Page 37 of Awakened
I chose to ignore the comment and rushed after our friends.
The truth was, I didn’t know what Seth wanted to talk about, and I didn’t want to know. He would be gone in two days, so what good would it do to figure out anything with him? I just wanted to have a good weekend and maybe forget how miserable I’d be when they all left on Sunday.
When we got outside, everyone but Zach was already in cars parked in front of the duplex.
“You two are riding with me.” Zach tapped the roof of his car and got in the driver’s seat. Brandon’s glare followed Seth from the passenger seat as he opened the backdoor for me to get in first. It didn’t let up until Seth was in the car, and we pulled away from the curb.
A block from home, Brandon picked a new object for his intense attention.
Poor, sweet Zach.
“So Zach, you work with my sister?”
“Yep, it’s great to finally have a lunch mate.”
“Mm-hmm.” Brandon’s deceptively nonchalant tone had me on edge. “And I understand you’ve been over every night this week cooking dinner?”
Ugh. Fucking Brandon. Guess Seth and I won’t need to have that talk after all.
“Yeah, Michael and I lost a bet, fair and square. Although it isn’t much of a punishment to spend my nights with thisbeautiful lady.” Zach made eye contact through the rearview mirror and gave me a heart-melting smile.
How far is the fucking bar? This drive is taking too long.
“Your nights, huh? Are you guys eating your dinner late? They say you shouldn’t eat after 8 p.m.”
No eating after 8? What’s wrong with this boy?
Leave it to Brandon to make a dad-like comment to dig for more information.
My head was going to explode.
“Well, there’s dinner, dessert, and then the after-meal drink. You know, the works,” Zach humored Brandon, never losing his upbeat attitude.
It was a different story in the backseat. For the first time since we got into the car, I looked at Seth and found him staring daggers at the back of Zack’s head.
As if he felt my gaze, Seth turned, and the scowl on his face took my breath away. No one had ever looked at me with so much disgust and hurt. Confused, I reached over to grab his hand, but he smoothly placed it in his lap.
Turning toward the window, my eyes burned with the threat of tears. It wasn’t fair. I’d done nothing wrong, but here he was shitting on me. Damn it. I deserved to have comfort and to find a distraction from my loneliness. My heart ached thinking about how lonely I’d been in Kirksville before I left. Only Emily and Brandon checked on me, so I don’t know why he was so mad.
Seth didn’t want me. I’d spent all that time alone, and there’d been what? Maybe two texts from him? Now that I had a band-aid over the gaping hole Aiden left, he wanted to be angry and yank it off?
Fuck that.
Brandon started to ask another question, but I interrupted. “Brand, shut the fuck up. Zach’s my friend. He’s been there for me. I love you, but fucking drop the overprotective brother thing.”
My words hung in the car, and everything was quiet untilBrandon started laughing. Seth, Zach, and I stared at him like he had two heads.
“Shit. I’m sorry, Les. I didn’t mean to be a prick. I’m just worried about someone taking advantage of you right now.”
“It’s okay, but you should know better than to butt in. If anything, you should be more worried about Zach here.” I patted Zach’s shoulder, and he grinned back at me.
As I leaned back against the window, Brandon turned to Zach and said, “Good luck, man. You’re going to need it.”
We pulled up to the Handle Bar, and Zach and Brandon got out. As I reached for the handle, Seth tried to grab my arm.
Eyes trained on the bar, I growled through gritted teeth, “No. Fucking leave it, Seth. Go glare at someone else.”
I jumped out of the car without looking back. After showing my ID to the bouncer, I went straight to the bar. The bartender was an Amazon I’d met out at Marie’s.
