“What?” I smile back.
“I had a lot of fun with you tonight,” she said, putting her hand on top of mine.
“Well, the fun doesn’t have to be over,” I say. As we get closer to the lake house, her comment gives me an idea.
She looks at me, a silent question written on her face.
“Do you trust me?” Sienna nods, a glimmer of wonder in her eyes. I love seeing her relaxed like this.
As we approach the turn into the driveway of the lake house, I hit the gas. The Mustang roars beneath my feet as Sienna’s hand grips mine. One quick look and the smile on her face tells me she’s game for what I have planned.
Keeping weight on the gas pedal, I turn the wheel sharply. Hitting the brake as we reach the beginning of the turn, I lock my back tires while turning the wheel as we drift around the corner.
Sienna lets out a laugh in tandem with the screech of the tires scraping against the asphalt. I laugh with her as we slide along the road, the breeze kissing our faces once again.
I know I shouldn’t, but I look over at Sienna, wanting to cement this moment and her beauty to my memory forever.
As we approach midnight, the roads are blanketed in darkness. My headlights are the only objects lighting the way back to the lake house.
That’s why I don’t notice the pothole until we hit it halfway through the turn.
When I hear the scrape of my bumper against the asphalt, my attention snaps back to the road. Sliding sideways around the corner, I grip the steering wheel tight as I struggle to gain control of the car again. Adrenaline pumps through my veins as the car spins out of control, taking us off the road as I fail to straighten out the wheel.
At the sound of metal crunching against something hard and unmoving, we finally come to a stop. The seatbelt digs into my chest as my body is thrown sideways by the force of the hit. No airbags deploy, giving me a sliver of hope that the crash isn’t as bad as it felt.
Heart racing, I try to catch my breath as I process what just happened.
“Shit. Shit. Shit.” I look over at Sienna in a panic, ripping my seat belt off so I can take a closer look, immediately checking her for any signs of blood. She’s conscious, and there’s not a drop of red in sight, but when my eyes meet hers, I see a hint of water pooling at the bottom of her irises. The sight is like a knife through my chest as I realize I’m the cause of those tears.
“Sienna, I—” Before I can finish the sentence, the driver's door is flung open, and my body is being hauled out of the driver’s seat. Two rough hands grab at the sides of my face.
The lake house stands tall behind Roman as he holds on to me. The light from the back deck lights the area around us. We must’ve spun out of control and hit one of the trees on the side of the house.
Roman’s eyes are frantically scanning my body the same way mine did Sienna’s just seconds ago. Although his eyes are filled with something much darker than fear.
“I’m okay,” I say through the shock of the moment. The seat belt did its job, and I’m confident I didn’t hit my head on anything. The crash was more of a shock than it did any actual damage to me, from what I can tell. But even if it did, all I care about is checking that Sienna is okay.
Pushing Roman off, I turn around toward my car. Upon first glance, I see that the tail end of the Mustanghit a tree, the front three-quarters still intact. That explains why the airbags didn’t deploy.
Beth rushes toward the passenger side door, pulling it open with such force it looks as though she might yank it off its hinges. I see Sienna’s arms reach up to hers as Beth helps her out of the car. Again, she doesn’t look hurt, but I need to get my hands on her to make sure.
“Sienna, are you?—”
At the sound of my words, Roman turns me around. He fists my shirt in his hands and slams me against the side of the Mustang.
“What thefuckwere you thinking? In Dad’s fucking car!” His voice booms through the night air as his fists shake against my chest. We’re eye to eye, Roman only an inch shorter than me, but I’ve never felt smaller than I do at this moment. I need to make sure Sienna is okay.
“I just have to check on her,” I say, my voice coming out more pained than I intend. Looking to my right, I see Beth and Sienna standing near the front of the car. When I try to escape Roman’s hold, his grip on my shirt tightens.
“Don’t go near her,” he all but growls at me. “I told you to be fucking careful, Theo! What the fuck were you thinking, drifting around the corner like that at night?”
I’m too distracted by Alex and Leo joining the chaos to answer Roman. Seconds later, Alex stands within eyesight a few paces back from Roman, arms crossed, staring me down as though I’m the last person he wants to be looking at right now.
Leo has rushed to Roman’s side with a first-aid kit in his hands. He sets the first-aid kit on top of the car, rightnext to me, and that’s when I notice how much he’s shaking. He doesn’t look at me as he’s trying to open the kit, his hands unable to steady themselves long enough to unlatch the box.
Roman lets me go to place his hand on Leo’s shoulder in an effort to calm him. I can’t remember the last time Leo had a panic attack. The clear signs that I’ve triggered his anxiety send a wave of nausea through my stomach.
Placing my hands on Leo’s, I speak softly, “I’m okay. No one’s hurt. We’re okay.” When he finally looks at me, he crashes into me, wrapping his arms around me and hugging me so tight, as if he lessens his grip, I’ll disappear on him.
