Asher: Tessa. Don’t you dare.
Tessa: I wonder if he’ll let me model my lingerie for him. We both know your opinions weren’t very helpful. ??
Feeling accomplished as I hit send, I get comfortable and take the controller into my hands. Colby’s phone dings only a couple minutes later, and as soon as he reads it, he throws his head back, laughing.
“You’re Satan.”
I smile sweetly. “I know.”
DESPITE MY INITIAL FEELINGS about it, Colby actually ends up being good company. He doesn’t push me for any information, and more importantly, he doesn’t treat me like I’m damaged. He isn’t afraid to make jokes about how young I am or even that I burned down my uncle’s house. He’s straightforward and real, which is something I need right now. The only way to stay whole is to genuinely believe I’m not already broken.
I’m texting Asher back during his lunch break when I notice the number of text messages my dad has sent me this morning. Even though I know I shouldn’t look, curiosity gets the better of me and I open the thread.
Dad: Where are you?
Dad: Tessa Monroe.
Dad: I called the school and you haven’t been there the past two days.
Dad: Answer me, young lady, or so help me God.
Dad: If you want to throw your life away, fine, but you’re not doing it in a car that I paid for.
The last one hits a nerve. My Lamborghini was a birthday present. Something my sister and I each got for our eighteenth. I always knew it was only a matter of time before he started holding it over my head, and I guess that time is up.
That’s fine. I’ll give him his car back. It’s not like I want anything from him anyway.
“Hey, Colby?”
His head flops to the side
against the couch pillow. “Yeah?”
“Can you follow me over to my dad’s house? I need to drop off my car, and I’m going to need a ride back.”
He exhales and pushes himself up to a sitting position. “All right. You want to go now?”
I nod. “Just let me grab my keys.”
Going into the bedroom, I grab the couple things I need and head out. Colby is waiting for me by the elevator, and with an assuring grin, we step inside.
The whole ride to my dad’s, I embrace how powerful this car is. I’ve loved it from the second I first sat behind the wheel. The black on black and the sound of the engine—it’s heaven on wheels. It sucks that I have to use it to make a point, but it is what it is.
I pull into the driveway and feel slightly relieved when I see that my dad isn’t home. Good, I really don’t want to see him. Colby parks at the end and hops out of his car.
“All good?” he questions.
I smirk. “Not quite.”
Walking around to the side of the house, I find the baseball bat Easton left here one day after baseball practice. I’ve never been so glad for his tendency to leave his things literally everywhere. I walk back toward my car, and the second Colby sees the bat in my hands, his eyes widen.
“Uh, whatcha doing with the bat, Tess?”
I don’t answer him as I grip it in my hands and take the first swing, smashing the windshield and watching the glass spiderweb into a million tiny cracks.
“Oh! No!” Colby cries, clutching his hair. “Not the Lambo! What’d that precious baby ever do to you?”
“Has to be done, Hendrix.”