My Waitress (NOT EDITED)

Chapter 29

"I told you Malachi's trying to make me look bad," says Ethan. "He was trying to frame me, but he was the one who did it... And he was trying to sell it." He shakes his head in disbelief. "You know I would never do such a thing."

I was telling him about what happened in the past couple days with me and... Malachi. Just whenever I mention his name I feel some type of way inside me. I feel betrayed, yet there's something else.

I look down and fiddle with my bracelet. "I know you would never do that... can you please focus on driving?" We're in his convertible. I glance at him every 2 seconds and the guy is lazily slouching in the drivers seat paying attention to his phone instead of the road ahead of him. And the radio's at high volume too. I know I said I wanted to ride in cars more often to recover, but I can't stay in a car with a driver who isn't paying attention. It makes me paranoid.

"I am a skilled driver," Ethan claims. He lessens the space between his face and his phone.

Goodness. I roll my eyes. I look up and observe what's ahead. It's a pretty sunny day in November. A green light shines from the upcoming light.  I wonder where we're going. We're not stopping...

And the car coming from the left isn't stopping either.

He's going fast. So are we.

"ETHAN!!" I yell out his name, covering my sight with my hands. Suddenly a force pushes me forward, the seatbelt feeling tight around my stomach and chest. Then I'm pushed back into my seat, my head hitting the headrest.

I hear a hard thud to my left which results in a loud and long car horn. "ASSHOLE." I hear Ethan's voice shout. My back presses against the seat as he speeds up. I don't take my hands away from my eyes, I'm too scared and shaken to. If I hadn't payed attention to the road, then we would've been...

"Hey." A hand shakes my shoulder. "Cut it out. You're fine."

I shake my head, making a discomforting sound. Ethan's tone isn't caring or soothing, which isn't making things better.

He continues to shake me. "Nicole, c'mon, everything's fine." He sounds irritable now. "Get your hands away from your eyes." He grips my wrist and tries to pull my hand away. I use my force to keep my arms over my eyes, but Ethan's stronger. What is he doing? Keep both hands on the wheel! He manages to pull my left hand away from my face. Immediately I see cars flying pass us, causing me to jump. But as everything eases down, I lower my right hand and calm down.

"You would've laughed," Ethan mutters.

"What?"

"You would've laughed and flipped off the man, even throw something. You would've called him an asshole too. But... What happened this summer changed you, Nicole. The crash carved out your old personality, and the doctors gave you a new one. You're not the real you."

Is this what Emily was talking about before? The real me? "If I'm not the real me, then tell me. What was I like before the summer?" If I acted different, then I would like to know. I'm curious of how I was back then.

"Hmmmm...." Ethan cocks his head to the side. "You were carefree, didn't give a shit about anything people said, more of a badass. The Luna of a wolf pack. Everyday was a fun day with you, whether we hung out in person or talked on the phone, whether it was with friends or just the two of us. The sass in you would kick in from time to time..." he chuckles for a moment, then stops. "Now, you're so... weak." He spits out the word as if it was bitter. "But hopefully a day with me will turn you back into your original self." We turn into a parking lot of what looks like a huge mall. "Our first stop is Lennox Square."