Page 8 of Desolation

He sits back in his seat, wiping his hands on his pants like he’s nervous. Maybe he is. This is weird as hell. I’m definitely nervous. This whole night has been one bad thing after another.

“We’re on our way to my place. I was driving by and saw your parents beating you. I just caught the tail end of it, but I had to wait to go in until my dad’s men got here. No one saw us, and your parents never woke up while we were there. Do they always pass out that hard?” he asks.

Nodding my head the tiniest bit, I say, “They’ve been drinking. It’s always worse when they’re drinking. It means they’re in withdrawal. But they could sleep through a tornado once they pass out. Their dealer must’ve gone there after he left the diner because they knew I turned him down. That’s what this was about,” I say, gesturing at my body.

Drake growls and says, “Excuse me? What the fuck did you just say? Someone asked you out, you said no and your parents beat you over it? And a dealer at that?”

Flinching away from him I look to Reba for help. Is he mad at me?

Reba says, “After you left the diner, her parents’ dealer showed up and offered to take Elodie out after her graduation. She said no.Then he implied she wouldn’t get a better offer and should just be with him and not go to school. She turned him down again and he left but on his way out, he implied that it wouldn’t work out that way.”

“My parents made some kind of deal with him. I don’t know what. When I got home they were furious and said they were going to force me to go out with him. When I refused again, they did this,” I say, gesturing to my body and face. “Why are we going to your place though? My parents will freak if I’m not at home,” I say.

“You are not going back there El, ever again,” Drake growls out.

Flinching, I sit back in my seat.

Drake reaches out to me instantly, “I’m sorry, not trying to scare you, but I will never take you back there. Please don’t ask me to.”

The absolute fear on his face makes me pause. What the hell is really going on? We go from hardly ever having spoken to each other to suddenly he is playing knight in shining armor and rescuing me from my parents? Wait a minute. Something he said just registered. “What do you mean you were driving by? What were you doing driving by my house this late?”

He grimaces. The driver chuckles in the front seat, eyes in the rearview mirror looking back here. Drake whips his head around giving him a glare. He coughs and returns his eyes back to the road. Drake also turns around looking embarrassed.

Rubbing the back of his neck with his hand he says, “Can we table that for now? It’s a long story and we need to get you seen by a doctor first and get you settled. I promise, I will answer all your questions.”

Looking over at Reba, I realize she also looks a little embarrassed. Wait, they must know each other, right? Why else is she here? “Reba, how do you know Drake, really?” I demand.

“His father is an old friend of mine. He’s who helped me escape my old home life when I was your age,” she says quietly, a look of sorrow crossing her features.

I always knew Reba saw too much. She saw through my wall I tried to keep up. I had a feeling that she also knew what kind of life I had at home because she recognized the signs. Remembering the conversation in her office that time, I realize she’s here because I need her. Even if I wasn’t the one to call her.

“Thank you,” I whisper, swallowing back tears. My face hurts too much to cry anymore. It just burns. The longer we drive, the worse I feel. Groaning, I sit back in my seat and bring my knees up. This time was bad. Normally they wear down quicker, but my flat refusal to do what they wanted enraged them more than usual.

Reba rubs my back softly, like a mother would. It was then I realized, I may not have the parents I want or need, but I do have someone that cares about me. Looking up at her, tears in her eyes, I see the love there. The concern and the fear. I just lean into her and she holds me as we both cry.

It’s not much longer and we pull into the city. I don’t get to come here much. I have only been a few times on school trips and once with Ms. Bates to check out schools. Those times were only during the day though. It looks different at night. The buildings all have lights lit up as people move around in their apartments.

Getting closer to downtown, I realize we are heading to a building that is huge. The biggest one around us. Pulling into the underground parking, I realize there are a lot of men in suits. All ofthem have earpieces and we go through several check points before finally pulling up in front of an elevator. Two men stand outside the elevator, and while I don’t visibly see any weapons, it’s clear they are packing. Neither of them move away from the door as we pull up, either.

Louis gets out and comes round to open our doors. Drake gets out first and then reaches in for me. “I can walk,” I say.

“That may be, but you’re not going to just yet. We don’t know how badly you are hurt and I’m taking no chances. Once the doctor has checked you over, you can follow his instructions. Until then, consider me your carriage, m’lady,” he says with a bow.

Okay, yeah. I’m dreaming. Did he just talk to me like we are in a regency romance novel? I snort. Ouch. No more of that, it hurts too bad. He lifts me again and we head through the elevator doors. The driver pulls out a phone and whoever he calls picks up very quickly. “We’re on our way up,” he says and hangs up. “He’s waiting for you in the lobby,” he says to Drake.

Drake nods. “My father,” he says, looking down at me.

Oh fuck. In all of this, even with the masked men, I somehow forgot that his father is a mafia boss. “Wait,” I say, pushing at his arm. “I can’t go in there,” I whisper loudly.

“It’s just my dad, Elodie. I don’t know what you’ve heard but he’s just my dad before anything else. Besides, I don’t have anything to do with that side of things anyway,” he says firmly.

I swallow the knot in my throat and nod. What am I doing? Well, technically, I’m not doing this, Drake is making me. But after I see this doctor I will be leaving. I can’t stay here.

The elevator finally reaches the top floor. It dings and the doors slide open to reveal a man that looks just like an older version ofDrake. Tall, with tanned skin, blond curly hair, though it’s cut shorter, and those crystalline blue eyes.

When he sees me, I see rage run across his features before he squashes it and tries to smile at me. “Elodie, welcome to our home. The doctor is already here and waiting for you. Drake, take her to the guest room off the hallway, please.”

Well, I’m guessing based on the way everyone keeps reacting, they aren’t used to seeing people beat up. Which is really weird considering it’s the mafia. Oh wait, maybe it’s because I’m an eighteen-year-old girl and not mafia muscle. Yeah, that’s probably it. I’m so used to this being a part of my life that I didn’t realize there might be other people out there that actually don’t do this stuff normally.

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