The Vow (North Woods University 4)

What the hell is she doing?

Putting the car into park, I get out and attempt to rein in some of my anger. She’s standing there like her feet are suddenly glued to the ground. I walk around the car and head toward where she is standing. Our eyes meet, and like a thunderstorm blowing in, I already know this is a recipe for disaster. She’s been drinking. But that’s not what worries me the most. No, what worries me, scratch that, what terrifies me, is the overwhelming sadness that is in her eyes. I’ve never seen her so sad, so broken.

Her emotions are right on the surface, and it feels like I’m on a cliff’s edge, looking down. She wants to drop, but no way in hell am I going to let her.

“What the hell are you doing out here?” I ask, glancing down to the large suitcase she’s pulling behind her.

“I’m going to stay at the motel for a while,” she answers plainly as if that answer would be sufficient enough.

“What happened? Why are you not in the dorms? It’s late, and it’s not safe to be walking alone at night.” Her eyes fill with tears at my question. Shit. “Get in the car, you’re not staying at the motel.”

“Where will I stay then? I can’t go back to the dorms.” For a long moment, we just stare at each other. Where will she stay? I don’t even care about what she’s done in that instant. I just need to get her safe.

“We’ll figure everything out. For now, just get in the car, so we can go to my place. You need to tell me exactly what happened when we get there, so I can fix it… and I don’t just mean the dorm thing.” I don’t need to explain anymore. She knows exactly what I’m referring to.

Nodding, she starts to walk toward my car. Her shoes drag across the sidewalk, and I grab her suitcase from her hand, and open the trunk, depositing the heavy thing inside. Obviously, this isn’t a temporary situation. When I reach the driver’s side of the car, she’s already inside and buckled.

Slipping into the Jeep, I put it into drive and start toward the house. Now that we are confined in the small space, I can smell the alcohol on her, confirming that she’s been drinking again.

Lily shifts uncomfortably in her seat. “Should you really be doing this? I don’t want you to get in trouble for being seen with me in public.”

Her dig at me doesn’t go unnoticed, but I ignore it, deciding she’s probably had a bad enough night already.

“Helping a student isn’t going to get me in trouble. You have nowhere else to go.”

“I can get a hotel room for a while. They rent by the week, and a bunch of other students do it.”

“Oh, yeah,” my eyes dart between her and the road. I’m angry and sad, but the anger takes precedence right this moment. “And how do you plan to get to and from classes? Are you going to walk?”

She crosses her arms over her chest, and looks away, “I’ll do what I have to do. I’m sure some guy at the hotel would give me a ride. At least I can be seen with him, and don’t have to remain hidden.”

What does that mean? I don’t understand. Surely, she isn’t implying that she would use her body, is she? If she is, I swear to god things are going to end badly.

“What does that mean?” I ask, trying to hide the anger in my voice.

Her shoulders rise and fall in a shrug, and I swear if my hands weren’t already strangling the steering wheel, and I wasn’t driving a car, they may very well be wrapped around her delicate little throat.

“If you asked me to get into the car just so you could lecture me, you can let me back out. My grandparents are going to flip enough as it is when they find out. I don’t need another parent giving me the tenth degree.”

“I’m not going to lecture you.” My voice softens as I speak, “I don’t care about what happened. All I want is to make sure you’re okay, and that you have somewhere that you can stay. Somewhere that I know you’ll be safe and able to manage to get back and forth from classes.”

Pulling into the driveway of the house, I put the Jeep in park and kill the engine. Lily doesn’t make a move to get out, and I itch to take her into my arms and make all the hurt disappear from her face. It would be so easy to replace that pain with pure bliss.

“Let’s… let’s go in,” I clear my throat, and adjust my already swollen cock while climbing out of the vehicle. This is a bad idea, the worst I’ve ever had. Way to go, Seb. I keep saying that but, I keep doing the same shit. Bad idea after bad idea. I’m just stacking the shit up like cordwood.