Page 54 of Furious
Lev passes me my dress, still buck naked. “Go use the bathroom while I get dressed, pretty girl. Everything will be fine.”
It’s easy for him to say that, because he hasn’t grown up with my mom. I’m surprised she chose a career in politics, when prison warden should have been her calling.
Lev is dressed and has his car keys in hand when I come out of the bathroom. “Let’s go.”
The short drive home is fraught with tension as I brace myself for what I will find when I get home.
It’s impossible not to get flashbacks of the night I came back from Bridgeport, after the final Super Bikes race.
Mom was furious. She had never hit me until that day, and I wasn’t even that mad at her. I understood that she was equally worried and furious.
I hate that my carelessness caused her to worry about me again. I just hope that this time the consequences won’t be as severe as two years ago. Back then, Mom grounded me on the spot and barely talked to me for a whole week. When she did, she told me I was going to boarding school, and it was non-negotiable. That decision—for as much as I understand why she made it, at least in part—almost severed our relationship.
I have no idea what to expect this time around, but she can’t ship me off to boarding school or a teen rehabilitation camp, right? I mean, I’m eighteen, almost nineteen. Right?
Chapter 14
Things Have Changed
ZARA
My hand is on the passenger seat door even before the car has completely stopped.
The night has almost completely receded and there isn’t a cloud in the blue sky.
I wish I was as serene as the weather, but a storm of fear and worry is raging inside my chest.
“Where are you going?” I ask, when Lev climbs out of the car.
“I’m coming in with you.”
I rush out and run after him as he strides toward the front door. “No, wait. I’ll be ok. I don’t need you to come in.”
Rather than kissing me goodbye and walking back to his car, he laces his fingers with mine. “I know you don’t need me to, but I’m still coming in with you.”
He sounds determined, but I still argue. “Lev, seriously. I…”
My voice cracks as anxiety constricts my throat. I don’t know what kind of reaction Mom will have. The truth is that I’m scared. Not that she would physically harm me, she wouldn’t do that. Last time, she slapped me once across the face. I was angry, but I understood why she reacted the way she did. She had been worried sick, especially when I didn’t answer my phone.
In a way, even though I like to think that I would never hit my own child, I know she did that because she was scared, furious, and relieved at the same time that I was still breathing.
I’m not scared of the physical harm she could cause me, but if she had a similar reaction to the last time, I don’t want Lev to witness it.
He sees me as this hot, sexy, slightly wild woman. He sees me the way I want to be. Not like someone who still gets yelled at by her mom.
“Lev.” I insist when he doesn’t budge. “It’s seriously fine. My mom might be a little mad, but she’ll get over it. I don’t want her to bother you, too.”
His answer surprises me. “I want to be bothered, Zee. We fell asleep together, so I’m as responsible as you are.”
“But she might yell at me.” I finally admit. “I don’t want you to see me as the kind of girl who still gets yelled at by her mom.”
He cups my jaw, caressing me with gentle, slightly rough fingers. “I don’t care about that. Her reaction will say something about her, not about you. But I don’t want her to think I’m the kind of guy who would let his girl face any difficult situation by herself. I know that you don’t need my protection, but I’m gonna protect you, anyway. Because I fucking care. What kind of shitty boyfriend walks away at the first sign of trouble? Whether it’s an upset parent, a broken condom or any other problem? I’m not with you just for the fun times, Zee. I’m with you even when the going gets tough, and I want your mom and Scott to know that.”
If I wasn’t still worried about what awaits me once I walk into the house, I would just kiss the shit out of him right now.
“Ok.” I say softly. “But just know that if you want to bail at any time, I won’t judge you for it.”
His lips curl up in a sexy smile. “Noted.”
