"Make this quick," I mutter, locating his car almost instantly. I get into the front passenger seat, tugging the belt in place.
Kai's a dick, but I think I have a right to know if my brother's in trouble. And Lloyd's the last person I trust, but if what he's saying is true, then maybe I need to let my guard down.
Just this once.
He gets into the driver's seat and starts the car. We drive through the busy streets wordlessly, until we reach an empty highway, brightly lit by street lamps.
I stare out the windows, "This isn't the way back."
Keeping his gaze on the road, he asks, "Why were you there with her?"
Oh.
I see what happened.
The asshole fooled me.
I guess it's true. A leopard never changes its spots.
"What, am I not allowed to talk with my brother's girlfriend? Oh, no wait... ex-girlfriend. How did this happen, by the way?"
Lloyd grips onto the steering wheel tightly, "What did you tell her?"
"It's none of your business. I don't need you constantly monitoring my every move."
He places his foot down on the gear, slowly speeding up, "Didn't I tell you I would use your fears to my advantage? Let's try again. What did you tell her?"
"Oh, I dunno, the sum of Pi. What do you think?"
He adds more pressure onto the gas pedal, and I grip onto the seats, "Why on Earth are you asking me these dumb questions when you already know the answers?"
"Tell me everything you told her, and spare no detail."
"Aaaand...why would I do that? It's pointless; everything's out in the open!"
Again. The car picks up more speed, but Lloyd's face remains emotionless, "Nya, I swear to FSM..."
The car is now close to hitting the maximum speed limit, "Stop." I ordered.
He chuckled, asking the same question I asked a mere few seconds ago. "Aaaand...why would I do that?"
"We're gonna get pulled over," I whisper.
Lloyd doesn't slow down, "In case you haven't noticed, the highway is empty. And the road cameras are all broken. Now, are you gonna tell me what you told her?"
Panic rises within me, "Stop the car."
He whined playfully, "Oh, but that takes all the fun out of it!"
"I said stop." I may not be a psychic, but I'm pretty sure that there's gonna be an accident if he doesn't slow this machine down.
Oh boy, I was gonna regret this. Reaching over, I unbuckled my belt, before grabbing the wheel, lifting my right leg over and jamming my foot on the brakes, kicking his own foot out of the way. The car lurched to a halt, and I felt my heart do a backflip.
Working quickly, I get out of the car, slamming the door behind me, before I make a run for it into the woods nearby, the rain pattering down like no tomorrow.
And I don't look back.
I can hear a second car door slam shut and footsteps echo after me, "Nya! Are you seriously asking for a death wish now?!"
My legs continue running, and I ignore his shouts.
"You're being crazy!" He yells, "You're gonna catch a cold out here!"
"I'd rather catch a cold than be stuck in a car with you," I retort, dodging trees and bushes. There was another road on the other end of these woods. If I make it, I could-
A body crashes into mine, sending me to the ground. We roll around on the leafy ground, grunting as the twigs hit our backs.
Lloyd finally overpowers me, sitting on my torso as he shelters us both from the heavy rain, his hands pinning my wrists over my head. I thrash around wildly, attempting to push him off.
"Get...off...me!"
"This is ridiculous! Get back in the car! I'm not joking around, Antonia!"
The cold air was making me feel nauseous and I felt a wave of dizziness. I shake my head stubbornly as I rasp weakly, "Why? You wanna drive over the speed limit more and send us to the hospital? Do you think you can scare me by using past tactics? I...I..."
Lloyd's glare is long gone, replaced by a look of concern, "Best friend or not, Kai would murder me if I left you out here alone. And you don't look so good either. I'm taking you back to the dorms, and we'll talk about this later."
"This is your fault," I murmur, "if you hadn't made him take that bet..."
"You're half-conscious, Nya. I'm serious now. It's either the dorms or the hospital. And I think I speak for both of us when I say that neither of us wanna explain why you're stuck in a hospital bed with a case of hypothermia...and possible pneumonia."
I giggle drowsily as sleep slowly takes over, "Kai was right...you do still have a soft spot for me..." My eyelids grow heavy as I feel my body being lifted off the ground.
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