~ Zoie's POV ~
Miles looked concerned.
How could he not? Zoie was distraught when she asked him to take her home. And once they got in the car, he saw Asher chasing after them. Zoie told him to go, so he hit the gas pedal and speeded off.
"Is everything okay with you and your brother?" he asked once they got far enough away.
"Yeah, don't worry about him. He's just... really annoying sometimes," she huffed.
"Oh, I know what you mean," Miles laughed. "I have an older brother. Total pain in my ass,"
Zoie turned her face to Miles, waiting for him to continue.
"He's way bigger than me, and when we were kids, he'd sit on top of me to win fights. I couldn't breathe, I almost passed out one time!"
"Oh my God," she gasped.
"Yeah. Total asshole," he laughed.
So, Miles has annoying siblings too. Another thing we have in common.
"Well, mine didn't really sit on me, but he's always picking fights. He's mean and... way too overprotective," she said.
Miles paused for a beat before saying, "I get it though,"
"What?"
"If I have a beautiful sister like you, I'd be overprotective too,"
Zoie's cheeks flared up red in embarrassment. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling too much.
"Oh, please," she rolled her eyes.
"What? It's true," he laughed again.
Zoie opened her mouth to speak, but before she could do so---
* HONK! HONK! *
A loud honking sound was heard coming from behind them. Zoie and Miles turned their heads to see a black BMW right on their tail. Asher was driving rather skillfully. He out-speeded them and positioned himself on the right side of Miles's car. Then he rolled down the window and yelled, "Stop the car!"
"Don't stop the car!" Zoie said to Miles.
Miles was really concerned now. Asher looked mad, but he chose to follow Zoie's request. He picked up the speed and tried to get away from Asher. He managed to get a few feet away from him, but Asher was relentless. He maneuvered his car around Miles's car and all of a sudden, he was already in front of them. Miles had to hit the brake forcefully in order not to crash the car.
* SKIDDD! *
Miles's car skidded to a halt just inches away from Asher's BMW. Zoie's eyes went wide like saucers as she held on tightly. She thought they were gonna crash. Asher, on the other hand, was unfazed by it. He kept a straight face as he glared daggers at Miles and Zoie.
"Get out of the car, Zoie!" he roared.
Zoie swallowed hard. She knew she wasn't gonna win this fight.
"Damn! What's his problem?!" Miles groaned as he slapped the steering wheel.
"It's alright, Miles. He's just... being a big brother," Zoie sighed, choosing her words carefully. "I think I just need to go with him,"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Thanks for driving me home," she said as she took off her seatbelt. "And sorry for all the commotion,"
"Of course, no worries,"
Zoie flashed him a sorry smile and Miles nodded understandingly. When Zoie opened the car door, she then remembered she was still wearing Mile's hoodie. She was about to take it off when Miles said, "You can hold on to it,"
Zoie looked at Miles, full of gratitude.
"Thanks," she said. "Again,"
Miles gave her one last smile.
"I look forward to our date," he said.
"Me too--"
* HONK! HONK! *
Asher hit the horns again mercilessly. It totally ruined whatever moment Zoie and Miles were having. Zoie groaned in frustration and rolled her eyes.
"Good night, Miles," she said as she got off.
"Good night, Zoie,"
Zoie gave him a quick wave before closing the door shut. Then she went into the BMW and as soon as the door was closed, Asher hit the gas pedal. Zoie didn't even get a chance to put on her seatbelt yet. Her body was knocked back due to the force.
"Woah! What the hell is your problem?!" she yelled.
"Me?!" he yelled back. "Who told you to get into a car with that guy!?"
"I wanna go home but you were busy with that girl!"
Asher opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but when he saw the tears brimming in Zoie's eyes, he stopped. Zoie didn't know what's gotten into her. Her voice cracked and tears were welling up.
Dang it! I'm angry, why am I crying!?
"You should've called me," Asher said after a beat.
"I did," she croaked.
Zoie was trying her best not to cry, but the tears were ready to fall at any moment. Not wanting to let Asher see her like this, she turned her head to the side and faced the window. Drops of rain were starting to fall and they trickled down the glass. Silence filled the car and the only sounds they heard were the rolling thunder and the sound of the rain hitting the car.
It was perhaps the longest twenty minutes of Zoie's life. Zoie remained silent for the rest of that car ride, just holding back her tears. Asher kept quiet too, he didn't say one word to her. He continued driving until they reached the parking lot of their apartment complex. Once he finished parking the car, he turned off the engine, but he didn't unlock the doors. He just paused in his spot and thought hard like he was going to say something.
"Listen, you just can't get into a car with a stranger, alright?" he started. "I mean, I don't know what I'll do if your dad finds out-"
"He's not like that," Zoe cut him off. "Miles is a really good guy once you got to know him,"
Asher let out a mocking scoff.
"You met him two hours ago and now you know everything?"
"Yeah," Zoie said confidently.
"Zoie,"
"Sometimes you just do. That's why I said yes to going out with him,"
"You're going out with him?"
"On Saturday. He's gonna show me around town,"
Asher opened his mouth as if to protest, but Zoie cut him off.
"What? Are you gonna rat me out to my dad?"
Asher paused for a beat. Zoie shot a deadly glare at him.
"No," he said finally.
Good. As you should.
Zoie tightened Miles's hoodie around her body and flicked the hood above her head. She then unlocked the door manually and stepped outside, giving Asher one last deadly glare before heading inside, leaving him alone in that car.
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~ Asher's POV ~
Shit!
Asher banged his fist on the steering wheel in anger. What happened just now didn't go as planned. Zoie's response really threw him off.
"I wanna go home but you were busy with that girl!"
The way she screamed at him, the way her voice cracked, and her eyes got teary-all of that stumped him. It was as if she was hurt by what she saw. Asher didn't mean for her to see that. It was just a dumb thing he did to pass the time.
Did I... really hurt her this time?
Asher felt a wave of guilt washing over him. And not just that. He also felt immense jealousy clouding over his brain.
"I said yes to going out with him. On Saturday. He's gonna show me around town,"
The thought of Zoie being another man made the blood in his veins boil. Asher gripped the steering wheel so tight that his nails dug deep into the leather. But no matter what he did, the pang in his chest wouldn't go away. There was a literal pain in his heart. So much so that it was hard to breathe.
Is this what she feels when she saw me with someone else...?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
~ Zoie's POV ~
I don't know why I told Asher about our date... I didn't have to...
Zoie threw her body on the bed and pulled a pillow over her face. So many things happened in the past two hours and her brain was reeling from the aftermath. Everything started out so great. She was having a blast hanging out with Miles. And finally, she thought Asher was giving her space. But then she realized why he did that. He was too busy burying his dick in some girl's throat. That image will forever haunt her. It was painful to watch. Zoie didn't know why it hurt that much.
Especially that we're not together or anything... I had no right to feel hurt...
Zoie scrunched her eyes closed and tears began streaming down her face. She'd been holding them back since the car, so now they were falling hard like a waterfall. Her chest was twisting and her stomach ached. This was too much feeling. Too much pain.
Maybe that's why I told him. I wanted him to feel what I was feeling...
Maybe that was petty, but she wanted to get back at him. But the truth was, Asher probably didn't care. He only got worked up because his job was being threatened.
He doesn't care about me. He's only doing this for my dad.
Zoie cried herself to sleep that night. She knew it was stupid to cry about someone who didn't give a damn about her. It was stupid to cry over Asher. Period. He wasn't someone that she'll ever end up with anyway. So why cry?
Forget about him. He's no one. He's just the bodyguard.
Zoie had to numb herself. Her brain kept telling her heart to forget about tonight. What she saw and what she felt. All of that didn't mean a thing. It was useless to be upset over Asher.
Finally, an hour had passed and Zoie was calming down. Her tears had stopped and she was slowly drifting into sleep. But just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard a faint knock on the door.
* KNOCK * KNOCK *
The door slowly creaked open and revealed Asher. Zoie scrunched her eyes closed again, pretending like she was asleep.
"Hey," he spoke softly. "Are you asleep?"
Zoie thought about continuing to pretend, but she couldn't do it. Her heart was racing in her chest. She wished she could jump up and run to him. To hug him. Or to punch his chest. Anything to get the hurt out of her.
She didn't do any of that, though. She restrained and simply sat up straighter, letting out a long sigh.
"What do you want?" she said curtly, glaring daggers at Asher.
"Can I talk to you?"
"This can't wait until tomorrow?"
"I'm sorry,"
"What?"
"I'm sorry for what I did. I didn't mean to yell and embarrass you in front of your friend. I was just worried he might've..." Asher paused to rethink his words, then he just said, "Anyway, I'm just sorry,"
Zoie couldn't believe what she was hearing. Asher looked dejected and apologetic. He couldn't even look her in the eye. He looked... sad. And something about that made her heart break even more.
"It was my fault," he continued. "I should've been there for you. I got distracted. It was stupid and unimportant. It won't happen again,"
Zoie's mouth fell open. She wanted to say something back, but there were no words. She just kept staring at Asher. He looked at her too, cautiously at first, and now nervous. He was waiting for a reaction. Any kind of response. But there was nothing. So they just looked at each other in silence.
"Anyway, that's all I wanna say. I'll let you go back to sleep," he said finally. He waited for another beat in case Zoie would say something. And when she didn't, he turned around and said, "Good night,"
Asher was already halfway out the door when Zoie finally said, "Wait,"
Asher turned around quickly. His eyes were waiting, hanging on her every move.
"I'm... sorry too," she muttered weakly. "I shouldn't have run out like that. I was upset..."
"Why were you upset?"
Zoie looked up at Asher like the answer was obvious.
Why do you think, you dumbass?
"I know I had no right to be upset. But I saw you and her and I... I just can't help it,"
"Zoie-"
"But that doesn't matter now," Zoie cut him off sharply. "I realized I got carried away. I was being stupid. It won't happen again, so yeah, apology accepted,"
Asher's brows were furrowed. It looked like he wanted to say something. He took a step forward, but Zoie was quick to cut him off again. She got up and reached for the door, pushing it in Asher's face.
"Good night, Asher," she said.
Asher held the door right before Zoie could close it. She tried forcing it close, but Asher was too strong. The door wasn't moving.
"Hey," he said firmly, catching her attention. Zoie looked up to see his deep hazel eyes boring into hers.
"For what it's worth, you're all I ever think about,"
Zoie was stunned. She stopped pushing the door forward, but this time, Asher closed it. Leaving Zoie alone with her thoughts. Dazed and confused.
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- - - - - - To Be Continued - - - - - -