Set Free // HS ✓

Thirteen.

I wince as Sawyer changes lanes without signaling, causing another driver to honk at us.

"It takes half a second to flick your blinker." I fume. "You're going to get us killed!"

He scoffs, "Please. I've been driving a lot longer than you. I know what I'm doing."

Doing my best to level out my breathing, I close my eyes and attempt to drown out the sound of all the cars zooming past us.

"I'm about to face the man who killed my husband, who was also your best friend. You can only imagine how anxious I am, please don't add to that because you can't follow simple rules of the road."

"Fine." He obnoxiously makes it a point to use his blinker and correctly merges into the right lane. "There. Happy?"

I shift in my seat and focus on the road, refusing to answer him.

"I'm still upset that you're going to sell your car." He blurts out referring to our conversation that took place this morning.

"Why didn't you tell me you needed money?"

"Because I don't."

"Obviously you do!"

"Can you just drop it? Please? It's my business, and my financial situation. Not yours. I don't need your help."

"The night before you two got married, Ollie and I had a long talk." Sawyer randomly recalls, "He made me promise that if anything should ever happen to him, that I would take care of you. That is a promise that I try so hard to keep, but you are constantly setting me up to fail by lying to me, or forgetting to fill me in on things."

"I'm not lying, I'm doing fine." I counter.

"I feel like I have a front row seat in watching you destroy your life. You have isolated yourself from all of your family. You've have completely disregarded your faith. For what, Wren? For you to be alone, and struggling?" He rants before having to suddenly brake due to the worsening traffic.

"Do you think that I enjoy being isolated from you guys?" I sniffle, "I hate it. That wasn't my decision. Do you have any idea how much I wish mom was going to be there today?"

He looks lost in thought, clearly not know how to respond to my confession.

"Also, I'm hardly struggling. Not owning a car is such a first world problem, Saw. There are people who are homeless, and starving—"

"Yeah well, you're not that far off."

I gasp at his insult. "I am doing just fine on my own!"

"You're working a dead end job, hardly able to keep the roof over you head—"

"I'll have you know that I was offered an amazing job—" I stop myself mid sentence because I don't want to tell him about it yet. "Never mind."

He turns his head my direction and raises an eyebrow. "You've only been working for six months, but you're already job jumping? That's not professional, and it's not going to look good on a resume." He lectures to me as if I'm five years old. "What is the job, anyway?"

I sigh. "I'll let you know when everything is official, I still have a few things to get done first. "

Niall had wanted to meet up today, but was thankfully understanding when I told him that I had plans. I am also grateful that he didn't ask what the plans were. I don't think Watching my husband's murderer get sentenced would be an ideal answer.