Embracing Trouble (Trouble Series) (4 page)

I couldn’t believe I was in this situation and I was an idiot for taking that shot from Shara. I should be home now in my safe bed, not on this couch with strangers. Was Sophie searching for me? What did these guys want? Were they really just helping me? They could have done anything while I was out for the count. I looked down at my clothes to see nothing had changed and then looked up into Zac’s eyes. He was sitting on the coffee table in front of me, his elbows on his knees, watching my every move.

The guys across the room laughed at something as they talked loudly and I cringed at the noise. My head still hurt and I suddenly felt very cold and shivered uncontrollably.

“Here,” said Zac passing me a hoodie. “Put this on.”

I took it slowly. My hands and arms still weren’t working at the speed I was accustomed to. Zac leaned over and took it from me, helping me put my arms into it.

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

“Stop freaking out,” he said, sitting back down on the coffee table. “Whatever you might be thinking…it’s wrong.”

“Drink something,” said Noah, coming over with a glass of water.

I looked at the glass and pulled back. They had to be kidding, right? I would never drink around these people again.

“Get her an unopened bottle of water,” said Zac with a glare.

“Right,” said Noah, disappearing from my sight.

I studied Zac, curious as to how he seemed to be a step ahead of my thoughts. The other two guys suddenly laughed at something again, and then one let out a big burp. Zac’s eyes connected with mine, reassuring me that I would be okay. His eyes were so potent that I was afraid that I’d do anything he asked, drugs or no drugs in my system.

I felt slightly entranced as the intensity radiated between us, and I tried to concentrate on my breathing. In and out. In and out.

Part of me wanted to keep looking at him, but I had to remind myself that I had been drugged and taken back to a stranger’s house. I needed to find Sophie and my phone, but as his eyes warmed me, I forgot everything. Who was this gorgeous guy who seemed to tease my senses? The senses that before tonight, I questioned if I even had.

Noah walked back into my sight and passed me a bottle of water.

“Party is over. Police came to stop the music.”

I took the bottle and tried to twist the lid, and then watched Zac lean over and twist it open for me.

“Thanks,” I stammered, taking a long grateful sip.

“Did you see her friend?” asked Zac.

“No, but Antony looked to be passed out by the pool,” said Noah.

A look passed between them, but I was in too much of a daze to speculate what it meant.

“I need to call her,” I mumbled, looking at Zac.

He passed my phone that had been beside him on the coffee table. I quickly looked at the screen to see text messages from Sophie. I opened them and tried to focus.

Sophie:
Where did you go?

Sophie:
Did you go home without me?

Sophie:
I’m leaving the party now. Need sleep. Antony didn’t happen…Talk tomorrow

I exhaled in relief and looked back up to Zac who was still watching me. I went to smile and then a sudden nausea came over me. I covered my mouth and looked to him.

“Over here,” he said, getting up quickly and picking me up.

He put me down in a bathroom, and I reached the toilet just in time before I vomited. I heard the door close behind me as I vomited again. I stood up and wiped my mouth, checking that I hadn’t made a mess on Zac’s hoodie.

I felt a little better, until I looked at myself in the mirror and groaned. I looked revolting. My eye makeup had smudged, and my hair was frizzy and wild looking. I wished I had a hair tie, but then Zac didn’t look the type to like ponytails. I wet my hands and ran them through my hair, getting rid of the frizz as best I could. Why was I even bothering? I just needed to go home.

The door opened and Zac leaned against the door frame, his hands in his pockets.

“Okay?”

“Terrible,” I mumbled, my cheeks flushing as I looked away. “I need to go home.”

“The effects will pass soon. By the time you’re awake tomorrow, you’ll be back to normal.”

I gave him a nod and felt dizzy again. I held onto the basin to steady myself and then swallowed.

“Do you take it for fun?”

“It’s usually taken as a downer, when you need to come off an upper,” he said, not really answering my question. “Or, if you want to commit date rape.”

I gasped and glared at him.

“Which is what you thought we all had planned for you in there,” he said knowingly.

I couldn’t deny it. He knew what I had been thinking all along. I gave a slight shrug, still feeling horribly dizzy.

“Which means you’re obviously dating the wrong guys,” he said, his eyes piercing mine.

I instantly shook my head.

“I don’t date any guys,” I said, cringing at my own words.

I hadn’t meant for that to come flying out of my mouth, and I looked up at him unsurely. He would think I was some little innocent idiot, and I hoped he hadn’t heard me.

He, of course, hadn’t missed a thing. His eyes knowingly had seen through me. He gave a slight nod like he was confirming something in his own head and then pulled himself back a little.

“So, where’s home?”

“Two blocks away.”

“I’ll walk you back,” he said stepping back from the door.

“That’s okay, you don’t have to. I can do it,” I said quickly, not knowing whether my nerves would handle walking alone with him.

“You guys done? I’m hanging for a piss,” said a guy coming in and looking me up and down.

He stood beside me and I heard his zipper. I quickly moved out of the bathroom almost stumbling into Zac.

If he thought I was uncomfortable, he didn’t let on as he headed back into the main room where the other guys were still drinking and smoking. I could see that the numbers had increased, and the big blond guy was watching us. I crossed my arms, feeling uncomfortable as they all studied me. Zac gave them a glare and then continued to the front door, not saying a word as he opened it for me.

“See you, Ava,” called out Noah with a cheeky smile.

I gave him a quick smile before I stepped out and then heard all the other guys shout out their goodbyes to me.

“Bye, Ava!”

“Love you, Ava.”

“Come back again, Ava!”

Zac swiftly closed the door on them, putting their shouts and laughter to a more muted volume in the night air. I slowly went down the steps and saw that Noah lived in a separate unit on top of a garage at the back of the main house. I stumbled a little on the last step and quickly righted myself, still feeling the drug effects.

“I can drive you home,” he said behind me.

I shook my head and answered, “No, I can walk.”

Knowing I couldn’t handle the closeness of being inside a car with him, I asked, “So, Noah lives up there?”

“Some families like to keep their failures separate,” he murmured behind me.

I gave him a puzzled look, wondering what he meant but knew he wouldn’t enlighten me even if I asked him. He passed me and started making his way up the main driveway, his hands in his pockets. I quickly tried to catch up, my limbs still feeling heavy.

I heard splashing and giggling next door at Noah’s party and the music that had been turned down. I tried to look between the trees and bushes but could only make out the deck that was lit up.

“You want me to take you back there?” he asked suddenly.

I looked over to him to see he was walking backwards, observing me with his hood on over his head. He looked so amazingly mysterious like that and I took a breath.

“No,” I said, continuing to walk.

He hadn’t stopped once and was nearly at the end of the driveway before I realized he was most likely wanting to get back to his own party at Noah’s. He was walking me home under sufferance and I felt stupid. I sped up, folding my arms in front of me, enjoying the warmth from the borrowed hoodie that smelt like soap and cigarettes. I pulled the hood over my head as well and continued to walk beside him.

“So, do you live around here, too?” I asked, willing my dizziness to go away so I could make the most of our two-minute walk.

“Sometimes,” he returned, leaving it at that.

I continued to walk.

“Do you go to Uni?”

“No,” he said glancing at me in my hood, his eyes narrowing for a split second before he looked away and kept walking in silence.

What was that look, I thought nervously. Did he remember that I had his hoodie on and he wanted it back?

“You’re very mysterious.”

“I was a date rapist an hour ago.”

I covered my face with my hands.

“I’m sorry about that, but I had only met you earlier tonight. What was I to think?”

He didn’t respond, but continued to walk alongside me.

“So, Shara,” I pressed. “If not a girlfriend, then a friend?”

“Just a girl.”

“Who wants to be a girlfriend?”

“I don’t do girlfriends,” he stated.

“Why don’t…”

“Why don’t
you
have a boyfriend?” he interrupted.

I lowered my eyes and looked down at the pavement.

“I haven’t really been looking for one, I guess,” I said softly, which was the truth.

He continued to walk beside me in silence.

“Or, maybe no one finds me interesting enough,” I said with a shrug.

He gave me a questioning glance before looking away.

I suddenly wondered why I was being so honest with this cool, mysterious guy who was definitely not being open or honest with me.

He continued to walk in silence with his hands still in his pockets, and a scowl on his face. Maybe I was annoying him? I probably needed to stop talking altogether. I slightly stumbled over an uneven section of the pavement and his hand shot out to stop me from falling. I righted myself and we kept walking in silence. I tried not to feel hurt, realizing this guy didn’t even like me. What was wrong with me?

We reached my house and I stopped at the driveway.

“This is me.”

He stopped and peered at the house and then looked at me. His eyes bored into me again, and I felt my stomach do a backflip. He pulled my phone out of his pocket and passed it to me.

“Thanks for taking care of me tonight,” I said, taking it from him and trying not to touch his fingers.

He nodded but didn’t say anything.

I didn’t know what he was thinking, but I suddenly didn’t want the night to end like this. What would other girls do in this situation? Would Monica lean in, kiss him, and say thanks? His eyes burned into me, like they wanted something more, but his body was stepping back, like he was in direct conflict with himself.

But then again, maybe I was reading it all wrong, and he didn’t feel an ounce of attraction towards me. He was looking after me out of duty, because his friend had drugged me.

“Well, thanks again,” I said, unable to hide the hurt in my voice.

I wanted him to want me. I wanted him to think I was attractive. I wanted him to kiss me.

He stepped even further back, and said, “Take care, Ava.”

Then he turned away.

Hurt feelings dug deep into my chest.

I walked to the front door, and tried my hardest not to look back at him. I unlocked the door and then glanced over my shoulder. He had already disappeared back down the street. Hurt weighed me down, and I let out a deep sigh of despair as I walked into the house.

Zac

“Did you give her a bit?” Will asked, laughing as I stepped back into Noah’s place.

“I’ll give you my fist in a minute,” I muttered going over to the fridge to get a beer.

I was restless from wanting something I had no right to want.

“She was hot,” said Noah from the couch.

“Nothing like taking a bit of innocence to finish off the night,” said another with a chuckle.

“How about you all shut the fuck up and don’t talk about her again,” I spat angrily.

They all stopped and Will changed the subject instantly.

I leaned against the kitchen bench and took an almighty swig of my cold beer. I had never been so tempted in all my life when I had first seen her tonight. She was beautiful. She seemed so unaware of herself, of her ability to drive a guy to his knees. I couldn’t understand why she didn’t have a boyfriend, especially when I saw the tools eyeing her tonight at the party. She was so oblivious to their attention and their intentions. I wanted to protect her and tell them all she was mine.

But she wasn’t for me. She was too nice and way too innocent. I always kept my distance from girls like her, because they always wanted more than I was ever prepared to give.

I took another swig of beer, knowing I needed to rid myself of the thought of her. I had walked away from the temptation with all the self-control I could muster. Enough.

Ava

By the next afternoon, I felt normal again, but hurt. I looked at myself in the mirror and tried to see what he saw. Maybe I was just too plain and boring? I had stirred nothing in him while he had stirred total discontent within me. He was the first guy to ever make me feel that nervous craziness and that was very different compared to the boys at school. He looked like he had experienced a lot of what life had to offer him. He had reduced me to a quivering mess last night but was untouchable and totally not into me. How unfair was that? It only made me want him more.

I heard laughing downstairs and knew my father was back with his girlfriend from their weekend getaway. They did a lot of weekend getaways, which suited me fine; the less I saw of them both, the better. I was under no illusions. My father worked hard and wanted to play harder, and it was complicated with a teenage daughter under the same roof who reminded him of the woman who had left him five years ago.

Sarah and I did not have much in common other than my father. She enjoyed the designer life and worked very hard to find a rich man to marry who could afford her lifestyle. Enter my father. I tried to keep my distance from both of them.