Very Bad Things (Briarcrest Academy #1)(51)

He looked dazed, not even listening. “Are you saying we’re soulmates . . . that you’re in love with me?” he asked, his eyes boring into mine.

I ignored him and gathered up my wet clothes.

“Nora, tell me the truth,” he implored, and I heard anguish in his voice, and I wondered why it was so important to him.

I nodded. “This is the truth: I’m done with you. I hope she makes you happy and—” I swallowed. “Goodbye, Leo.”





Chapter 16


––––––––

Leo

––––––––

“She’s this beautiful chaos.” –Leo Tate

––––––––

“Wait,” I whispered, finally finding my voice, but she didn’t hear me because she’d already left, the click of the bedroom door sounding final.

I sank down on the bed and gripped the ends of my hair and pulled hard, trying to yank myself back to the present, because my head was still reeling from her words about love and soulmates. Did it mean that she loved me?

She’d never said.

Sebastian stormed into his bedroom, his legs eating up the ground to where I sat. “What the hell did you do to her?!”

I scrubbed my face with my hands.

“Leo?” he demanded, “Tell me what just happened in here.”

I sat there, feeling unbalanced, like someone had just turned my world upside down. Had I subconsciously wanted her to see me with Tiffani? To what lengths would I go to in order to push her away?

He shoved my shoulder with his fingers, like he wanted to start a fight. “I knew you’d do this. I knew you’d piss all over her.”

I stood up. “Watch what you say, Sebastian. You’re angry, and I get that, but back off,” I warned. “You’ve got no idea what’s going on between me and Nora.”

“I’ve seen how you look at her,” he said, shaking his head at me. “You’re the biggest fool I know.”

I heard a noise downstairs and took off for the door. I knew it wasn’t Tiffani. I’d told her to leave as soon as I realized Nora had seen us.

“Is she still here?” I asked, not waiting for an answer, but running down the hallway. I stopped at the top of the staircase. “Nora!” I called out, but only silence greeted me. Cursing, I took the stairs two at a time until I was at the front desk. I paced around the foyer. Nothing. I went into the band room. Nothing. I checked the restrooms. Nothing. I ran outside and stood on the street, hoping maybe she was still in the parking lot.

“She’s gone,” Sebastian said, following me. “She ran out before I knew what was going on. She wouldn’t tell me what was wrong.”

“What happened to her tonight? Was she drinking? ”I asked hurriedly, remembering her wet clothes and scratched up arms. Visions of her car wrapped around a tree played through my mind. Shit, I had to find her.

He suddenly looked worried, his brow pulled down. “Yeah, early in the night she had some shots. Then she got into a fight with a girl.”

“Shit,” I muttered, feeling the tingle of fear go up my spine at the thought of her drunk driving. I had to make sure she got home safe, and if I was honest, I wanted to tell her again how sorry I was. I’d said I didn’t want to hurt her, but it seemed like that was all I did.

I pulled out my keys out for the Yukon I’d been driving while my car was in the shop and strode over to it.

Sebastian followed me. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“To find Nora. She’s upset, and she’s been drinking,” I said, opening my car door and sliding in. “People do crazy things when they’re drunk, Sebastian.”

“You don’t even know where she lives,” he muttered.

“So get in,” I said exasperated. “And tell me where she lives.”

He got in the car, slamming the door hard. I sat there for a moment, my hands clenching the steering wheel, because he was upset with me and it scared me. Did it mean that they were more than just friends?

I cranked the car and pulled out of the parking lot, the tires squealing.

“Where to?”

“Maple Street in Highland Park,” he said. I typed it into the GPS, and we headed that way.

After a few minutes, I cleared my throat. Somehow I had to make him understand where I was coming from with Nora. “Hey, remember two years ago when we drove up to Bakersville and got caught in that snow storm?”

Sebastian shot me a look, grudgingly responding. “Yeah, I remember. The news said it was the worst snow storm there in a hundred years.”

I nodded. “The way it came at our windshield . . . it was like this white tornado, and if you looked at it too long, you got dizzy,” I said. “And when we woke up the next day, there was ten inches on the ground. Remember, we had to trudge through the snow to get to a diner across the street and everywhere we looked, it was like a sea of white. It was so bright we had to put our sunglasses on.”

I said, “Nora’s like that storm. It’s like she came out of nowhere and knocked me off course. She makes me wild, like I can’t control myself. She’s this beautiful chaos, and I do want her, but you know I don’t like commitments. I can’t love someone and then lose them.”