Deadly Secrets

Chapter 26: Ride With Me*

He could pick her out from the densest of crowds, even from his spot against his car; Zara was the one walking along the edge of the path, sandwiched between her friends and surrounded by dozens of other students. Max noted the lack of glasses, the long curly hair that framed her heart-shaped face, the gait of someone confident and well-respected; this was a completely different Zara to the timid one of yesterday or even the fearful one of a few days ago.

Around the familiar, she was a woman. Around the unfamiliar, she was a girl. To Max, it was both fascinating and perplexing how a person's character could change so drastically from one moment to the other. Being able to witness Zara without any filters, even if for a fleeting moment, was an honour, a rarity granted only to those as observant as him.

That moment was lost when the group began deviating from the main path and cutting through the dulled grass, reminding Max of his current task at hand. He called out her name—the first time, it was lost amongst the cacophony of voices. The second time, Max captured the attention and Zara and a few others, the latter which he ignored. He was used to being stared at.

Just before she could step down onto the pavement again, Zara stopped in her tracks and quizzically glanced around. Her companions stopped a few feet ahead of her; her mouth moved, probably to ask whether they had heard her name called as well or not. They shook their heads.

Max beckoned to Zara. "Over here." He said it loud enough to have her head snap towards him. Yeah, I'm the only guy with the Porsche and the Adidas tracksuit. Max didn't even have P.E. last period—tracksuits were his go-to outfit whenever he was too lazy or in a hurry to find something better to wear.

Her brows furrowed. Max could tell that as much as she wanted to walk away and pretend nothing ever happened, his own stare was too powerful to break. She knew she wasn't to test his patience again; the day before he had granted it because Samantha got in the way. Today, she was getting into his car, whether she like it or not.

Seconds later, another three pairs of eyes were on him. Saffron was the first to give in. He looked pissed, shaking Zara out of the staring contest and earning her yelling. She shook him off and began walking towards Max, her other friend, Orion, trailing behind her. Zara turned on her heel, argued with him as well, then continued her walk alone. 

Bruce Lee wannabe. 

The others just stared at her in disbelief and even shook their heads for good measure.

"What do you want?" Zara snarled once she was within arm's reach, staring up at him with contempt in her eyes. Max just looked down at her with his arms crossed over his chest and the side of his mouth curled upwards in a smirk. 

He clicked his tongue."You don't talk to me like that, doll," he said, dropping his arms and pushing himself off the car. Max wasn't even an inch closer before Zara took a step back. Her features softened, but her jaw clenched.

Wednesday afternoon, Max had felt compassion for her. Remorse had him acting nice around her. Now, that one question had him reverting back to his old, asshole self. It felt good. "Ride with me." He pushed a hand into his front pocket, unlocked the car, then opened the passenger door, like the gentleman he was raised to be. Zara stood there, her knuckles whitening as she strangled her backpack straps. She was mulling over his words despite the fact that his was an explicit order, not a question. 

"We need to talk." He kept his body language relaxed and confident, but had a firm edge to his gaze and voice. Zara tried to look defiant, but failed when she turned back to look at where her friends stood—had stood. Their presence had gotten replaced by a different group of teenagers. Typical. Thieves that leave at the first sign of danger.