“I will never love you again. You’re the dirt beneath my feet,” I whispered my voice dark and unsettling.
For a moment, I didn’t think he heard me, but then a sigh escaped his lips. I directed my attention to the road while I allowed the tears desperately wanting to fall to build inside of me. I would rather drown myself than look weak in the face of someone like him.
“The funny thing about it is you love me anyway.” I could practically see the smile on his face, and it made me sick. It made my insides twist into a hateful rush of anger.
Seething, I refused to say anything else, allowing myself to think more about my father. I wasn’t even given a chance to say goodbye. My heart ached. How could I move on from this?
Pushing myself further into my seat, I heard Zerro’s phone ring. My mind wondered who it could be. Had he already called someone to bury my father?
“What?” Zerro growled his face contorted in anger as he switched his hands on the steering wheel so he could talk and drive. I could hear the person on the other end yelling.
“I told you I was going out,” Zerro mumbled focusing on the road and ignoring me. More talking on the other end and then a loud sigh filled the car. “Yeah, because I already killed him. I have her in the car with me.”
Turning, I narrowed my eyes at him. Who else had known about this plan? Were there more people? There were a lot of questions unanswered. I really wish I could’ve asked my dad why he did it. Why he caused this big huge blowout. I wish Zerro would’ve let him talk.
“What the fuck?”
I listened as intently as I could and watched Zerro’s face go white as a sheet. Whatever was being said on the other end wasn’t something I wanted to hear I was sure. I had suffered enough heartache for the day. For a lifetime.
More talking on the other end and my mind began to wonder. What could be going on? Zerro’s eyes looked worried, and from a single look, I knew whatever was being said would shake the already unstable ground we were standing on.
“Yeah… Yeah… We’ll talk about it when we get there,” Zerro said hanging up the phone before the person on the other end could say something else.
“Who was that?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
“Jared.” Rolling my eyes, I should’ve known. I should’ve known he would be the first person to go to after all of this.
“What did he say?”
One hand gripped the steering wheel while the other ran through his dark hair, pulling on it as if to relieve some tension. His eyes captured mine in a hold so intense shivers ran down my spine. I loathed him, but at the same time, my heart tugged toward him. I hated him for doing what he had done… I wanted to forget… I wanted my life to be normal.
“He found out something. And it’s about to change both of our lives.” Balling my hands into fists, I narrowed my eyes at him. He had already done something that had changed both our lives forever. It was doubtful there was anything to make it worse.
“What might that be, Alzerro, because as of right now, nothing can make what you have done worse than what it is.” My jaw ached as I clenched it. I wanted to lash out. I was so angry, so sad. I wanted to hate with everything in me.
The muscles along his jaw ticked with anger as he kept his eyes on the road ignoring my hateful comment. When he didn’t answer me right away, it only managed to add fuel to the burning fire.
“Huh? Tell me, Alzerro, because right now, there isn’t much more that can fucking go wrong. I’m homeless, parentless, and I don’t have a fucking dime to my name. Every fucking thing has been ripped from me.” Every word I said flew from my lips with ease as if they had been sitting at the entrance for some time waiting to be unleashed.
Turning his face to mine, he looked at me and then back to the road before speaking.
“I’m sorry all this misfortune has happened to you, Bree.” His eyes looked sad, but there was nothing else able to give way to a bleeding heart. He wasn’t sorry, and he didn’t care.
“Right,” I mocked turning my body and mind away from him. The trees and open fields would be better company to me than the manipulating monster sitting beside me.
As the miles passed, and the silence consumed us, my mind kept drifting back to my father. I closed my eyes just for a moment to relive his smile and simple touch. My father might have killed Alzerro’s mother, and even if I didn’t agree with it, I knew there had to be a reason. Unlike Alzerro, I knew it wouldn’t be something good. If my father worked for the FBI, there had to be a reason. It was hard enough to imagine him as someone who killed others.
Minutes passed; just as my exhausted mind began to shut down, and my eyes began to close, we pulled onto another road, and minutes later into a driveway. The house was a simple cookie cutter style looking similar to everyone else’s on the block. It definitely wasn’t Mafia style. Refusing to look at Alzerro, I undid my seatbelt and opened the door and hopped out. There were no other cars in the driveway, and I wondered why.
The front door opened as my eyes roamed the front of the house. Alzerro was left standing in front of the car waiting for me. The look on his face told me he was over dealing with me. Which was fine—I was over dealing with his killing sprees, his attitude and him, in general.
“No need to babysit me, asshole,” I said under my breath as I walked passed him completely ignoring his extended hand. The last thing I wanted from him was affection. I heard his intake of deep breath and his heavy steps behind my own.