Page 9 of Wrecked

He slams the phone in the receiver and pushes me down onto the chair. Taking the handcuffs back out of his pocket, he slaps one on my wrist. “You need permission to make a call. You need permission to stand, to use the restroom, to speak. You got that?” He attaches the other end of the cuffs to the wooden edge of the chair.

“Do I need your permission to breathe?”

Adam leans his hands on both armrests and hovers over me, his face inches from mine. “As far as I’m concerned, you need my permission to exist.” His onyx eyes are sharp and serious.

My breath hitches, and my stomach drops. He has this way of commanding you, affecting me.

Total domination.

“You don’t have to be such a dick. I was just calling my sister.”

Adam swallows, his Adam’s apple protruding with the motion. He smells like aftershave and spearmint. “What is Emma going to do for you from Pittsburgh? You’re better off waiting until morning and calling your parents.”

I shake my head and look down. Adam is still lingering over me, his arms taut and stiff. I don’t want to look him in the eye anymore.

“I can’t call them. They’ll be devastated.”

“You should have thought of that before you got behind the wheel.” He pushes off the chair and steps back, looking down on me.

“I wasn’t driving!” I nearly jump out of my seat, the motion making the cuff dig into my wrist. I rub it with my free hand. “How many times do I have to say that it wasn’t me?”

“If you weren’t driving, who was?”

“Victoria Followell. I explained this to Officer Harper, but he wouldn’t listen. Yes, I was drunk. I wouldn’t lie about that. But I would never, ever get behind the wheel. She took the keys. She crashed the car, and she ran.”

“Why would she run? Was she drunk, too?”

“No, but she was on something. I didn’t know it when I got in the car. I swear. She suddenly became erratic. I asked what she was on, and she said ‘brown’ something. I don’t know.”

“Afghan brown,” he says with familiarity.

“Yes.” I lean forward and motion to him with my free hand. “What the hell is that?”

“Heroin,” he says with a bitter edge to his voice. “It’s cheap, and you can smoke it.”

“I think she got it from those bikers who were at the bar. She was hanging out with them all night.”

Adam crosses his arms over his chest as his narrowed eyes study my face. His mouth is pursed, his expression pensive.

“Why should I believe you? Harper sure didn’t have any reason to think there was another driver. Maybe you’re just using Victoria to get out of trouble.”

I clench my jaw. “Adam, you know I’d never do that. You’ve known me since I was fifteen years old. Have I ever done anything like this before?”

“People change.”

“You changed!” My heart is racing, my adrenaline pumping in my veins.

I take a deep breath, and with it come the tears I was fighting from releasing in front of him. Resting my elbow on the chair, I lay my face in my hand to hide. I don’t want him to see my desperation.

I can’t see him, yet I can feel him standing there. His heat, his gaze, the judgment radiating from his skin. His mouth is silent, but his thoughts are screaming at me.

“I know what you think of me. I’m the girl who shakes her ass on top of a bar for tips. I’ve seen the scowl on your face every time you walk in there.” I lift my head and face him. I’m sure my skin is red and splotchy with my mascara probably running down my face.

“I don’t do it for a few bucks. I do it for my future. That bar is mine! At the end of the summer, Paulie is selling it to me. I would never do anything to jeopardize the one thing I have been working toward for five years. I’ve saved every penny I have. My parents mortgaged their home. My grandmother sold her bonds. And you think I’d destroy all of that? For what? For a drink and the inconvenience of calling a cab?” I wipe my face with the back of my hand.

“You don’t get it. You think everyone is out to destroy themselves. Well, not me. I am here to make something of myself. And now, thanks to you and Officer Harper, I am never going to get my liquor license. My dream will never come true, and I will be just another washed up, old has-been in this stupid town.” I inhale through my nose and look to the side.

A hand is hovering near my face, holding on to something white. I look over and see Adam handing a Kleenex to me. I take it, wipe my nose, and then blot under my eyes.