Page 20 of Obligation
Instead, he turned on his heel and went in search of Carissa. She stood next to her car, fumbling with her keys.Oh, hell no.No way was he going to let her drive home. Not only had she been drinking, but she was also very visibly upset, and that was a dangerous combination. He marched up behind her and plucked her keys from her hand.
She whipped around, eyes red and puffy, face tear-stained and blotchy. Yet, she still looked incredibly beautiful. He shook the thought away.
“Give me my keys.” She held out her hand, palm up.
“No. You can’t drive in your condition.”
“Don’t make me hurt you,” she threatened and wiggled her fingers in a give-me gesture.
When he still didn’t hand over her keys, she attempted to snatch them back, but he was much quicker than her. He clutched the keys in his hand and raised his arm above his head. She was a good foot shorter than him, and even if she tried to jump, she wouldn’t be able to reach his hand.
“Give me my keys,” she demanded through clenched teeth. “Now.”
“No.” More than likely, he was destroying any chance he might have had with her, but he didn’t care. He’d much rather her be alive and hate him than dead.
“Please.” Her bottom lip trembled. “I can’t stay here with him. I need to leave.”
His heart splintered at the pain in her tone. “Then let me call you an Uber or something.”
Her shoulders drooped, her bag slid to the ground, and her arms hung limply by her sides. She looked completely broken and defeated. Closing her eyes, tears cascaded down her cheeks, and he wanted nothing more than to wipe them away, to gather her in his arms and tell her everything would be alright.
She sniffled then rested her forehead against his chest. Her soft sobs cut through the otherwise quiet night, and he wasn’t sure how, but his heart shattered even more. What had her and Danny been fighting about?
With a deep breath, he slowly lowered his arm, shoved her keys into his front pocket, and then cradled her against him. She didn’t return his embrace, but that was okay. He didn’t expect her to; he simply wanted her to know that she had a friend in him.
“What the hell happened?” Tiffany darted toward them, her tone full of concern.
“Her and Danny were fighting, and she tried to leave. I took her keys,” Bradley said, not quite ready to release his hold on Carissa.
But then she pulled away and wiped her face with her palms before drying them on her jeans. She looked at Tiffany and frowned. “I really can’t stay here. I’m sorry,” Carissa said.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Tiffany hugged her friend and rubbed her back. “We can leave.”
“I’ll call you an Uber,” Bradley said, leaving the girls alone while he arranged a ride for them.
He wished he could drive them home himself, but he’d been drinking, too. No one in the house was fit to drive, and getting the girls back to campus safely was his top priority. Once he secured them a ride, he slowly wandered back over to them.
“A car will be here in about fifteen minutes,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. He glanced down, realizing that he wasn’t wearing any shoes. At least he had socks on.
“Thank you,” Tiffany said.
He nodded.
“C’mon.” Tiffany put her arm around Carissa’s shoulders and tried to guide her back into the house, but Carissa wasn’t being very cooperative.
“I’m not going back in there.” She shook her head adamantly. “I’ll wait out here for the Uber.”
Tiffany sighed and looked to Bradley for help, but he was at a loss, so all he could offer was a lame shrug. Frowning, Tiffany said, “I need to go get my stuff. I’ll be right back, okay?”
Carissa nodded and hugged herself.
“Stay with her?” Tiffany asked him.
“Of course.” When he was alone with Carissa, he said, “Want to talk about it?”
“No.”
Okay then.He wouldn’t push her, even if his curiosity was killing him. He’d assumed her relationship with Danny was rock solid, but he couldn’t have been more wrong, apparently. Despite knowing he was an ultimate jerk for even allowing the thought to enter his mind, he couldn’t deny he was a tad thrilled by this newfound knowledge. If her and Danny’s relationship was on the rocks, he might be able to find a way to wiggle his way in.
