Burning Red

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Shane was still driving and I had no idea where we were going. I didn’t try saying anything because it was so obvious on his face that he wouldn’t talk unless he was the first one to speak up. I shouldn’t apologize for anything I didn’t do and if he was mad about the photos of me and Rayne, he clearly had no right to be mad at me. He had no reason to be mad anyway.

            Shane’s the annoying, unpredictable type of guy. But he was unreadable. I could see he was mad but that didn’t explain well of why he was mad. There were a lot of reasons to be mad. Since I met his family, maybe he received a call from his dad, saying something about how he supposed to be handling his life. Or a call from his ex-girlfriend, Vanessa, trying to be all clingy. Or maybe some other things that didn’t concern me well. I couldn’t just assume that he was mad because of the photos. He was not that shallow to be mad about something that he had no right to.

            It’s almost thirty minutes since we drove out of Dean’s place. I could already feel the frustration and even I was being frustrated now too. I turned to face him. He had an indifferent expression but the white knuckles on the steering wheel were saying otherwise.

            “Where are we going?” I finally found the courage to ask.

            “Somewhere,” was all he said.

            “That somewhere had to be somewhere, right? So where is it exactly?”

            “If I were you, I’d keep my mouth shut.”

            “Well, lucky you, you’re not me. So I’m not shutting up. Tell me where are we going or I’m going to jump out of this car.”

            He snickered. “You won’t do that.”

            “Oh I will, trust me.” I held the door handle. But of course I wouldn’t really do it. That’s just dumb.

            “I don’t trust your words anymore so go ahead. Jump if that’s what you want.”

            I stopped breathing by then. My grip on the handle was so tight I couldn’t feel my finger anymore. My eyes were shut wide open. Even the beating of my heart was horribly fast for no apparent reason. I liked him, alright. But being the ass in front of me was not really sweeping me of my feet.

            “I think you already have the idea why I’m dragging you away from everyone. I hate to break it to you but this is not going to be the sweet cruise you might be thinking by now.”

            I slapped him. He glanced at me, wide eyed, before returning back to the road. Tears were settling in my eyes but I wouldn’t let it fall. No tears should be shed out to a person who clearly didn’t deserve it.

            He pulled over. I got out quickly. There was the sound of the breeze, the smell of sea water. The sky was full of stars twinkling from up above. We’re at a beach, somewhere in New York City. I could see a cyclone roller coaster—it’s a trademark of Coney Island. We’re in Coney Island, in Brooklyn.

            “Why are you with him?” Shane got to ask the question I knew he would ask already.

            I had no face to show to him. I had no words to utter. I had nothing to tell him.

            “Cara, talk to me.”

            “Damn you for asking me that,” I shouted, facing him. There were some residents in the area but I couldn’t care less. They wanted another picture of me with Shane again? I could give it to them this instant. To my luck, though, it seemed like there were no paparazzi around this area.