Page 54 of Under the Influence

Madden

Hope your wishes come true.

Holding the phone in my hand, I stare at the black and white letters.

Avery

They will. One day at a time.

Instead of responding, I save her number in my phone, pull out a notepad, and begin to write.

CHAPTER

EIGHTEEN

CORI

It feels a little like signing my own death wish as I slip into Nash’s Jeep, but he doesn’t really say much. They ended up canceling baseball practice today due to some flooding on the field, so here I am, sitting in silence, trying to make room for my feet between the empty Gatorade bottles.

“You don’t have to drive me home, you know.”

His eyes cut into me, “Well, you don’t drive, and I can promise that I’m not letting anyone else take you home. So how do you expect to get there?”

“Well, usually Mad⁠—”

“No,” he snaps. “That’s done.”

I feel myself suffocating, “You might own Legacy, but you don’t own me.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Where are we going?” I ask as he blows by the turn to our neighborhood.

“I have something I need to take care of.”

I scoff, “And you couldn’t drop me off first?”

“No.”

I toss my backpack into the back seat and let out a little growl as I put my seatbelt on.

“It would be a little easier on you if you drove, then you wouldn’t have to be my passenger princess.”

I think back to the last time I was in my car, “Well, that’s not happening. Besides, you would probably follow me around like a stalker anyway.”

He laughs, actually laughs, “You’re probably right.”

“But why? Why do you even waste your time with me?”

He whips the Jeep into a parking spot, nearly hiding it between two buildings, “Because you’re dangerous.”

I roll my eyes, “What does that even mean, Nash?”

“Don’t say my name,” he growls. “It means you’re a threat.”

“A threat to what? I’m just trying to blend in. I came here wanting to fly under the radar and remain unnoticed. Yet here you are, causing a scene.”

He doesn’t respond, so I continue, “If you think I’m going to mess things up between you and Jovie again, I won’t.”