Why did I even trust this asshole?

I've been in the school parking lot for 20 minutes, patiently waiting for Karson to get here. I was standing next to my car, chewing on my nails as I anxiously waited for this ass to show up.

But yet, he didn't and he told me not to be late. Ridiculous.

Jace was going home with a friend since it's Friday and he's sleeping at his house tonight. Olivia on the other hand is getting picked up by her friend's mother and they are also having a sleepover. Both of my siblings with be out, so I will have the house to myself tonight.

"That's it," I mumbled under my breath. I wasn't waiting any longer. He had the audacity to not show up when he's the one who begged for my help. I turned on my heel and unlocked my car, roughly shoving my backpack in the back seat, pissed that he stood me up. This is what I get for trying to be a nice person.

Did I expect anything less from Karson? No.

"Dakota! Wait!" I heard someone yell my name. The voice scared me, causing my body to jump, hitting my head on the top of my car door.

"Motherfucker!" I cursed loudly, rubbing the sore spot on the back of my head. I whipped my head up to see Karson jogging in my direction.

I strode towards him, pissed that he's almost 30 minutes late and now, he just made me hit my head.

"I don't know why I even bother helping you!" I shoved my finger into his chest. "You say meet me in the parking lot and I end up waiting for almost 30 fucking minutes! I have shit to do and you just wasted so much of my time!"

I know I was over exaggerating, but my head hurts. My breathing was heavy and I was quivering with anger. I took a short step back, slightly tripping over my own feet.

"You're fucking crazy," he argued as he gave me an intense glare.

"What do you want from me? Why did you tell me to meet you in the parking lot?" I snapped, already over the idea of helping him. Fuck that.

"We are going shopping," he grunted, glancing at my car behind me.

"We? There is no we in this situation," I snorted, using my finger to point between us.

"You said you would help!" He hissed, his eyes never breaking away from my face. His messy black hair rested perfectly against his tan skin as the slight breeze swept through his hair. His sharp jawline was constantly clenched and his dimples were only noticeable when he gave his signature smirk.

"I didn't think we would go shopping!" I bellowed as a few students walking by us with curious eyes. Why were they still at school?

"Are you fucking stupid? What did you think I meant by 'I need help picking out a dress'?" He barked, using air quotations to describe what he mentioned earlier.

"I thought you would just show me a few pictures or ideas you had!" I snapped, just now wondering how I didn't put the pieces together before. At this point, I was just making up excuses so I didn't make a fool of myself.

"Just get in my goddamn car," he scoffed, obviously not wanting to continue arguing over something pointless.

"What about my car? We can't just leave it here," I mentioned, pointing to my car.

"I will drop you off here after we are done so you can drive your precious little car home" he said sarcastically, a smug smirk forming on his lips.

This was such a bad idea, but for some reason I agreed with him and ended up in his car. I kept trying to tell myself, do it for the little girl, she will be so happy. That was the only thing keeping me from jumping out of this car.

The ride to the mall was very tense and the atmosphere was awkward. There was a small tune playing in the background, trying to help make the awkward silence more comfortable.

"I'm only doing this for your sister. I'm not doing this for your pathetic ass, I just feel bad she has you as a brother," I snorted as I tried to break the tension in the car. The tension was so thick that I wouldn't even be able to cut it with a knife, so it was no use.

Karson drove a black Audi with red leather seats for the interior. His car looked brand new, not a spec of dirt inside this expensive car. His hands tightly gripped the steering wheel as his knuckles turned white. He never released his grip.

"I feel bad for your sister too, she has to deal with your annoying, bitchy personality. That poor, poor girl," he smirked, breaking the awkward silence as he continued our conversation from before. He glanced over in my direction for a quick second before staring straight ahead.

I huffed, staring at the window as the smell of his car filled my nostrils. His expensive, yet gentle cologne was the only thing I was breathing in. A muscle ticked in his jaw as he stared at the cars in front of us.

This was so painfully dreadful and I already regretted agreeing to help him. I just needed to stop complaining and make do with what I got. I can't turn back time so his little sister better be happy with what we pick out.

My thoughts were abruptly cut off by Karson roughly slamming on his breaks as my body jerked forward. The seatbelt held me back so I didn't go flying out the window, but it knocked the breath out of me.

"What the fuck was that?!" I yelled, staring in Karson's direction. I felt a throbbing pain form in my ribs, fuck. Although my ribs were healed, a great amount of pressure still hurt quite a bit.

"This fucking car pulled out in front me!" He growled, blaring his horn at the asshole in front of us.

I rested my head against his leather seats, my heart pounding in my chest. My hand rests above my stomach, slightly holding my ribs. I took a deep breath, trying to see if that caused any pain. Luckily it didn't, so I think they were okay for now.

I ran my fingers through my blonde locks, letting out a low groan.

"Would you shut the fuck up?" Karson hissed, staring at me from the corner of his eye.

"I'm breathing," I blinked at him, my eyes wide as I stared at him like he's stupid.

"Stop breathing, do us all a favor," he mumbled before regaining his composure and driving like normal again, his hand off the horn.

"You just love being an asshole, don't you?" I criticized, resting my eyes on him once again.

"Only for you, princess," he smirked, winking at me with his glistening emerald eyes.

I motioned my body forward, pretending to throw up as I made gagging sounds. "Just when I thought you couldn't get worse, you always seem to prove me wrong."

He slightly chuckled before focusing on the road and we finally fell into a somewhat comfortable silence.

~•~•~

"This one is the ugliest one by far. This was the worst fucking mistake asking for you help, you have shit taste," he told me as I held up a small, light green dress.

We've been at the mall for only 35 minutes and we have already been to 6 different stores. He's so fucking picky, it's annoying. He thinks every dress I choose is ugly and complains how he shouldn't have brought me.

"Would you stop complaining for one goddamn second? You're getting on my nerves," I growled out, putting me into a bad mood as he continued to open his mouth.

"Look at this one," he completely ignored me, so I pulled out another dress. I picked out a beautiful light blue dress, similar to Cinderella's. The sleeves were short but were puffed out to give it extra detail. The top was tighter around the chest while the bottom was a more flowy, soft fabric. "How about this one?"

"If it means we can go home faster, then yes we should get it," he rasped, finally looking at the dress I held in front of me.

"I think she would like it. I mean, I don't even know what she looks like. Wait, when is she even coming into town?" I questioned, genuinely curious. I wasn't going to ask why they didn't live together because I knew he was going to get angry if I brought it up.

Karson grunted before pulling out his phone and showing me a picture of a young girl staring at the camera with a big smile. She had the same jet black hair as Karson, but she had chocolate brown eyes, the complete opposite of Karson's eyes. She had a few freckles scattered around her rosy cheeks as her wide smile showed her missing teeth.

"She's adorable," I stared back at him.

"I know," he huffed before scanning his eyes over the dress once more. "And she'll be here in two days."

"I think it would go perfect with her hair and it would bring out her brown eyes," I commented, falling more in love with the dress as I looked at it.

He grit his teeth and his eyes darkened when I mentioned her brown eyes. He grabbed the dress from my hold and went to check out. I stared at him with wide eyes, my feet glued to the floor as I watched him pay for the dress.

What the fuck just happened?

"Let's go, I want to leave," he growled, already back into his usual pissy mood. Obviously I said something wrong that made him mad, but I didn't know what I could have possibly said that made him angry.

I blinked at him, not knowing what to say so I just followed behind him. We walked throughout the mall, trying to find the entrance from where we came in. He rushed through the crowd of people, occasionally bumping into a few of them here and there.

We made it to his car, not speaking a word until we sat down on his leather seats. "Whats your deal?"

He grimaced at me. "Nothing."

I didn't want to argue with him so I shut my mouth. I bit the inside of my cheek, hard, trying to keep myself from saying something to piss him off even more. He reversed out of the parking lot and sped off, heading in the direction of our school.

I held on to the console when he took sharp turns, feeling as if his car would flip over at any time. "Jesus, would you slow down?"

"Shut the fuck up," he hissed, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

In record time, we made it to the school minutes later. He was speeding down every road and I'm surprised he never got pulled over. He roughly turned in the parking spot right next to my car, putting his car in park.

"Never again," I mumbled under my breath, scoffing as I went to unlock his car door. His calloused hand grabbed my arm before I was able to step out of the vehicle. I jerked my head, my eyes traveling between his eyes and his hand that gripped my arm. "What?"

He opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. He tried getting words out, but nothing came out. He just stared at me, not knowing what to say.

I ripped my arm away from his grasp, scoffing as I turned and kicked his door open. I looked at him one last time, slightly shaking my head as I slammed his door.

He sped off right after his door closed, going just as fast as he did before. I shakily unlocked my car and immediately drove away as quickly as possible. Going with Karson was such a stupid idea, but I hope his sister enjoys her new dress.

~•~•~

I was at home by myself, cleaning around the house when I heard the front door creak open. My siblings are already home? I thought they were sleeping over?

I tilted my head enough to see the front door and my eyes widened in shock when I watched my mother walk in. The thing is this time, she wasn't alone. I stood up straight as I stared at the man next to her. She's giggling at something he said as he guided her into our house. Both of them are drunk.

The man stepped into view and I felt all the color drain from my face. He connected his gaze with mine and his lips pulled into a disgusting smirk. My mother catched who he's looking at and her smile completely dropped when she realized it was me.

"You're home?" She scoffed, sobering up when talking to me.

"I live here," I told her straightforwardly. She rolled her eyes but giggled when the man whispered something in her ear. She nodded her head before tripping up the stairs.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I was left alone with this man. His yellow teeth were on show when he gave me a sinister smile.

"Jason," I coughed, looking him directly into his eyes, not wanting to show any weakness. He took a step forward as I took a step back. My mother was too drunk to realize that Jason wasn't going upstairs anytime soon because he was fixed on me. I shivered at the thought.

I winced as my back hit the wall. He took another step forward, almost eliminating the small distance between us. He raised his arm, causing me to flinch but he just placed it against the wall, encasing my head between his arms.

"Long time no see," he chuckled as his eyes raking over my body. His breath wafted into my face, the alcohol evident in his sour breath. I cringed, wanting to get away from him as quickly as possible. My body felt hot and my hands were sweating, I was fucking terrified. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea being with Karson, I should've stayed with him longer. Anything would be better than dealing with this.

I tilted my head to the side, releasing a shaky breath through my nose. His other hand trailed up waist until it rested on face, cupping my cheek. My body stiffened and I grit my teeth, finally meeting his eyes. His calloused hand grabbed my neck, cutting off my airway. My vision felt cloudy as he pressed tighter. I tried to slip away, but his grip was too strong. I clawed at his arms, a weird noise coming from my throat as I tried to take in oxygen.

He finally released his grip, but he still had a steady hand on my waist, keeping me from collapsing. His filthy thumb ran over my bottom lip before moving down to squeeze my ass. "You're so beautiful."

"Get the fuck off!" I heaved, finally finding enough strength to push him off. My body felt so dirty and I could still feel his grimy hands feel up on my body. I coughed, clawing at my throat, trying to breathe in as much air as I could. My throat felt sore and I knew that his marks would leave a bruise.

I stared at him, anger welling up in my chest as I punched him in the gut with as much force as I could muster up. When he bent over, grasping his stomach, I kicked him hard in the balls. He doubled over in pain once again before falling to the floor as he cupped his genitals. I wasn't going to let him touch me like that, not anymore.

My mother stood at the top of the stairs with furious eyes as I ran towards the front door.

"You're going to regret that you little bitch!" He screamed after me, but I was already out the front door, the sound of the door slamming behind me as I cut off his screaming.

My head pulsed as my feet slammed against the concrete, running as fast as I could. I wasn't going to stop until I felt my lungs clench, until I gasped for more air. The cold wind whipped at my face, causing a shiver to run down my spine.

I ran until I forced myself to stop at a park. If I pushed myself one step further, I would've passed out. I bent over, placing my hands on my knees as I caught my breath. The adrenaline was still coursing through my veins, so I still haven't processed everything that just happened. I looked around the park, noticing some families eating at a picnic table while their children played on the swings. The sun was still up, but it started to go down, making the bright, rich sun burn my eyes.

I limped towards the nearest bench, my legs numb and sore. I slumped down on the bench, my body finally shutting down as the adrenaline was wearing off. I lightly touched my neck, hissing when I felt the fresh bruise.

I put my head in my hands and leaned my elbows against my knees. My throat felt raw from coughing and my legs felt like jelly. I felt all my emotions come crashing down at this one moment. My body shook as quiet tears filled the palm of my hand.

The feeling of Jason's body against mine.

The way his hand wrapped around my neck.

"You're so beautiful."

I glanced up and just let the tears fall. I let the tears fall one by one as I sat on a bench, staring at the sun in front of me, watching it slowly fall until it fully disappeared behind the horizon.

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