“No. It can’t just be that.” I started again when I saw him bite the inside of his cheek. “You’re not afraid of dying?”
“Did you ever think that maybe I want to?”
The loud roar of the motor interrupted my thoughts, making me jump in my seat.
“Did you have to say that a second before starting the car?” I exclaimed shrilly.
“Fasten your seat belt.”
I felt my agitation get stronger. “Sorry, what?”
James looked at me. “Fasten your fucking seat belt and hold on tight.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. As soon as I heard the pistol, an unexpected burst of speed made me lean back and shut my eyes. The deafening sound of the engines pierced my eardrums. I thought I was gonna die for a moment, then a sharp turn pushed me against the car door. I felt the brakes skid and the wheels scratch the asphalt. I tried opening my eyes again and immediately regretted it. There was very little light, but I caught a glimpse of bushes rushing past us at lightning speed through the window.
Then I was catapulted forward with the same brutality. And it all stopped. My heart was still going a hundred miles an hour.
“You’re out of your fucking mind!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. James got out of the car calmly as I tried to digest what just happened.
We were back at the starting point. A group of people were clapping.
“You wanna get out?” he asked, opening the car door.
“You’re really insane!” It didn’t seem like I could say anything else.
“Exactly. I’m crazy. I’m a nutcase. Now go home!” He mimicked me without even looking at me.
“What the hell are you doing here? June?”
I got out of the car with wobbly knees and saw William looking at us quizzically. “Everything okay?” he asked, then hugged me.
I was shaking so much that I was stunned that my knees still supported my weight.
“Where’d you go?”
“June, you okay?” he insisted, seeing my freaked-out face.
“I’m a bit nauseated.”
“I can’t believe you!” He broke up our hug to have a go at his friend. “You made her come with you, James? Are you serious?”
William’s surly scowl was met by James’s sarcastic sneer.
“So? You left her here,” he answered, shrugging indifferently.
“Are you out of your mind? Why did you do that?”
I’d never seen William so mad.
“What, you don’t trust me?” James egged him on.
What I didn’t expect to see was William slap James’s hand, knocking the vape pen out of it before he could turn it on.
“Oh fuck. What are you guys doing?” Jackson intervened.
James took a deep breath, as if he was trying to keep his rage under control. “You’re the one who left her here,” he repeated. But this time he looked Will straight in the eyes. They seemed to be speaking some sort of language between themselves that I couldn’t understand.
“What if something happened to her?”
