Chapter 65

Evelyn's POV

I still don’t know what happened. One minute I was walking to the bathroom after Sebastian’s race.

The next I’m being slammed up against the right wall of a foreign car with Sebastian going a million miles a minute.

“Someone took you just to get to me,” he’d said once we returned to his truck and abandoned the car we both were afraid of.

“I don’t remember anything,” I swore to him. “I don’t even know how long I was out.”

But the problem is, I’m still getting those text messages. No matter how many times I block the numbers, a new one appears shortly after.

“No way you’re getting rid of us that easily,” another text says after blocking another number.

I’m still shaken up about the whole ordeal, and I can tell Sebastian feels the same. He looks so on edge, always checking over his shoulder and refusing to let me leave his side when we’re together.

“You’ve been acting weird,” Olivia says to me a few days later. I’m sitting in my bed typing a paper, but my legs keep bouncing up and down from anxiety.

Knowing the truth isn’t a possibility, I just shrug.

“Winter break was kinda shitty.”

“Didn’t you go to Hawaii for a week?” She asks, tilting her head.

“That was the only part that wasn’t shitty. It was just…family shit. I still haven’t been able to wrap my mind around it.”

Olivia closes her book. “Do you want to talk about it?”

How the hell do I tell her the man I love is my stepbrother, his adoptive father who’s married to my mother abuses him, and that I was literally kidnapped and could have seriously died?

There’s no real way to explain any of this to her. Especially if there’s someone out there trying to hurt the two of us.

If Olivia is dragged into this, how can I keep her safe? The texts haven’t stopped. And I wear pepper spray around my wrist and watch over my shoulder everywhere I go.

Sebastian was even talking about hiring me a bodyguard, which is insane.

I let out a long sigh. “I don’t even know where to start. It’s a lot.”

“Well, maybe I can help—”

“No, I really don’t think you can, Olivia. This isn’t as simple as a silly little argument!”

She leans back in her seat, shocked by my outburst. Her eyes widen.

“You don’t have to shout at me, Evelyn, I was just trying to help.”

“Yeah, I know, I get that, but I’m really trying to work through it right now and it’s not something I’m ready to discuss.”

“Well, no reason to take it out on me. You keep snapping at me like I’m the one who’s causing all your issues. So go deal with it instead of taking it out on me.”

She stands up and grabs her phone and bag.

“Olivia—” I try to stop her, knowing I’ve stepped too far with her.

“I’ll be back later.”

She slams the door shut hard, which sends a shiver through my spine.

Groaning, I hit my head against the wall. How the fuck am I supposed to deal with any of this bullshit?

I pick up my phone to see if Sebastian has texted me back—we’ve been struggling since the kidnapping. But today, he’s barely spoken to me.

“Your silence is killing me. Are you okay?”

I send the text, hoping he’ll call me and make me feel better the way he always can.

I miss him. I haven’t stopped thinking about what happened the night of the race. It’s still fresh in my mind, and my wrists and parts of my body are sore still from my restraints.

It feels like a horrid nightmare that won’t ever end.

Thankfully, Sebastian does finally reply.

“Do you want to do something?”

“But are you okay?” I answer.

“I’m never going to be okay, Princess. But I would love to see you.”

“Pick me up in ten minutes?”

“On my way.”

Quickly, I start gathering my things and prepping a quick overnight bag. I don’t know how long I’ll be there, but I know one thing for sure: it’s hard to feel safe anymore.

I leave a note on Olivia’s bed telling her I’ve gone out before I exit.

Sebastian’s already waiting outside the building when I get downstairs, and the first thing I do is jump into the truck and hug him. Maybe it’s silly, and people could very well see us. But right now, I don’t care.

“I missed you,” he whispers in my ear.

“I missed you,” I echo back.

He pulls away and his dark blue eyes look into me, feeling his heart slamming in his chest against my arms.

“Let’s go somewhere quiet,” he says.

It’s still light out, but Lake Davey is glistening under the snow and slow-setting sun.

We sit together under a blanket Sebastian had in the truck.

“I hired a bodyguard.”

It’s the first thing he says after we’ve settled in. I whip my brown curls around him, shock and confusion running through me.

“You did what? Why?” I demand.

Sebastian sighs. “Because after that night, I haven’t stopped worrying about your safety. And I’d rather be extra cautious than let you get hurt.”

I want to fight him, because I don’t need a babysitter.

But I can see everything he’s feeling, and I close my eyes to take a breath.

“I know that it’s ridiculous, Eve. Trust me. The guy’s job is to watch over you when I’m not around. The fact that your life is in genuine danger makes me sick.”

“You already saved me,” I try to argue.

He snorts. “I illegally raced a car around city streets and highways because some lowlife threatened to kill you with a bomb.”

My throat clenches at the reminder.

“How am I supposed to live with myself if something happens to you? Especially if I’m the one who put your life at risk.”

“I don’t know.”

He wraps his arm around me and pulls me close, kissing the top of my head.

“You are worth more than any dollar amount, Princess. Let the bodyguard do his job. He’s supposed to blend in as a student. I need to make sure you’re safe.”

A tear slides down my face as I look at Lake Davey through one eye. I inhale the smell of Sebastian, finding it hard to keep my fears in check.

Love like ours is one worth fighting for. All he wants is to keep me safe. All I want is for him to be safe.

“How do I know you’ll be okay? What if you get kidnapped?”

I ask it, but I can’t help but breathe out a laugh.

He breathes into my hair again. “I have a few tricks up my sleeves.”

I nuzzle in closer, grateful for a man who wants to keep me safe, but at the same time, knows how to make me laugh even just a little.

We stay like that for a long time. Silently holding each other under the blanket, our hearts both pounding against our chests. It’s cold out, but nothing can take away from this moment.

I really needed this.

After over an hour, we both agree that we’re freezing. “Come home with me?” Sebastian pleads.

“Of course.”

But in that moment, I get a call from my mom. I look at the screen, back to Seb, and down again. I haven’t spoken to her too much since we left. But after the week we’ve had? I don’t think I can handle a conversation.

When she gets sent to voicemail, she sends me a text.

“The baby is a boy. Figured you’re studying or with friends, so I didn’t want to make you wait.”

I feel something move inside of me, and I’m unsure if it’s happiness, or jealousy.

“It’s a boy,” I tell Sebastian.

“Wow.”

“Yeah. Wow.”