"Don't do this," he growled, shaking my shoulders with his big hands.

The rain was beating down on us, plastering his halo of dirty blond hair to his forehead. Rain drops trickled from his brow to his nose and then his lips, and still, I remained absolutely rigid in his grasp, unwilling to relent one ounce of control. It was all I had.

"Just get in the car with me. We can talk... figure this out.“

"Let go of me," I bit back, channeling the memory of his lips on hers. On mine. "Now!"

"So you can go home and carve yourself like a fucking pumpkin?" Hughie demanded. "Not a chance in hell." Shaking his head, he pulled me closer.

"You're coming with me."

"Why would you even want that?" I choked out, shoving him off me.

"You said it yourself; being around me makes you miserable!"

"Yeah," he snarled, closing the space between us once more. "And not being around you makes me feel even worse!"