Page 81 of Pulled Away

Chapter twenty-nine

Aspen

Ryan: My toothbrush is missing its friend. I apologized to him this morning. Told him I’d buy a spare just so he doesn’t have to feel so lonely, but he wasn’t having any of it.

Shivering against the cold, I clutch my coat tighter, hurrying to my car.

“Aspen, wait up,” Jordy calls out, hurrying towards me.

I sigh, waiting for him to reach me. Exhaustion tugs at every single bone in my body, but at least it’s Saturday, so I can sleep in.

“What’s up?”

“Do you recognize that car?”

Narrowing my eyes, I peer towards where he’s pointing. The parking lot is almost empty; the only cars dotting it are the ones of the few remaining employees. But on the far edge, where the lights don’t quite reach, is a lone car. It’s too dark to make out the color or make.

“I don’t think so. Why?”

“I’ve been seeing it a lot,” he mutters, his gravelly voice a few octaves lower than normal. “It always leaves when you leave.”

A shiver that has nothing to do with the cold creeps through me, making my hair stand on end.

“Stay here,” he says, then he’s striding towards the car at a fast clip. I want to call him back, fear of what might happen to him strangling my heart, but the words die in my throat when the engine turns on and the car screeches out of the parking lot.

He stares at it, his hands on his hips while its headlights fade into the distance, before striding back to me. Digging in his pocket, he pulls out his phone. “From now on, you don’t walk to your car without me. What’s your number?”

I rattle off my number, and a moment later, my phone rings. “Now you have my number. Save it, and if anything happens on your drive home, call me. Get it?”

I nod, my insides feeling numb. Maybe it’s time for me to think about quitting.

“Thank you, Jordy,” I choke out, getting in my car and slamming the door closed.

Pulling into the road, my hands are shaky as I grip the steering wheel, my eyes jumping to the rearview mirror every three seconds.

I’ve never gone skydiving, but I can imagine what it feels like when you first jump out of that plane. That feeling where your stomach tries to launch itself out of your mouth at velocity speeds. That’s what I feel when I spot headlights approaching behind me, the car accelerating then slowing down when it gets behind me.

My heart thuds as I speed up, bile rising in my throat as the car speeds up as well, keeping its following distance. It’s dark, and the headlights are blinding, so I can’t make out a damn thing. I speed up again.

Wrenching my hand from the steering wheel, I grab my phone, thinking now might be a good time to call Jordy, but before I can, it chirps in my hand, giving me such a fright that I almost drop it. Fumbling, I light up the screen, sparing it a glance.

Ryan: It’s me. Slow down. You’re going to kill yourself.

Yanking the steering wheel, I veer off the road and slam on the brakes. I don’t care that it’s the middle of the night. I don’t care that I’m in the middle of nowhere. Pure adrenalin has taken over the driving seat.

Bolting out of my car, I round it, my chest heaving with the force of my breaths while watching him come to a stop.

“What the fuck, Ryan?” My screech echoes down the empty road, setting off a flapping of wings in a tree somewhere.

“I’m sorry.” He doesn’t bother closing his door, approaching me with his hands held out.

Desperately casting around, I find a stone and lob it at him. And then promptly fall on my ass and start crying.

“Aspen,” he whispers, dropping to his knees in front of me. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

He wraps his arms around me, and for a moment, I sink into the comfort they provide, before remembering he’s the reason I’m sitting on this godforsaken stretch of road bawling my eyes out. Slapping at his chest, I push him away.

“Why? Why would you do this to me?” Hiccuping, my shoulders heave with the force of my sobs. “I thought you were some deranged person trying to hurt me.”

---