“Lexi,” I correct. “She’s a great roommate. I got lucky with her,” I say defensively.
“A bit rough around the edges is all.” Mom scrunches her nose as I go back to pushing my food around my plate. I want out of here, but it’s not like I can try and make an escape. I’m stuck. They all fall back into conversation, and I zone out again until dinner is finally over.
“Liam, do you think you could give Parker a ride back to campus?” my dad suddenly suggests. “You two can get to know each other better.”
“I’d be more than happy to do that.” Liam pushes back from his chair, giving me no choice but to do the same.
Mom stands and gives me a hug. “He’s handsome,” she tells me, but I don’t bother responding. Liam and my father exchange hushed words before I’m following him out the front door. I reach into my purse and grab my cell phone, dreading this ride home.
“Who was the man from last night?” he asks as soon as he pulls out of the driveaway. The sun is already setting, and suddenly I feel exhausted.
“Someone I’ve been talking to.” I try to give as little detail as possible.
“Is that really it?” I shrug. “I don’t think your father would be too happy if he knew about him.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
“Are you still a virgin?” He takes his eyes off the road to run his eyes over me, and I shrink back into myself.
“Yes,” I answer, hoping he’ll stop looking at me.
“Break it off with him and I won’t have to tell dear old daddy anything.” I don’t respond. “I don’t know why you’re making this so hard, Parker. We’ll fit together rather nicely. I think you’ll make a lovely wife.” He reaches over and runs his fingers down my jaw.
“Watch out!” I scream when he starts to drift into the other lane.
“Shit!” He jerks the car back, but he does it too hard and I scream as we veer off the road. There’s a concrete wall just ahead, but it all happens so fast. Glass explodes around us and the sound of crunching metal fills my ears.
Samuel’s face flashes through my mind as the car screeches to a halt. I reach up and touch my eyebrow then wince when I see the blood on my hand. Liam curses beside me and starts to yell at me for shouting at him. He’s banging on his steering wheel saying how it’s all my fault, but I ignore him as I search for my phone.
When I finally find it on the floorboard, I go to call Samuel but then realize that I don’t have his number. I drop my head back and close my eyes as the sounds of sirens grow closer. My head is pounding, and my body aches, but I don’t want an ambulance.
I want Samuel.
Chapter Ten
SAMUEL
“Get your fucking hands off her!” I shout as I rush over to the wreckage and straight for the driver.
“Wait, wait, wait.” He holds his hand up, but I don’t stop as my fist collides with his face. One hit and he crumples to the ground, but I don’t look back at him as I shove his body out of the way and move in front of Parker.
“I’m here, babe. I’m right here, help is on the way.”
“Samuel?” There’s a cut at her temple, and it’s small, but it’s bleeding like crazy. “Where did you come from?” She reaches for me, and as much as I hate it, I have to hold her still.
“Stay right there, Parker. Don’t move.” I glance over my shoulder and see the ambulance pulling up behind the car and the paramedics jumping out. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? I’m staying with you.”
“Okay.” Her voice breaks when she answers, and I see tears begin to fall from her eyes.
Fuck, I want to pull the guy off the ground and beat him all over again. One of the paramedics goes straight to Parker while the other examines the jock on the ground. He’s moaning, so I guess he’s still alive. Too bad.
As soon as Parker left with her father, I couldn’t stand it and went after her. When I saw they were going to his house for dinner, I thought I’d wait outside and take her home. I didn’t have her number so I couldn’t call her, but I knew I had to talk to her. There was no way I could just let her leave without telling her how I feel. And there’s not a chance in hell I’d let her marry someone else. Not when she’s meant to be mine.
I waited for so long, but finally the gates opened, and she came out. But to my surprise, she was in the passenger seat of that douchebag from her school, and I knew with every bone in my body that she didn’t want to be in that car with him. She couldn’t stand being within two feet of him when I first met her, so being confined to a car with him would be agony.
I had to save her and make sure that guy knew to keep his fucking hands to himself. When I saw him swerve, I think my heart stopped, but when he overcorrected and hit the concrete wall, I felt like I died in that split second.
Before I’d put my car in park all the way, I was out of my vehicle and running toward her. All I could think about was that I’d finally found the love of my life, and she was being taken from me. Thank god she’s still alive and breathing, because if something happens to her, they better dig two graves.
