Chapter 5
Eden
Of course Azriel drives a black BMW, I’ve never been in one, but it’s the car every hot guy has in the romance novels that I’ve read. It also matches his aura: beautiful, expensive, and mysterious. The black surface of the hood is gleaming under the streetlight, and mittens of snow circle down to land on top of it.
Geez, this car is way too nice for me!
How could I possibly get inside it?
The slime has mostly come off my face, but my clothes are still a disaster. Just looking down at them makes my heart. hammer. I don’t want to dirty Azriel’s car!
1 stop in my tracks and feel the circling snow land on my face. Azriel doesn’t comment on that. He calmly walks ahead, and I open my mouth to tell him I can’t ruin his seat, but seeing his tall frame in all of its glory makes me even more nervous. Every step he takes is so purposeful and confident.
He reaches the passenger side, one hand on the door handle…is he waiting? For me?
He must sense my hesitation because he asks, “Aren’t you coming?”
There are white snowflakes in his dark hair now, and his eyes never leave mine as I stand there fidgeting. It makes me feel exposed. As if he can tell that I find him beautiful.
I lower my eyes. “I’m still… messy,” I gesture at my ruined clothes. “Your car is too nice.”
I hear a snort, and when I look up, there’s a playful tug at the corner of his mouth. Not a full smile–I haven’t seen that from him yet–but something more dangerous. A hint of amusement that makes my pulse quicken.
“It’s just a car, Eden.”
My name on his lips sends a tremor through me. I think this is the first time he has said my name.
“O–okay…”
I slide one leg inside, my breath hitching when his fingers brush my elbow when he guides me in.
“Seatbelt,” he murmurs, voice curling around me like smoke as I sink into butter–soft leather.
“O–of course,” I murmur and relax my shoulders.
This is very comfortable and so much better than walking the entire way home.
I turn my head, about to thank Azriel, but my pulse thrums louder than the engine’s purr when I see him settling into the driver’s seat. He is gorgeous. Snowflakes are melting into droplets that cling to his jawline, and his styled hair is messy now. Almost wild.
I say nothing and just sit there as Azriel drives. Streetlights stretch his silhouette across the dashboard as we glide forward- sharp angles of nose and throat illuminated in intervals.
“Warmer?” he asks abruptly, nodding toward the vents billowing heat.
I nod too quickly, hyperaware of how his gaze flicks to my throat when I swallow. “You don’t have to—”
“What? Be decent?” A low chuckle vibrates through me. “How tragic if that surprises you.”
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Chapter 5
The headlights from another car catch the frost on his lashes when he glances over–hazel eyes now swirling with violet flecks I haven’t seen before. My fingers dig into armrests as vertigo washes over me, that same magnetic pull from the bathroom coiling tighter in my ribs.
“Where am I driving?” he asks.
“Where are you driving?” I repeat his words dumbly, not getting it.
“Yes…?”
Silence.
He speaks again. “Have you forgotten where you live?” his tone is warm, possibly amused, but it’s difficult to tell since he isn’t exactly smiling at me.
“Umm…”
He chuckles. “Umm?”
“Northbrook!” I manage to exclaim, and then I blurt out the rest too fast, “The yellow house with the broken mailbox.”
“Ah,” Azriel says, turning the wheel. “I know where that is.”
My heart stutters. “You do?”
He casts me a sidelong glance. “This town isn’t that big. I’ve driven through most of it.”
“I see…”
I say nothing for the rest of the ride, afraid to make conversation. We’re passing through downtown now, the storefronts flickering like scenes from a romance movie I’m not part of. This is just Azriel being nice.
A few minutes later, we’re finally parked by the curb outside my house.
I look up at the building with its chipped paint and the trash bags by the steps. This is so embarrassing. I would rather not have the hot guy from school see where I live, but it’s too late now. Maybe he will forget if I walk out fast?
“Thanks,” I mumble while fumbling with the seatbelt. “For the ride. And for… back there.”
“Paris and her friends are cruel,” he says simply.
I sneak a glance at him, surprised by the intensity in his eyes. They’re fixed on my house, something unreadable in their depths. Does he have a clue of what waits for me inside? The cold emptiness, the lingering smell of alcohol…my mother passed out somewhere?
“What they did to me is nothing new,” I admit with a shrug that I hope looks casual even though I’m still shaken from the bullying. “I’m used to it.”
“You shouldn’t have to be.”
Is that anger in his voice?
look at him fully, surprised to see Azriel gripping the steering wheel as if his life depended on it. His knuckles are white against the black leather.
“Why do you care what they do?” I blurt out.
Azriel’s eyes meet mine, and for a moment, they seem to shift color again–from brown to violet, but when I blink, they are back to looking the same. “Maybe I see more than they do.”
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Chapter 5
My heart flutters traitorously. I shouldn’t fall for one of the populars. One of the beautifuls. “That’s not saying much”
His lips curve into that half–smile again. “True”
I fumble with the door handle, probably because I don’t want to leave. My mother is definitely drunk, but Azriel is safe.
But I can’t stay.
“Thanks again,” I manage.
I step out into the night, my foot landing on what appears to be solid ground. But appearances are deceiving. The snow has hidden a patch of ice beneath its innocent white blanket. My ankle twists, and then I fall.
“WAAAAH!”
Time slows. The world tilts. My body surrenders to gravity’s pull, and I brace for the impact of cold, hard ground against my
back.
It never comes.
Instead, I feel strong arms catching me right before I can kiss the snow–covered sidewalk. The scent of cedarwood assaults my senses, and then I’m pulled into Azriel’s massive chest. This guy can’t be a human. He moved so fast that I didn’t even see him exit the car!
But even if Azriel’s identity is a mystery, butterflies still swarm my senses. Everything feels bright and romantic. Then Azriel opens his mouth and ruins everything.
“You’re heavier than you look.”
My universe does a cartwheel and ends up landing on its face. Heavier than I look? What the fuck?
Since I didn’t expect Azriel to insult me, I gape up at him, too meek and shocked to form a glare. I’ve been bullied my entire life and never spoken back. There have been guys calling me a freak or a useless Omega. People have pointed out my acne, but my weight? This is new, and for some reason, words are coming to my lips now.
“Th–that’s rude.”
Azriel has the audacity to look shocked. Did he expect another answer after he insulted me?
I expect him to say something or at least let me go.
He doesn’t.
Those big arms are still wrapped around me, almost as if Azriel doesn’t want to let go of me. But that can’t be true…right?
I look up at him. His eyebrows are furrowed and a heartbeat passes with us just blinking at each other while the snowflakes swirl down from the skies. He is beautiful, but I don’t want to think that when he just delivered an insult to my face.
“I didn’t mean to,” he begins in a miserable voice, then sighs. “That came out wrong.”
1 free myself from his arms, feeling the heat of embarrassment crawl up my neck. After everything that happened tonight- the slime, the humiliation, the kindness of his rescue–this is how it ends? He calls me fat?
“Just let me go,” I whisper, my voice trembling since I’m close to tears. To think I was beginning to get a crush on this guy…
Azriel releases me carefully, making sure I’m steady on my feet before his hands fall away.
But he isn’t done talking.
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10:20 Mon, 23 Jun
Chapter 5
IP
“Eden,” he says, “I apologize. I was just trying to make a joke, but it was thoughtless.”
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I wrap my arms around my chilled body, eager to get inside to wash off the slime on my sweater. The cold has hardened it, making the fabric stiff and uncomfortable to wear. “It’s fine. Whatever. Thanks for the ride.”
“It’s not fine-” Azriel begins, but I’m already storming off towards the house with tears in my eyes.
I knew he was out of my league, but it still stings being called fat.
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AD
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