I cross my arms over my chest, shocked when he reaches across my lap and tugs on the door handle, pushing the door with the palm of his hand. The air is colder than I remembered.

"Get out then." He snaps, his eyes facing forward, his hands now locked to the steering wheel.

He's kidding, right? "All of that... just to leave me in the middle of town?"

"I used you, right? So what do I care?"

"Fine. I'm going." I unclip my belt and use the handle above the door to heave myself out. "Seems clever doesn't it? Saving me from some wicked eighteen year old, only to abandon me by myself in the f.u.c.king streets, where there are probably worse couches to wake up on."

His jaw hardens. "You aren't my problem, Elle. You're not worth losing my job over."

"Whatever, I know my way back." I slam the door and look around to get a grip on where I actually am. When I figure it out, I move my legs in the correct direction, only staggering a little.

f.u.c.k, it's actually quite cold now I'm a little more sober.

Ha! I took his water with me.

I turn and throw it in his general direction when he starts to pull away. I watch it soar through the air before connecting with the right wing mirror. It smashes. Not the bottle, no, that explodes. The mirror smashes.

That was not meant to happen. Oh s.h.i.t.

I think walking away would be best at this point, so that's what I do. I turn and keep walking.

"f.u.c.k," he curses after I hear him climb from his car. "Are you f.u.c.king kidding me? Do you have a robotic arm?"

I keep walking, still in shock over my apparent throwing skill. I bet I couldn't do that again if I tried.

"Psycho!"

I flip him off over my shoulder and pull my ringing phone out of my pocket. It's Hayley.

"Hey," I breathe, wrapping my free arm around my body. "What's up?"

"Where the h.e.l.l are you? I'm all... where's my b.i.t.c.h? And you're all gone and stuff. We're playing strip poker! Get your a.r.s.e back here."

"I just went for a walk. I'm like crazy wasted."

"We skipping tomorrow?"

"I don't think there's another option. I'll be back soon. Save me a seat."

"Already have. Want me to send somebody to meet you?"

I shake my head, even though she can't see me. "No, I'm nearly there."

"Okay."

Hanging up my phone, I stop and press it into my pocket. The ground is severely spinning, but not as bad as it was. Nothing like a bit of adrenaline to get your brain focused.

"You're going back?" Isaac's car slows to a crawl beside me. "You're paying for my wing mirror."

I ignore him and keep on walking.

"Come on, get in. I'll give you a ride."

"No thanks," I snap, shivering slightly.

"Elle..."

"p.i.s.s off."

"Look, you've been drinking. You're not thinking clearly."

"No?" I stop and tilt my head. "So what's your excuse for the events of tonight?"

"Elle, just get in the car."

"No."

"Elle, get in the f.u.c.king car."

"I said no!"

"Will you both shut up?" Somebody shouts from a nearby window. "People are trying to f.u.c.king sleep!"

"Get in the car, Elle." He orders in a hiss, ignoring the person in the window.

"I'm going back to the party."

"I'll drive you there."

I let out a laugh, like I actually believe that.

"Elle, please... get in the car."

"Why?"

"Because..."

I wait but he doesn't continue. "Because what?"

"Because I brought you here against your will. I need to take you back. It wasn't my place to interfere." His eyes plead with me and I hear the sincerity in his voice. Part of me wants to argue with him, but the rest of me really doesn't want to walk all the way back to the party.

I let out a sigh and climb into the car. He waits for me to buckle up before starting the car and doing a U-turn in the road.

When he stops on the corner of the next street, after driving in silence for only two minutes, I'm wondering why. But then I see and my heart stops.

"What did you do?" I ask as my dad angrily storms towards the car. "Isaac... what the f.u.c.k did you do?"

He closes his eyes. "You'll thank me tomorrow."

The door is yanked open as a rush of feelings spiral through me. I'm dragged out, my organs doing a flip and bouncing around my body twice. "How much do we owe you for the window?" My dad asks Isaac.

"Nothing, I'm covered."

"I'm so sorry about this. Thank you so much for picking her up."

I don't know what to say. I think this is what shock is. Or maybe this is what heartbreak is.

"I'll see you in school, Eloise." Isaac says softly, remorse in his eyes.

"Don't ever talk to me again," I breathe, wondering how this night got bad so quickly.

"Eloise!" My dad snaps, shutting my teacher's car door before grabbing my arm once more. "I'll take the cost of repair off your next rent cheque."

"No need, just get her home safe."

A tear falls from my eye. I angrily wipe it away and allow my dad to pull me to the car. He doesn't speak. He'll save it for when we get home.

The second we do get home, he says only one sentence that breaks my heart. "No France trip."

I don't even bother to argue. I push past my mum, who is waiting in the hall in her dressing gown, concern in her eyes, and race up the stairs.

I hear them arguing, but I don't really pay attention. I know Mum is defending me and I know Dad is disgusted. Mum thinks that now I'm eighteen I should be allowed a little freedom. Dad thinks that while I live under his roof I should follow his rules, that I need preparing for University. Mum argues that I'm a good girl, I'm just having fun. Dad thinks said fun could get me raped or worse.

Neither of them are wrong, but I don't care about that.

How could he betray me so badly?

Chapter Twenty.

Isaac "You had no right to intervene!" My dad yells. "No G.o.d d.a.m.n right!"

"I know..." I admit, rubbing my tired eyes. "I know... I just... I was worried and she was being stubborn."

"She's an eighteen year old girl! She's allowed to drink and hang around with her friends, just like you did at eighteen!" He slams his hand down on the table. "She's done a lot for us. She's never been any trouble and, to be honest, she drinks and parties less than any other student in this b.l.o.o.d.y school!"

I look between him and my mum. My mum won't even make eye contact with me.

I've been stupid. My emotions got the better of me. I was angry; I was frustrated and I had that stupid f.u.c.king tingle in my chest. I don't know why I did what I did.

"She doesn't want to talk to you anymore. She doesn't want to be in that cla.s.s."

"She's dropped out?" I blink, my heart heavy and a different kind of tingle now annoying the f.u.c.k out of me.

"Right after she came and told me what you'd done and guess what, Isaac..." I wince at his sour, angry tone. "I love that girl to pieces, but she's eighteen. I can't f.u.c.king stop her if she wants to drop your cla.s.s." My dad never swears, so the fact he just swore has shaken me. "You had no right. None whatsoever."

"I'll apologise; I'll fix it."

"No you won't. You'll stay away from her and you'll focus on your other students."

"I need to..."

He slams his hand on the table, startling both me and my mum, his eyes blazing with an anger I haven't seen in years. "You will stay away from the girl."

"Mum," I try, hoping she'll defend me. She looks away, shaking her head as disappointment swims through her eyes. "I was worried. She was intoxicated! That a.r.s.ehole had his hands all over her. I didn't think she was safe there."

"According to Eloise, that a.r.s.ehole is the guy she's dating and she was perfectly happy in his company. Again... she's an adult."

"You did the same thing once. I know about the time she showed up at school still intoxicated from the night before and you called her parents then!" I argue, pointing at my dad. "You're telling me if you pa.s.sed a party where a girl is clearly being molested, you wouldn't step in?"

"What I did was what I had to do!"

"She threw up in the cafeteria and fell down three steps, Isaac. She was a bit of a mess that day, as were a few of her friends." My mother says softly. "It happened on school grounds and they were all underage."

"I don't see the difference between protecting a young girl in school as opposed to protecting her if you happen to come across her outside of school."

My dad shoots me a glare, one that definitely tells me to shut up. "I understand that you think your intentions were n.o.ble, but what you did was worse than what we had to do. She is of age to legally drink. She's not a child. She states she was happy where she was until you interfered. Her father is furious with her, has grounded her and she's pulling out of a cla.s.s because she can't stand the sight of you. Think about what you did and how you handled it. What you should have done is called the Police to break up the party, like you should do if you happen to come across any student in that situation."

I stand and grab my coat from the couch, ignoring his suggestive tone in the latter sentence. "I didn't come back here for this s.h.i.t."

"Isaac," my mother calls, sounding horrified.

"Let him go and lick his b.l.o.o.d.y wounds. He knows he's in the wrong."

I slam the door on my way out.

He's not wrong though.

What the f.u.c.k have I done?

It's Wednesday morning and I'm shocked n.o.body knows what happened. I honestly thought Eloise would tell somebody we slept together as revenge. I thought she would have told other people what I did on Monday night. Instead, n.o.body seems to know a thing.

It's when she strolls through the door that I'm thrown off. I thought she'd dropped out of my lesson. It seems Hayley did too, because she looks shocked when Eloise walks in.

They whisper for the first few minutes and I let them have their chat.

I'm petrified I'll do something to push Elle over the edge and she'll tell people what we did together.

I'm even more shocked when Garrett walks into my cla.s.s, bowing when his cla.s.smates cheer. He strolls over to Eloise, leans down and kisses her deeply. My stomach twists.