Page 5 of The Inevitable Us

Once in the lit street, Billy brushes back his golden blonde hair with one hand. “Who drove?”

“She did,” Sawyer tells Billy. “Keys,” Sawyer commands, holding his hands out. He curls his fingers as if to say, “gimme.”

Digging the keys from my purse, I hand them to Sawyer, thinking it’s best not to ask any questions.

The four of us walk to my parked car. Sawyer’s vehicle is parked, blocking mine in. He throws my keys in Billy’s direction. “Park it outside the gate for now.”

He gestures for us to get into his SUV and, without asking the address, starts to turn towards Andrea’s nearby home. We drive in silence without even the radio to break the awkwardness. At a red light, I notice Sawyer’s hands gripping the steering wheel tightly and his jaw rigid. He’s breathing slowly and not meeting my gaze. So close to him, I can smell his minty breath and his shampoo.

“I can’t believe he took pictures of me,” Andrea cries from the back seat. “Are you sure you wiped them all out?” she asks.

Sawyer looks back in the rearview mirror as he presses on the accelerator to go at the green light. “My cousin’s a detective,” he explains. “He knows what he’s doing.”

When we pull up to the front of her driveway, she slowly unbuckles her seat belt. “Are you going to tell my…”

Sawyer shoots incredulous eyes at her. “You should go inside,” he warns.

After she darts quickly across the lawn, Sawyer watches with a head shake, thumping impatient fingers on the dashboard as she climbs back into her darkened room through the window.

Sawyer looks me in the eyes before looking away without a word and pulls off the curb, driving down the road.

“They were live-streaming the party and tagged you in it,” Sawyer announces in the darkness. “’Come party with Rosalie Coleman, daughter of Ethan Coleman’,was posted about ten minutes ago.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “Justin? I knew he had a camera, the little weasel.”

Sawyer’s all business in that stony bodyguard mode where you can’t tell what he’s thinking or feeling. His emotions are frozen behind a professional facade. Accusing eyes come to mine. “You should have told me where you were going.”

“I’m nineteen years old!” I remind him impatiently.

“Your father pays for security for a reason,” he grits out. “So that we can make sure that men like that don’t put you in unsafe situations because of his fame.”

Pulling up at the intersection, his handsome face is lit up by a street light. His chiseled jaw has a five o’clock shadow I’ve never seen before, and his eyes look tired.

“I don’t know how he even knew who my dad is!” I explain. “I never told him my last name. He only knows I’m Andrea’s friend and that I attended high school with her.”

He rubs his eyes with the base of his palms and breathes deeply. “Rosalie…”

I realize looking at him that he’s gotten off of his shift not long ago, meaning he hasn’t even slept yet. “Why didn’t you call one of the bodyguards to come to get me?” I ask, feeling guilty that he’s losing sleep over me.

“I was much closer,” he answers in a huff after clearing his throat.

In the awkward silence of the car, we both reach for the radio at the same time. Our fingers touch, and a spark of something familiar overwhelms me. Sawyer jerks back his hand, bringing it back to the steering wheel.

As the light turns green, the Bluetooth from his phone is connected to the radio, and his playlist starts to play an Aidan Harris song. My dad got his start opening for him before he and Mom were married, and I’ve met him a few times. “I didn’t know you were a fan,” I throw out into the darkened car, trying to break the uneasiness around me.

He answers with a grunt, keeping his eyes on the road. So much for a casual conversation.

My car’s parked a block away from the house with the engine still running. Billy’s waiting behind the wheel, his face illuminated by the light from his phone.

Sawyer pulls in behind him and puts the car in park. I reach for the door handle to get out and find it still locked. Sawyer kills the ignition and looks first down at his hand where he’s holding the keys, then he lets his gaze drift up to my face. His forehead is creased with worry and his eyebrows furrowed. “Rosalie, the rules are there for a reason. Someone could have followed you from the house. You’re going out? You tell me where you’re going. Where you’rereallygoing.”

With a deep breath, he unlocks the doors. Getting out of the car he walks over, opening it for me. I swallow down the hurt as I pull down the hem of my dress and get out of the car. Sawyer’s ever-present calm exterior doesn’t crack, even when he thinks I’m breaking the rules.

Billy’s waiting by the driver’s side for me, the door open. The blast of warm air hits me from the heater as I sit down.

Sawyer stops the door as I go to close it. “You still going hiking tomorrow?”

“Yes, I’m headed to bed now.” Andrea’s going to be useless tomorrow while we hike, but I need the quiet of the woods right now.

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