Love is a Crime

Chapter 3- The Scolding

I'm woken by the sound of a slamming door and a very loud curse from the mouth of my father. He's home.

I struggle to get out of bed as fast as I can but the sheets are tangled around my legs making it hard for me to get up.

When I finally mange to rise from my bed I throw on my bathrobe and run down the stairs.

I stumble into the kitchen where my dad and our cook, Alicia, are having a conversation. They both turn to look at me when I enter and they become silent.

"Hi Daddy!" I say, eager for him to start yelling.

"Uh, hi sweetheart." he says grimacing when he sees me in my bathrobe.

I glance down at my blue bathrobe with puppy dog faces all over it. It doesn't come down too far so it reaches halfway between my thigh and knees. I'm not wearing any pants so my bare legs are showing. They actually look good, tan, skinny and long.

"What?" I say looking at my dad again.

"Um... One of your friends from school is in the living room waiting for you." he says awkwardly. I automatically assume that it's Ava so I rush into the living room.

But it's not Ava, it's actually the last person I ever expected to be in my house. Ryan Lithe.

"Hey." He says, giving me a smirk and standing up. I watch as his eyes roam over my body, taking in my bathrobe-no-pants appearance.

"Are you done checking me out?" I snap, but feeling self conscious, I pull the bathrobe down a little.

"I am now." he says, laughing and brining his gaze up to my face.

"What are you doing here anyway?" I ask, not caring about being polite.

"You don't have to be so rude. And I'm here to pick you up to take you out, like we talked about yesterday." he says louder than necessary. He jerks a thumb in the direction of my dad and I nod.

"I'll go get dressed then." I turn and run back up to my room without a glance at my dad.

I quickly throw on a green tank top and black jeggings with sandals. I apply some mascara, grab my purse, and race back down the stairs.

I find Ryan waiting for me by the door and he's giving me a look. I glance into the kitchen and catch my dad watching us. He looks away as soon as our eyes meet.

"Come on Zoe." Ryan says grabbing my elbow and steering me out the door.

He ushers me towards his car; a sleek black convertible. He opens the door for me and closes it when I get in. He gets in on his side and starts the car.

We pull out of the driveway and start driving down the street. The whole time I am silent, sneaking glances at Ryan.

After about two minutes, I am unable to quell my curiousity.

"Where are we going?" I blurt out. Ryan glances at me with a smirk on his face.

"It's a surprise." he says mischievously, winking at me before facing the road again. I scoff.

"Okay, let me try again. Why are you taking me out?

"Well, I heard you on the phone with your dad, or whoever, yesterday and heard that they were coming home today. You seemed so so so so sad, so I thought I'd save you!" He says the last part sarcastically.

He took me away from getting yelled at, and I'm pretty sure he knew that I wanted to get yelled at.

"You son of a biscuit! I wanted to get yelled at!" I shout at him. I immediately regret what I said because it seems to have hit a nerve for Ryan.

His jaw clenches and his eyes narrow, but he doesn't turn away from the road.

"And you think getting yelled at is a good thing?!" He shouts at me. "I found something thrilling in doing bad things, my dad always wondered why I changed! But eventually they just realize you're a lost cause and they never care about you again!"

By the end of his outburst, I'm flinching as far away as I can get and my eyes are starting to become wet with tears. Lost cause?

We come to a stop at a red light and I open the car door.

"My dad never did care anyway." I say. And with that, I climb out of the car, slam the door, and start jogging down the sidewalk.

I hardly get more than two yards down the side street before Ryan pulls his car up again.

"Come on, Zoe. Get in the car, I'm sorry." he says through the open window. I knew I was being dramatic, but his words still hurt me.

"No, I didn't even want to go out today anyway." I reply.

"Look, I'm really sorry about what I said. I didn't mean it, that's just how my dad was. Yours can't be that way. Now will you come with me."

"No."

"Fine." he says softly, then he drives away down the road.

I stare after him and feel a tear make a path down my cheek. I wipe it off and wander down the street a little bit.

I've never been on this road before and so it's not long before I become lost. I give up trying to find my way back and plop down on the sidewalk against a tree trunk.

I rest my head on my knees and wring my hands in my lap. I hear the crunch of gravel a few feet in front of me. I look up and try to focus my vision on the blurry image in front of me. I blink away the tears and watch as Ryan gets out of the car.

He sits next to me and wraps an arm around my waist, bringing me closer to him. I rest my head on his shoulder and let the last few tears fall.

When I'm done, we silently get back into the car and we continue towards our destination.

The whole time, Ryan holding my hand.