The Wrong Path - By Vivian Marie Aubin du Paris Page 0,34

tossed onto the back of it. Beside it sat a footlocker, and in front, a small coffee table. Along the right side of the wall were long tables of tools. In the middle of the barn, where Will was currently, were two ATVs.

She watched as he wheeled one of them out, looking up at her with dancing, mischievous eyes. Her heart raced in her chest. “Get on,” he instructed.

She stared at him blankly. “You’re going to kill me in an ATV collision?” she asked. “That’s my punishment for something I didn’t do?”

He laughed. “You’re the one who came with me without asking where we were going,” he reminded.

A cold sweat formed on her body as she eyed the large, hulking machine. All it was missing was the crossbar and it could have been a jeep, except it was longer, like a motorcycle. “I assumed we were going to go home,” she said slowly, eyeing the pedals and handle bars. He didn’t really expect her to drive this, did he? “Not to uncertain death.”

“There’s nothing uncertain about it,” he corrected, releasing the handlebars. She watched in confusion as he started unbuttoning his long-sleeved black shirt, revealing a black t-shirt as he joined her on her side of the ATV. “It’s going to be an ATV crash. You said it yourself.” She cried out as she was suddenly in his arms, and then she was on the ATV, his shirt on her lap. She tucked it hastily around her legs, a little surprised at his consideration.

He leaned over her and began pointing out buttons and levers on the vehicle. After five minutes of explanation, she still had no idea what he had just said, though she really had tried to pay attention. Something about an electric start and a choke? It was as confusing as driving a stick shift—maybe worse.

“Got it?” he asked.

Annabelle looked up at him blankly. “I didn’t rat out your friends,” she said, in a last-ditch effort for self-preservation.

He rolled his eyes. “Okay. Just watch.” A moment later, he was sliding onto the ATV in front of her, forcing her back on the seat. She watched as he pushed on something she vaguely recalled him calling the throttle. He released another lever, and they were off.

She screeched and wrapped her arms around his waist as they went flying through the dirt, which kicked up all around them. She could hear him laughing over the engine, and then they were being thrown to the side as the ATV spun in circles before smoothing out into large figure eights. Slowly, as the movements started to feel a little more comfortable, she pulled her head out of his back and dared to look around.

The world around them was a blur, but it was so close… so incredibly close. It was dizzying and terrifying to think that if she just put out her leg she could touch the ground, but it was also strangely exhilarating.

The excitement bubbled up inside of her, and she laughed, feeling the adrenaline pump through her. She’d never felt anything so… amazing.

In response, the ATV sped up. She squealed, clutching tighter onto his waist. She could feel him laugh, even as he stopped turning the machine and instead headed for the forest. Her heart pounded in her chest as she prayed that he knew where he was going—and that they wouldn’t crash into a tree, since they weren’t wearing any safety gear to speak of.

He seemed to, though, and for a long time they drove around on the slightly bumpy terrain, until her sides hurt from laughing and her mouth ached from grinning. When he finally pulled back up in front of the barn, she felt cold and hot at the same time, bursting with energy. He lifted himself up off the ATV and she was surprised to find she was disappointed at the sudden loss of contact. For so long they had seemed to meld together as they rode… Letting go felt strange.

He held out a hand to her to help her off, and she took it, lifting his shirt up from her lap as she stepped down. She laughed at the sight of her legs—her thighs were totally clean and smooth, and from her knees down were completely covered in dirt and mud.

“We’re filthy,” she declared, laughing and shaking her hair. She groaned at the leaf she felt stuck there and slowly pulled it out, holding it up for him to see.

He laughed, taking it from her