Page 67 of Collided

“You didn’t have—”

“It’s already done.”

“Thank you.” She smiles at me.Thissmile is different from before. It’s the kind that makes me want to buy every item off the menu and have it in front of her.

What the fuck is going on with me? Why am I feeling like this with her?

Pressing hard on the accelerator, I drive around while she eats. My playlist plays in the background that’s filled with Chase Atlantic and The Coldplay songs. The two artists I listen to the most.

Once she’s done I drive us to my place. Punching in the passcode, the gates open of my house, I speed down the driveway and park in the garage.

When I cut the engine, I notice Hope scan the room in awe. I watch her with strange amusement.

“Do you like cars?” I ask.

“Who doesn’t?” She stares at the white Audi that my sister owned. I haven’t driven it since her.

My heart squeezes into a ball. I push down the despair and focus on the girl beside me.

“That one isn’t mine,” I share.

“Oh.” She purses her lips. “Who does it belong to?”

I fight with myself whether to share the information or not. I know she’d feel sorry for me and try to tip-toe around me like I’m broken—which I’m fucking not—and some selfish part of me doesn’t want that. I want her to see me like she does right now. Just a normal guy, who feels strange things when she’s near him.

I step out. “We should get inside.”

Hope stares at the foyer with big eyes, taking in every inch of the walls and ceiling. Fascination and wonder cross her face as if she’s seeing a mansion for the first time in her life.

Compared to her house, mine is a work of art. There are plenty of rooms, bathrooms, and hallways with a private garage. Also, a garden of one good acre of land, with an array of trees and bushes. The staff and security are also present.

My parents wanted Emery and me to grow up in a nice house, but not a loving home. This place has everything a child could wish for, every luxury you could desire for, yet it lacks warmth and sweetness. Something I felt when Marie invited Sebastian and me to her place. Her house feels like home. Maybe it’s because she has parents who love each other and adore their daughter.

“Let’s go up to my room.”

I should give her a tour. Maybe later.

We take the stairs and walk down the long hallway that has my room at the end of it. I open the door for her and let her in.

She pauses in the doorway. “Wow.”

My room is my sanctuary. I spend most of my time here. From breaking down to having panic attacks in the middle of the night. This place feels safe for me to be myself and not have someone else witness the worst moments of myself.

She gapes. “You have a really big room.”

I give her a gentle push to enter. “I guess.”

“My room can fit in here fifty times.”

I cough the chuckle that threatens to leave my throat. “Don’t you think that’s too much?” I fold my arms over my chest.

Her gaze immediately cuts to my arms, then back at me. “I’m sure.”

I gesture to the couch, and she follows.

I contemplate whether to sit at the other end of the couch or beside her. The decision is easily made when she looks up at me with her brown eyes. I can’t resist being away from them.

Cursing at myself, I join her and watch as she retrieves different bracelets from her bag and spreads them on the coffee table. They all look impressive. Beads, clay objects like flowers, circles, butterflies, cubes, and stars, in various colors and sizes fill the strings with each one having a silver clasp.

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