Her Dirty Little Secret [R 18+]

19 | In Darkness Deep

The hairs on the back of my neck prickled as I sensed his attention shift to something behind us. Without warning, a loud thump reverberated through the room, causing my spine to snap straight in alarm. I struggled against Alaric's unconscious possessive grip, his focus seemed to be rooted to the spot. 

Unease built as I turned to investigate, my eyes widened in horror at the sight before me - a heavy textbook now acting as a door jam sat on the floor acting as a door stopper. It was the bright red guitar sticker on the front of it that had a dagger twisting painfully in my chest.

Lincoln...

My words caught in my throat as I turned to look at Alaric, accusation in my eyes. Nothing about this man was by mistake; Alaric chose not to move, chose to let my best friend catch us in this position.

Somehow the words formed and through gritted teeth, I said, "let go of me." He did not listen, I stapled the words, anger biting into them, "now, Alaric." 

A strange look crossed his features, a mix of jealousy and betrayal. 

No, you don't get to be mad or upset. I push his chest, forcing space between us. Hurting Lincoln felt like wrong. Alaric heeded my words, letting me stand and leave him. 

That splintered part of me cried, too much. 

It was all becoming too much, how much longer before I shattered entirely?

The muscles in my legs and arms pumped as I ran through the school and across the front lawn to where Lincoln usually parked. I didn't think about it, I simply moved in front of his car as he went to pull out of the parking spot. 

His car hissed its irritation at my sudden appearance. 

Cold, angry blue eyes glared at me. He did not make any move to set out of the car, if anything his fingers tightened further around the steering wheel.

"Please," I whispered pleadingly, knowing even without hearing me he'd know what I said. "Linc, please." I dropped my head as a tear rolled down my cheek. 

A moment later the hum of the car stopped and I looked up. Lincoln had sat back in his seat, his attention focused entirely on me. I didn't hesitate, not even a moment, my feet carried me to the passenger side of his car and I slipped inside. 

Lincoln started the car once more and then began driving, I turned to watch him, not knowing how to start the conversation, much less make him understand or accept it.  

Warm hues of burnt orange and yellow glossed over his strained face, I'd never seen Lincoln so angry... so upset. It was heartbreaking, the rift between us bigger than ever. So I decided to give him honesty, I owed him that much. 

"There is so much to tell you, Linc, I don't know where to start," I sighed, glancing out towards the road, noticing we drove away from the town and towards the coastline. The minutes passed and soon we were an hour away from town, I still hadn't managed to form any words.