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I sat in the back of Sebastian’s car and didn’t want to be near him anymore when it beeped. He didn’t say anything when he got in the driver’s seat. He just looked at me quickly in the rearview mirror. I put my head against the car window and tried to make sense of the fact that I had s*x with my mom’s fiancé again.
How did I get here? Caleb ruined me, but Sebastian is going to kill me and break me until I’m nothing.
I saw houses with people inside as we drove by, and it made me want to go home even more. I wish my dad were here so he could tell me what to do and how to deal with this.
“We’re stopping to eat.”
I said, “I’m not hungry.”
“I don’t care; I am,” he said without hesitation.
We stopped in a parking lot with a restaurant across the street. I crossed my arms and legs to show him that I wasn’t going to get out of the car without a fight.
“Get out, Aria,” he said.
“Nope, I’m good,” I said in a snappy voice.
“Aria, if you don’t get up and use those long legs of yours, I’ll pick you up, throw you over my shoulder, and walk you inside myself.” He pointed his finger at me and said, “Do you want strangers to see your a*s?”
“That’s fine with me because you think I’m a whore.” I smiled and rolled my eyes.
“Okay, you said it,” he said, and then he got out of the car and opened my door. He reached for my arm, but I pulled away, and my hair fell in front of my face.
“Don’t even think about it, dingbat.” I pushed his hand away. Is he crazy?
He said, “Good girl.”
“Don’t touch me,” I hissed.
“Way too late for that, Pumpkin.” He grinned, and I got out of the car and followed him quietly.
The restaurant wasn’t fancy at all; it was just a small hole in the wall with some cute decorations. The waiter seemed to be paying attention. She was an older woman with a friendly smile.
The nice old lady asked, “What can I get you, kids?” I smiled and looked at Sebastian for help.
“What do you want?”
I said, “Pancakes with strawberries and blueberries,” and I smiled.
The woman smiled, took the menus from us, and left. We were back to the awkward silence between us.
My eyes were glued to the door that was now opening. A man with a lot of tattoos and piercings walked through the doors. He was staring at Sebastian and me very hard as he walked to his booth behind us.
There was something wrong.
I looked away from the person and put my hands on my lap. There was definitely something wrong with this man. He was wearing the same black clothes as the men Sebastian killed.
Sebastian asked, “What’s wrong now?” He could tell I was nervous.
“Nothing.” My voice came out as a soft whisper.
Sebastian kept typing on his phone and not really paying attention to anything while the man in the booth behind me looked suspicious. I slowly reached into my back pocket to get my phone so I could text him about the creepy guy behind me, but before I could do that, the nice lady brought out our food.
I kept my hand in my back pocket, frozen, and tried not to move too quickly so I wouldn’t draw attention to myself.
“Thanks,” I said.
“No worries,” she said in a strong Italian accent.
Sebastian began to cut up his pancakes, and I stared blankly at the food in front of me.
I kicked him under the table, and he raised an eyebrow at me. I threw my head back and he gave me a strange look. He still didn’t get it. I bit my lip out of anger. This guy is a killer, but he’s a bad one. I threw my head back even harder, and he peeked his head over the seat while standing up.
“Shit,” he said quietly.
I knew it.
I was really nervous. My palms were sweating and my fingers were playing with each other.
This would be a terrible way to die, especially with him.
That’s when the panic set in. Sebastian quickly figured out that my breathing was off. He touched my cheek, which got my attention. He was teaching me how to breathe in and out. I did what he did. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun.
No way, oh my god.
I shook my head from side to side, and the hand that was on my cheek was now holding my chin up.
“Run!” he yells, and I don’t waste any time. I tried to get as far away from the table as I could, but I only got a few inches away before the gunshots started.
I curled up on the floor and put my head between my knees. I was shaking with fear, but I wasn’t being shot at, which was surprising. Someone yelled. I was brave enough to turn around, thinking it was Sebastian, but it wasn’t. It was the older woman, and she was lying in a pool of her own blood.
I crawled over to her quickly and put my hand on her open wound. She was bleeding a lot, so I put my hand over the cut and pressed down on it to stop the bleeding, but it didn’t work.
“No,” I said. She started to gasp for air and blood started to flow from her mouth. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”
Her smile began to fade, and the warmth of her skin turned into bitter coldness. I can’t let her die; I have to do something. I ran over to the shooting range and saw Sebastian hiding behind a table. I didn’t need to know this woman to know it was wrong. She had nothing to do with it, but now she’s bleeding to death.
“Sebastian!” I yelled to get his attention.
He saw me and the blood all over my body, and right away he shot the guy in the leg. He fell down. Sebastian hit the man in the head with his gun, knocking him out cold.
He runs over to me and puts his hands on my stomach, where her blood is. He thinks it’s my blood and that I was shot.
“No, no. T-the lady, she was shot.” I stammered as I pulled him towards the lady. He knelt down to feel her pulse, and when he pulled his finger off her neck, his head hung low. I stood there on my two shaky legs, and she was gone.
I whispered, “No.” “I can save her.” I pushed him out of the way and knelt down next to her, putting more pressure on her wound.
“She’s gone, Aria.” He says this with no emotion, as if he didn’t care at all. He picked me up off the ground and made me stand up while he pulled me away from the women.
I raised my hand to slap him across the cheek, and the force of the slap made his head lean down. “It’s your fault she’s dead,” I said angrily, with hot tears streaming down my cheeks.
Sebastian looked bored with what I said, and he didn’t seem to care about anything that was going on.
“I f*****g hate you so much,” I yelled as I hit his strong chest with both of my small fists.
He grabbed both of my wrists, stopping me from hitting him anymore, and pulled me closer to his chest, making my hair wave over us. “I don’t care about this woman at all. I’d rather have ten old ladies than you. I’d kill every old person in this city if it meant you were safe.”
Sebastian whispers harshly, “You can hate me all you want, but you’re still alive, and that’s all that matters.”
His face was only a few inches from mine. His tough face slowly relaxed, and he let go of my wrist.