Chapter 13 Open up
After she finally allowed Maddox to walk her back to the truck, neither of them spoke. He kept his eyes on the road and she kept hers on her lap. Every time she looked at him, he looked away.
When he dropped her in front of her house, he cleared his throat. "I have something I need to do."
She nodded, unsure if the tension was because of last night's kiss or something else.
He wasn’t even looking directly at her while speaking. He was acting distant and she couldn’t stop wondering why the hell she’d even kissed him?!
He did not wait for her to answer before shifting the truck into reverse and driving off.
Grace stood there watching the red taillights fade. The weight of the day pressed on her shoulders and she pushed it off only enough to reach her room.
Later that night, after showering and changing into nice little night shorts and a shirt that bared one shoulder with her hair in a messy bun with colourful ribbons. She sat at her desk with her books open. Her eyes scanned the assignment but her mind wandered. She tapped her pen against the page until it left a faint dot.
Suddenly realizing how she still hadn’t called Molly as she had promised, Grace stretched her hand and picked up her phone from the desk where she had left it charging. It was at full battery percent now.
She opened her contacts and didn't have to scroll through the handful of them to find Molly's name, she heard something. A soft tap against her window.
She froze, hoping it was just the wind.
Another tap came. Louder this time.
Grace's heart raced as she looked toward the closed curtains; she did not have friends who climbed windows. Molly was dramatic but not to the point of risking her perfect nails or getting hurt.
No one else ever came to her house except Maddox and she was sure that wasn't him because he seemed to be avoiding her.
She stood quickly and grabbed the first thing her hand touched on the desk, a can of hairspray it was ridiculous but still something. She held it in front of her like a weapon and inched toward the window.
Another knock. This time slower.
She swallowed. "Who is there?"
A quiet chuckle drifted through the glass and part of her stilled.
"Open up, little witch."
She knew that voice.
Enzo.
Her fingers tightened on the hairspray as her breath caught. Her mind shifted back to earlier: the laughter, to the way his eyes had looked at her, and to the humiliation she had felt walking away. The room suddenly felt smaller. The night outside sounded louder.
She reached for the window latch with trembling fingers, then stopped to think:
Why was he here?
Why now?
Why her?
She stood there caught between caution and anger and something she was not ready to name. The night pressed against the glass as if waiting with him.
"Grace," Enzo called again, softer this time. “I don’t want to break in…”
Oh, how she wanted to leave him stranded out there. How she wanted to call the cops on him for trespassing…
But she didn’t have the money to afford a change of windows. So she inhaled sharply.
Her hand lifted and unlocked the window.
And pulled it open.
The cold air hit her face with a rush but she didn't even seem to notice as she stared at the dark eyes that were staring intently at her.
Was she a bad person because she liked the sight of his face? As much of an asshole as he could be, he’d been her crush for a while.