As soon as I walk out the door, I find Zayn leaning against the brick wall. He's fiddling with his phone, but the second he sees me, he slips it into his pocket.
“What are you doing here?”
He shrugs. “My class got out a little early, so I figured I'd give you a ride home.”
I bite my lip to mask my excitement. “That was nice of you.”
“Oh, shush. I can be very charming when I want to be.”
His words cause me to look up at him. “Is that what you're trying to do? Charm me?”
“That depends,” he counters. “Is it working?”
There's a flirty look in his eyes, but before I get a chance to answer, he shakes his head and focuses back on the view in front of us. Just like that, as if it was never supposed to happen, the moment disappears just as fast as it happened, but I cling onto every second of it.
The likelihood of him hurting me, shattering me into a million pieces really, is so high it’s almost a guarantee. And still, I’m standing here—hoping one day he’ll love me.
WE PULL UP TO the house, and I jump out before he can grab me. I was looking through my purse when I found my favorite bottle of perfume I thought I'd lost. When I sprayed it on me, Zayn made a comment about how I was going to make his car smell like a chick. So rightfully, I decided to spray all around the car. He watched me as I did it, looking amused, until I sprayed him directly.
“Meelz,” he whines. “I stink like roses.”
I can't contain my laughter as I step closer and smell him. “Eh, more like roses and sandalwood.”
He makes a move to grab me, but I jump away just in time and run up the front steps. Zayn chases after me as I turn the knob and thank my lucky stars that it's unlocked. The second I get inside, however, I stop short, and Zayn crashes into the back of me.
Both my parents are sitting in the living room with Easton.
“Surprise,” my brother says sarcastically, but I don't have a chance to say anything as my mom immediately opens her mouth.
“Amelia Rose,” she chastises. “Why didn't you tell me your dorm room burned down? I had to find out by getting a refund from the housing office.”
My mouth opens and closes as I try to think of an answer that won't have her thinking I'm completely irresponsible and need to move home, but I come up completely empty.
“Yeah, Amelia Rose,” Zayn nudges me. “Why didn't you?”
I glare over at him. “You're a menace.”
He grins widely and winks at me. “I know.”
IT TAKES A WHOLE hour for me to convince my parents that I haven't made a complete mess of my academics, and that coming to North Haven University instead of going to an Ivy League wasn't a waste of my boarding school education. By the end of it, my mom calls Easton back into the room to make sure he's looking after me—as if he really needed more ammunition to play ruler of my life.
“Don't worry, Mrs. Donovan,” Zayn says. “Amelia doesn't get into any trouble at all. She's practically a nun.”
It doesn't take Easton's laughter for her to cock a brow at him. “Zayn, I've known you your whole life. Your idea of trouble and mine are on very different levels.”
He drops his head and pretends to surrender. “Good point.”
JUST WHEN EASTON AND I thought they were going to leave, Mom decides that she may as well stay for dinner. And what kind of family meal would it be if she didn't insist I help her cook. Therefore, the next two hours are spent slaving in the kitchen, because clearly take-out is overrated.
“I miss when we used to do this,” Mom tells me. “Remember when we used to have those matching aprons?”
“Please don't remind me.”
She chuckles. “Oh, come on. They were adorable. It's a shame you grew out of yours. I should find new ones.”
I shake my head immediately. “No, no. You really don't have to do that.”
“I think it's a great idea,” Zayn says as he comes into the kitchen just at the wrong time. He slips past me to go to the kitchen and drops his mouth to my ear on his way back. “You'd look pretty cute in an apron.”