“You’re coming in?”
“Door-to-door service.” I smirk. I had no intention of doing that when I left, but now that I’m here, why the fuck not?
Constance gets her bag out of the back seat and follows me up the steps. The door swings open before we reach it. Zara stands there with a huge smile on her face. Her hair is down and she’s wearing a pair of pyjama shorts and a band shirt. Her face is clean of makeup. When my gaze meets hers, that smile falters slightly. Her eyes look watery, like she’s just put drops in them. Which means she’s been crying. I fight the urge to run up and hug her.
“Hey, welcome,” Zara says to Constance. Then turns to me. “Why are you here?”
“Being a good friend and dropping her off.”
“Well, she’s here now. You can go,” Zara tells me.
I turn to Constance. “Right, call me if you need anything.”
“Thanks for the ride.” She hugs me. My eyes stay connected with Zara’s. Her face scrunches up, but then she’s all smiles again as soon as Constance lets go of me.
“Ares. You lost?” Mr McKinley’s voice booms from behind me. Turning around, I smile at him.
“Nope, not lost, sir,” I add on thesirbecause it’s polite, but also because I know he fucking hates it.
“What the fuck are you doing on my doorstep, then?” Mr McKinley asks, his arms folded across his chest.
“Daddy, don’t be rude. Ares was dropping my friend off. This is Constance. She’s sleeping over tonight,” Zara explains.
“Nice to meet you, Constance,” Zara’s dad greets in a much nicer tone than he’s been directing at me. I’m used to it, though. He’s always hated whenever I’ve talked to Zara.
“Right, well, enjoy your night,” I tell Zara before turning around and heading back to my car. Before I get in, I stop and call out to Mr McKinley, “You should make those two sleep in different rooms. Constance has a huge crush on Zara.”
“I’m going to kill you, Ares,” Constance growls. “I don’t. I mean, you’re hot and all, Zara, but I don’t sleep with my friends.”
“I’ll pay you ten million dollarsifyou can turn my daughter off boys,” Mr McKinley says to Constance.
I laugh. That’s not happening. But I won’t be the one to burst his bubble.
“Daddy, oh my god, stop!” Zara screams. I watch as she takes Constance’s arm and drags her into the house.
Before I can get in my car, Mr McKinley stops me. “How is she doing at school?”
“Who? Constance? She’s fine.”
“Zara, dipshit. Is she settling in?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him that, no, she’s notsettling in. That she needs help and he’s fucking blind for not seeing it. “She’s making friends, seems all right whenever I’ve spotted her around.”
“I’m aware of how much youspot her around, Ares. Don’t bullshit me. Zara is… She’s not as tough as she likes people to think she is and I know Marcel asked you to keep an eye on her. Thank you for doing it.” Mr McKinley looks like the words physically hurt him to say.
“She’s doing fine. Really, and I think she’s probably stronger than anyone gives her credit for,” I tell him and then climb into my car, putting an end to the conversation.
It takes me thirty minutes to catch up with Spencer and Dan. Spencer likes to street race. He does it for the money. So he can feed himself and Constance. I’ve offered to help him out a few times, and every time I do, he tells me to fuck off. Now I support him how ever I can. Like by showing up to a race where he’s going up against some cocky asshole.
Spencer has spent the last couple of years perfecting his Subaru WRX to make it the racing machine it is now. It has nothing on the McLaren Artura, but I’m not the one racing.
“Hey, you ready?” I ask Spence, running my eyes over his car.
“Yeah, Constance said you picked her up,” he says.
“Gave her a ride. I knew you were busy.” I shrug.
“Sure it didn’t have anything to do with whose house she was going to?” Dan asks.
