Page 40 of Defiant
I almost wondered if he was distracting her for me, but surely Oliver Fitzpatrick would never do something like that.
Making not a sound, I headed toward the front vestibule, practically tiptoeing as I went. I slipped out the door, careful as I let it shut behind me. The sky was a clear blue, a deceiving color in what was still technically winter. Spring would be here in less than a month, which I wasn’t looking forward to.
At my old school, spring equaled rain, which then equaled mud. So much mud. Mud everywhere. Forget about having nice shoes.
The driveway was ridiculously long, paved and winding. I took a straight shot from the door to the gate, cutting off a little by doing so. When Frank saw me walking up, he opened the gate for me, and I stepped out, staring at the car waiting just outside.
My stomach sank immediately as I stared at the car and the driver behind the wheel. Frank left his guard station, moving beside me as he glanced between me and the car. “Were you expecting him, Miss?”
Me being called Miss caught me off-guard for only a moment, because soon I was back to being confused, back to being upset at the handsome face I saw in the car.
“No,” I said, the cold wind whipping around, causing my hair to fly every which way. No, I wasn’t expecting him. No, I never invited him over. And, I could not stress this enough, no, I never wanted to see that bastard outside of school again. I might’ve been stupid before, but I was not stupid any longer when it came to Archer Vega.
At least…I didn’t think I was.
“I can ask him to leave, or call the police, if you’d rather—” Frank started, but I shook my head.
“No,” I said. “I’ll see what he wants.” I gave Frank a smile. Frank was nice. I liked him. I liked him a whole lot better than I liked the boy driving the fancy sportscar in front of me.
Folding my arms over my chest, I waited until Frank returned to his guard station before moving to the driver’s side. Archer did not roll down the window, but he did spare a glance at me as he gestured for me to get in.
Me, getting in the car with Archer? Yeah, right. After what happened the last time I got into his car, why the fuck would I go anywhere with him? He had lost all rights to spend any time with me alone whatsoever.
I uncrossed my arms, only to curl every single finger down on my fist except one: the middle. It was that straight finger I pressed against the shiny glass near his face, flicking him off with a certainty I wished I had in every aspect of my life. Once I dropped my hand from the glass, I started walking away.
The sound of a car door being opened caused me to slow, and hearing his voice made me stop entirely: “Jaz, wait.”
I should just walk back through the gate, let Frank close it, and leave Archer out here. Who cared why the hell he was here, anyway? I certainly had no business with him, not after the shit he pulled.
But, all that aside, I didn’t leave. I didn’t turn on my heel, flip him off a second time, and march back to the house. I met his brilliant sapphire stare, waiting for him to say something else. His lean legs wore dark jeans, a navy blazer on his chest. His blonde hair was a bit ruffled; the cold wind treated us both equally there.
It was wrong, but he still looked just as cute as I remembered.
Any girl would fall under his spell. Not just me.
“Please,” Archer spoke, his hand clinging to the car door as if it would save him from the awkwardness of this conversation. “Please, Jaz.” He didn’t sound like a boy who was trying to convince me to do something bad; he sounded desperate, a boy trapped in his own personal hell. The very opposite of charming and confident, not at all what I’d grown accustomed to when I thought the name Archer Vega.
I shouldn’t even debate on it. I shouldn’t give him a second thought, not after what he did to me. Not after lying and letting Brittany embarrass me like that.
Not to mention drugging me.
Grinding my teeth, I moved closer to his car, though I did not head to the passenger side and get in. I simply stared at him and asked, “Why should I give you the light of day?” I honestly wasn’t expecting much, answer-wise.
“Please,” he said again. “Just…just let me say my piece.”
“Then say it.”
Archer sighed, flicking a quick glance at Frank in the tower. His door was closed, his window up, but he could still probably hear what was being said out here. The last thing I wanted was for Frank to tell Ollie or my mom what was going on, so I rolled my eyes and headed toward his car.
I got in, even though it was probably the worst mistake I could’ve made.
He followed shortly, glancing at me as he put his seatbelt on.
Whoa, there. I agreed to hear him out in his car, not go with him to a secondary location—I didn’t even have my cell phone on me. It currently sat on my desk, near my math book and that stupid graph paper. I wasn’t prepared for any of this.
“Hey,” I started, about to get out of the car. “I didn’t—”
Archer turned into someone else, putting the car in reverse and flying out of the driveway, speeding away and thereby causing the locks to the doors to clamp down. I supposed I could manually pull up the lock and fling myself out of a moving car, but the injuries that might come with that made me hesitate.
