Faster We Burn Read Online Free PDF Page B

it, but I assumed that was implied. I shouldn’t have let him sing to me, or talk so much. I should have made a “just sex” line.
    I didn’t have time to think about this.
    “Then if you care about me, you have to let me make my own decisions. I’ll call you after and you can gloat all you want when you’re right, but I’m going. End of story. Bye.”
    I shut my phone off and walked down to meet Zack in the lobby.
     
    ***
     
    Stryker was right. I realized it the moment I got into Zack’s truck and he started driving. His energy was different from the afternoon. I didn’t know if he’d been drinking, but I’d seen this side of him before. This was the Zack Parker that scared me. He turned off the main road and into a deserted parking lot.
    He hit the automatic locks on the door and his smile dropped.
    “So I heard you’re seeing that freak who tried to beat me up at the Kappa party.” All my confidence and bravado deserted me.
    The key to dealing with this Zack was to speak calmly and slowly until I could get out of the truck. He wasn’t going to let me go until he’d had his say.
    “I’m not seeing him Zack. We’re just friends.” Stryker and I weren’t even friends. I still wasn’t sure if I even liked him or not. But Zack wouldn’t understand that, so I had to simplify it.
    He smashed his hands on the steering wheel.
    “Don’t fucking lie to me!”
    The parking lot was dark; there was no one around. I just had to let him have his say and then he’d let me go.
    I took a breath to steady myself and try to calm down. My enemy right now was panic. “I’m sorry, I’m not lying to you. I’m not seeing him. I’m not with anyone. Look, you said you wanted to clear the air, so let’s do that.”
    “Oh no, you’re not getting off that easy.” He turned slowly and the streetlight I saw the gleam in his eyes. The heart-melting smile was gone, replaced by something I’d never seen before.
    The next moment my head hit the dashboard and I screamed.
    The moments after that were a blur of yelling and pain and desperation followed by quiet as he drove me back to campus. I didn’t even realize he’d shoved me out of the truck and onto the ground until I felt the cold pavement under my fingers.
    I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t think. Tires squealed and then I was left in silence. My head was too heavy to lift, so I lay there with my cheek mashed against the ground, doing my best to just keep breathing.
     “Katie?” A voice called my name and I tried to move, but it hurt too much. “Oh my God, Katie!”
    Will crouched down in front of me and touched my shoulder.
    “Who did this to you?” I still couldn’t answer. “It’s okay, I’ll get you out of here. Come on.” He took my arm and put it over his shoulder, then lifted me into his arms. I wanted to cry out, but my vocal chords wouldn’t work right.
    “It’s okay, we’re almost there. Just hold on.” I bounced in his arms as he walked as fast as he could to the elevator and then to my room. He put me in bed and got on his phone.
    “Audrey’s on her way, okay?” He crouched in front of me and touched my head. “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to, okay? How many fingers am I holding up?” He held up four.
    “Four,” I said, my voice rough, as if I was recovering from strep throat. I cleared it and looked down at my shaking hands. I could feel blood on my face.
    “Good. I should probably know what to do, but I honestly don’t. I should call 9-1-1, shouldn’t I?” He seemed to be talking to himself more than me.
    “Don’t. Please don’t.” I didn’t want to go the hospital. I just wanted to crawl into bed and go to sleep.
    “I have to. You need to see a doctor.”
    “No!” My voice didn’t have much power, but I got my point across. He nodded.
    “Okay, okay. Let’s just wait for Audrey, okay?”
     
    ***
     
    The next few hours were chaotic. I didn’t get my wish of not going to the hospital, and I