I wave Brooke off to let her go first and she gives me a tired smile. She presses down on the gas when Holly walks across the front of her car, grinning like the little bitch she is. I watch Brooke’s reaction and roll my eyes.

  She presses the gas once again and allows her car to lurch forward just a bit. Holly shrieks and darts out of the way while Brooke pisses herself laughing. I guess that will be a lesson to everyone around; don’t steal any of Brooke’s toys or you will be run over.

  Brooke makes her way out of her parking spot, actually being careful not to hurt the girl and I pull out behind.

  I’m so lost in my mind that it takes me until I’m nearly halfway home to realize that something is wrong. My car doesn’t feel right and something tells me it’s the tire. I indicate my turn and check my mirrors before pulling off to the side of the road.

  I hop out and do a once around before noticing that I have a flat, but it’s not exactly a flat, someone has slashed my tire.

  Shit, I can even begin to think about the damage I’ve done to the rim, though I’m sure mom, Jesse, and Nate will all let me know. I bend down to get a good look at the tire and study the rim. I mean, how the hell is this thing connected to the car? Better yet, where is the spare one kept?

  I pop the trunk and then the hood. I search high and low but find nothing. Shit, this is not how it happens in the movies. Who am I kidding? It’s not like I’ll be able to actually change the stupid thing.

  I walk around to the passenger side of my car and dig through my bag for my phone. I stand on the edge of the road, searching through my contacts for Nate’s number when it hits me, he’s usually at the very top of my recent contacts list, now, he’s just among the random numbers stored in this thing.

  I go to press call when a familiar Charger pulls up behind me with a grinning Jackson in the driver’s seat. “What’s wrong?” he asks, getting out of his car.

  “Someone slashed my tire,” I explain as I slide my phone into the back pocket of my jeans.

  “Shit, really?” he questions, walking around the front of his car to get to mine. He bends down and has a good look at the slashed tired. “Geez, you pissed someone off.”

  “I swear, I haven’t,” I tell him. “The last stupid thing I did was let you take me to the Haven Falls party. Apart from that I’ve been a hermit.”

  “Haven’t I apologized for that party a million times now?”

  “Yes,” I groan.

  “And when are you finally going to accept it?”

  I shrug my shoulders. “I’ll accept it as soon as you change my tire.”

  A grin rips across his face and I watch as he attempts not to laugh. “That’s going to be harder than you think.”

  “What? Why?” I grunt. “Just take it off and get the new one.”

  “Where do you expect me to get a new one from?” he questions. “Did you happen to find one or were you hoping I’d pull one out of my ass?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “This model doesn’t come with a spare tire. You need to get a tow.”

  “What?” I shriek with wide eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “Nope,” he says, pulling out his phone. He presses a few buttons and brings the phone to his ear. I listen as he talks to the person on the other end and soon enough, he’s ending the call. “Tow truck will be here in fifteen minutes.”

  A sigh of relief escapes me. “Thanks,” I tell him. “I probably would have kept searching for the spare all night.”

  “I don’t doubt that,” he laughs, sitting down on the curb.

  I take a seat beside him. “You don’t have to wait,” I tell him.

  Jackson shrugs and gives me a tight smile. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you anyway,” he tells me. “Might as well do it now.”

  My brows pull down in curiosity. “Go on then.”

  “I wanted to tell you that I’m done chasing you,” he says. “From now on, you and I are strictly friends. I won’t keep hitting on you or showing up at your place. I mean, unless you want me to.”

  “Ok…” I chuckle. “Where did all this come from?”

  “I just… I get it. You’re not getting over Nate anytime soon, no matter how much of a douche he is and after spending time with you over the past few weeks, I’ve realized you’re a cool chick. I want to be friends with you, but that’s it.”

  “You sure?” I question, holding onto the relief just in case he’s playing some sick joke.

  “I’m sure,” he tells me. “Besides, I kind of have the hots for Elle. You know she used to be a cheerleader, right?”

  “Yes,” I laugh as I finally let the relief overtake me. “You know I’m the reason she’s not, right?”

  “What?” he grunts with a raised eyebrow. “How dare you.”

  “When she was a cheerleader, she would have dated you in a heartbeat.”

  “And what about now?”

  “You’ll have to wait and see.”

  He goes to say something which I’m sure was probably going to be sarcastic, but a black Range Rover screeches to a halt in front of my car. Not a second later, Nate is storming out of the driver’s seat with Jesse following behind, desperately trying to pull him back.

  Jackson flies to his feet before I’ve even realized what’s going on.

  “What the fuck is going on here?” Nate demands, getting in Jackson's face. “You wait until my back is turned to try and take my girl?”

  “Nate,” I yell, trying to push myself between the two guys. “Stop.”

  “Your girl,” Jackson spits as though the word is dirty, “got her tire slashed. I’m fucking helping her.”

  Nate’s eyes fly down to mine. “Is that true?”

  I nod my head eagerly. “Yes.”

  His eyes harden and I watch as a deep jealousy takes root right down in his soul. “Why’d you call him? You should have called me,” he tells me with a low voice, wanting this to be a private conversation, but with how close Jackson is on my other side, I don’t doubt he can hear every word.

  My eyes search out Nate’s as I place my hand upon his chest, hoping it manages to soothe him in some way. “I was in the middle of calling you when he drove past. I didn’t call him. He’s helping me.”

  Nate lets out a hard breath and I see him visibly starting to relax, though it’s not by much. His eyes lift to Jackson and I watch as his jaw clenches. “You can go.”

  Jackson looks down at me before flicking his eyes up to Nate and then to Jesse who has somehow managed to stay quiet through all of this. “Yeah,” he scoffs, shaking his head as though Nate’s little performance was pathetic, and he’d be right. It was. “Whatever. I’ll see you later, Tora.”

  With that, he walks back to his car and I watch as he drops down into it. ‘Sorry,’ I mouth, giving him a tight smile.

  Jackson nods his head and a second later, he’s pulling away from the curb and screeching down the road.

  I turn my glare on Nate. “You had no right.”

  “Excuse me?” he scoffs in disbelief.

  “You heard me. I’m a big girl, Nate. I can take care of myself. The guy was just trying to help me out and you came in like a raging bull and made him feel like shit for even bothering.”

  “So, what? You’re suddenly team Jackson now?”

  “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but he’s actually nice to me. I don’t have an issue with him anymore.”

  “You’re shitting me, right?” Nate scoffs. “The guy has been trying to get in your pants since day one, and have you forgotten about that Haven Falls party?”

  “He’s apologized for that a million times, and as for getting in my pants, he likes Elle, not me, so you can back off. I love you, Nate, but right now, I really hate you.”

  “Shit,” Jesse groans, deciding now is the time to speak up, but not to worry, he slowly backs away from us until he’s circling my car, taking a look at the damage for himself.

  “Tora,” Nate groans as pain flashes behind his eyes. “Don’t. You don’t mean that.”

  I shrug my shoulders as I honestly don’t know if I do or not. “Can we just… get out of here?”

  He lets out a heavy sigh and looks away from me before walking forward to get a look at the car with Jess. “Shit,” he sighs, talking to Jess. “She fucked up the rim.”

  “Mmhmm,” Jess agrees. I don’t exactly understand what that means for me, but from the looks on their faces, it couldn’t be good. “I’ll call a tow.”

  “Jackson already did,” I tell them. “He’ll be here in a minute.”

  Nate starts shaking his head. “Call our guy.”

  “No,” I demand. “I’m not doing this ‘who has a bigger dick’ bullshit. Either deal with the situation as it is or go home. I can handle it.”

  Nate’s eyes harden and no doubt he hates this with a passion, but surprisingly, he backs off. Not a word is spoken as he looks away and gets back to inspecting the tire, probably wondering who the hell had the nerve to slash it.

  The tow truck comes and goes, and apart from Nate talking to the driver, nobody has said a single word.

  “Come on,” Jess says quietly beside me, indicating with a nod of his head to follow him to his car. The three of us climb into the Range Rover and instead of sitting in the passenger side beside Nate, I go for the back where I can sulk in private.

  Five minutes later, Nate pulls up at my place and I hop out. I expect him to drive off straight away only he gets out and silently walks with me up the stairs. I open the door and he steps across the threshold with me.

  Not wanting to waste time on this ‘not talking’ bullshit, I sigh and go to walk away, only he catches my elbow, stopping me in the middle of the foyer. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs. I turn back to him and look up into his eyes, patiently waiting. “I just don’t trust that guy with you.”

  I slowly shake my head. “It doesn’t matter, Nate. You can’t keep doing this. Jackson’s not going to pull the same bullshit on me that he does to you. I know you don’t like it, but we have a friendship and you need to learn to respect that.”

  “I don’t like it,” he repeats.

  “What’s there not to like about it?” I question. “He’s a friend. That’s it.”

  “He wants you, Tora, and I’m not ready to give you up.”

  “You already gave me up,” I yell at him. “You have no say in this. Why can’t you just trust me when I say I’m not interested in dating him? I don’t want to be with him, I want to be with you, but you’ve made it clear as hell that’s not going to happen.”

  “Tora,” he groans, not wanting to discuss this again.

  I pull back from him and look away. “I can’t do this, Nate.”

  “Do what?”

  I indicate between us. “Whatever the hell this is. We’re either together or we’re not. Make up your mind, but if we’re not, then you need to back off and give me room to breathe. I can’t have you trying to beat the shit out of every guy who accidentally bumps into me.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying we’re done,” I tell him with my heart threating to tear wide open. He flinches from my words as panic seeps into his eyes. He looks terrified that I’m about to tell him to leave me the hell alone and never speak to me again, but I couldn’t do that to him. Couldn’t do it to us. “Maybe it’s time for you to find the next girl to bully.”

  “No,” he says stepping into me. “We’re going to get past this. I just need…”

  “What, Nate? Tell me what you need and I’ll give it to you. I can’t do this in between bullshit anymore. It’s either all or nothing.”

  “Don’t do this,” he begs, searching my eyes as he grabs me and pulls me in.

  I bring my hand up between us and push him away. “You need to make up your mind,” I tell him as I step out of his arms and walk towards the stairs. I step up the first one before looking back at him. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

  With that, I walk up the stairs hoping I didn’t just kill what little chance I have left with him.

  I flop down into my bed with a sigh. What have I just done?

  I’m hoping this gives him the push he needs to get things back on track, but I might have also just screwed up something I wasn’t prepared to lose. My heart races in my chest. That was easily one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Telling him I was done. Shit, I watched him break right before me, but it needed to be said.

  If it’s actually over between us, then he needs to let me go. He can’t keep holding onto me and jumping in to save my ass. I need to find my independence and that’s not possible when he won’t give me a chance to breathe. He’s always there, and don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love that, but if I’m on my own, I need to learn to deal with it. If he’s no longer mine, I need to move on.

  I mean, unless he’s prepared to take the risk and actually be with me. Our futures be damned. I’m definitely willing to risk it all to be with him, but apparently, he thinks I deserve the world. Can’t he see? To me, he is the world.

  I must lay here with my head squished into my arms for an hour, just staring at the wall when my phone beeps with a text. I pull it out, desperately hoping it’s something from Nate. After all, he’s the only thought that’s been in my mind since the second I walked up the stairs.

  Jesse – You ok? I’m assuming from the way Nate came out of there, something went down. Need company?

  Tora – I’m fine. Do me a favor and remind him how much he loves me.

  Jesse – Shit. That bad, huh?

  Tora – You have no idea!

  Jesse – Sucks to be you! Just heard from the mechanic. Your rim is fucked. They need to order in a new one. I’ll be your chauffeur for the foreseeable future. Any requests, milady?

  Tora – Leave me the keys for your Range Rover.

  Jesse – Over my dead body!

  With a sigh, I throw my phone down on the bed. I thought today couldn’t possibly get any worse. I’ve never been so wrong. Not only have I possibly lost Nate, I’ve now lost my only form of freedom. Lucky me.

  Chapter 4

  I walk down the stairs and out the front door to find the familiar Range Rover heading down my drive. My nerves begin to spike as my heart begins to race. My brain is telling me it’s just Jesse, but my heart is hoping for Nate.

  I know it’s a very real possibility that it’s him, after all, he thrives on being the one who gets to do this kind of stuff. It’s almost like it makes him feel like a man taking care of his girl, sometimes I love it and other times … well, not so much.

  Today, I’m hoping for it.

  As the car comes closer, I find myself studying it. The passenger seat is empty and as I scan towards the driver’s seat, I find myself at a loss. Damn, those brothers look so similar. All I can make out is the dark hair behind the tinted windows.

  Guess I’m up for a surprise when I open the door.

  The car comes to a stop and I walk down the stairs. With each step I take, my heart pumps a little faster and by the time I get to the bottom, I’ve convinced myself that this is it. It’s Nate coming to say he’s sorry and tell me that we can make this work.

  I reach for the handle and pull on the door. I’ve never been so happy. Nate is going to heal my heart in one easy go. Things can finally go back to how they used to be and I’ll never have to sleep alone again.

  Only it’s not Nate’s loving face looking back at me, it’s Jesse’s smirking one.

  My whole world crumbles.

  How could I let myself get worked up like that? I’m so stupid. I should have known better. Nate Ryder isn’t one to cave to someone else’s demands, no matter who the person is asking. He does things in his time, not caring how it affects the other person.

  I’m such an idiot.

  I pull myself up into Jesse Range Rover and he instantly hands me a coffee. “Geez,” he scoffs as he hits the gas. “Don’t look so happy to see me.”

  “Sorry,” I grumble, taking a sip of the scalding coffee. “I thought Nate might have come.”

  “Huh?” he grunts as his brows pull down. “I told you yesterday I would.”

  I groan as I look out the window. “I know, I should have listened.”

  “Damn straight, woman.”

  “Watch it,” I scold. “Just because I’m an idiot doesn’t mean I can’t kick your ass.”

  He rolls his eyes as he pulls out onto the road. “I’d like to see you try,” he laughs.

  I shake my head and let out a low breath, deciding it’s best to turn this conversation on Jesse. “When’s your date with Kaylah?” His eyes go wide and he instantly looks away. “What?” I laugh as I become overly suspicious.

  He shakes his head. “Nope. Not going there.”

  “Nah, no way,” I demand. “What’s going on? Did she say no? Did that dirty sluzza break your little heart? Do I need to kick her ass too?”

  “First off,” he warns me. “Don’t call her a dirty sluzza or I’ll be forced to take disciplinary action.” I roll my eyes as he continues. “I…. uh,” cringe. “Couldn’t do it.”

  “What?” I grunt. “What do you mean you ‘couldn’t do it’? Was she not there?”

  “No… she was definitely there,” he explains. “I, uh… I chickened out like a little bitch. I couldn’t do it. I’m Jesse Fucking Ryder. I don’t ask out chicks. I screw them and give them bragging rights. I don’t date them. I mean, what if I did and it turned out badly? Every other chick I bang is going to expect something from me.”

  “Holy shit, Jess,” I laugh. “That is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “It’s not funny,” he groans.

  “It is,” I tell him. “It’s a simple fix. Move on and find some other girl to make scream.”

  “No, I want that one,” he demands. “Three words. ‘Five second rule’.”

  I roll my eyes. “Then stop being a little pussy, man the hell up, and ask the girl out.”