chapter seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

SOPHIE’S POV

Adrian pulls away first, wearing that wicked smirk like he has not just taken my mouth, my peace, and whatever little dignity I had left in front of the whole school. My lips still burn, and I hate that I notice it before I notice the noise around us.

Daniel says my name, but it reaches me from somewhere far away, buried under gasps, whispers, and people already turning my life into campus gossip. Adrian’s fingers close around mine, and the whole school reacts like they have just watched a crime happen in broad daylight.

Maybe they have, but one thing i s for sure.. I am the victim..

“You can leave, newbie,” Adrian says, his voice too calm for someone who just ruined me. “She’s riding with me from now on.”

I turn to him so fast my anger almost spills out before words can form. “What?”

Daniel steps closer, and for one second, I want to hide behind him, not because I am weak, but because my whole body still feels too shaken to stand inside Adrian’s storm alone. “She’s not going anywhere with you,” Daniel says.

Adrian looks at him, and the small smile on his face is enough to make my stomach twist. “She is.”

I hate the way he says it. I hate the way it sounds like a fact.

I hate that the whole school hears it and suddenly I am no longer Sophie. I am Adrian Cole’s latest scandal.

He starts walking, and my hand is trapped in his like I am already part of a decision I never made. The whispers follow us, sharp and hungry, but I keep my chin up because I refuse to let those girls see how badly I want to disappear.

By the time Adrian opens his passenger door, the whole car park feels like it has stopped breathing, and I know why.

Everybody knows that seat is forbidden. Adrian Cole does not let girls sit in his front seat.

He does not even  let teammates throw bags there. He treats that car like it has a soul. Somehow, standing in front of that open door feels worse than the kiss.

I stare at him, my chest tight with anger and something I do not want to name. “You’ve lost your mind.”

Adrian leans closer, and my body betrays me by remembering his mouth before my brain can insult him. “If you don’t get in, I’ll kiss you again.”

My face burns instantly. His eyes drop to my lips, and I hate that I feel it.

“Maybe this time,” he says, “we’ll really give them a show.”

I should slap him, or even scream.

I should walk back to Daniel and leave Adrian standing beside his precious car with his stupid threat and his stupid face. Instead, I get in, because one more kiss in front of this crowd will finish what is left of me.

The crowd breaks into whispers the moment I sit down, and every sound feels like my name being dragged across concrete. Adrian shuts the door gently, like he is capable of being decent after destroying me.

I glare at him through the glass while he walks around the car with that calm confidence that makes people call him king and makes me want to commit a crime. He gets in beside me, and the whole car suddenly feels too small.

Too full of him. Too full of the kiss I am trying not to remember.

The engine starts, and the school begins to fall behind us, but I can still feel Daniel standing there. I can still feel his hurt.

I can still feel everyone watching. My hands curl on my lap as the anger finally finds one clear sentence.

“I will kill you.”

Adrian says nothing, and somehow, that annoys me more than if he had opened his stupid mouth. He only smirks, keeps one hand on the wheel, and drives away like he has not just kidnapped my peace, murdered my name, and left Daniel standing behind us with the whole school watching.

I stare at the side of his face, waiting for guilt, explanation, anything that proves there is still a normal human being inside him. Nothing comes, just that calm silence and the kind of confidence that makes me want to grab the steering wheel and send us both into a wall.

It does not take up to forty-five minutes before the car feels too small for my anger. His cologne is everywhere, his kiss is still burning on my lips, and every second beside him feels like my body is betraying me in a language I do not understand.

“Stop the car,” I say.

Adrian keeps driving for one more second, and I almost lose my mind right there. “I said stop the damn car, Adrian.”

The car slows immediately, and that shocks me more than it should. He pulls to the side of the road without arguing, without asking why, without giving me one of those arrogant answers that would have finally given me a reason to scream.

I push the door open before the car settles properly, needing air before I choke on everything he has done to me. The moment my feet touch the ground, I walk away from the car like distance can fix the way my whole world is shaking.

Adrian gets out right after me.

Of course he does,  the provocative, handsome beast follows me like he has not already done enough damage for one day.

I turn to face him, and for one second, I do not know whether to slap him, or  kick him in the balls...but I choose to start with option one.

The slap landed hard across his face, that alone took out one percent of the rage inside me .

I wanted it to hurt, my palm to remember it, and his perfect face to carry one small piece of the madness he just gave me.

Adrian’s head turns slightly, but he does not speak. That silence, that calm, that almost amused look in his eyes makes my anger rise so fast I can barely breathe.

“I have been wanting to do that since Spring Falls,” I say, my voice shaking but not weak. “You crazy asshole just gave me one more reason.”

His eyes come back to mine slowly, and the corner of his mouth lifts like the slap only woke up something worse in him. I hate that smirk, I hate how close he is, and I hate that my chest still remembers the kiss before my mind can reject it.

“What the hell was that?” I ask.

“What?” he says, touching his jaw like he is more amused than hurt. “Me kissing you, or you enjoying it?”

My laugh comes out before I can stop it, but there is nothing funny inside me. I look around the empty road, shaking my head like maybe the air can help me understand how one person can be this dangerously deranged.

“It’s official,” I say, staring back at him. “You are insane.”

“Sophie,”

“Don’t you dare.”

The words cut out of me so fast he actually stops. Good, because if he says my name like he has the right to soften it, I might actually kick him in the balls.

“Only my friends call me Sophie,” I say, pointing at him like that will keep him where he belongs. “You don’t get to use my name after treating me like a mistake you buried and dragging me out today like property you suddenly remembered.”

His smirk fades a little.

I saw it and I hate that I see it.

“Why am I even saying that to you?” I mutter, laughing bitterly as I run a hand over my face. “You are not my friend, Adrian. You are not even supposed to be standing this close to me.”

His eyes stay on mine, too quiet now, too focused, and that makes my anger feel less safe. I hate when he looks at me like that, like he is searching for the girl he ignored for three months.

“What happened to the rule?” I ask, stepping closer before fear can talk me out of it. “You don’t know me, and I don’t know you.”

The words hit the space between us, and for once, Adrian Cole has nothing ready. No smirk, no joke, no quick answer, just his eyes on me like I have finally touched something he did not want me to find.

I swallow hard, but the hurt still climbs into my voice. “You made that rule easy, remember?”

He looks away for half a second.

That tiny movement almost breaks me.

Adrian Cole does not look away from anything, but he looks away from me, and somehow, that tiny crack in his pride scares me more than his kiss ever did.