Chapter 11 Rae
RAE
My hands shook as I gripped the steering wheel, my eyes flicking to the rearview mirror over and over, ensuring I was really seeing what I thought I was.
Davis Brenton was following me, on a motorcycle, in this crazy thunderstorm that had streams of water running along the road and my windshield wiper blades moving back and forth at a breakneck speed.
Why on earth was he on that bike, and in this freaking weather?
I eyed him once more in the mirror. “He’s going to kill himself.”
I had begun talking to myself out loud, but it wasn’t like it was safe to call Nora. Although, that idea did have merit. She might know what to do. Maybe she could run interference for me if his plan was to kidnap me before I got to my front door.
What was his plan?
This entire situation was insane and couldn’t really be happening.
He kissed me.
His lips had molded to mine, his arm braced above my head, making me feel protected and safe. Wanted.
“Wake the fuck up, Rae,” I scolded myself, feeling my face heat. I forced myself to put my focus back on the road.
The steady grade led into several sharp turns until it evened out, then there was an entirely new set of curves that had me crawling at a snail’s pace out of sheer terror.
A steep cliff dropped off to one side, and a single wrong move would have me flying down it.
Suddenly I wasn’t worried at all for the man enduring a little rain—I was panicked for myself.
I had no clue how to handle these roads.
I had lied to Davis earlier, trying to be the more experienced one in the room and gain the upper hand.
He obviously saw through it, which was why his dark helmet was currently a black spot in my peripheral.
Finally, after nearly an hour, I saw signs for town, and my grip slackened on the steering wheel.
I expected the man behind me to turn around, maybe veer off back toward the mountain now that I was safely in town.
That was assuming he was following me to keep me safe, but his headlight stayed fixed on my bumper.
More determined than ever, I sped past the signs to slow down and ventured toward my parents’ house. He continued to follow.
Oh my gosh. Was he going to tell my parents about the kiss? I mean, I wasn’t a kid anymore, but he couldn’t just come right out and say anything to them about it. How awkward.
Before I had a chance to come up with an alternate plan on what to do, I’d turned on to my street and then into the driveway. I watched in horror as the motorcycle behind me eased next to the curb and his boots landed on the street, steadying his bike.
Fumbling with the buckle, I released it and hurried out of the car, bypassing his stride up the walk. If I could just get in first… But as my hand wrapped around the door knob, it wouldn’t turn. Locked.
Fuck.
I had left my purse in the car in my rush to get out, which meant I was going to have to stand outside with him.
Just as I crossed my arms, his presence seemed to envelop me from behind. He kept enough distance that we weren’t touching, but I still felt how warm he was, and how close.
“Don’t tell them anything,” I said in a rushed whisper.
Right as I heard the deadbolt unlatch, he leaned down to whisper in my ear.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, especially because we aren’t even close to being finished with that conversation.”
The door jerked, with the same urgency as my heart seemed to thump.
His voice still trailed up my arms, leaving little bumps behind. I felt completely out of control around him.
“Rae, my goodness…and Thomas?” My mom gasped, shock evident in her focus toward the man behind me.
I walked past her but faltered two steps ahead, curious what she must see to have made her face twist like that.
“Did you ride here, on your bike, in this storm?”
Each word was punctuated with rising alarm.
Now being able to see what she did, my gut twisted uncomfortably.
I wanted to hate the man, but he’d just spent an hour in the pouring rain on the back of a bike to ensure I made it here safely.
His hair was drenched, the strands sticking to the side of his face, and his skin was ashen, his lips blue, along with the beds of his nails.
He hadn’t grabbed his leather jacket; instead, he had on a black hoodie, which was laden with water, same with his boots and jeans.
“Come in, my goodness.” Mom seemed to snap out of it, while Dad rushed around him to grab a blanket.
“It’s no big deal,” Davis murmured quietly, his eyes catching mine every few seconds.
I felt frozen, unsure if I should just leave and take off to my room or help him.
“What on earth made you drive that bike down the mountain in this storm?” Dad asked, incredulously.
“Just making sure Rae made it safe. The mountain is dangerous in this kind of weather.” Davis sounded more exhausted than he did before, but there was still an undercurrent to his tone that kept those chills in place along my skin.
I walked forward, trying to escape the conversation—and more importantly the feelings attached to being so close to him—when my mother stopped me.
“Rae, go start the shower. He needs to get out of these wet clothes. Get him a fresh towel too.”
Inwardly, I made some sort of immature gesture, but in front of my parents, I nodded and did as they said. It wasn’t that I didn’t want him to be warm and get dry. I just didn’t want to care either way. I wanted to be as apathetic toward him as I was a week ago.
Starting the shower and grabbing the biggest towel I could find for him, I checked to make sure there were toiletries.
Then I turned, ready to leave, but stopped short.
Davis stood there, his dark hair hanging in dripping silky strands that nearly cut into his eyes.
He was so tall that he filled the entire door frame, still wearing the black hoodie.
I sucked in a sharp breath as his eyes trailed down my body, and with his eyes locked on mine, his arms raised and reached behind his neck, tugging the thick material over his head.
“Rae, is everything all set up?” my mother asked from down the hall.
I shook out of my reverie, blinking away the sight of Davis smirking at me, and called back.
“Yes!”
He smiled, slow and sensual, as I continued to stand in front of him, and he continued to block my path.
“Then tell him thank you for ensuring your safety, and let the poor boy take a shower!”
Summoning all my will power, I stared at the object of my high school obsession.
“Thank you for making sure I got here safely.”
His eyes went to my lips, and it made me want to scream. He wasn’t supposed to kiss me at his house, or look at me the way he was now.
“You’re welcome.”
I waited for him to say something else, but he didn’t.
He did, however, finally walk past me with a low chuckle.
My face heated the entire way to my bedroom.
Later that night, I cracked my bedroom door, peering out to ensure that after hours of being stuck inside my room, Davis wasn’t still in the bathroom. Seeing the door ajar, I bolted toward it and locked myself inside.
Once I had finally relieved my poor bladder, I grew a bit bolder and padded down the hall to see if anyone was still up.
I was starving, and just wanted to throw some bread in my mouth, preferably slathered in peanut butter and some honey.
Seeing that no one was in the kitchen, I began acting on my desires, pulling free the ingredients.
I was mid-swipe with the butter knife when I heard laughing coming from the garage.
Keeping my eyes on the sliver of light coming from the door, I grabbed my sandwich and began shoving it in my mouth in a very unladylike way, tiptoeing to the entryway to see who was up talking with my dad.
Through the crack, I could make out Davis, in his now-dry hoodie, standing with his back to the door I was peering through. My father was next to his boat, drinking from a coffee mug.
“You don’t have to do that,” I heard my father mutter with a heavy sigh.
Davis looked down at the floor. His legs were spread wide, looking relaxed in a way that I hadn’t seen before. “Roger, you and Millie—you’re my family. It’s something that makes me happy.”
There was a long pause, and then my dad spoke up.
“And Rae…do you think she could ever fit inside that small circle you’ve created?”
Davis waited a second before he responded, and I don’t know why it mattered so much to me, but I needed to hear his response more than I needed my next breath.
“I don’t know, Roger. I did what you said to do. I didn’t put my name on the slip, but she still seemed annoyed with me. We ended up getting into another fight. I know you’re worried about her, but I don’t think I’m the right guy for the job.”
Uhhh, what the actual?
I felt lightheaded.
My dad…
He’d set me up?
Asked Davis to ask me up there, and to be nice to me?
Did that mean the kiss was fake? Suddenly, I was reliving feelings from that night where he’d embarrassed me. I was triggered. I knew enough about my pain to know that there were still frayed edges that would come apart if anyone tugged on them.
Someone said something, but I didn’t hear it. There was a rushing in my ears, a whooshing, like I was sitting next to a waterfall. Tears creased my eyelids as I slowly slipped back toward the kitchen and finally turned toward my room.
I was more determined than ever to never open myself up to the grumpy recluse on Mount Macon.
Not my heart. Not my mouth.
Fucking nothing.