Embracing Trouble (Trouble Series) (13 page)

The door opened and he walked back into the bedroom, running his hand through his hair. With just a pair of shorts on, his perfectly toned chest provided me with a glimpse of his tattoos. I took the moment to look him over while he thought I was still asleep.

He had a large one that covered his entire left shoulder, another one that wrapped around his rib cage, and then a set of large wings on his shoulder blades, with the devil underneath.
Oh, my god
. I couldn’t stop staring at him. He was everything I had imagined and more. I watched his back muscles move under his tattooed skin as he went over to a chest of drawers and grabbed a T-shirt.

He turned around, and I was still staring at his finely chiseled abs and the perfectly formed V that disappeared into his shorts as he looked to me.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” I said, my cheeks flushing.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, shoving his arms into his T-shirt and putting it on.

I watched it slide down, covering his muscled skin and felt the disappointment of the shirt hiding such perfection.

“Okay,” I managed to say.

“You slept all night, which is good,” he said, coming over to the bed and sitting down.

He checked his laptop and then typed something.

I watched him, and then I slowly sat up in bed and pushed my hair off my face. I felt unsure of what to do or say next. He glanced over at me and his eyes narrowed on my neck.

“Are you sore?” he asked next.

“A little,” I said, moving my wrists. “It just hurts if I press on them.”

He frowned.

“Did he hurt you anywhere else?”

I shook my head and looked down at the bed, not wanting to tell him that he had groped me as well.

“Why didn’t you call me?” he asked quietly.

“I guess I didn’t know what we were…and I didn’t know if you were with someone else and that I would be…interrupting.”

His frown deepened.

“You were nearly raped, Ava. You wouldn’t have been interrupting anything.”

I swallowed hard.

“Thanks for finding me…and taking care of me. I don’t know how I would have gotten through last night by myself.”

“Where are your parents?”

“My father goes away a lot with his girlfriend,” I said quietly, not looking at him.

I braced myself for his next question about my mother. But he didn’t ask.

“So your friend, Sophie, seems pretty pissed,” he said next. “I blocked her on your profile as well as all the others who felt like they wanted to say something.”

I cringed.

“The sex video no longer exists…on any level, not even on the dickhead’s hard drive,” he said next.

I raised my eyebrows.

“You can do that?”

“I can do a lot of things,” he murmured, looking back at his laptop.

“So you weren’t joking about the anal website thing?”

“No.”

“And you’ve done all those other things?” I pressed.

He nodded.

“So you’re my knight in shining armor,” I said, with a small smile.

“I’m definitely not that,” he said

, getting up from the bed. He opened the window across the room and sat on the ledge as he lit up a cigarette.

I had obviously said the wrong thing, and I could have kicked myself.

His phone rang and he looked at the screen and then answered it. He started to talk about set times and who was supporting some band. He chuckled with them and then got up from the window ledge. He threw the cigarette out of the window.

I watched him head over to the chest of drawers again, but then he bent down and opened the bottom drawer. He pulled out a pair of girl’s shorts. Then he opened his top drawer and pulled out one of his own T-shirts. He laughed at something with his caller, and then he glanced at me and passed me the clothes. He pointed to the bathroom and then turned and left the room, still talking.

I sat there looking at the closed door. I had obviously annoyed him with my comment. So, did he want me showered and out of his bed? Maybe I should just get up right now and go home. I felt completely out of my element, and didn’t know him or what he wanted.

I looked down at my ripped T-shirt and knew I had to get out of these clothes that I would never wear again. I climbed out of the bed and went straight to the bathroom, remembering to take the clothes he had offered me. I closed the door behind me and looked at the girl’s shorts. They were my size and I mulled over the idea of them belonging to an ex-girlfriend. Maybe she had been a one-night stand and had left in a hurry, leaving her clothes behind, while wearing his clothes. The thought made me hate the shorts instantly. I put them near the basin and didn’t want to touch them until I had to.

Stepping into the shower, I let the hot water run over me, easing my soreness and tension. I took his soap and enjoyed the scent of sandalwood. It reminded me of him and his kiss all those nights ago. I wanted to do it again, but I had no idea where to go from here.

I finished the shower and dried myself with a towel, wondering if he was back in the room or still out talking with his friend. I ran my fingers through my wet tangled hair and then put his T-shirt on over my bra and underwear, leaving the shorts at the basin.

The T-shirt was well worn and had a band’s name across it. I loved the feel of it. I stepped out of the bathroom and saw him lying on the bed with one knee up. He was looking at something on his phone. Our eyes connected and I gave him a quick, unsure smile.

“Nice T-shirt,” he said with an amused look.

Then he looked over my bare legs and his gaze found its way back up to my eyes. I blushed a little and looked away. I weighed up the idea of going over to him or putting my jeans on and going home.

“I’m tired,” he said, putting his phone down and then putting his hand behind his head on the pillow.

“Did you sleep at all?” I asked pushing my hair back and stepping over to the bed.

“No, I might get a couple of hours now,” he said with a yawn.

I looked at him on the bed, longing to get back in there with him.

“I’ll go home then, leave you to it.”

He closed his eyes and murmured, “Whatever you want to do.”

I stood there, rigid with indecision. I knew what I wanted to do, but I wasn’t confident enough to do it.

“What’s wrong with the shorts?” he asked next.

I swallowed.

“Nothing. I just…”

His eyes opened, and he watched me, waiting.

I had to be honest with him.

“I just…didn’t like the idea of wearing one of your girls’ things,” I mumbled.

He grinned and closed his eyes again.

Annoyed at his desirable grin, I turned back around to the bathroom, and said, “I’ll just get my jeans back on and go home then.”

“Like I said, whatever you want,” he said calmly with his eyes still closed.

“Got it,” I snapped and walked back into the bathroom.

I picked up my jeans from the floor. I couldn’t think of anything worse than putting them back on. Then suddenly, I favored the shorts over anything that reminded me of last night.

“They’re my sister’s, by the way,” came his amused voice from the room.

I dropped the jeans back to the floor and ran my hand through my hair. He had a sister and they belonged to her. I rolled my eyes at my stupidity and then pulled the toilet lid down and sat on top of it. I covered my face with my hands, and I felt like I was going slightly mad. Between the emotional upheaval of last night’s ordeal and now being here in Zac’s room, I felt more and more like a naïve innocent.

I wanted to cry but willed the tears back. I spent the next five minutes concentrating on my breathing and trying to get my mind in order.

It wasn’t long before I took a deep breath and stood up with determination. I grabbed my T-shirt and jeans from last night and pushed them into the small wastebasket.

I stepped out of the bathroom and saw that Zac was already asleep. He was obviously worn out from helping me all night. My chest ached at the thought of all the trouble he had gone to for me.

I slowly walked over to the bed, and without another thought, I gently climbed in next to him. Truth was, I didn’t want to be alone. I couldn’t stand the thought of not being next to him.

* * *

I awoke later that afternoon to a buzzing sound. It took me a moment to figure out who I was and where I was. Seconds later, I worked out that the buzzing and familiar music was coming from Zac’s phone that was in-between us on the bed.

Zac moved and put the pillow over his head as I looked down at the screen. Janey. Jealousy stirred within me and then the buzzing finally stopped. Was she the one who had called during our kiss that made him leave that night?

I looked at the time on his phone and saw that it was 5 o’clock. We had slept for hours. I glanced back at Zac and he was still sleeping under his pillow. His tattooed arm was holding the pillow down.

My eyes wandered over the tattoo, and I looked at the intricate detail, surmising what the symbols meant. My fingers itched to pull the short sleeve of his T-shirt up to see the rest of it, but I didn’t.

I thought about getting one and what symbol I would have. But I didn’t know where I would put it. I needed to move away from home, first, because my father would definitely not appreciate a tattoo. I imagined Sarah’s face and how she would react to it. That’s when I decided that I would get one after school was finished. Why not? Life is short.

The phone started to buzz again between us, and Janey’s name came up again. Zac groaned from under his pillow as his hand moved down to feel for the phone.

His head came out from under the pillow and he answered the call.

“What?” he answered in annoyance with his eyes still half closed.

He listened to the caller in frustration.

“I don’t fucking know! Whatever! I don’t give a shit! Well, fuck off then,” he said, ending the call.

He dropped the phone back on the bed. He let out a loud sigh as his head went back down onto the pillow.

He then suddenly got off the bed and went into the bathroom. I heard the toilet seat bang against the tank before he used it. I waited for him to return, unsure if he would be annoyed that I had stayed.

The mattress moved as he climbed back over and lay down again next to me. I waited for him to say something. Anything. But he didn’t. I was fully awake now, and I glanced over and saw that he had closed his eyes.

“What time is it?” he asked.

“Just past five,” I said quietly.

“You okay?” he asked next.

“Yep,” I said.

He opened his eyes and looked at me.

“You’re throwing your clothes away,” he stated.

I realized that he didn’t miss a thing.

“I never want to be reminded about last night again.”

“Fair enough,” he said, stretching out his arm and then yawning.

I stayed on my stomach, watching him. I enjoyed the closeness, however long it lasted.

“If anything happens at school tomorrow, you need to call me,” he insisted.

“Okay,” I whispered, secretly loving his protectiveness.

“He most likely won’t even go near you now that this has all happened, but just keep your wits about you. Watch where you go.”

“Okay,” I said again.

“You need to probably think about getting some self-defense classes,” he added.

I smiled at his thoughtfulness and care.

His eyes narrowed at my smile.

“Don’t give me that look,” he murmured.

I stopped smiling.

“I’m not giving you any look,” I denied.

“You are. You’re seeing something that’s not there; wanting something that I can’t give you.”

Hurt speared my chest. He had done it again. In one flurry of words, he had pulled away from me and hurt me again. Those words hurt more than the bruises. Preservation of pride made me lift my chin.

“I’m not seeing or wanting anything from you,” I lied calmly.

I got up from the bed and went into the bathroom to grab the shorts. I put them on and strutted back into the bedroom.

Without even looking at him, I grabbed my phone from the floor near his laptop.

“Thanks again for last night,” I said, while walking toward the bedroom door.

A part of me longed for him to stop me. I wanted him to say something, but nothing came. I stepped out of the room and closed the door shut behind me.

I took a deep breath as I looked around the empty unit and noticed that the television was on, but Noah’s bedroom door closed.

I went straight to the front door, feeling like my confidence had been shattered. When I got outside, I slowly walked down the steps, just as a car was driving down the driveway. It came to a stop next to Zac’s car. I looked at the driver as she got out. She was a beautiful blonde dressed in jeans and sneakers, and her left arm was fully covered with tattoos. She looked amused as she climbed up the stairs.

“Hey.”

“Hi,” I said, feeling very inadequate as she passed me.

She was drop-dead gorgeous and left a trail of fruity scent in the air.

She stopped midway up the steps and looked me up and down.

“You must be beautiful Ava.”

I nodded and wondered who she was and how she knew me, along with the nickname that Will had created.

She grinned knowingly and purred, “Now I know what all the fuss is about.”

I smiled briefly and then continued down the stairs, not knowing what that meant. I was curious as to what her relationship was with Zac, and I couldn’t help but feel jealous of this beautiful, confident and very cool girl.

“Nice meeting you,” I said, stepping off the last step onto the driveway.

“You’re wearing my shorts,” she stated.

I stopped and turned to look back at her.

“Oh! I can bring them back. I just need to get home.”

“It’s cool, I’m only teasing. Keep them.”

Then it dawned on me.

“Wait…so your Zac’s sister?”

She gave me a nod, and said, “Janey.”

“Oh,” I said, and then everything clicked into place.

“So, why are you leaving?” she asked.

I shrugged and admitted, “I guess it was just time to go.”