Kiss To Forget (Blairwood University #2) - Anna B. Doe Page 0,34

his knuckles are drained of all color.

“Then take me back. Hell, leave me here, and I’ll walk the rest of the way back.”

There is no way I’m going with him wherever he’s going. Not if she is there. The girl who seems to have him wrapped around her finger like that. The girl who gets that tender, protective side I haven’t seen him show to anybody but her. No way.

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Well, I’m not going.”

He turns to me, giving me a hard look. “Well, you don’t have any other choice.” With that he presses his foot harder on the gas.

“Nixon!” I try to protest, but it’s no use, he’s completely tuned me out.

He’s driving like a maniac, and I can only hope that he doesn’t crash us into something.

Since it’s late on a weeknight, the interstate is blessedly empty as we speed by, our surroundings just a dark blur.

Nixon’s deadly quiet, and I don’t waste my words since I know he won’t listen. I’m not even sure he can hear me at this point. He’s stuck in his own head; whatever has happened, whatever the girl said, it did something to him.

I’m not sure how long it takes before he steers us off the interstate and onto another road. The headlights of his car illuminate the welcome sign.

I swallow hard, my fingers tightening around the door handle. Is this where she lives?

Different scenarios go through my head, my heart racing with all the possibilities, but I don’t dare ask.

Nixon turns on the blinker and takes the next right turn. The gravel crackles underneath the tires as he drives up the narrow road. Just when I decide he’s gone mad, I see it.

A huge colonial-style house appears in the darkness. It seems like the lights are on in every room in the house, illuminating the darkness surrounding it.

There is a circle driveway with a fountain in the middle. It’s currently frozen but I can imagine how it looks in the spring.

“What is this?” I ask, my eyes taking it all in. I’ve never seen anything like this. In the city there are only buildings and pavement, and that’s about it.

Nixon turns toward me, finally looking at me. The haunted look is still in his eyes. I don’t know what I expect him to say, but it surely isn’t the words that leave his mouth.

“This is my home.”

Chapter Fifteen

NIXON

Yasmin’s mouth falls open at my revelation, but I don’t stick around to see what she has to say. Parking the car, I quickly turn it off before I jump outside and run up the stairs. The front door swings open, and my sister’s crying face greets me. She runs to my arms, burrowing her head into my neck, and sobs. I wrap my arms around her, holding her tightly.

“S-she j-just f-fell,” Jade stutters, her shoulders shaking with the force of her sobs.

My throat clenches at how broken and scared she sounds. I want to hold her close and reassure her everything will be okay, but I can’t do that until I convince myself that she’s fine first.

“Where is she?” I push her away, just enough so I can see her face. Her blue eyes are red, and her face a mess of tears and snot. Guilt squeezes my heart. God, she looks so young. Too young to be dealing with this all on her own.

Jade might have just turned eighteen, but looking at her like this, with no makeup, her hair piled on top of her head in a messy knot, and in her old pink PJs, she looks younger than that.

I push my feelings away, forcing myself to compartmentalize. There isn’t time for me to wallow. Not now. She needs me. They need me.

I put my hands on Jade’s shoulders and give her a little shake. “Where is she, Jade?” I repeat, trying to keep my panic in check. There is no time for me to freak out, not now.

“B-bed,” she sniffles, wiping at her cheeks. “When she regained consciousness I helped her to bed.”

“Did you call the ambulance?”

Jade scoffs. “You know she didn’t want it.”

Of course, she didn’t. Rubbing my hand over my face, I let it fall down by my side.

“There wasn’t any blood, but she does have a bump on her head.”

I nod and lean down to kiss the top of her head. “You did great, Smalls,” I rasp. “I’ll go in and check on her.”

Her fingers clench my shirt like she wants to hold on to me,