“I can drop you at home, and you ca

“I can drop you at home, and you can pick up your car at my house tomorrow.”

“No, no.” Ben held up his hands. “I’ll cut myself off now and sober up. We’ll be on our way soon.”

“Well, you shouldn’t drive. Not at all.” I averted my eyes, my aggravation building

“I can take care of myself, Tate,” Ben asserted. “If you want to leave now, then you’ll have to find another ride. If you want to leave with me, I’ll be ready in a while.”

What?! How long is “a while?”

This was getting ridiculous, and my patience was spent. He’d said we could leave by 11:30, and I’d taken him at his word.

Ben pulled at my arm to lead me back to the bonfire, but I yanked it free and stalked away. He didn’t say another word, so I assumed he kept going without me.

I needed to get home, and Ben was no longer my ride. Was this the scene I’d been itching to be a part of? Ben and his friends were about as interesting as cornflakes, the girls had no other interests beside shopping and makeup, and the guys here gave me the urge to sanitize my eyeballs after seeing the way they looked at me.

After a quick sweep of the area, I ascertained that K.C. was already gone. I dug my phone out of my purse and dialed her anyway. No answer.

Looking around for the cross-country teammate I’d spotted earlier, I noticed that she, too, was nowhere in sight. The only other option was to call my grandma, who I dreaded waking up at this hour, but she’d at least be happy to know I’d called for a safe ride.

I twisted my lips up in disappointment when my Grandma didn’t answer her phone, either. That wasn’t unusual, since she often forgot to take her phone to bed. And thanks to the convenience of cell phones, we’d disconnected our hard line years ago.

Awesome.

My only options at this point were to wait for Ben and convince him to let me drive or hike it to the parking lot and ask someone I knew for a ride.

Ben could go piss up a tree.

I trekked over the rocks and into the woods for the short traipse to the clearing near the road where everyone parked.

With no flashlight available, I used my cell phone screen as a light to guide my way. It was a straight shot, but the path was littered with sticks and stumps. Trees had already begun losing their leaves, but the rain we’d received this fall kept everything moist and pliable. Droplets splattered my ankles as I stomped on wet foliage, and a few bare branches poked at my skin, stinging me.

“Well, look what I found.”

I jumped, startled out of the quiet that had just surrounded me. Looking up, I cringed at the sight of Nate Deitrich…who was eye-fucking me as usual.

It looked like he was coming from where I was trying to go, and now he blocked my way. “It’s fate, Tate.” His sing-song voice rhymed.

“Get out of my way, Nate.” I approached him slowly, but he didn’t budge. I tried to go around him, but his hands shot out to grab my waist, and he pulled me to him. My muscles tightened, and my hands curled into fists.

“Shh,” Nate implored as I tried to push myself away. His breathing echoed in my ear, and he reeked of alcohol. “Tate, I’ve wanted you for so long. You know that. How about you put me out of my misery, and let me to take you home?” His nose was in my hair, and his hands dropped to my ass. I stiffened.

“Stop it,” I ordered and tried to bring my knee up between his legs. But it seemed he already anticipated that move, because his legs were too close together.

Nate shook with laughter. Kneading my ass, he whispered, “Oh, I know you’re tricks, Tate. Stop fighting it. I could take you on the ground right now if I wanted to.”

His lips crushed down on mine, and the acidic taste of vomit rose in my throat.

I bit down on his bottom lip, hard enough for my bottom teeth to feel my top teeth through the skin. He growled and released me, pawing at his mouth to check for blood.

Grabbing the pepper spray out of my purse that my dad insisted I keep there, I shot for his eyes. He screamed and stumbled backwards as his hands covered his face. I finally brought my knee up between his legs, and watched him crumple to the ground, grabbing the strap of my tank top as he fell.

Run! Just run! I screamed to myself.

But no. I leaned over him as he let out wails of pain. “Why are the guys at our school such dicks?!”

One hand covering his eyes and the other hand clutching his crotch.

“Shit! You fucking bitch!” Nate groaned as he tried to open his eyes.

“Tatum!” Jared’s voice boomed behind me, and my shoulders jerked before spinning around. Eyes furiously jetting between Nate and me, Jared looked as rigid as a lion before the pounce. He let out shallow breathes between his lips, and his hands were tight fists. I saw his eyes dart to my shoulder where the strap of my top lay flopped forward where it had ripped.

“Did he hurt you?” Jared asked evenly, but his lips were tight, and his eyes were murderous.

“He tried.” I covered my shoulder where my skin was exposed. “I’m fine.” My voice was curt. The last thing I wanted tonight was to play the damsel in distress for Jared.

Peeling off his black button up, Jared tossed it to me as he headed my way. “Put this on. Now.”

Catching the shirt as it hit me in the face, part of me wanted to throw it right back at him. Although Jared and I had found common ground during the race, it didn’t mean that I wanted or needed his help.

However, I was exposed, cold, and in no mood to draw attention to myself. Slipping on the shirt, the heat from Jared’s body warmed my arms and chest. The cuffs fell below my hands, and when I brought them up to let the warmth cover my cold cheeks, I could smell his man scent. The hybrid musk and tire smell almost made my lungs burst as I tried to take deeper breaths of the aroma.

“You have a poor, fucking memory, Dietrich. What did I tell you?” Jared bent down to growl in Nate’s face. He grabbed a handful of Nate’s shirt at his chest and hauled him upright before delivering a strong blow to Nate’s stomach.

My eyes damn-near bulged at Jared’s attack. The guttural punch reminded me of molding clay. Nate’s figure bent with the hit, and he wouldn’t be the same for a while. His wheezing, as he tried to catch his breath, sounded like a cross between a smoker and a zombie’s gurgling.

Jared used his left hand to clamp Nate around the neck as he backed him up to a tree. With his right fist he delivered blow after blow to Nate’s face. My knees started to cave as I watched Jared squeeze Nate’s neck until his knuckles were white.

Stop, Jared.

He kept punching until blood dripped from Nate’s eye and nose.

When he didn’t show any signs of stopping, I stepped forward. “Stop. Jared, stop!” I called out, my firm voice carrying over Nate’s grunts and gasps.

Jared ceased his assault but immediately yanked Nate by the crook of his elbow and threw him to the ground. “This isn’t over,” he assured the bloodied, crumpled mess on the ground.

What was he doing?

Turning to face me, Jared’s chest rose and fell heavily with his breathing. The exertion made his body seem weighed down as his shoulders slumped, but his eyes were still vicious. He looked at me with a mixture of weariness and fury.

“I’m taking you home.” He turned to walk for the lot, not even seeing if I’d follow.

Take me home?! Yeah, so he could feel like the big hero?

Letting Jared feel like he’d dug me out of a situation I had control of cut my pride. Screw that.

“No thanks. I have a ride,” I spit out the lie before I let him do me any favors.

“Your ride,” Jared turned to look at me with disgust, “is drunk. Now, unless you’d like to wake up your poor grandmother to come out into the middle of nowhere to get you after your date gets drunk, and you almost get raped—which I’m sure will do wonders for your father trusting you to be alone, by the way—then you’ll get in the goddamn car, Tate.”

And he turned to walk away, knowing I'd follow him.

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

"Aku bisa drop Anda di rumah, dan Anda bisa mengambil mobil Anda di rumah saya besok.""Tidak, tidak." Ben mengangkat tangannya. "Aku akan memotong diri sekarang dan siuman. Kami akan segera perjalanan kami.""Yah, Anda tidak boleh berkendara. Tidak sama sekali." Aku mengalihkan mata saya, gedung kejengkelan saya"Aku bisa mengurus diriku sendiri, Tate," Ben menegaskan. "Jika Anda ingin pergi sekarang, maka Anda akan harus menemukan lain naik. Jika Anda ingin meninggalkan dengan saya, saya akan siap dalam waktu."Apa?! Berapa lama Apakah "sementara?"Ini mendapatkan konyol, dan kesabaran saya dihabiskan. Dia telah mengatakan kami bisa meninggalkan oleh 11:30, dan saya membawanya kepada FirmanNya.Ben menarik lenganku membawa saya kembali ke dalam api, tapi aku menarik gratis dan berjalan pergi. Dia tidak mengatakan kata lain, sehingga aku menduga ia terus berjalan tanpa aku.Saya perlu untuk mendapatkan rumah, dan Ben adalah tidak lagi naik. Apakah ini adegan saya sudah gatal untuk menjadi bagian dari? Ben dan teman-temannya itu tentang seperti menarik sebagai cornflakes, gadis-gadis telah ada kepentingan lain selain berbelanja dan makeup, dan orang-orang di sini memberi saya dorongan untuk membersihkan bola mata saya setelah melihat cara mereka melihat saya.Setelah cepat menyapu wilayah, saya dipastikan bahwa K.C. sudah hilang. Aku menggali telepon saya keluar dari tas dan dipanggil dia pula. Tidak ada jawaban.Mencari rekan setimnya lintas negara yang saya telah melihat sebelumnya, saya melihat bahwa dia, juga, adalah tempat di mata. Hanya pilihan lainnya adalah untuk memanggil nenek saya, yang saya mulai takut bangun jam ini, tapi dia setidaknya akan senang mengetahui aku menelepon untuk naik aman.Aku berputar bibirku dalam kekecewaan ketika nenek saya tidak menjawab telepon, baik. Itu bukan tidak biasa, karena dia sering lupa untuk mengambil telepon ke tempat tidur. Dan berkat kenyamanan ponsel, kami telah terputus garis keras kami tahun lalu.Keren.Satunya pilihan saat ini sedang menunggu untuk Ben dan meyakinkannya untuk membiarkan saya berkendara atau berjalan ke tempat parkir dan meminta seseorang aku tahu untuk naik.Ben bisa pergi kencing ke sebuah pohon.Aku berjalan kaki batuan dan ke hutan untuk pendek jorok untuk membersihkan dekat jalan mana semua orang yang diparkir.Dengan senter tidak tersedia, saya menggunakan layar ponsel saya sebagai cahaya untuk membimbing jalan. Itu lurus, tapi jalan penuh dengan tongkat dan tunggul. Pohon sudah mulai kehilangan daun, tapi hujan kami telah menerima pada musim gugur ini terus semuanya lembab dan lentur. Tetesan memercik pergelangan kaki saya sebagai saya menginjak basah dedaunan, dan beberapa cabang telanjang mempermainkan kulit, menyengat saya."Yah, melihat apa yang saya temukan."Aku melompat, terkejut dari tenang yang hanya mengelilingi saya. Mencari, aku merasa ngeri mata Nate Deitrich... yang adalah mata-sialan saya seperti biasa.Itu tampak seperti dia akan datang dari mana saya mencoba untuk pergi, dan sekarang ia diblokir cara saya. "It's nasib, Tate." Suaranya bernyanyi lagu dgn bunyi yg disesuaikan."Keluar dari cara saya, Nate." Aku perlahan-lahan mendekat kepadanya, tetapi ia tidak bergerak. Aku mencoba untuk pergi di sekelilingnya, tetapi tangannya menembak untuk ambil pinggang, dan ia menarikku kepadanya. Mengencangkan otot-otot saya, dan tangan saya meringkuk dalam tinju."Shh," Nate memohon saat aku mencoba untuk mendorong diri sendiri di kaki. Pernapasan nya bergema di telinga saya, dan ia reeked alkohol. "Tate, saya ingin Anda untuk begitu lama. Anda tahu bahwa. Bagaimana Anda menempatkan saya keluar dari penderitaan saya, dan biarkan aku membawa Anda rumah? " Hidungnya pada rambut saya, dan tangannya turun pantatku. Saya kaku."Berhenti itu," Aku memerintahkan dan mencoba untuk memunculkan lutut saya antara kakinya. Tapi sepertinya dia sudah mengantisipasi yang bergerak, karena kakinya yang terlalu berdekatan.Nate mengguncang dengan tawa. Meremas pantat saya, ia berbisik, "Oh, aku tahu kau sedang trik, Tate. Menghentikan pertempuran itu. Aku bisa mengambil Anda di tanah sekarang jika saya ingin."Bibirnya hancur turun pada saya, dan rasa asam muntah bangkit di tenggorokan.Aku menggigit bibir bawah, cukup sulit untuk gigi bawah saya merasa gigi saya atas melalui kulit. Dia berkata sambil menggeram dan merilis me, mengais-ngais di mulutnya untuk memeriksa darah.Grabbing semprotan merica dari tas saya yang ayah saya bersikeras aku tetap ada, aku menembak untuk matanya. Dia menjerit dan tersandung mundur sebagai tangannya menutupi wajahnya. Aku akhirnya dibesarkan lutut saya antara kakinya, dan mengawasi dia benturan ke tanah, meraih tali tank top kerana ia jatuh.Menjalankan! Hanya menjalankan! Aku berteriak untuk diriku sendiri.Tapi no. aku membungkuk kepadanya saat dia membiarkan keluar lolongan kesakitan sakit. "Mengapa adalah orang di sekolah kami seperti dicks?!"Satu tangan menutup matanya dan sisi lain yang mencengkeram selangkangan."Omong kosong! Anda sialan jalang!" Nate mengerang saat dia mencoba untuk membuka matanya."Tatum!" Jared's suara menggelegar di belakang saya, dan bahu saya tersentak sebelum berputar di sekitar. Mata marah terbang antara Nate dan saya, Jared tampak sekaku singa sebelum menerkam. Dia membiarkan dangkal bernapas di antara bibirnya, dan tangannya yang ketat tinju. Saya melihat nya mata panah ke bahu saya mana tali atas saya berbaring gagal maju mana itu telah robek."Apakah dia sakit Anda?" Jared bertanya secara merata, tapi bibirnya yang ketat, dan matanya pembunuh."Dia mencoba." Aku menutupi bahuku mana kulit saya terkena. "Aku baik-baik saja." Suara saya adalah singkat. Hal terakhir yang saya ingin malam ini adalah untuk bermain gadis dalam kesulitan untuk Jared.Mengelupas off nya hitam tombol sampai, Jared melemparkan padaku ketika sundulannya cara saya. "Mengenakan ini. Sekarang."Penangkapan kemeja seperti itu memukul saya di wajah, Bagian dari diriku ingin membuangnya tepat arahnya. Meskipun Jared dan saya telah menemukan landasan bersama selama perlombaan, itu tidak berarti bahwa saya inginkan atau dibutuhkan bantuannya.Namun, saya terkena, dingin, dan tidak berminat untuk menarik perhatian untuk diri sendiri. Slip pada kemeja, panas dari tubuh Jared's menghangatkan pelukanku dan dada. Borgol jatuh di bawah tangan, dan ketika saya membawa mereka ke membiarkan kehangatan menutupi pipiku dingin, saya bisa mencium aroma tubuhnya manusia. Hibrida musk dan ban bau hampir membuat paru-paru saya meledak saat aku mencoba untuk mengambil napas dalam lebih dalam dari aroma."Anda memiliki memori miskin, sialan, Dietrich. Apa Apakah saya memberitahu Anda?" Jared bengkok ke growl di Nate wajah. Dia menyambar segenggam Nate kemeja dadanya dan mengangkut dia tegak sebelum memberikan pukulan yang kuat untuk Nate perut.Saya mata sialan-dekat melotot di Jared's serangan. Pukulan guttural mengingatkan saya molding tanah liat. Nate gambar membungkuk dengan memukul, dan dia tidak akan sama untuk sementara waktu. Nya mengi, saat dia mencoba untuk menangkap napas, terdengar seperti Persilangan antara seorang perokok dan zombie menggelegak.Jared menggunakan tangan kiri untuk menjepit Nate di leher, seperti ia didukung dia ke sebuah pohon. Dengan tinjunya tepat ia menyampaikan pukulan setelah pukulan ke wajah Nate. Lutut saya mulai gua ketika saya melihat Jared memeras Nate leher sampai jarinya putih.Berhenti, Jared.Dia terus meninju sampai darah menetes dari Nate mata dan hidung.Ketika dia tidak menunjukkan tanda-tanda berhenti, saya melangkah maju. "Berhenti. Jared, berhenti!" Aku memanggil, suaraku perusahaan membawa Nate grunts dan napas.Jared berhenti serangan tapi segera menarik Nate oleh lekuk siku dan melemparkannya ke tanah. "Ini bukan," dia meyakinkan berdarah, kusut kekacauan di tanah.Apa yang dia lakukan?Beralih ke wajah saya, Jared's dada naik dan turun berat dengan pernapasan nya. Pengerahan tenaga membuat tubuhnya tampak ditimbang turun karena bahunya merosot tajam, tapi matanya masih setan. Dia menatapku dengan campuran kelelahan dan kemarahan."Aku akan membawa Anda pulang." Ia berbalik untuk berjalan untuk banyak, bahkan tidak melihat jika saya akan mengikuti.Membawaku pulang? Ya, sehingga ia bisa merasa seperti pahlawan besar?Membiarkan Jared merasa seperti dia akan digali saya keluar dari situasi yang aku punya kontrol memotong kesombongan saya. Sekrup yang.
“No thanks. I have a ride,” I spit out the lie before I let him do me any favors.

“Your ride,” Jared turned to look at me with disgust, “is drunk. Now, unless you’d like to wake up your poor grandmother to come out into the middle of nowhere to get you after your date gets drunk, and you almost get raped—which I’m sure will do wonders for your father trusting you to be alone, by the way—then you’ll get in the goddamn car, Tate.”

And he turned to walk away, knowing I'd follow him.