Elizabeth
Ishook the entire car ride home.
I shook at what I had done with Steele.
I shook at what I had said to the police officer.
I shook at what Steele had said to me as he got taken to the squad car.
Even just one of those events, by themselves, would have left me reeling for the rest of the night. Together, they made driving back to my parents’ house nearly impossible. Only the emptiness of Interstate 40 and the neighboring roads ensured I didn’t suffer any accidents or any trouble.
When I pulled up to my parents’ house, I sat in my car for several minutes. I tried to imagine if I would ever see Steele again. I tried to decide if I would bail him out. It was kind of my fault. I was the one who had pushed him into the chair and straddled him.
Which…my God, I couldn’t even believe I had done that in the first place. Even though I definitely felt attracted to him, I had never so aggressively made out with someone before. The forbidden element of it made it that much hotter, sure, but you would have thought that I would have kissed one of my exes more aggressively at some other point before.
But no. Steele Harrison had put me under his spell, and it was fun.
And now he was in jail because of it on some bullshit charge that even I, who was not a lawyer, knew would never hold up on even an initial hearing, let alone an entire trial.
I had to bail him out. Yeah, I did. Maybe Steele would have gone to jail anyway, but I’d made it easier for the sheriff to arrest him. My fault, my…my money.My parents’ money?
In a sense, it was. Since my father was CEO of the company that wrote my checks every other week, it might as well have been my parents’ money. The thought was almost as strong as anything else that had crossed my mind as a reason for me to move out and get my own place.
I got out of my car, walked into the house, and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw my father sitting on the steps, clearly waiting for me.
“You said you were going to come home after you visited your sister,” he said, noticeably not using Tara’s name. “I was going to discuss the Santa Maria branch with you. And yet it is far, far later than that. Where have you been?”
I bit my lip.You need to not be so tied to what your father says. You need to be your own person.
“Elizabeth?”
“I was in Santa Maria,” I said. “I was…I was just checking on the office, to make sure all was good.”
“You drove all the way to Santa Maria after visiting your sister to check in on the office?” my father said, the disbelief in his voice obvious.
“I…”
I sighed. I was not strong enough to fight back.
“No, Dad. I saw Steele.”
“Steele. As in, Steele, your sister’s ex-boyfriend?”
I nodded. My father scoffed in disgust, bowing his head between his hands.
“We will not stand for this. You are not to see him again. I will have to make sure security goes out to you when you visit Santa Maria to make sure this subordination does not happen again.”
“Yes, father.”
I spoke those words on instinct. My father rose, came down the remaining two steps, and started walking to his office. As soon as his back turned to me, my mind started screaming at itself.
You idiot! You’re going to let him boss you around like that? You’re twenty-five, not fifteen. You can see whoever you want.
I know, but…
No, Elizabeth. Remember what Steele said. You just have to say fuck it. You just have to push back.
“No.”
