Page 264 of The Perfect Spiral
“Put me down, you asshole! I can dress myself—” He lowers me to the floor and I proceed to pick out clothes.
I’m too tired to argue with him because we both know it’ll end up being a screaming match between us. Once I have my clothes in hand, I walk into the bathroom to change. “Oh, so now you’re shy,” he comments sarcastically. I give him the finger to shut him up and leave him standing alone in my bedroom.
Leaving the bathroom fully changed, I throw my top back onto the bed and walk out to the main area. I see my mom sitting in a white hotel robe with Eric on the sofa. I growl at her while she smiles and rolls her eyes at me.
“Why did you let IT in?” I ask, folding my arms. I’m not happy with her for letting him in. I told her I wanted him to stay away from me.
It’s like it goes in one ear and out the other with her. Sometimes I think she does it on purpose.
“Go out and have an adventure, sweetie. It might be fun?” She rises from the sofa and makes her way around the coffee table to get to me.
Hearing her feet shuffle in her slippers along the tiles, she stops in front of me and cups my face with her delicate hands.
“Adventure? At four in the morning? It would be even more fun if it was during normal hours or if it involved sleep! And I have a funny feeling it doesn’t,” I whine, but get pulled out of the room into the hallway.
Knox pushes me down the hall towards the elevators, and I hear a faint goodbye from my mom and Eric, who are both standing at the door watching us leave.
There’s a heavy silence between us in the elevator, punctuated by a few awkward glances reflected in the well-polished metal.
We stop at the underground car park and he walks me over to the large four-by-four Mercedes parked near the exit. I slip inside and buckle my seat belt.
Looking around at the rows of cars parked in the desolate car park, it’s creepy at this hour.
“You are quite possibly the most annoying person I’ve ever met, Carter. I hope you know that.”
Seeing his lips tilt up for a second, he puts the car in motion, reversing out of the space and leaving the hotel car park. The idiot is depriving me of my sleep. Damn him.
I stare out the window, watching the trees blend into one large line of green, and I feel my seat reclining.
My head snaps to him and I try to hold myself up against the reclining seat, having a slight panic attack as to why it’s doing that and I haven’t pressed anything.
He has his finger on the controller and softly orders, “Sleep.”
I lie down on the gray leather seats to get comfortable. Watching his movements, I see one hand resting on the wheel and the other leaning on the armrest, a finger laying across his upper lip.
Chapter 96
I close my eyes for what feels like two minutes before I feel a hand stroking my hair to wake me up. I yawn and exhale uncontrollably.
Where on earth is here? I open my eyes to see it’s still dark outside. I can’t see anything as I sit up in the seat. “Where exactly is here?” I ask, scanning out the front window and fixing my hair.
I hear the door open and see him nod towards the trunk of the car before closing his door. I copy him and slide out of the car, feeling a slight breeze. I wrap my arms around myself to keep warm.
Once I make my way to the trunk, I see him opening it. I watch his muscles ripple as he moves delicately. He jumps back into the trunk and holds out a hand for me to take.
I see a blanket and lots of pillows surrounding the trunk. He pats the space next to him, but I sit on the floor of his trunk with my back to the side of the car, ignoring his request.
I take a blanket to cover up my legs. Sitting at the side of the car alone, and away from him, I can’t help but wonder why he brought me here. Wherever here is?
“What are we doing here? Serving ourselves up as an early breakfast for the mosquitoes?” His laughter rings out, a warmsound in the cool morning air, as he pulls his knees up to his chest and wraps his arms around them.
His hands loosely interlock, the fabric of his shirt hanging comfortably from his body. “I brought you here to watch this,” he says, nodding towards the open space. I follow his gaze to see the sun beginning to rise. As the first light of day spills around us, I recognize the place he’s brought me to.
A vast open field, a single green shack nestled at the edge, surrounded by a fence. The vibrant colors of the flowers planted in the field add a splash of life to the scene. I used to come here with my granddad on some mornings to do exactly this; watch the sunrise.
A smile tugs at my lips as I remember the times we spent here as kids, running around in that field, coming home with skin covered in bites. I watch the sky, mesmerized by the palette of colors being painted by the rising sun. This place holds so many good memories for me.
“I used to come here wit—”
