Ch36

NOVA

“It’s just a one-time thing,” Bethany says. She leans in closer, her gaze scanning my face. “That’s it, Nova. If you feel like you can’t do it, just say the word right now. Say it, and we take the offer somewhere else.”

I can feel my throat locking up. My lips part, but the words die before they can even form.

Bethany’s eyes linger on me for a second longer, searching for a protest that isn't coming. When I don't say a single word, a slow, knowing smile spreads across her red-painted lips. She doesn't press further. She simply pushes herself off the cushions, smoothes down her denim jacket, and walks away into the crowd without another glance.

I sit there, frozen on the chair, staring at the empty space she left behind.

“What did she want?”

I flinch as Enzo’s voice breaks through my daze. He steps into view, towering over the coffee table, a glass of dark liquid in one hand. His eyes are dark, tracking Bethany’s retreating form before turning back down to me.

“Nothing,” I swallow hard, pressing my knees tighter together. “She didn't want anything. I was just... being nice.”

Enzo scoffs, as he shakes his head. “She's bad news, you know that?”

I look up at him. “Tell me about it.”

He takes a slow sip from his glass, his eyes scanning the room around us before settling back on my face. “Are you having fun?”

I just stare at him, giving a stiff, single shrug.

“It’s a party, Nova,” Enzo says. He gestures vaguely toward the sea of bodies dancing in the living room. “Talk to somebody. Get a drink. Don’t just sit there all moody like I forced you to be here.”

My eyes narrow as I hold his gaze, refusing to look away. “Is that what you think?”

“Do you want anything?” he asks, his eyes softening, though his jaw remains set. “I can get you a drink.”

“Someone asked to do that already,” I reply flatly.

Enzo’s brow furrows, his eyes dropping to my lap. “But your hands are empty.”

“Yes,” I say, crossing my arms defensively over my chest. “I don’t trust strangers. What if someone puts something in my drink?”

“Nobody will do that to you,” Enzo says. “Not while I'm here.”

I let out a laugh, tilting my head up to meet his glare. “I don’t trust you either.”

For a second, the annoyance on his face falters. He looks amused now. A breathy laugh escapes his lips.

“I want to go home,” I say quietly.

Enzo’s laughter dies down. “What?”

“Enzo, please,” I plead, my voice breaking slightly beneath the noise of the music. “I want to go home. I didn’t want to come here first. I’m uncomfortable in this dress, and I can feel eyes on me everywhere I turn.” I take a breath. “You gaslighted me into coming. Now that I think about it... maybe you just wanted someone to bring to the party, and that’s why you brought me.”

Enzo stares down at me, his expression unreadable for a while. Then, slowly, he gives an unapologetic nod.

“Yeah,” he admits coolly. “I couldn’t go alone. And your brother canceled on me.”

I stare at him. “You both are so attached, it’s disgusting sometimes.”

Enzo’s eyes narrow. “What did you say?”

“It feels refreshing to know that Noah doesn’t do everything you want him to,”

“You didn’t have this attitude earlier,” He says, stepping closer, his voice dropping into a low pitch. “Where is this coming from?”

“If you brought me here to accompany you, then why did you just ignore me?” I demand, standing up from the sofa so I don't have to keep looking up at him, though even in my heels he still towers over me. “Shoving me to sit down like I'm a little child!”

Enzo just stares at me, his mouth set in a hard, grim line.

“I don’t know anybody here!” I add.

“You know Bethany,”

“Bethany is a bitch,”

“You know me,” he says.

“Enzo, I want to go home,” I beg, dropping my voice.

He sighs, running a hand down his face. “Just a few minutes, Nova.”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m leaving.”

I turn on my heel before he can answer. I don't look back as I push my way through the wall of bodies in the sitting room, brushing past the laughters and the smell of alcohol. I reach the front door, yank it open, and step out into the chilly night air.

On the porch, I stop. I turn my head, half-expecting to see him storming out behind me, grabbing my wrist, telling me to get back inside or get in the car.

The doorway is empty.

I shake my head, as I turn and walk down the steps.

God, you are so dumb, I think to myself, pulling my arms tightly around my waist as the cold wind whips past my bare legs. So stupidly cold.

A single stray tear slips down my cheek, hot against my freezing skin. I brush it away aggressively with the back of my hand. I feel so foolish. Succumbing to whatever Enzo wanted, letting him drag me out here just because he asked, just because he looked at me a certain way. Yeah, I had feelings for the guy... god help me, I did... but this was pathetic.

I stop on the dark pavement, letting out a long sigh. My feet are throbbing. The heels are digging viciously into my skin with every step. Without another thought, I slip them off, clutching the straps in one hand and letting my bare feet hit the freezing asphalt.

I reach up with my free hand and yank the hair tie out of my high ponytail. The ache in my scalp instantly eases as my hair tumbles down wildly across my shoulders and back, shielding my bare neck from the wind.

I look around. The street is pitch black, flanked by looming trees and massive, silent estates. There's no streetlights on this stretch of road, no cars passing by. The silence is deafening after the noise of the house. I know, rationally, that a girl walking barefoot in a tiny dress down a pitch-black residential road is a terrible idea.

I dig into my small clutch, pulling out my phone. My fingers are trembling from the cold as I swipe through my contacts, tapping on Noah’s name to hit dial.

Suddenly, a hand reaches out from the shadows and snatches the phone clean out of my grip.

“Hey!” I gasp out, as I whip around, my heart leaping straight into my throat.

The scowl leaves from my face as the dim light catches the features of the guy standing in front of me.

Enzo.

I let out a shuddering, shaky breath, my hand flying to my chest to keep my heart from pounding right out of my ribs.

“Relax,” Enzo says softly, his voice cutting through the dark night. “It’s just me.”

“Give me my phone,” I breathe out, reaching for it, but he doesn't hand it back. Instead, his eyes slowly trail down my body.. taking in my bare feet touching the freezing pavement, the wild, loose hair cascading over my shoulders, and the heels clutched tightly in my fingers.

“What’s gotten into you?” Enzo asks, his brow furrowing as he looks back up at my face. “Do you know how dangerous it is walking out here by yourself?”

“I was calling my brother!” I snap, trying to grab my phone again, but he lifts it out of my reach. “Give it back, Enzo!”

“Noah isn’t coming to get you from a neighborhood thirty minutes away at midnight, Nova,” he says sternly, stepping closer until he's blocking the dark road in front of me. “What were you thinking? Just walking down a pitch-black street in fishnets and no shoes?”

“I was thinking that I wanted to leave!” I shout, the wind blowing my hair across my face. I shove it back angrily. “I told you I was uncomfortable! I told you I wanted to go home, and you told me to wait! I am not your puppet, Enzo. I don't just sit on a sofa and wait until you decide you're finished using me to look good!”

Enzo stares at me, his chest rising and falling heavily. I don't know if it's all in my head or if he looks genuinely stunned. “Is that really what you think I was doing?”

“Yes!” my voice cracks, and I hate myself for it. “You explicitly told me you only brought me because Noah canceled and you didn't want to show up alone! You dragged me here, shoved me onto a couch, and then left me. And then you act like I'm being dramatic because I don't want to sit there like a piece of furniture while guys slide up to me!”

Enzo’s jaw clenches.

“I didn't shove you onto the couch to hide you, Nova,” he says. “I told you to wait there because I had to deal with something the second I walked through that door. And as for Leo? The second he sat next to you, I was on my way back to knock his teeth in before Bethany got there.”

I blink. I'm so confused right now. “Then why didn't you say that? You didn't follow me out the door!” I point out.

“I had to grab my keys and tell the guys at the door to back off before I left!” Enzo yells back, tossing his head toward the distant glow of the house. “I was right behind you, Nova. I’m always right behind you.”

Enzo lets out a long exhale. He looks down at my bare feet resting on the asphalt.

“Your feet are going to freeze,” he says quietly.

Without waiting for a response, he peels off his jacket. He steps closer, drapes the warm leather over my bare shoulders, and then, before I can process what he's doing, he crouches down in front of me.

“What are you doing?” I whisper.

“Put your hands on my shoulders,” he instructs.

“Enzo...”

“Nova, put your hands on my shoulders, or I swear to God I’ll carry you like a sack of potatoes.”

I swallow hard, slowly resting my hands on his solid shoulders. In one smooth motion, Enzo slides his arms beneath my knees and back, lifting me into his arms. I gasp, instinctually wrapping my arms around his neck as he stands up straight.

My heels clatter to the ground as I drop them, but Enzo doesn't care. He carries me back toward the direction of his car.

“Fucking mixed signals," I murmur softly.

Enzo’s grip on me tightens as he keeps his eyes on the dark path ahead.

"I don't know what to think about this, or you."