Hayden Cross wasn't sure what it was that compelled him to ask Ember Chance to kiss him. He tried to think about it—tried to find that devious piece inside of him that loved to torture him and rip it out—but the longer he searched, the more his head began to hurt.
Maybe he'd finally lost his mind? Maybe those words his father used to tell him were finally coming true? He didn't want to think about it. Every time he did—which, as it turned out, tended to be far too often—he felt himself spiraling into chaos. He wasn't going to let himself spiral into any more chaos when what he was doing now was to undo all of his mistakes.
So he focused on Ember, instead. He wasn't some delinquent with a self-fulfilling prophecy. This was just the long car ride doing things to his head. And Ember. Ember tended to make him lose his mind. She was like—what? Speeding down I-71, he racked his mind for an idea.
A bee.
Sure, he thought to himself as he changed lanes. Yeah, that's right.
She was like a bee.
A blonde, elf-sized, seriously annoying bee.
This time, they drive along the highway in relative silence. He should have been relieved: that's all he wanted until now. But as much as Hayden tried to relax, he couldn't. His muscles were so stiff, they ached every time he shifted in his seat. And dammit. He really, really needed a cigarette. His fingers ached for the motions, but he kept his grip firm on the steering wheel. He wasn't going to smoke in his mother's car—no matter what. He already slipped up once. He needed to think of something—anything else—to take his mind off of his father or his mom working long hours to keep them afloat or Derek and his merry band of assholes.
"Do you think you could turn the air conditioning up a bit?" Ember asked, her tired voice snapping him out of his thoughts. When he looked at her through the rearview mirror, her wary expression grew grave. "Don't give me that look," she added, offended. "I'm just asking you to turn up the air conditioning."
So he did. But instead of falling back into silence, Ember decided the best way to relieve the tension in their car was to keep talking.
"So," she continued from the back. "Since we're going down this path of forgiveness, why not get to know each other better?"
Caught off guard, Hayden made a face. "I think we know too much of each other." He paused. "But if you're talking about getting to know each other that way—"
"I can't stand you!" Ember groaned. Hayden threw his head back and laughed. When he shifted to get a better look at her through the mirror, her sudden proximity made him tense. She sat just as before, her chin propped on the shoulder rest of his seat, and the little tension that left his body was back tenfold. "Well, I mean the civil, non-sexual way."
"This isn't going to be your Truth or Dare game is it?"
"No." And the next thing Hayden knew, Ember Chance was pulling herself into the front passenger seat again. "What?" she wondered when he gaped at her fluid descent into the seat next to his.
"Last time you tried that, it didn't really go well."
"Well, I have a plan of execution this time!" she told him. "I wasn't exactly planning on coming up front last time."
"Oh okay," Hayden nodded. There was a brief, awkward silence between them. Ember looked distant, staring out the window. And no matter how many times his brain screamed to look at the damn road, he couldn't stop glancing over at how the sunlight turned her hair every shade of light gold curling along her shoulders. And when she caught his glance, Hayden contemplated slowing down, throwing his car into park, and sprinting into the cornfields lining the sides of the road. Anything to get away from the embarrassment that flooded through him. Instead, he blurted, "What's your favorite color?"
Ember's lips parted in surprise and he watched them pull into a smirk. "I told you that earlier."
Right, he thought. The color of—the color of what? Cotton candy? No. The ocean? Crap. I don't remember.
She patted his shoulder. "You'll remember eventually."
"I doubt it, but who knows." Hayden smiled. "Okay. Favorite sports?"
Twisting in her seat to face him, she listed them off on her fingers. "Football, basketball, soccer, and baseball! Can I play any of these sports? Sure! Can I play them well? Not at all."
"I can confirm that."
"Excuse me!"
Keeping his eyes on the road this time, Hayden shrugged. "You're excused."
Huffing like a toddler, she leaned back in her seat. "Whatever," she dismissed. "Okay. Favorite kind of music?"
Thally loved pop music, he thought suddenly, remembering his best friend. It made his stomach tighten.
Pop music made her happy. Especially when she'd come home from a long day of chemotherapy. Hayden couldn't remember the last time he let himself think about Thaliana Barnes, the girl who stole his heart from the first day they met so many years ago. She was a lot like Ember—to the point where it made his head spin and his stomach roll. They even had the same shade of utterly white blonde hair.
Thally died a few months before Ember moved to Valleyfield. And just like that, she replaced her. In their teachers' hearts. Gabriella Hansen took her under her wing and left Thally's memories in the dust. Just like that.
Glancing at the girl beside him, Hayden wondered how in the world Ember Chance had taken his thoughts as well.
* * *
"We should get some dinner," Ember announced. "I'm starving."
At her words, Hayden's stomach let out a loud moan itself. The sun began to disappear somewhere behind the giant barns and towers of the Ohio countryside they zipped past. The state was a bipolar mixture of forest and farmland. It had rained three times in the past twenty-five miles. Hayden could have sworn he even saw some snow here and there before the sun was once again shining and the car became a million degrees. And then once again, the sun was shining. Yellow headlights zigzagged on the highway as they passed a sign that announced lodging and restaurants in the upcoming town.
"There's an exit with some restaurants," Hayden pointed out and merged onto the exit that opened to a small, illuminated array of gas stations and restaurants. "We'll just see what we can find there." Hayden couldn't help but smile when Ember mused to herself about hamburgers and milkshakes.
"We should get some gas first," Hayden suggested, pulling into the first gas station he saw.
Ember bounced in her seat. "Oh, that's fine. I really need to use the restroom."
Hayden nodded, watching her disappear into the convenience store when a group of guys caught his attention. He watched them stand around a dinky black sedan, wearing tattered clothing, hunched over brown paper bags. Hayden didn't need to have experience with Derek's crew to know these men were trouble.
One of the taller men caught his gaze. Despite his body coiling, Hayden didn't dare to look away when their eyes came in contact, and nodded to the man. Seconds passed. Hayden waited for the man's assessment to start and end, relaxing slightly when the man nodded back in a gesture of approval, and returned to pumping gas.
A few more minutes passed and there was no sight of Ember. Hayden knew the lines at these kinds of places ran on forever—that he shouldn't be worried it was taking her so long to get back—but something in his gut said otherwise. He looked back at the men to see they were gone.
"I got us some snacks for later!" Ember announced as she made her way back to him. Hayden sighed. "I thought we might need them for later." She dropped the bags in the back seat. "Alright, I'll be right back."
"Where are you going now?" Hayden asked in frustration. He felt the men's gazes on them. He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
"The restrooms are on the side of the buildings," she explained with an annoyed roll of her eyes. "It looks like the set of some cheap horror movie, if you ask me. But whatever. It'll only take a second."
"I'll go with you."
Ember laughed. "Does everything that comes out of your mouth refer to sex?"
But before Hayden could answer, she turned to walk to the back of the building. Swallowing his irritation, Hayden leaned against the car and watched her disappear around a bend. Seconds stretched on forever and he fought the urge to follow her.
Something's wrong, a voice in the back of his mind urged. Go with her, you idiot!
So he did. He could take any of her sassy comments. He didn't care. A familiar coil flowed through his muscles. Smoke rose from a vent on the side of the dimly lit pathway and large overgrown bushes scraped his arms when he walked. When he turned the corner, a loud crash sent him on high alert. His heart thundered in his chest. A second crash reverberated through the empty side lot and he sprinted in the direction of very male grunts.
"Come out, sweetheart!" a gravelly voice called. "We just want to play!"
"Fuck off!" Ember called back. Two silhouettes stood along the wall adjacent to the bathroom, while a third slammed his fist repeatedly on the bathroom door. Standing back, the figure moved to kick the handle and the door flew open. Ember's screams echoed in Hayden's mind and he watched a man pull her out, utterly frozen.
"Hayden! Help! I need you! Help!"
The world turned red with rage. Everything disappeared and all Hayden could think about were his primal need to tear the men apart. When his fist came in contact with the first jaw, Hayden felt it dislocate under his knuckles and he watched the man drop like a lead balloon. Ember screamed for him to watch out and Hayden whirled to catch one of the men on his back. Pain blossomed in his shoulder. Deja vu hit him in violent waves. Get off of me you bitch!
Hayden used his momentum to knock another man down, sliding his legs forward, shifting the weight along his shoulders until he had enough power to slam the third man face-first into the ground. His face was barely visible in the light but the blood and the awkward angle of his now broken nose made Hayden smile.
"Get off of me you fugly bastard!" Ember cried. A loud groan followed. Hayden allowed himself a glance in her direction to see her elbowing the skinnier man in the ribs.
"Alright, enough playing around!" Hayden roared. "Get the fuck out of here!" Two of them listened. The one that had Ember needed further convincing.
Hayden rammed his knee into the man's side and sent him into the brick wall behind him. Acting quickly, he grabbed Ember before she could hit the ground and tossed her carefully to the side. Another punch to the last thug's face knocked him out cold. Hayden breathed deeply and admired his work.
"Holy shit." Ember whispered and extended a hand for him to help her to her feet. "I mean I know what you're capable of but—damn."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she said, her face flushed. Hayden watched a tear stream down her creamy cheeks. Slowly, his adrenaline rush subsided and he felt fire in his skin. "Oh shit! You're bleeding!" There were only a few scrapes on Hayden's arms, but they were long and bleeding quite heavily.
Hayden wiped blood from his sleeve. "Isn't this the part where you're supposed to take off your shirt and wrap my wounds?"
"Nice movie references. But no thanks." Ember snorted. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up the proper way."
* * *