Amber
I was loading the dishes into the dishwasher when someone grabbed my hips. I yelped and swung the frying pan in the air. The metallic thud was buffered by Zach’s thick hair.
He glared at me and rubbed his head.
“Everything has changed around here.”
I shook my head and put the frying pan in the dishwasher.
“What did you expect after five years?” I muttered.
When he didn’t say anything, I continued.
“Mum struggled for a long time. Luke is the first guy she’s dated since… the funeral.”
He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. When he did look at me, I braced myself for those green-gold eyes flecked with brown. His eyes hardened for a moment.
“Have you dumped Nolan yet?” he asked, grabbing my wrist.
I shook my head.
“Get rid of the deadweight, Amber. I’m not messing around,” he growled.
“What’s it to you, anyway?” I hissed, trying to free my wrist.
He glared at me some more before releasing me and storming out of the kitchen.
Asshole. He was supposed to wipe the table down.
? ? ?
I wondered if I should give Nolan his present back, but then again, I did get him that expensive train model. I tapped my pencil on my book, stressing over not wanting to hurt his feelings.
But that kiss.
It was everything I’d dreamt of.
It was so Zach.
Did I sneak downstairs and spy on him with his various girlfriends in his car, or sometimes when his bedroom door just happened to be left open?
I was young and curious. Sue me.
Or I had been, until Alisha. That vile rush of shame and heavy feeling in the pit of my belly rushed back. The way I’d wished for the earth to open and swallow me whole that day.
I’d gone from hero-worshipping to something darker. If my mum knew, she’d send me to a therapist, and instead of uni, I’d be locked up in a padded cell.
With a quick swipe, I unlocked my phone and went onto his posts. I swallowed, but scrolled until I got to the photo someone had tagged him in. Head half turned, lips curled in a half pout, half smile, thick waves of golden-brown curls, and those eyes that seemed to glow.
I crossed my arm over my chest and rubbed my nipples, biting my lip as my eyes followed the line of his neck.
It was a sickness.
An impulsive sickness I’d never outgrown, and now Zachary Rayne was here. Home. My fingertips moved over my lips in wonder. Even after his crude words, I would let him kiss me again.
I closed my eyes with a sigh and let my phone slip from my fingers, falling onto my desk. He was leaving after New Year’s Day. He’d forget all about me—us. At least when I left for uni, Mum wouldn’t be alone. She’d be married to Luke. He made her happy, and that fatigued look in her eyes was gone.
His image was still on my phone. I did nothing to avoid it.
? ? ?
Luke lay on the couch, watching us while sipping his whiskey. It was an expensive bottle, but that hadn’t stopped Zach from wrapping his lips around it to take a few swigs.
Mum lay beside him with a blanket.
Zach was being weird, but we continued to play the board game.
His pinkie finger brushed over my hand, and I almost pulled it away. I stared at the floor where we sat. His hand next to mine. His fingers touching mine.
“Have you dumped him yet, or do you want me to do it?” he murmured.
I glanced at my mum across the room, but they were now engrossed in each other.
“Or is that what you want? Do you want me to deck him? Do you want me to give you what you crave?”
I couldn’t answer, because it felt as if my brain was misfiring.
“Sure, I’ll help you study,” he said, loud enough to draw everyone’s attention.
He stood up and held his hand out.
I paused a beat before placing my hand in his.
He hauled me up and took me upstairs.
Not to my bedroom.
But his.
The one that had always been off-limits.