２５|Ｔｏｏ Ｍｕｃｈ
ＩＺＺＹ
Huddled in Zane's guest bedroom closet, I find breathing impossible.
Loud footsteps are clambering up the stairs from the police with only a matter of seconds until they find us, so doing the only thing I can think of, I pull out my phone to text my brother for help.
Me: Everett, I'm in trouble. Big trouble. Please don't tell Mom and Dad, but can you pick me up at Zane's?
Everett: Trouble??? What kind of trouble??? I don't have a car.
Me: I don't have time to tell you, but PLEASE pick me up. Hurry.
Stuffing my phone into the back pocket of my jeans, I watch through the slits in the door as Zane barely has the time to shove that suitcase underneath a floorboard before the police barge into the room, and there's not just one or two of them. Several policemen all have their guns drawn, pointed directly at Zane. "ON YOUR KNEES! NOW!"
I jump back from the slits, not even realizing I'm crying until I feel the drops tremble down my lips. My entire body is shaking as I sink to the closet floor, tugging my knees up to my chest, and all I can think about is how badly I wish I had stayed home.
Why did I think I had to mend things before moving on? Why did I think I needed to do one last good deed? Now I'm in an extremely dangerous situation—one I highly doubt I'll be able to escape.
I can kiss my future goodbye. Any plans for college, any plans with Mason...
If that suitcase is filled with drugs like I'm assuming it is and I'm caught in the same room with them, I'll get sent to jail, right? I'll be thrown away to do time before my life has even really begun.
This isn't who I am. Before, I thought I was this badass daredevil who could handle anything, but it was all an act. I'm not that girl. I don't want to be that girl. Right now, I only want to run into Mason's arms and never leave them again. I want to tell him I love him and get over every fucking fear I ever had about being tied down, but now I may never get the chance to.
What the fuck did I get myself into?
It's not long before I hear the barking of a dog, and it's only another five minutes more until the barking comes into the room, nails scratching on the hardwood floor.
There's a lot of noise as I hear that floorboard come up, and then there's silence. A whole lot of silence.
"Zane Morelos, you are hereby under arrest. You have the right to remain—" The policeman pauses when a ringtone starts to go off.
My ringtone.
FUCK.
I scramble to shut it off, but the closet door is thrown open, and I'm huddled in the corner with tears streaming down my cheeks shaking like a leaf as I'm hauled up from the floor and dropped down onto my knees next to Zane. I don't want to do anything that will get me shot or beaten or whatever the hell they do to criminals, so I'm choking back my sobs as I hold my hands above my head.
The handcuffs go on, and holy shit, this is really happening.
My ears are ringing, and my vision isn't focusing correctly. I'm going to die right here on this hardwood floor of a full-blown panic attack.
"The drugs aren't hers," Zane says. "They're my family's."
I turn my head to look at him, furrowing my eyebrows together. He should have stayed silent. He shouldn't be saying anything without a lawyer present, but he's doing this...for me, I think, which doesn't make any sense.
"Zane—"
"She was just attending the party, nothing more. We came in here to have sex. That's it. She had no idea the drugs were there."
The cop towers over us with a hand on his hip, covering his gun. I can't even make out his face from the blurry vision of my tears. Even I know that saying the drugs aren't mine shouldn't have worked. It's a bullshit excuse that everyone uses, but for whatever reason, the cop tilts his head to the side, studying me.
I'm not sure what he sees, but when my bottom lip trembles, my tears dropping on the hardwood floor, he nods to one of the other men. "Take him to the station."
Without another word, Zane is dragged out of the room in handcuffs before I can even ask him why he'd save me, and I'm left alone with the cop standing in front of me and three other men beside him. "What the hell did you get yourself into, kid?"
"I—I didn't know. I swear I didn't know," I choke out. "Please don't arrest me. I—I've never been in trouble before, and I've never—"
I blink when the officer's hand clutches my elbow, gently pulling me to my feet. "Did you know that guy?" He asks.
"Y—Yes he goes to my school. We're..." I trail off, unsure what to classify our relationship as. "We're friends. Or, were."
"And did you know he's part of the cartel?"
My heart stills in my chest. "The what?"
He sighs, shooting me a stern glance. "Look, I've dealt with enough people to know who's lying and who's telling the truth, so take this as a saving grace and as a warning to never speak to that guy again. I have a daughter your age, and I couldn't imagine her getting wrapped up in someone like that."
I nod desperately, hating the way I want to defend Zane when there is no reason I should. He had sex with my best friend tonight, but he also saved my life whether this cop will admit that or not. If he hadn't said they were his family's drugs, I'm not sure I'd be getting the same treatment right now. As much of a dick as Zane is, I don't think he's a bad person. I think he's a guy stuck in a situation he doesn't want to be in but doesn't know how to get out of. It all makes sense now.
"Can you pass a breathalyzer downstairs if we give you one?"
"Y—Yes. I haven't had anything to drink tonight. Not a sip."
The cop nods and then points to one of his guys. "If she passes, uncuff her and let her go. I'm going to finish up searching the house with everyone else."
"Will do, sergeant."
By the grace of God or a stroke of pure luck, I'm escorted down the stairs of Zane's house and led outside into the chilly December air. My teeth are chattering from my nerves, and my body is still shaking from head to toe as I wait beside the police car for the cop to bring me the machine.
Lights are flashing everywhere. At least twenty cop cars are lined up his driveway and down the block, and yellow tape is framing the yard. Thankfully, Zane lives in a secluded area, so there aren't any nosey neighbors lingering nearby or any paparazzi who I'm certain would have a field day knowing Cameron Holden's daughter was associated with someone from the cartel.
"Izzy, what the fuck!" Everett is darting underneath the yellow tape before police can stop him, his long legs sprinting over to me. "It's my sister!" He shouts when someone tries to grab him.
I want to tell him to listen to the police. The big sister in me should tell him to wait, but he's not who I'm paying attention to.
Mason is standing behind the yellow line with his hands in the pocket of his hoodie. His jaw is clenched, his eyes scanning the handcuffs around my wrist before he averts his gaze away from me to stare down at the driveway.
"You called Mason?" I ask Everett. "Why would you call Mason?"
"He was the only one I could get ahold of, Izzy, and you said you were in trouble."
"Yes, but I'm at Zane's house, and—" I let out another chortled sob, unable to even finish my sentence. I'm at a party of Zane's when Mason specifically told me to stay clear of him. He doesn't like him, and instead of proving to him that I'm all about him and only him, I hid the fact I was going to this party tonight.
"Iz, you're shaking. Come here." Everett pulls me close, and it's everything I didn't know I needed. I can't hold him since I'm still in handcuffs, but I inhale the familiar scent of my brother's cologne, completely breaking down.
"You can't tell Mom and Dad," I plead. "They're letting me go after I pass this breathalyzer test because I wasn't drinking. I never should have come. I should have stayed home and listened to everyone trying to talk some sense into me. I'm an idiot. I'm just how everyone sees me, Everett. I'm a fucking idiot who doesn't have a brain, and I don't think. Not at all. I'm so sorry."
Normally, Everett is the one to agree with me. He's always the one to call me out on my shit, but instead, he says, "I know you are. It's okay. I'm here."
After another five minutes pass by, the policeman finally gives me my test, which I pass with flying colors, and then I'm uncuffed and escorted behind that yellow tape, a color that will probably haunt my dreams at night for the foreseeable future, putting me right in front of Mason.
He doesn't move an inch. His feet remained rooted to the ground, eyes still on the gravel driveway as I shift awkwardly on my feet. My eyes sting from all the crying, but they're already welling up with fresh tears when he can't even look at me.
"I'm...gonna give you two some space," my brother says.
Mason passes him his keys. "Wait in the car, Everett. We'll be there in a few minutes."
With a dip of his chin, my brother disappears down the long slope of the hill, and finally, Mason meets my gaze. Tears of his own are threatening to spill, and just the sight makes my gut twist into knots. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asks. "What the fuck happened, Izzy? What were you thinking?"
"I-I wasn't thinking," I reply. "I just wanted to do one last good deed before I said goodbye to this facade I've put up for so long to make it worth something, and at the last basketball game, Zane got into a fight, and—"
"At the last game? As in, two weeks ago?" He lets out a frustrated laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. "What is it about him that makes you unable to stay away, Izzy? What does he have that I don't?"
"Mason, I promise you that's not why I wanted to help him."
"Then what is it?" He throws his hands up, motioning around to all the police cars. "You're willing to get fucking arrested for this guy?"
"Just let me explain, please."
"I don't care what excuse you have. There is no reason for me to be picking you up at two in the morning at another guy's house with handcuffs around your wrists." He blinks away more tears. "Iz, I have a future as well, you know, and you weren't even considering what could have happened if I get wrapped up in this, too."
"That's why I didn't tell you!"
"But I still came here to find you, regardless of whether you wanted me here or not, and if I had come before the police got here... If I had been inside when they showed up..." He runs a hand through those blonde curls of his, and when he swipes a tear off his cheek with his thumb, I feel my heart break into two. "I thought I could handle both sides of you, Izzy, but this..."
"Mason, please—" My voice breaks when I see the expression on his face. His mind is already made up, and I can't say that I blame him.
I put him in a dangerous situation without even thinking about how my decisions would affect him as well, and that was completely selfish of me. All I've ever been in life is selfish. Whether it was paying people to pass my tests for me or using Mason to try and keep my parents off my back, I've never made good decisions, and I don't know why I thought I could be someone else.
Mason made me believe I could be better, but the truth is, at my core, I'm never going to change, no matter how much I wish I could.
"I'm sorry," he whispers, "but this is too much, Izzy. It's all too much."
I bite hard on my bottom lip as my biggest fear comes true, but I won't let him see me cry. I'm not going to throw myself a pity party or beg him to stay. Getting on my knees right here on the driveway isn't going to change the decisions that I've made, and now, I have to live with the consequences.
"I get it," I can hardly reply. "Can I at least have a ride home? I don't want to make Everett walk. Not after he went to all the effort to find a way to get me."
Mason continues to stare, seeming disappointed, almost, that I'm not fighting harder for this, but the truth is, I have no energy left to give. Not anymore. I really thought he was right that someone could love both sides of me. That I could be wild and calm. Daring and shy. Crazy and peaceful.
But I heard the hidden meaning behind his words.
He said it was all too much, but what he meant to say was that I am too much.
I've played this out a thousand times in my head of ways I could fuck this up, but each one resulted in me breaking things off with him. Never did I think it would be me standing here crying because I wasn't enough, but here we are.
I will always be too much, and if I'm too much for the only boy I want, then fuck it.
The facade is officially back up.
𝓐𝓾𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓻'𝓼 𝓝𝓸𝓽𝓮
Oh nooooo :(
UGHHHH
How are we feeling?
Is it wrong that I'm considering a spin-off series with Zane?
FML. Why am I always wanting the bad boy...
FML.
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