Page 60 of Knocked Up by my Best Friend's Brothers

Nathan shakes his head. “We’ve had enough of putting us off, Christa. This can’t wait anymore. We need to sit down and talk; you’re right. But not later, not tomorrow—now. For us, for our relationship, for our future.”

“Our future.” I can’t help but scoff, bitterness gathering in the back of my throat. “Come on, guys. I’ve already screwed things up with Teagan. I don’t want to do the same with you. Don’t push me when I don’t want to be pushed.”

“Christa,” Cassius picks up on what I’m about to do. “Please. You know it’s not just physical between us. You know we’re going somewhere with this. Stop running away from us.”

“I can’t,” I reply. “Not tonight.”

“Wait!” River takes a step toward me, but I’m fast.

Instead of going into my apartment, I bolt around my car that’s parked at the curb and slip behind the wheel. The guys have no choice but to let me go. Maybe tomorrow I’ll find them in their joint office, and we’ll talk. I’ll find a good excuse; I’ll whip up some reasons to break up—at least until I figure things out.

I’m afraid they’ll reject me once they learn the whole truth.

Sometimes, it’s better to leave first.

I keep driving,trying to clear my head. I have no particular destination in mind; I just need to be alone for a bit.

Ahead, the night spreads across the wide-open road with a quiet starry sky and a red line cutting along the distant horizon. There’s not much traffic on this stretch of the road.

A bright light flashes in my rearview mirror.

“Dude, come on,” I mutter and slow down a little to let the driver go past me so I can get his stupidly bright light out of my eyes.

But the car behind me slows down, too.

So I speed up again, moving into the second lane. They follow.

It doesn’t take long for me to notice a pattern. I can’t see the car’s make and model, but I definitely can see how persistent they are in their pursuit. There’s plenty of room on this road for them to overtake me, but they don’t.

I push the gas pedal to the floor and go faster while making sure I stay within the lines on this stretch of the road.

The car behind me speeds up, too.

“No…” I breathe as I realize they’re going faster than me without changing lanes.

They’re getting close.

“NO!” I cry out and ram my foot down on the gas pedal.

THUD

The whole car shakes and wobbles upon impact, but I grip the wheel tighter until my knuckles turn white to stay on the road. I veer left and right, trying to shake them off while keeping an eye on the oncoming traffic as well.

THUD

Again, they come in hard.

I’m shaking like a leaf, trying so hard not to cry. “Stop it!”

The third bump sends me across the first lane as I do my damnedest not to hit a truck coming in fast from the opposite direction. A loud horn pierces my ears as I scream and lose control of the car. I hit the brakes as hard as I can and slide onto the service lane.

But the car behind me keeps coming and bumps my fender again.

I’m pushed off the road altogether and onto the dirt, rolls of dust and dry hay rising into the night as I quiver behind the wheel. I’ve come to a full, safe stop, but so has the car behind me. I still can’t tell what make and model it is.

Paralyzed in the driver’s seat by raw fear, all I can do is wait.

My eye catches a glimpse of my phone on the floor, half-hidden under the passenger seat. It must’ve slipped out of my purse at some point during the ordeal. My heart is beating so fast, it’s about to jump out of my ribcage.

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