“I didn’t ask for your help,” I protested, pulling back and glaring at him. He had no right to swoop in and play the hero.
I should have felt grateful, but I didn’t.
“Well, you got it anyway,” he replied, determined to keep pulling me along. I resisted, digging in my heels.
“What’s the matter with you? Huh? You pop back into my life, say nothing, and now you’re saving me from the molester?”
I hoped he would fuel my fire. I craved a fight, needed to scream, needed something to release the tension coiling within me.
“Stop being so childish. Maybe you should thank me, or perhaps I should’ve let him feel you up.” His eyes, dark and intense, met mine.
“Yeah, you would’ve liked that, wouldn’t you? Watching me helpless and hurting, just like old times.” I knew it was pretty and immature of me to say, but I couldn’t help it. I felt as if I were that edgy, teenage girl again.
Caiden shook his head, the moonlight illuminating his face and revealing a clenched jaw, irritation etched into his features. Good.
“I don’t have time for this shit,” he grumbled before striding toward the car, leaving me standing in the shadows.
The creepy guy lingered nearby, and a shiver of unease coursed through me. I groaned and hurried after Caiden, who walked with a purpose.
“Oh good! You found her. We can get back on the road now,” Sabrina exclaimed, her energy seemingly boundless as she hopped back into the car.
We followed her, and soon the engine hummed back to life, pulling us onto the road once more.
Tension hung heavily in the air between Caiden and me, thick enough that I could almost sense his anger radiating from the back of his head. Neither Shane nor Sabrina seemed to notice a thing.
Hours slipped away. My eyelids drooped, fatigue creeping in as silence enveloped the car, broken only by the low volume of music. Sabrina was nearly asleep in the seat beside me. Finally.
The landscape blurred past, clouds swallowing the starlight, and my gaze became lost in the darkness beyond the window.
It resonated with the swirling emptiness inside me, a void that deepened painfully with each passing day. Caiden’s presence only intensified it.
“There’s an exit coming up with a motel. I’m going to call it a night,” Shane announced, his voice breaking through my thoughts. Sabrina mumbled an incoherent response, barely roused from her slumber.
The car slowed, veering down a narrow road. Up ahead, I spotted a sign for the motel, a solitary beacon in the night. The area was sparsely populated, save for the motel and a few other scattered buildings.
The car came to a halt, and I glanced at the structure before me. It was a long, one-story building, with rooms lined up side by side. A separate building stood nearby, presumably the check-in area. Trees surrounded the property, standing like silent sentinels.
I grabbed my backpack, containing some clothes, essentials, and a few books, and followed the others to the office.
I hoped there were enough rooms to accommodate us. A handful of cars dotted the parking lot, and with each vehicle I counted, myhope dwindled.
“Hey, I was wondering if there’s any room for us tonight?” Shane inquired, stepping to the desk.
The man behind the counter squinted, raising an eyebrow. “Depends. How many rooms do you need?”
“I’d like my own,” I interjected before Shane could speak for me. He nodded in my direction, a silent show of support.
The clerk laughed, a sound laced with mockery. “Well, I have two rooms available. Both single beds.”
“Seriously? Jeez, why are so many people needing a room tonight?” My own grumpiness seeped through, irritation coloring my tone, prompting another chuckle from the clerk.
“Well, young lady, we’re a small town. Lots of folks need a getaway place quite often. Most of the rooms booked belong to locals.”
“I need to share a bed with my man. Sorry, Amelia. But maybe you and Caiden can use this night to bond,” Sabrina chimed in, her voice teasing.
To her, Caiden was just an attractive guy I could fall for, settle down with. She had no idea of our history. I couldn’t blame her.
“Actually—” I started but was cut off by another voice.
