Player

Three - The Agreement

 This has been fully edited, please comment if I missed something.

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He pauses for a moment, running his fingers through his hair and noticing the panic on my face.

"Or not. I just need a release." He peers down at me. "I thought that you would too."

I can't believe myself when I slowly nod. I am not one to break the rules. My Mom would most definitely ground me for a month, maybe more.

"Okay." I brush a strand of hair behind my ear and look away from Jake. He beams at me, glad about my decision. His Colgate commercial worthy teeth show through his lips, making me smile too. It's contagious. I try to act natural as I slip into his car.

The inside smells like cologne. The Chevy reminds me of my Dad's plaid flannel. Passed down from generation to generation, getting worn down and faded. The car is undeniably aged from use, the leather is sun bleached in some areas and the back seats are weighted down with sports bags and boxes.

"Where to?" He asks, gripping the wheel at ten and two. I shrug, not caring at this point. I'm in his car, heading to an area that he will probably know very well, and I have no way out now. I'm in too deep.

He suddenly smiles and looks at me like I'm some lost puppy. He simply twirls his head forwards towards the windshield and turns the key in the ignition. He drives off, leaving Ana behind, looking at us with an odd expression. I make a self-note to come up with a good excuse later when she confronts me on this later.

I look out the passenger window and stare at the passing foliage. The Autumn season has transformed the leaves to rusty, orange and red stipules. I remember being a kid and forcing Willow to rake the leaves into piles and then I'd jump on them and ruin the heap of leaves, spewing them across the yard. And then Willow would have to rake it all back up, only for me to replay my previous actions.

Willow was always kind with me, though, even if she despised me at the moment. She's the kind of person that would literally drop everything and run if you needed her. Willow is and always has been my guardian angel.

And for some, very weird reason, I was looking towards Jake for support. It was beyond odd. Jake and I don't get along. It's not something I would get myself into. So I don't realize why Willow was an exception.

Jake is a weed. A thing that will try his best to grow on you and manipulate you, until you finally succumb. I'm surprised that nobody is HHS has realized yet that he's nothing but bad.

Before I could think of another reason why Jake Cross was a despicable human, the vehicle lurched to a stop in a driveway that I was familiar with. This was the house that I used to stay at on Saturday nights, studying with Ana, Chuck, and Liam. Not only is this is the house of my enemy, but it is now also the dwelling of the man that decided to track me in the parking lot and attack me.

I sat back in the seat, not wanting to step anywhere near that house, let alone inside of it. Jake notices my emotional condition and peers at me as if I'm a thing to be fixed. He looks at me as if he's a shrink. But without the wool man sweater, khaki's, and the clipboard, filing all of my mental issues.

And for some, very unrealistic and unreliable reason, I trust Jake right now. Not to the point of being in a life of death situation and having to trust him to save me, but I do trust him to not kill me if I'm let alone with him. I mean, I definitely do not want to be in his house, alone with him, and in a very vulnerable state.

I know that he wouldn't touch me, but I don't want to be in an area that he knows best. Although for some reason, I allow him to walk me through the front door and I look around at the decor.