Criminally Insane

Rush Hour

!IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END!VOTE!COMMENT!ENJOY!

"What game are you playing with me, Scarlett?"

I gulped, unable to hold eye contact with him. His voice sounded calm and angry. If I'd just met him, I would have been scared.

We inched up in the long line of cars. Traffic was exceedingly heavy, and I knew we were going to be here for a while.

"I-I'm not playing," I stammered. My throat was all of a sudden dry.

I could feel him stare at me as I felt myself shrink in my seat.

"Why do you have that?" he asked me.

I wracked my brain for an answer. I couldn't just lag on Santee. I needed to talk to him to get his side of the story before I did that.

I knew that if I outed him, Rowan would kill him and I would never get answers.

I felt Rowan's hand around my neck, and my head was slammed against the window from the impact. "Don't fucking ignore me, Scarlett," he growled in my ear.

I took in a gasp of air and nodded my head.

He released his grip and leaned back in his seat.

"I found it," I told him.

It was half of the truth.

"I haven't seen that book in years," he said with suspicion in his tone. "Where did you find it?"

I shrugged my shoulders in response, looking out the window.

His vehement stare almost made me feel sorry for him.

"Did you read it?"

I looked at him. If I wasn't mistaken, I heard fear in his voice.

"I'm not scared of you, Rowan, if that's what you're asking," I said quietly.

"Why not?" he asked me as he inched up in the long line of traffic.

People were beeping horns around us and several people were shouting profanities impatiently.

"You're not scary to me," I replied.

I don't know if it was because I adapted to his behavior or because he really wasn't as bad as he thought he was.

"Then what am I, Scarlett?" he asked me. I heard impatience in his voice.

I looked at him. "How many times did that woman rape you?" I asked him.

"I didn't write that in there," he said, dodging the question.

"October thirty-first, 2012 your therapist-"

"Shut up, Scarlett," he spat.

I could see his knee bouncing under the steering wheel, but he tried to keep his face calm.

"Rowan, just talk to me. I want-"

"Leave me alone, Scarlett," he said. The warning signs kept telling me to stop, but I couldn't.

"She did this to you, and they experimented on-"

"I SAID ENOUGH," he yelled, slamming his hands against the steering wheel.

I flinched in my seat.

He would never open up to me. I couldn't accept that. I want to understand him. He could push me away all he wants, but it won't change how I feel.

I should've read some more before I showed him that I had the book. Invading his privacy was something I never wanted to do. I'd already read Santee's file on him, so I'm sure that's the better part of Rowan's life.