Page 100 of Revealing Mark

He took me by the arms. “The sooner you face it the better. The longer you leave it, the worse it’ll be to overcome.”

I pulled out of his grip. “You can’t force me into this.”

“You’re right, I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do.” He stepped closer. “Are you just never going to drive again? What happens when you need to go somewhere? You’re going to be dependent on someone else?”

I frowned as I crossed my arms. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“So, you’re going to be a full-grown adult who is too scared to drive?”

“Why are you being so mean?” I asked, feeling hurt.

“I’m trying to help you and sometimes it requires tough love.”

Love? That’s all I heard. Love.

He took my hands in his and I let him. He was coming from a good place but I was still mad he had jumped this on me with no prior warning, although I wasn’t sure if a warning would have helped.

“Try it.” His green eyes held mine. I wanted to stay angry at him but it was difficult when he was looking at me like that.

I continued to shake my head. “You’re not listening. I’m not ready.” My voice rose and came out in a kind of high-pitched whine I was not proud of.

“Tracy,” he said firmly, and I tried my best to shut out everything except the calm of his voice.

“Do you trust me?” he asked. I held his eyes, trying to calm my rapid heartbeat that had nothing to do with him but was due to the fear of driving again.

“I do,” I replied in a heavy voice, knowing what this would mean.

I looked at the car before looking back at him.

“I won’t let anything bad happen, I’ll be with you the whole way. Okay?” His eyes searched mine and I found myself nodding even though I wanted to do anything but get into his car.

“First let’s go around the parking lot until you’re comfortable,” he suggested when he walked me around to the driver’s side and helped me in.

I took a couple of deep breaths, trying to get my panic under control, otherwise I would end up causing another accident. Igripped the steering wheel as he rounded the car and got in the other side. I adjusted the rearview mirror and my seat, trying to shut out the echo of the memories of my car crash.

“You good?” he asked.

I let out a heavy breath. “No, but let’s do this anyway.” I started the car and it purred to life. The panic rose up in me but I breathed through it.

“You got this,” Mark encouraged. I shot him a glare. I didn’t feel like I had anything except a full-blown panic attack just a breath away.

Baby steps,I told myself, easing the car forward.

Driving at night made me nervous but combined with the memories of my accident, I was petrified and I slammed on the brakes when I saw the lights of another car pass us.

“It’s okay,” Mark soothed beside me, but I couldn’t continue. I had flashbacks with sirens and metal scrapping against metal. I had been so traumatized I had refused to buy another car when my insurance had paid out.

“I can’t,” I admitted, refusing to budge.

“You can do this, you know you can,” he encouraged, and I really disliked him in that moment for pushing me.

But something in me didn’t want to disappoint him, so I tried again. This time I kept my speed low and went around in circles in the parking lot before I built up the courage to venture onto the open road.

Even though the rest of the journey to the restaurant was uneventful, my legs were shaking by the time we arrived, and I was still angry Mark had pushed me into it.

“See? That wasn’t so bad.” He took my hand, but I turned to face him.

“That was the most…underhanded thing.” I was mad even though I had done it.