EIGHT
Zeus
The tyres dig into the gravel as I throw the car down a gear and twist the wheel hard left and then right to gain control of the slide. What the fuck is she doing? I just about ran her down.
My heart resides in my throat as I toss the door open and step out into the cloud of dust that drifts past where the car sits idling on the side of the road. “What the fuck, Belle?”
She looks up from where she now stands on the grass verge, her hands clearly shaking as she dusts herself off. We’re a kilometre at the very least from where John said she’d be.
“I’m sorry.”
“I almost ran you over. There aren’t any streetlights out here, for fuck’s sake.”
She nods furiously, swiping at her eyes with the backs of her hands as I advance. “I know.”
“Jesus Christ. You’re mostly wearing black.” My heart still hammers, but her tears calm me. She’s as frightened as I am by what just happened. “I could have killed you.”
Her hummed reply hiccups from deep in her chest as her tears strengthen.
I step toward her and take a firm hold of her shoulder to yank her into me. “I’m sorry, dove. You scared the fucking daylights out of me, though.”
“I thought I’d start walking,” she murmurs against my chest. Her slight hands fist in my shirt, and fuck it all if that right there isn’t the most perfect sensation ever. “Where’s Dad?”
“He got kept late at work. Had to cover for another guy.”
She pulls in a shaky breath, and nods against my chest. “Lewis. Apparently he’s always got an excuse.”
“Belle, tell me. Why are you so upset?” I know I lost my shit at her reckless behaviour, but hell, it wasn’t that unexpected, was it?
“No reason.” Her body quivers against mine.
“Are you cold?”
“No.”
I lean back, Belle still in my hold, to try and see her face. She tucks her chin down, staring at the road. “Why did you leave the party? It’s not safe out here on your own.”
“It’s not safe there, either,” she retorts bitterly. “I wanted to leave, okay, so can we leave?” She pulls away, brow furrowed as she looks up at me with her hands still on my chest.
I wipe away what remains of her smudged make-up with my thumbs and sigh. “Talk to me. What happened?”
Belle’s frown deepens, and she looks at the hand over my heart. “I can feel your heartbeat. It’s so strong.”
“Because I’m fucking angry.”
“At me?”
“At whoever upset you and made you think walking out here on a fucking country road was a smart idea.” I settle a hand over hers and trap it to my chest to remind her how serious this is. “A name, Belle. Give it to me.”
“No. Let’s go home, okay?” She tears her hand away and takes an unsteady step toward the car.
“You’re drunk.”
“Not as much as I was.” She laughs.
I lift my gaze to the horizon, to the glow of lights in the distance. She fumbles with the door of the GTO, giggling as she finally gets it open to climb inside. The gravel crunches beneath my boots as I stride up to my still open door and lean down.
“Name.”
“No.” She closes her eyes as she rests her head back on the seat.
“Name, or I go and ask somebody else at the party.”
That grabs her attention. Stormy eyes snap open onto mine. “Leave it.” The quiver of her chin shreds any resolve I had at keeping this civil.
“Stay here.” I slam the door and start toward where music ebbs and flows on the night breeze.
“Zeus!” Her panicked cry erupts behind me. “Stop.”
I keep walking, even as her frantic footfalls catch up.
Eyes wide, Belle steps in my path and sets both hands on my chest. Her boots dig into the loose road as she anchors herself and pushes against me. “Just take me home. Please?”
“Not until you tell me what the fuck happened to make you so goddamn upset.” Fuck. I want to kiss it all away, make her forget.
Right after I murder some punk-arse motherfucker.
So wrong. And yet, for some goddamn reason it feels as though I’d be the only one who could make her happy, solve this for her.
“Okay,” she whispers.
“Okay?”
“If it stops you marching up there to crack heads together, then sure.” She forces a smile.
Red rings her puffy eyes. “Not promising a thing.”
“Please?”
“You’re hurt.”
“I’m always hurt,” she bites out, slapping me with the force of her words. “What’s new?”
“Dove….”
“Stop calling me that.” She yanks her hands from my chest and takes a step back.
“Why?” Why the fuck do women have to be so confusing?
Belle’s eyes close, her long hair drifting side to side as she slowly shakes her head. “Because… because I can’t deal with how it makes me feel.”
“I can’t deal with the thought of somebody upsetting you.”
“You upset me.” Her eyes narrow. “So what now, Zeus? What are you going to do to tell yourself off?”
Fuck it. “When did I upset you?” I ask softly, careful not to spook her.
“When you went away.” She marches past, feet thumping the ground the whole way to the car.
I take a deep breath and look toward the flickering lights again. Fuck. I’m in the mood for a fight now, the adrenaline still fresh in my veins at the thought of putting some little fuck in his place. Because of course it would be a guy. With a girl as stunning as Belle, it’ll always be a guy.
“Are you coming?” she calls from behind her open door.
I stride back to the GTO and drop into the driver seat without a word. She closes her door and buckles up seconds before I drop the hammer and tear the grass out as I spin the car around.
“Talk to me.” My breaths come even and slow, in and out my nose, while I work on tempering myself just like the prison shrink taught me.
“I got punked.”
“Punked?”
“You know? Made a fool of?” She glares from where she’s leaning against the door.
“I know what punked means, Belle. I meant how? Tell me more.”
“I don’t want to.” Her words are a mere whisper as she gives me her shoulder and shuts down.
No. Nope. She doesn’t get to do that. Not tonight.
Her back goes ramrod straight, shooting her up in the seat as I shift down the gears and pull to the side of the road. “What are you doing?”
“Turning around.”
“Why?”
“To ask somebody at the party why I picked up a crying, upset Belle who was walking down a dark fucking road on her own when she’s supposed to be at a fucking party.” On her own…. “Where’s your mate, Kate?”
“Who cares?” She leans forward in her seat, alarm in her eyes. “You’re actually turning around.”
I pull the wheel straight and nod. “Told you I would. I figure you have less than a minute to start talking.”
“Shit,” she whispers, eyes glued to the road.
“Down to thirty seconds, baby girl.” I catch the reflection of the number on the mailbox—we’re close.
“Okay! Just stop.”
“Don’t believe you.” I kill the gas, letting the engine slow the car.
“I slept with a guy, okay?” She cowers in her seat as I punch the pedal and tear past the party. “I slept with a guy because I thought it would be the right thing to do.”
She’s drunk, and I want to vomit. “Why?”
“I just did.” The resignation in her voice tells me she doesn’t really know.
What the fuck did you do, Belle? I want to yell at her, ask her how she could be so fucking reckless. But what would that achieve? She’s confided something pretty serious in me, and one glance at her sullen face as we leave the party behind tells me she’s beaten herself up about it enough already. No point making her feel lower.
“Do you think I’m disgusting now?” Her quiet question shakes me to the core.
“What? No.”
“I feel disgusting.”
Jesus, this girl. “Well don’t. You’re old enough to do what you want with your body, Belle. You have been for two years.” As much as it pains me to admit so.
“He doesn’t like me.”
“My first fuck didn’t like me either.” God knows why I told her that, but shit, anything to make her feel less stupid about what she did.
We all make mistakes. Don’t I know that?
“Really?”
I glance over and find her looking up at me, hopeful. “Really. She was a cousin of a guy I played rugby with. Long story, but clearly you know how it ends.”
She snorts a bitter laugh. “Clearly.”
Silence hangs in the air between us as I turn onto the next road that leads back to town. It’s the long way back—the quicker route is the way I came—but something tells me she needs this time.
I need this time with her.
“Why did you get upset when I left?”
The spill of the dash illuminates her face in a soft glow as she stares out at the dark fields. “I missed you.”
“Why?”
“Am I not allowed to?” She chooses not to face me, hiding behind her hair as she tips her chin down.
“I just don’t understand why.” Fuck—this conversation was so much easier in my head. “You miss all your dad’s mates when they leave?”
“You were the only one that mattered.”
“Why, Belle? Tell me why.”
She huffs, shaking her head gently. “Because you were the only one I saw. The only one who saw me, too.”