Grace
We’re driving to the edge of town on the bumpy road.
The car shudders as the wheels keep dropping into the ruts in the dirt.
The heat is merciless. The sun beats down on my shoulders.
I’ve felt his intrusive stare on me ever since we started off.
It’s freaking me out. You shouldn’t watch anyone this long.
“You’re pretty quiet.” His voice is calm, stoic. It pisses me off.
“Should I be talking to you?” I snap.
“I let him go. You said you’d only come with me if I let him go. I did.”
I close my eyes. Irritation tightens in my chest—anger, and… sadness.
“When this is over, I’ll forget you forever, Chase.
You’re a monster. You haven’t changed at all.
I can’t forget your sins. I just can’t. Jason, Poppy, me…
” My lips tremble, and a tear rolls down my face.
I wipe it away fast and bite my lip. “I regret kissing you. I’m sorry I lost my composure at the gas station for a second.
I don’t understand how I could’ve done it.
What I saw yesterday—it wasn’t just disgusting.
It was abhorrent. He was just a boy, and…
you could do that to him.” I look at him through tears.
“You need help. This can’t go on like this. ”
The corner of his mouth twists into a scornful smile. He looks into the rearview mirror. I look back, too.
“Why are you smiling?” I turn back to him.
“Because we both know the truth, Grace.” He shifts into a more comfortable position, acting relaxed—natural—without a trace of guilt.
My gaze flickers, against my will, to his bulge.
“And…” His eyes bore into mine. A lock of dark hair falls across his forehead.
My heart races, and my womb trembles. “Just count how many times you’ve kissed me since I got out.
The one at the gas station wasn’t the first, and it wasn’t the only one.
And even before, I’ve done things any decent person would despise—things that wouldn’t earn me a life sentence but the electric chair, at best. You should only think about it as much as it helps you process it. ”
Anger spreads through my chest. My hands clench into fists at my sides. I’d love to wipe that arrogant grin off his face, but… He’s right. Hell. That kiss wasn’t the first, and it wasn’t the only one. It’s as if my mind kept erasing his sins, accepting him the way he is.
He is irredeemable. And crazy.
I look away, hurt, because he doesn’t want to hear what I’m saying.
He suddenly slams on the brakes, and the car jolts. Chase looms over me, his lips barely brushing mine. He whispers against my mouth. The taste of his kiss, burned into my mind, makes my skin go hot.
“Let’s play a game.” My brows furrow in confusion. “Let’s pretend yesterday never happened. As if you and I were just an ordinary boy and girl.
“We can’t sweep things under the rug. We can’t live in an idyllic bubble while everything is falling apart around us, Chase.”
“If things fall apart around us… we’ll pick up the pieces and build something new out of them.”
“You know we can’t do that. If that lunatic hadn’t sent me those ‘gifts,’ I wouldn’t be sitting next to you.”
Chase leans back in his seat and says something that makes my breath catch in my throat, my heart feeling like acid rain is falling on it.
“It must be a real uplift, crying after sex. Although I think sex should be enjoyable—something that takes mutual attraction or love to the next level.”
“You have no right to do this!” My anger erupts like a volcano, making my body and heart shake.
His words are sharp talons digging deep into my flesh.
“Don’t forget there was a time when I was with you and cried afterward.
This isn’t fair—it’s emotional blackmail.
You’ll end up getting yourself into the same bad spot you want to get Cyrus into. ”
My fury’s a roaring flame, scorching Chase’s skin and abhorrent mind. He looks at me—his irises darken, but he doesn’t even apologize.
“My offer still stands. We can pretend. You could act as if nothing bad had happened to you and you were only enjoying life.”
I force a laugh and wipe my tears. “Enjoy life? When someone wants to make me his sex slave, a piece of meat he can use and abuse whenever he feels like?”
I look into his dark eyes defiantly. I’m dead serious.
Chase looks back at me with wildness, danger, and bloodthirst in his eyes.
“The skin of that guy will look great nailed to the wall of the barn,” he counters.
His words make my stomach turn. The darkness and power in his voice sweep me up and bury me deep underground.
I was wrong when I said I knew him. Chase is much, much crazier than I could ever imagine. He’s merciless.
“I’ll think about it,” I whisper.
“Think about what?”
I close my eyes and take a long, deep breath, then exhale.
“Pretending.”
He nods and looks at the road in front of us.