Catching Teardrops (MAC Security 5)

A tear escapes and that one tear guts me completely. My stomach rolls as I wipe it away, watching her like she’s the last thing on earth.

I swallow, my thoughts running a mile a minute, but the one screaming at me louder than the rest is we’re sitting in the parking lot of her school. She’s seventeen—a minor. Fuck.

Snapping my palm away from her skin, my muscles grow taut as I focus my attention out the windshield and not on her. I never should have offered her a ride.

Her exhale resonates through the closed space before the car door opens. I watch her out of the corner of my eye as she shuffles half off the seat but halts.

“No one ever asks,” she whispers. I look over at her fully, but there’s a mask pulled over her face. The emotion and raw honesty is gone, replaced by a brick wall so high nobody can climb it. She pulls her lips up into a fake smile before saying, “Thanks for the ride,” and jumps out before closing the door behind her.

My hands tighten on the steering wheel as I watch her walking over the grassed area out front of the school and up the steps before she pulls the large blue door open. Not once does she look back, no matter how much I silently beg her to.

What the hell am I doing? I’m ten years older than her, and she’s underage. I need to push her to the back of my mind, no matter how angelic she is.

LILY

“Who is he?” I startle at the deep voice, my hand flying to my chest as I spin around in the empty hallway.

“W-what?” I blink in rapid succession, trying to get my bearings and wondering where the hell Jonah came from.

He steps closer, towering over me, his lips spread into a grim line. “Who. Is. He?”

I frown. “Who’s wh—”

“Don’t play me, Lily.” He comes even closer, and I step back, my body colliding with the row of lockers. “I saw him drop you off… I watched as he—” He cuts himself off, looking at my face.

At first, I think he’s looking at the bruise courtesy of my dad last night when he came home and his dinner wasn’t ready, but when his nostrils flare, I realize that’s not why he’s looking at me. He saw Luke touching me. I can still feel him touching me.

I wanted him to ask me, to demand I tell him how I got the bruise. But deep down I know that even if I did tell him, he wouldn’t have believed me. No one ever does, not when it concerns the preacher of this town.

“Jonah—”

“He fucking touched you!” he roars, causing me to squeak as he comes so close we’re almost touching. “So I’ll ask one more time.” He takes a breath, seemingly calming himself down. “Who is he?”

“He’s Kim’s son… Kim from church.” I hold my hands out between us, my eyes widening when it registers that he could tell my dad. Crap. I need to— “He saw that I was late.” I laugh, trying to lighten the atmosphere surrounding him. “He said he was coming this way anyway so—”

“It doesn’t happen again. Am I clear?”

Something inside of me snaps. I’m not doing this. No way am I letting him control me too.

Shaking my head, I stand up to my full height, silently telling him to back off. He takes the hint and steps back. “You don’t get to tell me what to do, Jonah.” Spinning around, I grab my books, already knowing I’ll have missed most of my first class this morning.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Lily. It’s only a matter of time now.” There’s something in his voice. Is it a threat? “You’ll do well to remember your dad will believe me over you.”

Turning my head slightly, I look at him out of the corner of my eye. “What?”

“I wouldn’t want to have to tell him I witnessed you getting out of the car of a man he doesn’t know.” He shrugs like he’s talking about the latest football score. “Or that you were late for school.” He looks up at the ceiling, the water stains creating patterns. “What was it he asked of us in church? To make sure you stay on your path?” He raises a brow as his attention lands on my face. “I’m only doing my Christian duty.”

My heart beats harder in my chest as he flashes me a grin; a grin that everyone else would find charming but I see right through.

“Now we have that sorted.” What sorted? “I’ll walk you to class.” He moves toward me and wraps his hand around my forearm. “If you need a ride, you come and ask me from now on.”

I stay silent, watching him with new eyes as we walk down the hallway. He’s revealed a side of him I’m not sure he meant to. He’s no longer the annoying boy at school who likes to throw insults at me and continuously bait me while simultaneously trying to get me to go out with him.

He’s dangerous, but it’s the kind of dangerous I already know. I just wish I knew how to avoid it.

He shakes my arm, gaining my attention before he stops outside my class. “Do you understand me?”

“I… sure,” is out of my mouth before I even realize it.