Chapter 8 Yara
YARA
"I'll see you in two days," I said as I waved to Callie, one of the girls walking down by the pool before I exited the locker room.
She waved back, smiling at me before focusing back on her phone and most probably the game she was playing.
She was one of the good ones here and I liked sitting with her during the break and talking about nothing and everything.
Usually, I would've offered to wait for her so that we could head out together, but her shift was finishing in three hours today, and I had somewhere to be. Somewhere, I was hoping wouldn't bite me in the ass.
Violet and Noah were grumbling about the race tonight and the bets that were going around, and instead of ignoring it I asked what they were talking about. They were hesitant at first, but it took them all about five seconds to relent and share what was happening tonight outside of the town.
The race.
An illegal race, which was held every couple of months just on the outskirts of the town, where men and some women raced for money, for bragging rights and most of all for adrenaline.
My curiosity peaked when they mentioned Xavier and his friends, and the fact that they tend to be there.
I didn't ask if they were observers or drivers, and I didn't really care.
At first, I put it into the back of my mind until I saw the three of them sitting at the Lounge, and then an idea popped up in my head.
If Ryder was already going to be there, or at least I assumed he would, then there was no harm in asking.
It was also one of the many ways I was coming up with to fuck with Xavier and his growly personality.
He slept in front of my room last night like a true fucking stalker, and something told me if it wasn't for my locked doors he would've gotten inside.
My words obviously meant nothing to him, and instead of respecting my choices and my unspoken request to stay away from me, he decided to sleep right in front of my door.
I wouldn't have noticed him if it wasn't for the fact that I woke up in the middle of the night, thirsty and more than a little hungry, because I skipped dinner after I stormed inside my room.
I also would have missed the circles around his eyes when I saw him today if it wasn't for the fact that I knew why he had them.
Sleeping on the floor couldn't have been comfortable, but when I woke up in the morning, he was no longer there.
I was still contemplating whether it was sadness at his absence swirling in my stomach or the hunger that kept me awake for most of the night, because there was no way for me to get out of my room without waking him up last night.
The last thing I needed was the repeat of that night from a couple of weeks ago.
If I wanted to protect my heart, I had to keep him far, far away from me.
Which is why I chose Ryder. Out of all his friends he was the only one that seemed to irk Xavier whenever he paid any attention to me. Most of all, he was the only one of his friends who didn't behave like I had an STD when he spoke to me, and I appreciated it.
Running down the stairs toward the Employee Entrance, I punched out on the attendance machine and pushed the door open, inhaling the fresh October air.
I've been suffering for the last couple of months here, trying to adjust to humidity and the heat, but October weather might as well be my favorite type of weather here.
It wasn't cold per-se, but it wasn't so hot that my entire body became swollen, and if it stayed like this maybe I could learn to love this place. Maybe if I had something to look forward to, those hot months wouldn't be so unbearable.
I told Ryder to meet me at the parking lot for Employees and as I rounded the corner of the Country Club, I stopped in my tracks just as my heart crawled into my throat.
Because Ryder wasn't the one standing there.
Because my heart didn't get the message and instead of thumping out of anger it basically said "There he is. We've been looking for him." Fucking heart.
Fucking Ryder.
I was going to kill him when I saw him the next time.
Xavier stood there, leaning against his car, with his arms crossed over his chest and a look on his face I couldn't decipher. Earlier he wore a white T-Shirt that made him look almost tame in comparison to what he looked like now.
Black T-Shirt hugged his chest, accentuating his muscles as if he needed them to be more on display.
The sleeves of the shirt were straining against his biceps, hiding the upper part of the tattoo he had on his right arm.
Yesterday I saw a grim reaper staring at me when he stripped, right on his bicep, but tonight I dragged my eyes over the dark ink covering his forearm, ending just at his wrist. The dark, almost black jeans he wore hugged his thighs, and as he pushed against the car and stood to his full height, I swallowed thickly, knowing he was here for me.
His hair was disheveled, almost as if he were dragging his hands through it for the last couple of hours out of frustration, a complete contrast to the carefully arranged hairdo he had earlier on.
My eyes narrowed as I noticed a single earring hanging from his left earlobe, and as he took a couple of steps closer to me, I could see clearly that it was a small dagger, colored in black.
"What are you doing here?" I asked instead of dragging my eyes over his body. It wasn't fair, this pull he had on me, but I would fight tooth and nail against it if I had to. "I'm meeting Ryder," I rubbed it in as my voice turned huskier and as I took the step backwards.
But did that statement stop him? Of course not. If anything, it seemed that his pace quickened, and before I could go back inside just to run from him, he was right in front of me, those onyx eyes swallowing me whole.
His mouth curved into a smile, and I had no idea how to feel about this version of him. Hell, I had no idea how to feel about any version of him, least of all the one where he pretended to be almost normal.
Xavier's mouth twitched as he took a strand of my hair into his fingers, rubbing it, looking straight into my eyes. "Ryder isn't coming." Of course he wasn't. "So I'm afraid you're stuck with me."
"That's fine." I pulled back, hugging my bag to my front. "I'll just go back inside and wait for the bus. Ryder and I can—"
"I don't think you're getting what I'm saying, little lamb," he rasped out, again closing the space between us and getting straight into my face. His hand lifted, wrapping around my ponytail as a muscle in his jaw twitched. "He's not coming tonight, tomorrow or any other night."
Oh. My. God. "Did you kill him?" I croaked out, feeling my eyes widen. He must have, that was the only explanation. He threatened him yesterday, but I was too self—
"No," the motherfucker chuckled, as if it was the most amusing thing he had ever heard. "But I could, if you wanted me to."
What. The. Fuck.
"No, thank you," I stammered. "I'd like him to stay alive, please." It wasn't Ryder's fault he was on my list of people I could perhaps persuade to help me in making Xavier slightly more insane.
Seeing how the two of them interacted I had a feeling it wouldn't be too hard, but why wouldn't he tell me that the bane of my existence was coming here tonight, instead of him? He practically threw me under the bus, which wasn't cool.
Not cool at all.
"Suit yourself," Xavier said, his voice filled with amusement I had never heard before.
I had to get out of here. I had to get away from him.
"Well," I chirped, slowly backing away, making him drop my hair. "It's been really nice seeing you." Liar. "And thank you for telling me Ryder couldn't make it." Yeah, right. "But I think I'll go inside and I'll—"
I didn't get to turn around. I didn't get to even finish the sentence before he closed in on me, hauling me up in his arms as if I were a child that needed to be carried.
His arms tightened around me as I started squirming, and instead of letting me down, the motherfucker pressed me into his chest, pushing my head into his neck.
I took a deep breath, letting his cologne invade my senses, squeezing my eyes at the same time and trying to stop my heart from beating this wildly.
Xavier grumbled under his breath as he started walking toward his car, something close to stubborn, but I was far too confused to react.
"Are you going to take me home?" I asked timidly, keeping my eyes closed.
Xavier refused to be seen with me in public. He avoided even looking at me at college even when his friends said hi, and every single one of those interactions left me feeling smaller and smaller even when I tried denying it.
He kept his mouth shut until he dropped me down in front of him, steadying me with his arms on my shoulders.
I looked up at him, unable to stop myself and I wished I never asked Ryder on this pseudo date.
I wished I was back in my room, far away from him, especially as his eyes bore into mine and the line appeared between his brows.
“No, I’m not taking you home, Yara,” he finally responded. "You wanna go on a date?" He grumbled, squeezing my shoulders tighter. "I'm right here." What? "You want to watch a street race?" He leaned down, his nose brushing against mine. "I. Am. Right. Fucking. Here."
His eyes were a blazing fire licking over my skin, and I was too speechless trying to comprehend what his words meant. He... He wanted me to... No. Surely not.
"So you can either get inside the car." He sounded pissed off. "Or I will put you inside. What's it gonna be?"