His eyes rake over my face, and the corner of his lips lift in a mocking smile. It drives me crazy, so I go to get my phone.
“You made it up. Alex didn’t tell me anything; you’re lying.”
“Yes, he tells youeverythingabout what’s going on since you guys aresoclose.”
I whip around to face him, wanting to tell him all the ways he can go and fuck himself, but my lower lip quivers. He hit a nerve—my relationship with my half brother has been estranged at best in the past, and I’m still trying to build it back up, so I shut my mouth and change my direction, trying to collect all of my things.
“Shit,” comes a loud sigh behind me, and I choose to ignore it. “I’m sorry, Leila.”
Yeah, he can be sorry all he wants since he knows my own brother better than I ever will.
“Leila,” he calls out, but I keep fidgeting with my clothes, shoving my stuff inside my duffel bag.
“Leila.” He sounds closer, and I turn around to tell him to go to hell, but I freeze when I find him a few inches away from me. So close I can smell his soap in the air, a hint of alcohol on his lips. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Oh no, you meant it just like that.” I grab my bag, my laptop poking out of it, and angrily walk around him toward the exit.
“Where are you going?” He follows.
“Off your property.” When I’m at the door, I grab my puffy coat and open the door.
And instantly stumble back, hit by the gush of wind in my face. It’s cold. It’s really cold. And the snow is everywhere. It has to be about half a foot deep already.
“You can’t go now.”
I ignore him, walking toward my car—a difficult feat.
“The road is dangerous.”
“That’s not your problem,” I call back over the wind.
“You aremyproblem while you arehere.” His voice drops lower.
“Watch me disappear then.” I climb into the car, turn around, and flip him off. It’s then I notice his face…He’s frozen, his eyes dark. I don’t think he’s blinking.
I don’t have time to analyze his behavior or his reaction to my words—the snow is getting bad, and if I don’t get out of here now, I won’t for a few days. Or worse—I’ll get out now and get stuck on the road or slide off of it. Scratch that—I don’t know what’s worse.
I shut the door, and the sound brings him back to life. He sprints to the car and knocks on the window.
“Leila, you can’t go out there now. It’s not safe.”
“Not your problem,” I singsong, taking off.
To be fair, the takeoff looks less impressive than I intended, since the road is snowed in, but I still manage to do a little sliding and drive toward the side road. The snow is still soft, so I manage to get through, but to be completely honest, it’s not easy and a little scary. Every so often my ABS system kicks on, and I slide to the side. And I’m not even on the highway.
Praying that the main road gets cleaned fast, I look in the rearview mirror. I don’t know what I’m expecting to see there, but I feel a little unsettled leaving him there. I don’t know the man, and the last time we saw each other, he acted like a dick toward me while being sweet as candy to everyone else. I don’t know what gets his panties in a twist when he sees me, but something sure does.
I glance back one last time before returning my gaze to the road, and I don’t have enough time to react when I see a deer running across the driveway. Acting on instinct, I hit the brakes. Never a good idea on a snowy and icy road. My car starts spinning, and when I’m nearing sideways, two wheels take off on the surface, and I think I’m flying.
Chapter Twelve
ARCHIE
I watch her leave in this snowstorm that’s only getting worse and worse by the minute. I look up at the sky—it’s low and heavy. The snow won’t stop falling for many hours. Even though she has a pretty decent sedan and Leila is a careful driver—when she’s not taking off in a huff—I don’t trust these mountains. I love them, but I don’t trust them.
I look toward where she disappeared and sigh. She said it herself—she’s not my problem. And it’s not like I can follow her just so I can stop her car, drag her out, and throw her over my shoulder. And then lock her here with me…Even though the idea begins sounding better and better with every passing second…
No, don’t go there.I shake my head, throwing the crazy idea out of my head, repeating what she said herself—she is not my problem.
