Free Falling (8 page)

He nodded and let go of my arm. “My ride’s over here. You
should lock your car otherwise it’ll get stolen. I’m already a little worried
about what state it’ll be in if you leave it here all night,” he said, looking
over Luke’s BMW M6 appreciatively.

I shrugged. “I don’t care; it’s my ex-boyfriend’s.”

He raised one eyebrow, looking at me curiously. “I thought
you said your boyfriend wouldn’t take you home, now you have your ex’s car?”

I shook my head. “Same guy. He’s now my ex because he
couldn’t keep his dick in his pants tonight,” I stated, feeling my lip tremble
as I said the words. I didn’t want to think about it again, I didn’t want to
think about the fact that the guy I was totally and utterly in love with had
just cheated on me and thrown everything we had down the toilet for a one night
stand.

He frowned. “Stupid guy,” he mumbled so quietly I was barely
even sure if I heard him right. Then he grinned at me, tossing his half smoked
cigarette on the floor and stubbing it out with his toe. He had a wicked glint
to his eye as he bent down and picked up a rock the size of a baseball, holding
it out to me. “Want a little payback?” he offered, nodding at the car when I
didn’t quite understand what he was getting at.

“Payback? What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, shaking my
head in confusion.

He laughed. “Don’t you want to hit him in the worst place
imaginable? Well, after a kick to the balls anyway.” When I still didn’t get it
he sighed and stepped closer to me, taking my hand and putting the rock in my
palm. “A guy’s car is important to him, if someone were to come along and smash
his windscreen during the night… well, that would be very unfortunate, wouldn’t
it?” he asked, smirking at me.

I gulped, watching his face to see if he was serious. He
wanted me to smash Luke’s windshield and then pretend it wasn’t me? I looked
back at Luke’s car. It was his baby, but I didn’t think he would be that
bothered if it got bashed up, his family had too much money to be concerned
over a piece of glass that needed replacing. Besides, he had two cars, so this
was really no big deal if it got a little damaged; he wouldn’t care so there
was no point.

“Don’t you want to pay him back for cheating on you? Don’t
you want to hurt him like he hurt you?” he purred, his voice so seductive and
encouraging that I actually shivered. It felt like he was the little devil that
was sitting on my shoulder telling me to do bad things. “Cheating on you, while
you were at the same party no less. The guy deserves something, doesn’t he?” he
teased. I could hear the amusement in his voice.

I turned to frown at him. I wasn’t smashing Luke’s windshield,
it wouldn’t accomplish anything and would just leave his car open to thieves
during the night. “I don’t want payback; I just want to go home.” I sniffed and
wiped at my face again, noticing that the tears had finally stopped; maybe I’d
finally ran out, who knows.

He rolled his eyes as I dropped the rock down onto the
floor. “Girls like you want to be walked all over. I wonder how many times he’s
screwed some tramp and then done you straight after,” he mused as he turned to
walk off.

I felt the anger boiling in my system. His words hit me
hard.
Just how many times has Luke been with another girl and then had sex
with me in the same night?
Before I knew what I was doing I’d picked up the
rock and thrown it as hard as I could at Luke’s car. I wasn’t standing very far
away from it so the shot hit the middle of the glass, leaving a huge indented
crack and the rest of the windshield crumbled and cracked too. Immediately the
car alarm started wailing and the lights started flashing, lighting up my feet
and legs. The sound was deafening in the silence of the deserted street and I
couldn’t help the little scream that escaped out of my mouth.

“Holy shit!” the guy cried next to me, then he burst out
laughing, picked up the stone from the hood of the car, and grabbed my hand,
starting to run down the street, dragging me along with him. As I ran, for some
reason I started to laugh too. I felt a little good for doing that. Hopefully
the car alarm would sound for so long that it would kill his battery too.

We ran, holding hands, laughing. I enjoyed the sensation of
my hair whipping back, and the wind blowing in my face. I liked the adrenalin
and the fear of being caught. For some reason all of those things made my heart
thrum in my chest and a smile stretch across my face. I felt kind of free, more
alive somehow. We ran until I couldn’t do it anymore. When my lungs felt like
they were on fire, I pulled him to a stop and put my hands on my knees, gasping
for breath, and swaying a little on my feet from the alcohol. I looked up at
him to see him leaning against the wall, his arms crossed casually. He looked
the picture of ease as he smirked at me, not even a little out of breath even
though we’d been running flat out for a good three minutes.

“You need to get fitter, little rebel. If you’re going to be
a good criminal then you need to be able to make a quicker getaway than that,”
he teased, raising one eyebrow at me.

I laughed and stood up, clutching at my ribs as they burned
from the effort of breathing. I honestly did need to get fitter, he wasn’t even
breathing hard yet I was sweating like a turkey just before thanksgiving. “I
think I’ll stick to that one act. I’ve never done anything even remotely bad in
my life,” I replied, grinning like a mad woman. I was actually still on a high
that I had done that to Luke’s car; payback certainly was going to be a bitch
on this occasion. 

He grinned and shook his head, obviously amused. “Well then
I’m glad I was there to witness your demise,” he teased, winking at me. “Come
on then, let’s get you home so you can puke then sober up.” Before I could even
answer, he turned and started walking back the way we came, not even bothering
to wait for me.

“I’m Maisie,” I said, trying to keep up with him as he
walked quickly down the road. I stumbled every other step because I had no
shoes on and was still feeling the effects of the alcohol. It was harder to
keep in a straight line at this slower pace, with him not holding my hand and
dragging me along.

He turned his head and looked at me over his shoulder, as if
he was deciding if he wanted to tell me his name or not. After a couple of
seconds he obviously decided he did want to. “Zach,” he muttered, shrugging. 

I followed him down the road, wondering if I was about to be
killed. This was a classic thing you should never do, go off with a stranger
for a ride; this was what my parents had drummed into me since I could
remember. ‘Never accept a ride from a stranger, no matter what they promise
you’ but here I was, following a guy I had only just met to some unknown place.
I really was stupid.

Chapter 6

As we walked down the street he tossed the rock I’d thrown
at Luke’s car into the shrubs. “Why did you bring that?” I asked curiously as I
jogged to catch him up.

He smirked at me. “You wanted me to leave your fingerprints
all over the rock that smashed his window? If you want we can just go back and
slip a confession on there with your name and address, telling the cops where
to find you,” he suggested, laughing quietly to himself.

“I didn’t think about fingerprints. Oh my God, am I going to
get into trouble for doing that?” My eyes widened as I started to feel
nauseous. I’d just broken the law and vandalised someone else’s property and
that fact was only just sinking in. My heart was racing in my chest as I
stopped walking and started to panic.

Zach laughed and grabbed my elbow, shaking his head. “Nah,
no one was around, there’s no CCTV on that street, and I removed the evidence.
As far as you’re concerned, the car was in perfect condition when you got out
and left it.” He looked at me sternly as he started to drag me along again.

I thought about what he said. No one else but him saw me do
it, and after tonight I wouldn’t even see him again anyway, so there was no
chance I was getting into trouble for this, at least, I hoped not anyway. The
worry was starting to kill the buzz a little but deep down I was still glad I
did it. That small payback did make me feel marginally better.

He stopped after another couple of minutes and smiled at me.
“Ever ridden on a bike before?” His voice held an amused twang to it.

A bike?
I looked at what he was standing next to, a
huge black motorbike.
Holy crap, is this his ‘ride’? Is he seriously
expecting me to get on this death-trap?
It didn’t even look like it was
roadworthy, it was rusted and scratched up, the seat was a little torn and the
stuffing was leaking out.

“No way,” I whispered, shaking my head. There was no way I
was getting on this bike with him at all. I had been in a car accident a couple
of years ago with Alex, I knew how much it hurt, and that crash had been fully
protected and encased in metal, this, this was pure exposure to the road if you
fell off. There was not a chance in hell I was getting on this thing.

“Yes way,” he countered, laughing at me as he swung his leg
over it and fumbled in his pockets for his keys.

I stood there with my mouth agape, just watching as he
started the engine, well
attempted
to start the engine anyway because it
took at least five tries before it roared to life. Even the sound of the engine
screamed danger. It didn’t sound at all healthy; it was loud and whiney and
threatened to give out at any minute.

“I’m not getting on that thing. I’ll just, um,” I trailed
off, thinking and weighing my options. I could call Alex and see if anyone at
the party was sober enough to come and get me. Or maybe I could call a cab -
but if I did that I wasn’t sure how I would pay for it because I didn’t have my
purse. I could call my parents, but then how would I explain everything to
them? I could walk home, but it was well over half an hour to walk to my house
from here and I had no shoes…

He grinned and shook his head. “Pussy,” he teased, cocking
his head to the side, looking at me mockingly.

I scowled at him. I didn’t like him calling me that, for
some reason I felt like I wanted to prove myself to this stranger that I’d met
less than twenty minutes ago. “I’m not, it’s just that thing doesn’t even look
like it could hold my weight as well as yours, its wheels would probably fall
off!” I answered. Then I flinched when I realised that I’d just made a bitchy
comment about his bike when he was being nice and offering me a lift home. I
opened my mouth to apologise, but he spoke first.

“We can’t all ride around in our cheating boyfriend’s sports
car!” He frowned and looked away from me, obviously annoyed.

I chewed on my lip and felt a wave of guilt wash over me. I
was being so horrible to him, and all he was doing was being nice to me. This
wasn’t me, I wasn’t like this usually, I was Maisie Preston, sweet and kind to
everyone, but Luke had turned me into this bitter, nasty person. This was
another thing that was his fault.

“Sorry, Zach. I was out of order saying that. I’d like a
ride if you’re still offering it, but I understand if you want to tell me to
jog on,” I said, looking at him apologetically.

He chuckled quietly. “I’ve never said the words ‘jog on’ in
my life, I’d usually go for something stronger,” he said, a grin stretching
across his face. I smiled apologetically and he rolled his eyes, “Come on then,
little miss DUI, let’s get you home, huh?” He patted the seat behind him for me
to get on.

I winced and looked longingly back up the road,
contemplating my options again.

“Get on, Maisie!” he ordered, grabbing the front of my
playsuit and pulling me towards him. I squealed as my clothes moved. Where he
pulled me, the top came away from my body, so I quickly clutched it to my chest
again so he didn’t get an eyeful. He laughed and let go. “Almost got a flash
then. Maybe next time.” He winked at me and I gasped.
Maybe I really should
walk home.
“Get on the bike before I run out of gas from sitting here idle
for so freaking long. I do have places to get to you know, I don’t just hang
out on the streets waiting for random drunken girls to run me down!” I winced
thinking about almost killing him and stepped closer, gripping his shoulders
for support as I climbed, in an exceptionally unladylike fashion, onto the seat
behind him. He laughed and stood up with his legs either side of the bike, and
pulled off his hoodie, passing it to me. “It’ll be cold when we get going and
you’re only in that slutty little outfit,” he said, nodding down at the flimsy
clothes I was wearing.

“I’m not a slut.” I frowned in protest but pulled on the
offered sweater at the same time.

He smirked at me and shrugged. “Tell that to your legs that
are exposed almost to the pleasure zone which, coincidently, is pressed against
a stranger’s ass,” he commented, laughing as I slapped his back.

“Are you gonna drive me home or stand there making
assumptions about me all night?” I asked, trying to sound stern but failing
miserably, he was actually pretty funny.

“Sure. Where to?” he asked, looking at me curiously over his
shoulder. I told him my address, giving a few directions when he didn’t quite
know where it was. “Yeah, I think I know it. If I go past it or miss a turn
then just tell me and I’ll turn around.” He took my hands and put them on his
sides, signalling for me to hold on.

I nodded and gripped his T-shirt. I could feel his toned
muscles under my hands; I knew he would be in good shape because of the whole
freerunning and jumping over a moving car thing. “Where’s my helmet anyway?” I
asked, looking around for it hanging somewhere.

“Don’t have one,” he answered as he pulled out. I jerked
back in the seat from the take-off and screamed, throwing my arms around his
waist and pressing my face into his back. My heart was beating out of my chest
from the fear of it.
This is such a stupid idea; I’m so going to die.
Hopefully it’ll be quick and painless!