Those Cold Eyes ✓

Chapter 22

Dylan's POV

The car suddenly turned cold even though it was summer outside and the sun was blasting us with its heat. I kept my eyes on the road, not daring to even look in Zach's direction. I thought it would help to get out of that fucking school. How very naive of me. Of course Tobias wouldn't stop, he never had before.

The way he said Zach's name almost turned my determination into regret. It was my fault that Zach was a fresh target for Tobias. I had no idea what the man would do, or what he could do. Tobias thrived on fear and control achieved by highly developed mind tricks. It took me months to realize what he was doing, and when I did, it was already too late.

"Dylan."

My fists tightened around the steering wheel. I was too tense, too out of control. Taking a deep breath, I tried to find my center—if I even had one of those these days.

"Yeah," I replied, sounding just as tense as I felt.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, not really."

"We make a good pair."

I snorted. "Yeah, fucking great."

"Hey, calm down."

He was right, I needed to calm down before I drove us off the road or into a passing car. The anger and worry that possessed me muddled my senses.

"Let's just get to your grandparents' house, then we can deal with this, or we can shut up about this mess and have a good time."

I liked that suggestion. That was exactly what I wanted. A night far away from every shitty problem seemed to surround us like flies. Persistent fucking flies.

"I'll drive by someplace to eat first." I never worked well on an empty stomach, apart from early mornings.

———

Two hours later, we got out of the car, and I found the key where it was supposed to be: hidden beneath one of the old flower pots. It was a mystery why no one had broken into the house yet as the hiding place was blatantly obvious. I guess the house wasn't nice enough to bother with.

I unlocked the door and was attacked by a wave of memories, not all of them good. I'd spent an entire summer here after Dad left us, and Mom didn't have the energy to take care of her two confused children. She had lived here too from time to time, but Gran had actually told her to stay away. I hadn't understood it at the time, but now I knew that it was because Mom hadn't been able to even look at us without crying and falling to pieces.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Zach asked tentatively, gently tucking strands of hair away from my eyes.

"Just memories, I haven't been here for a long while," I answered, a bit taken aback by this change in behavior. I thought we agreed to stay away from problems. Maybe it was because he was smart enough to realize that this wave of sadness had nothing to do with Tobias.

He put his other arm around my back, urging me closer. My stomach fluttered, and when he pressed his soft lips against mine it turned into a wildfire, igniting every nerve inside my body. In the trace of his hand small goosebumps appeared, making me shiver despite being too warm.

So this is what he meant by having a good time, I thought. I could deal with that. This was gloriously distracting.

He deepened the kiss and all I could think about was how the hell I would remain standing. My knees were close to giving up, my limbs a total mush. He took over me completely, nipping at my lower lip, exploring my mouth with his soft tongue. I'd never received a kiss like this one, so perfectly consuming. I whimpered as he slowed down, I moaned as he pressed deeper, I shuddered when he tugged my hair, and then finally whined as he pulled away.