ask Zack, but he’s worried about my car. He wants to go to the garage and check it out.”
Maya rolled her eyes. “On a Saturday night? Oh, please. You’re coming with us.”
I decided to let Zack handle her. I barely had any brain cells left after worrying about Daniel’s imminent attack, much less anything else.