Page 5 of Law Of Love

“Hello? Dad?” I exclaimed over the pounding precipitation, plugging my other ear with my finger. “Are you there?”

I sped up my pace, my heart pumping erratically as I waited for my father's response, but all that could be heard were a few laboured breaths. The line quickly went dead, leaving me staring at my phone in shock.

Had he seriously just hung up on me?

Putting it down to poor connection, I attempted to ring him again as I jogged through the storm, grunting in frustration when my bid to contact him again was sent straight to voicemail.

“You dick,” I muttered, making the rest of the journey to college, sighing in relief once I stepped inside my block.

“Freya?” came a deep voice from behind me, and I turned to see Zach leaning against his locker, his face masked with sympathy as he took in my shivering form. “You missed the first half of our lecture.”

“I know.” I sighed, glancing at the clock.

So much for wanting to be on time this year.

“Why are you all wet?”

“My car wouldn't start. I had to walk.”

“You could have asked me for a ride.” He smiled at me, his dimples becoming more prominent. Zach was a beautiful man. There was no doubt about it. But a clean type of beautiful. He wasn’t rugged or mysterious—just commonly handsome.

“You would have already been here by the time I asked you.”

Zach and I had been getting to know each other for the past couple of weeks—his infectious smile and easy-going attitude made him straightforward to talk to. We weren’t officially together and hadn’t closed ourselves off to other people—yet to have that discussion.

Zach was a nice guy but enjoyed talking about himself—a lot. I'd told myself I was going to give him a chance, though. I was getting a little too good at cutting guys off to protect myself, and all it gained me was yet another evening alone with my sketchpad.

“Freya, you're soaked!” called Hannah as she turned the corner, a huge paper cup of coffee gripped between her fingers, dark bags evident under her soft hazel eyes.

“And you look like shit.” I laughed.

She rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her drink, gulping loudly. “I’m running on one hour of sleep and am struggling to stay awake. This,” she said, jostling her cup, “is the only thing keeping me together right now.”

I rolled my eyes with a smile. It was never a dull day when my bundle of energy best friend was involved.

“Do you want to do anything tonight?" she asked, raising a brow at me. “The usual cringy romance movie marathon at yours?”

“I'm not staying at mine right now, remember?” I mumbled, causing Zach to smile sadly at me.

“Your dad will come back in the next few days and sort all this crap out,” he reassured me, his hand delicately grazing my lower back. "I'm sure of it."

I tried my best to appear hopeful.

The rest of the college day dragged by, and I was grateful that I’d only received a few choice words from my lecturer. Although, by the time the day was over and Zach offered me a ride home, my clothes were still soggy, my bones shivering.

“Thanks for driving me.”

“Can't let a girl like you walk home in this weather.” As Zach parked outside Jackie’s house, he turned to me, his large hand swarming my thigh, clutching it seductively. “Maybe I could come inside for a bit?”

My legs clenched together at the question, and my stomach twisted at how forward Zach was being. Our relationship hadn't stretched as far as being overly intimate yet, and my mind ran back to last week when a few girls in my class claimed Zach was a horny bastard. I wasn’t a fan of meaningless sex. I'd done it in the past, and it just didn't benefit me.

“It's not my house,” I said, shrugging.

“It's two o'clock. Will anyone be home?” Zach pushed, his hand moving higher up my leg, tracing dainty patterns.

“I don't know Jackie's working schedule,” I lied. She actually worked nine-to-five, five days a week, but Zach was pissing me off, his persistent push to be more intimate over the past week irking me deeply. The fact that he was so eager for it to happen made me want to delay it further.

“Okay, fine.” He sighed, dropping his hand and offering me a deflated smile.

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