AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Adrenaline races through me as I hold Mackenzie’s stare, making my way toward the driver’s side of the silver CRV that belonged to her brother, Gavin. I’m so pissed at her for sneaking off to Alex’s party.
She knows how to get under my skin, affecting me in a way no one else does.
Shaking my head, my gaze roams over the sleek exterior of the vehicle as I try to calm my thoughts. My mind goes back to the first moment I drove this vehicle, three weeks after I’d been residing with the Collins.
The vehicle had been sitting in the garage, untouched. One morning, Mike, my foster dad, handed me the keys. I stared at them before lifting my eyes to his. Shaking my head, I blew out a breath. “Mackenzie should be the one to drive it.”
Mike and Pearl exchanged an uncomfortable glance before Mike cleared his throat and began speaking. “Mackenzie refuses to drive it. In fact, she refuses to try to drive, period.” Removing his glasses, he cleans the lenses on the hem of his shirt before putting them on, as though stalling for time. “The accident that claimed Gavin’s life changed her. Mackenzie became fearful of vehicles, often experiencing panic attacks. She doesn’t trust other drivers, which, considering the circumstances of the accident and the fact that the driver was drunk and driving too fast during the storm, is understandable.” I shook my head, feeling bad for Gavin and Mackenzie. I knew her brother died, but I never pried for details, believing that if the Collins wanted me to know, they’d tell me. “The driver lost control and struck them, killing Gavin and pinning Mackenzie in the wreckage."
Mike’s voice broke as his head lowered, sorrow lining his face. Pearl rubbed his arm, tears springing to her eyes. “My husband is trying to say we’d be honored if you’d drive it. You can take Mackenzie to school and any other place she needs to go when we aren’t home to do so.” Clearing her throat, Pearl added, “She’s gotten much better with her panic attacks. We hope she can get to the point where she’ll want to learn to drive.” Hope flared in her eyes. “Maybe you could teach her?”
I smiled, nodding my consent. It would be a great bonding experience if Mackenzie ever felt comfortable enough for me to teach her. Since I’d moved in, she’s been resentful, making it clear she’s only tolerating me because she has to. I hoped she would come to view me as a friend, but that doesn’t seem likely.
With a sigh, I reach for the door handle. Mackenzie hasn’t expressed any desire to learn to drive. Although she’s grown to trust me to drive her around, there are times she gets so nervous she pulls out her bottle of anti-anxiety pills and swallows one of them.
But my problem isn’t her anxiety right now. It’s the feelings she pulls from deep within me.
I know it’s wrong to care for her like this, but I can’t seem to stop it. I’ve tried everything I can think of, including going on a couple of dates with girls in our senior class. Instead of paying attention to my date, my thoughts drifted to Mackenzie, wondering what she was doing.
Inevitably, my thoughts would change, and I’d fantasize it was Mackenzie and me. Then I’d feel guilty for thinking of another girl while on a date.
But the harsh reality was I knew if I were on a date with Mackenzie, I wouldn’t be staring into space, distancing myself from them while thinking about someone else.
That’s the problem. The only one who consumes my thoughts is Mackenzie.
I’ve never been so attuned to anyone’s moods and behaviors before. Not even my deceased sister,Elsie.She and I were close, considering I often acted as a parental figure to make up for what she lacked in her life.
My mother died when Elsie was eight, and my father spiraled out of control, especially once he lost his job. He was an alcoholic who prioritized drinking over his own children’s safety and well-being. After my mom’s death, he started doing drugs, and life became pure hell. It was his addiction that eventually led to Elsie’s death.
Blowing out a breath, I push thoughts of my sister from my head as I slide behind the steering wheel, ignoring Mackenzie. I start the ignition and back out of the parking space. Her amber irises burn into my profile, but I ignore her until I get my emotions under control.
Figuring we need to talk, I decide to take the long way home.
Blowing out a breath, I break the heavy silence between us as I drive toward the woods. “I was watching you from the window when you snuck out of the house. I saw you jumping into Jamie’s car.” Shaking my head, my hands grip the steering wheel tighter. “I tried to warn you about going to Alex’s party. That’s why I brought it up at dinner. Your parents needed to know Alex isn’t?—"
“Isn’t what, Chase?” Mackenzie’s eyes flash with anger. “My parents didn’t need to know shit about Alex or his party. It’s none of their business, just like it isn’t yours. Stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“Where it doesn’t belong?” I snap in disbelief, anger coursing through my veins like a raging river. “You’remy concern, Kenz. Your business is my business when it comes to protecting you from a creep like Alex Barnes. He’s an asshole who only wants to fuck you so he can brag that he stole your virginity. He’s crude and crass, saying terrible shit about the girls he’s slept with. He’ll only hurt you.”
“I know that,” Mackenzie snaps. “I can take care of myself.”
“Oh really? It sure didn’t look that way when Alex had you pinned against his bedroom door.”
Mackenzie gasps, the irate look she’s giving me telling me I went too far. She’s going to lash out in three… two… one.
“How dare you! Now I can’t take care of myself, huh? I need you as my protector, following me around so no one can hurt me, right?”
Great job, Chase. Now you’ve started a fight with her.
There’s only one thing I can do to fix this and stop the argument between us. I need to open my heart to her again, knowing I’m going to get hurt. I’m a glutton for punishment when it comes to Mackenzie. My voice is low when I say, “I can’t stand the thought of you being hurt. It nearly kills me.”
Silence hangs in the air between us. I glance at her, watching as she shifts in her seat. When I catch her squeezing her thighs together, I jerk my head away, trying to think of something except my burning attraction to her. The desire to hold her in my arms and kiss her like she’s never been kissed, my hands roaming over her body…Stop it, Chase.
“Chase?” The seriousness in Mackenzie’s voice draws my attention immediately. “That’s really sweet.” She bites her lip, shooting me a look that makes me want to pull the vehicle over and lose myself in her decadent lips.
Goddamn it. Why is she so damn beautifully innocent?She knows how to work me, that’s for sure.
I’m drawn back to the present when she continues. “Thank you for always defending me. Even when I’m a brat.” She shoots me a mischievous smile that goes straight to my groin.
