31

We drove through the night at high speed and no one said a word, only the soft tunes from the radio added to the sound of the tires on the asphalt.

Again and again I glanced at Kiyan, but he had only directed his gaze to the dimly lit street in front of us. A strong feeling of discomfort spread through me and for a brief moment I thought I was going to throw up, but luckily the feeling passed and I quickly rolled down the window a little to get some fresh air, afraid it would come back again take deep inside me.

I closed my eyes and let my head fall against the seat behind me, but the dizziness that struck me immediately brought my eyes back to the road ahead.

Fuck alcohol! Fuck tequila!

"Are you okay?" someone asked me, and I was annoyed that it was Zayn who was leaning forward between the seats, because Kiyan seemed completely uninterested in anything anymore, as if he was completely lost in a whirlpool of his thoughts disappeared. I turned to Zayn and took a deep breath.

"I'm dizzy and sick," I then admitted, twisting the corners of my mouth. He just smiled sympathetically and took something out of his jacket again. I was briefly afraid it would be alcohol again, but it was a small clear plastic bottle.

I took it and when I realized it was still water I couldn't unscrew the cap fast enough. I drank so hastily that I almost felt embarrassed, but it was just incredibly good and I didn't care that I spilled while drinking in my condition.

"There you are," Zayn said with a grin and my eyes widened as I realized I hadn't even said thank you.

"Thank you," I turned to him and gave him a satisfied smile when Kiyan looked over at me for the first time.

That icy coldness in his expression made me back away quickly, and Zayn leaned back in his seat as well. Apparently one look from Kiyan was enough to let everyone do what he wanted, but I didn't give it a second thought because I didn't know what Chloe had to discuss with him and why he suddenly seemed so far away again.

When I then closed the bottle and was just examining the surroundings, we stopped at the prefabricated building that I was already familiar with.

"See you," Zayn said politely, but neither Adam nor Kiyan nor I answered. The rear two then got out and we drove on home in silence.

"Are you hungry?" he then asked me without taking his eyes off the road.

"No," I snapped at once, crossing my arms like a stubborn child.

I was starting to get really angry because it seemed to me that our conversation and the intense looks on the playground hadn't happened. As soon as he was alone with this Chloe for 5 minutes, he was like a different person and that annoyed me so much at the moment that I snorted loudly, which he probably didn't miss.

"You okay?" I heard him ask and felt his eyes on me too, but I was stubborn and pissed off, so I just kept looking out the front window until I finally saw our house.

He parked, turned off the engine, and then turned to take my chin in his hand and face me. I looked him in the eye, reluctantly allowing the moment and waiting for him to say something, but he didn't. Instead, he leaned further in and planted a gentle kiss on my cheek that once again completely turned my mind off.

"There's a lot I need to work out with Chloe. Please don't think there's anything else going on. It's complicated, but you don't have to worry about your pretty brain."

His grin, his dimples and his eyes... I wanted to drool, and in my head I did, but on the outside I seemed paralyzed by his gaze.

"Okay," I said sheepishly and then had to smile too. I couldn't do anything about it and that's when I realized the power he already had over me and my feelings.

"Does that mean you trust me?" he asked, taking his hand off my chin to gently stroke my flushed cheek, which was starting to glow from his touch.

"Yes," I just breathed and his smile got even prettier. He just switched like that. Hours ago while spinning the bottle he seemed trimmed for provocation, then on the playground he seemed broken. In the car, the cold personified and now it brought the brightest colors back to my otherwise gray life. What was that about him?

"What's going on here!?", I was suddenly torn from his eyes and saw my angry mother standing right in front of the car. I got out quickly and just stood there, frozen as she walked up to me and yanked my arm into the house.

"We have to talk!" she hissed angrily and only let go of me when we got to the glass table and she positioned me on a chair. "Have you even looked at your phone??? I called you twice and couldn't get a second's sleep because of it!!! Then I get Juline who said you were hanging around in the woods with a Wayne! I was about to die Call the police, Mia!"

Wayne?

She put her hands on her hips, took several deep breaths, and then I stared past her at Kiyan, who just came through the front door.

"And you! Why are you getting so close to my daughter?!", she yelled at him, but Kiyan didn't seem to mind at all. He held her gaze and even took a few more steps towards her, which made me hold my breath and fear what was about to happen.

They faced each other like two predators and looked at each other... until Thomas entered the living room.

We are faaaaaamily... my head sang in amusement and when I really had to laugh all three of them immediately looked at me confused.

"Sorry," I mumbled and then quickly turned away from the three of them, who immediately started arguing wildly.