Chapter 61: 36- Anchored-2

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have... Just forget what I said okay? I wasn't thinking straight, damn it I'm such an idiot," he growled and paced in front of me. He stopped in his tracks when I blocked his path; reaching for my books, I mustered up a small smile and shook my head. "It's not your fault Carter, I'm sorry you had to see that." "What happened to you?" he asked rather bluntly, taking me by surprise. "W-what do you mean?" I stuttered as he gazed at me intensely. "Why don't you let people in? Why are you so scared about someone liking you?" "You...you don't know what you're talking about. Leave me alone!" I tugged my books away from him and began walking in the opposite direction to where he was stood. "I'm going to find out, Arianna!" he yelled and I was grateful that almost the entire student body had lunch this period. I didn't bother looking back and rushed towards the library where I could sit in peace without people trying to open old wounds. "You okay?" Danny drove us home in his Chevy truck, pulling out of the school parking lot. "I'm fine." I didn't look up from the assignment in my hand, frowning as I looked at the big fat ' C' written in red marker at the top right corner. "You don't look fine cuz, what happened?" For a seventeen-year-old boy, Danny was surprisingly sensitive to other people's emotions; I guess he got that from his mom. "It's my Chem grade," I lied but not completely. "I need at least a B to graduate but even with all the studying I've barely scraped a C." "Don't be too hard on yourself. With the number of months you've actually been in high school this year, a C is pretty good. "He smiled at me then, the kind of smile that made you feel that nothing could go wrong and immediately I began to let go of some of my worry. "You're awesome Danny," I said in a soft voice and he nodded vigorously in response, making me laugh. "You know your partner, Carter? He's a straight-A student, maybe you could ask him to tutor you," Danny suggested and I cringed at the thought; nothing could be more awkward. "Yeah that might not be such a good idea." "Why not?" he asked. "Because he asked me out today and I said no?" The car came to a halt so quickly that I was thrust forwards and then slammed back into my seat; the tires screeched as cars began honking angrily behind us. Danny stared into the windshield, his mouth formed into a thin line, his hands curling around the steering wheel tightly, showing his knuckles. "What're you doing?" I hissed as the honking continued. "Danny start driving before they form an angry mob!" I shoved him lightly, bringing him out of his stupor. He shook his head and angrily started driving again. "He shouldn't have done that," he growled, his eyes never leaving the road. Why was he overreacting so much? "It's okay, he asked me out and I said no, end of discussion." He really needed to calm down or else we were going to be roadkill. "It's not the end, Ari, that's not how Carter Kendrick plays it; he will hound you until he gets what he wants from you, what he wants from every girl." My cheeks heated up at what he'd implied. Danny was like a brother to me and hearing him say that was just plain embarrassing. "I can handle it, don't worry I'm a big girl." I smiled gently and he gave me a weak one of his own. "Why is it that you have to run into all the assholes of the world? That's just not right." His words made me freeze. Danny knew everything but he'd never once brought it up because he knew what talking about it would do to me, even then... "Shit I'm sorry, I wasn't supposed to say that." He hit the steering wheel and shook his head in frustration as I remained frozen. In a daze I walked to my room and shed my jeans for more comfortable sweatpants and sank into bed, pulling the covers over my head and getting the sleep that I'd skipped out on last night. I woke up at around seven in the evening, my stomach grumbling loudly; technically I hadn't eaten anything since dinner last night and clearly my body wasn't happy with that. Straightening my clothes, I ran a brush through my hair, letting it fall loosely around my shoulders but a vague memory of him telling me he liked it loose made me decide to pull it up into a bun. On my way downstairs, I splashed some water on my face and applied some concealer on my dark circles; Aunt Ophelia would get worried for no reason. In the living room, the TV was on but no one was there. Danny was at work and my aunt and uncle were probably in their rooms. After grabbing a piece of toast and a glass of milk from the kitchen, I settled onto the couch and was about to flip through the channels when a familiar face made my heart drop into my stomach. No, no, no! I began feeling claustrophobic as the report on the TV continued. "In other news, Price Enterprises has just signed a multi-million deal with Thorpe Communications... Their Head of Public Relations, Nick Evans, and Managing Director of Price Enterprises, Zach Price, signed the deal today, both claiming that they hoped the deal would profit both companies in the long run..." The reporter continued to speak but my eyes were stuck on the absurd pictures before me. Zach and Nick? Nick...Head of PR? My head had only just started to spin when another figure entered the frame, making bile rise up in my throat. The woman dug her manicured claws into Nick's arm and said something in his ear, making him smile. Revulsion seeped into me as I watched the exchange but he just stood there...like nothing out of the ordinary was happening. For nearly a month I had tried my hardest to let go of him, of everyone who had anything to do with the life I led back home and for them to come back this way? I was not ready... Was this the same Zach who'd promised to avenge me? To never let the ones who hurt me get away with it? I guess he was one of them now since no one could outdo the damage he'd done to me, no one. My hand gripped the remote tightly as I turned the TV off and tried to calm down but the edge wasn't wearing off. I rushed to my bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet, taking out the bottle of anti-depressants that the doctor had prescribed for emergency purposes.