Page 85 of Drawn Together

Who the hell was this woman?

Sebastian said something to her that I again couldn’t hear, as she shook her head and looked toward me with revulsion. I was so confused by her reaction that I didn’t realize Sebastian was struggling to keep her from coming over to where I was seated.

She reared back, her blond hair swishing around her thin frame.

“Fuck, Samara,” Sebastian said as she stopped before me and looked me directly in the eye.

“Stay away from him.” She threw Sebastian a look of abhorrence, then directed her attention back to me. “He’s dangerous. Trust me, you should stay away from him,” she repeated. “When you least expect it, he’ll ruin your life and leave you before you even know what hit you.”

“That’s enough!” Sebastian broke in, holding her firmly by the wrist, clearly losing his cool.

I jumped out of my seat.

Samara’s eyes filled with tears, but she released herself from his grip.

“You’ve been warned,” she said, looking at me and then backat Sebastian. “And you… go to hell,” she said to him. Then she left without another word.

Sebastian stood eyeing the door, as if afraid she might reappear. Then, all of a sudden, he seemed to remember that I was still there, and he returned to the table.

I stared at him, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened and why this woman had bothered him so much. Was she his girlfriend? His ex?

I shuddered at the thought.

“Who was that, Sebastian?” I asked, seeing that he wasn’t planning to say anything.

He didn’t immediately answer, seeming to only register my question after a moment, as if his mind was racing a thousand miles a minute.

“No one,” he said dryly. “Are you done?”

I looked at my tray, still completely full, and his, half the food untouched.

“Let’s go,” he added without waiting for me to respond.

I didn’t say a word, my intuition telling me that it was better to keep quiet for now, although I wasn’t going to allow him to pretend like nothing had happened.

Sebastian got in the car and sped onto the highway. I stretched out a hand to lower the volume, and he lashed out at me, livid. “Fucking leave it!”

“Don’t talk to me like that,” I answered, shutting the radio off. Silence flooded the car, and I turned to face him. “Who the hell was that woman?”

Sebastian didn’t answer, he just stepped harder on the accelerator.

I looked out the window, alarmed by how fast he was going. “Sebastian, slow down.”

He didn’t even acknowledge me. The man at the wheel wasnot the Sebastian I knew; he had a completely deranged look in his eyes, as if that woman had awoken that dark, frightening man inside him.

“Sebastian, slow down, fuck!” I shouted as the speed approached suicidal.

It was as if he couldn’t hear me, as if he weren’t able to hear anything beyond whatever was playing inside his head. I punched his arm, shook him, but his eyes didn’t stray from the road for an instant, even though it was clear he wasn’t seeing anything in front of him.

I started to panic. The scene was too similar to the accident a few days prior, reviving the same sensations, but the person now putting me at risk was the last person I would’ve believed could harm me.

I screamed hysterically as a large truck passed just inches from us, forcing Sebastian to swerve, barely avoiding collision. I buried my face in my hands, no longer able to watch what was happening.

Samara’s words replayed in my mind:He’s dangerous… stay away from him.

I noticed that the car was slowing to a stop. I lowered my hands from my face, and without even stopping to look at him, threw open the door and jumped out of the car.

“Marfil!”