“I’ll text you later?”
“Sounds good,” I said cheerfully, my heart in my throat.
I was relieved when he leaned over to kiss me goodbye, but my stomach sank when it was just a quick peck on the lips. He got out of the car and closed the door, so I scooted across the seat.
I was leaning down, trying to move the seat up so I could reach the pedals, when the door opened back up again.
“Fuck this shit,” Bas said, reaching past me to turn off the truck and pull the keys out of the ignition. “Grab your bag.”
“What?”
“Come inside,” he ordered, his gaze searching my face. “Let’s salvage this fucked-up day.”
“You sure?” I asked carefully.
“Baby, this has been the worst day I’ve had in fuckin’ years.” He winced. “I wanna end it inside you. So, we can drive this back to your pop, and I’ll bring you back here on my bike, or you can just stay, and we’ll bring it back later. Stay.”
“Okay,” I agreed, sagging in relief.
“I’m sorry for that shit back at the house,” he said, still standing in the door. “Findin’ my room the same as I left it was a mindfuck. Took me a minute to get my head on straight again.”
“It was a lot,” I agreed again.
“Come on,” he said, reaching for my hand.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when we went into his apartment, but it definitely wasn’t for him to order in Greek food for us to eat while we cuddled on the couch and watchedThe Lord of the Rings. Two extended-cut movies later, it was dark outside, Bas was in the bathroom, and I started gathering up my stuff.
“I need to bring the truck back before my dad sends out a search party,” I announced as he jogged back down the stairs. “I’m surprised he hasn’t called yet.”
“You wanna stay here tonight?” he asked, walking toward me. “I can follow you to your parents’ house and bring you back.”
I was still feeling a little off after the morning we’d had, but I nodded anyway. Bas hadn’t kept his hands to himself as we’d watched the movies, but there’d been nothing sexual in the way he’d touched me. It was comfort he’d been providing, both for me and, I think, for himself. I wanted to come back. I wanted to strip off our clothes and not have to think about anything else but how good it was between us. Honestly, I was a little desperate to convince myself that what we had was solid, at least in that small part.
Bas followed me out of the house, but he was a little bit behind me when I drove toward home. I didn’t think much of it because he knew the way, and if I got there before him, I could say hello to my parents and thank my dad for letting us borrow the truck before I left again. I was driving carefully because it was wet and dark outside, but there were barely any cars on the road.
When lights shone in the back windshield, I frowned. My dad’s truck wasn’t lifted, but it still sat pretty high, so lights coming from behind usually didn’t even register. I glanced at the rearview mirror and winced at how bright it was.
Slowing down a little, I waited for the car behind me to pass. If they were in a hurry, they were welcome to go around me. Except, they didn’t. They just continued following, far too close, with their bright lights shining into the truck.
I considered pulling over to the side of the road, but with everything so dark, I was afraid I’d hit a branch or something and fuck up the paint or the wheels on the truck.
Holding the steering wheel tightly in both hands, I continued toward home, cursing under my breath. It would’ve been so easy for them to go on their merry way and leave me to it.
I was relieved when they seemed to back off, letting more distance fall between us as we got further out of town. They must’ve finally realized that no matter how obnoxious they were, I wasn’t going to speed up.
I’d just begun to relax when suddenly the lights shone brightly in the cab again, and then I was flying forward in my seat, my face hitting the steering wheel with a sickening crunch. My eyesight went dark as I instinctively slammed my foot down on the brake, but even without being able to see it, I could feel when the Chevy left the road.
I came to a stop perpendicular to the road, staring blearily into the dark forest beyond.
“Oh, my god,” I whispered, reaching up as I felt wet dripping off my chin. I pulled my hand away to find blood covering my fingertips. “Oh no.”
My dad was going to be so pissed. Cupping my hands under my face, I tried to catch the blood before it hit the upholstery.
“Harper?” Bas yelled from somewhere to my left. I couldn’t see anything beyond the illumination from the headlights.
“Oh, my god,” I whispered again, starting to cry.
He whipped open my door, and his face filled my vision, his eyes wide with fear.
