Page 14 of Dare To Break

“No.” I reach for my earbuds, making it clear that the conversation is over. He stays in the doorway for a second longer before nodding and walking out, and pulls the door shut behind him.

Chapter 9

Arabella

The first thing I see when I step into the dining room is my mother curled on a chair in nothing but a white satin dressing gown that’s hanging off one shoulder. Her face looks puffy and bloated, the redness of her eyes adding to her disheveled hungover appearance.

Thank God I’m escaping today. After the disastrous shopping trip with her yesterday, I spent the rest of the evening in my room pretending to unpack. All I’ve been able to think about is what Eli said to me at the restaurant. The hate dripping off his words left me cold. I can’t forget the way he pinned me against the sink in the restroom. The way his muscled body caged mine, the tension that radiated between us, or the fact I could feel him through his jeans.

I don’t blame him for his anger. He’s right. My mother is a gold-digger, ready to strip his dad of every cent he has. Elena thinks she’s entitled to what everyone else has. But I’m not going to be forced to pay for her sins. Eli may intimidate me here, but that doesn’t mean he will at school. I’m not going to let him bully me.

I join Elena at the table and snatch up a piece of toast from the rack. “You need to get dressed. We have to leave in thirty minutes.”

She squints at me over the rim of her coffee cup. “Eli is driving you both to the academy this morning.”

I freeze in the middle of reaching for the butter, my appetite evaporating. “You have to be fucking joking.”

“Sweetie, it’s a four-hour drive, and he has a car. You don’t really think I have the time to drop you off and then come back, do you?”

I suck in a frustrated breath at the thought of being stuck in a confined space with Eli for that long. “What about Elliot?”

“He’s gone to the office.” She takes a sip of coffee.

I grab a granola bar from the counter and stash it in my backpack with a bottle of water. I doubt the Prince of Darkness is going to stop for anything on the way, so at least I’ll have a snack.

As if I’ve somehow conjured him up with the thought, Eli appears in the doorway. “I’m leaving in five minutes. If your stuff isn’t in the car by then, it’s staying here.”

“Gee, thanks,” I call after him as he walks away.

“Play nice with your brother.” Elena murmurs.

“Stepbrother.” I correct, not bothering to spare her a glance.

I hurry after Eli into the hallway.

My two small cases are standing where I left them. Pulling up the handles, I wheel them through the front door, down the steps, and onto the driveway. Eli is already sitting behind the wheel of an expensive-looking black sports car.

I eye the back of it before opening the passenger door. “Where are my cases supposed to go?”

Impatience glitters in his gaze when he turns toward me. “Back seat, and don’t scratch the paint. This Bugatti is worth more than you are.”

I fight not to roll my eyes. Somehow, I manage to get the seat up and my cases situated, then settle into the passenger seat. I close the door and place my backpack by my feet. I’ve barely got my seatbelt clicked into place before Eli roars off down the drive.

“Slow down!”

“What’s the matter, Princess? Don’t you like fast cars? I’d have thought fast cars and even faster men were exactly your speed.” The taunt rolls off his tongue.

He’s baiting me, but I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of reacting to the dumb nickname. “I’d just like to get to school in one piece.”

“You will, if you stop whining like a bitch.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to argue back, but it’s a four-hour drive, and I don’t need to talk to this asshole. A tense silence descends in the confines of the car.

I find my phone and push my earbuds into my ears, then swipe my fingers over the screen and set my playlist on a loop. The crooning voice of the lead singer of Skillet fills my head with the lyrics of ‘Finish Line.’

If he can ignore me, then I can ignore him too. I duck my chin down, close my eyes, and lose myself in the music. The tension slowly unwinds from my muscles, and I loosen my clenched jaw. My breathing slows, and my mind drifts. Tiredness sweeps over me, the exhaustion of not sleeping properly since my mother turned my life upside down.

A jolt jerks me back into consciousness.

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