Chapter 177: Penny
This isn’t Tyler.
I sit pressed as far back into the passenger seat as I can, my spine flush against the door, my fingers curled tightly around the edge of the seat like it’ll anchor me in place. I’ve seen Tyler angry before–jealous, irritated, even mean. But this? This is something else.
He’s quiet at first. His hands grip the wheel, knuckles white, jaw tight. The headlights blur against the wet road, streetlamps smearing across the windshield like ghosts.
“Tyler,” I say, my voice barely louder than the hum of the tires. “What are you doing?”
He doesn’t look at me. “You didn’t let me explain anything.”
“So you decided to… kidnap me?” I demand, louder now. “What the hell is this?”
“It’s not kidnapping,” he snaps, voice strained, high–pitched. “I just… I needed to talk to you, and you kept running. Everyone kept talking for me, deciding things for me. I needed this. Just us. No Asher. No our parents.”
I glance toward him. His eyes look wild–glassy but unfocused. There’s a glimmer of tears in them, but it doesn’t calm me. If anything, it makes it worse. His emotions aren’t stable, and I don’t know what he’ll do
next.
“Tyler,” I try again, slower this time. “Asher and our parents would’ve let us talk. They aren’t keeping me from you.”
“They are,” he says flatly. “They already took your side. Before I could even tell them what happened.”
He finally glances over, and there’s something, off in his expression. Sadness? Yes. But it’s twisted in
something bitter. Something sharp.
“You’re scaring me,” I whisper, the words clawing up my throat before I can stop them.
His face shifts like I slapped him. “I don’t want to scare you,” he says; voice breaking. “I’m just… I’m upset, Penny. You were mine.”
“I’m not yours,” I say, and I try to keep my voice steady, but it’s trembling. “I haven’t been for a while. And you know it.”
He exhales harshly through his nose, pressing harder on the gas. I look down at the speedometer–he’s going way too fast.
“Whose car is this?” I ask suddenly, looking around the interior. It smells like coconut
poo and cheap
perfume. There’s a pair of fluffy dice hanging from the mirror. A pink scrunchie on the gearshift. Lip balm in the cupholder.
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Chapter 177: Penny
“Tyler,” I say again, sharply. “Whose car is this?”
He doesn’t answer.
“Oh my god,” I breathe. “Did you fucking kidnap me in Zoe’s car?”
He slams his hand against the steering wheel. “It was the only way I could get back! You two left me stranded up there like I didn’t even exist.”
“You cheated on me,” I say, my voice rising. “You lied to me. You let Zoe sabotage me and then tried to cover it up. How are you the victim here?”
“I never meant for it to happen like that!” he yells, and the car swerves slightly as he grips the wheel too
hard.
I swallow the scream bubbling in my throat.
I glance behind us–trying to see if Asher’s car is there, if he’s close–but it’s too dark. Too many
headlights. Too much traffic. Asher’s car is black. It blends in.
“Where are we going?” I ask, heart thudding.
“I don’t know,” Tyler says, breathing hard. “Somewhere. I need to think. We need to talk. Somewhere where you’ll actually listen.”
“Then talk now!” I snap. “Right now! I’m listening.”
“Not in the car,” he mutters. “I can’t think.”
Then suddenly he jerks the wheel, takes the next exit without warning, and I’m thrown against the door.
“Tyler, slow down!” I shout, clutching the handle above the window. “You’re going to kill us!”
He doesn’t respond. His foot presses the gas harder, and the engine roars.
My whole body’s shaking.
Two minutes. That’s all it takes. Two minutes of silence and sharp turns and him breathing too fast before we pull into the empty parking lot of the school’s athletic department.
The building looms like a shadow in the dark, lights off, the parking lot mostly deserted except for a few scattered staff vehicles.
“Get out,” he says suddenly.
I blink. “What?”
“Out. We’re talking.”
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Chapter 177: Penny
“I’m not—Tyler, I’m not getting out of this car unless you tell me what the hell is going on with you.”
He slams his hands on the wheel again, shouting, “Just get out!”
I flinch hard. My hand flies to the door handle, my chest heaving. He’s never, ever raised his voice like that
at me.
始めて
I open the door slowly. The cold air bites my skin as I step into the dark lot. I glance around–no one. Nothing.
I hear him slam his own door behind me. Then footsteps as he rounds the car.
“Why here?” I ask, backing away a step. “Why did you bring me here?”
He shrugs, hair messy, jaw tight. “This is where we met. Don’t you remember?”
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