Mated To My Obsessive Stepbrother

Chapter 350

KASMINE

I shifted nervously on the cracked pavement as a cold breeze blew down the empty street, My heart thudded loudly.

I glanced around for the third time, hugging myself as the wind picked up again. My arms were freezing,

but that wasn't the reason my hands were shaking.

It'd been almost ten minutes since I arrived, and Jake still hadn't shown

I'd spoken with him using Mum's phone, just before leavi up.

house, and he told me to wait for him at the old Burget City, just five minutes away from

our house.

It was already past seven.

This street looked worse at night. The streetlights were dim and spaced out like they didn't even care to work anymore. The diner behind me was shut down and boarded up years ago, but the graffiti-covered windows and crumbling sign made the whole place feel haunted. The kind of haunted that gets under your skin, not the Hollywood kind.

Another five minutes passed.

Still no Jake.

My heart wouldn't calm down.

Fifteen minutes later, I stopped pretending this was okay.

It was stupid just standing here in the dark, on this dead street, waiting like some pathetic idiot for someone who was probably too hurt to face me at the moment, Yeah, I couldn't do it anymore.

I turned around, biting the inside of my cheek to stop myself from crying, and started walking back home.

I was just turning the corner when the low hum of an engine rolled down the road behind me.

My heart shot into my throat and I froze.

The glow of headlights shone through the misty darkness, crawling slowly along the broken street. My breath caught. For a split second, panic gripped me. My mind raced with all the worst possibilities - was it someone dangerous? Was I about to be one of those stories people tell about but never believe?

I took a cautious step back, squinting toward the lights, my fists clenched tightly at my

sides.

headlight, and the dull green paint that looked almost black at

It was Jake's car.

chest. I stood still, watching dying, and then the door flew

as the

right in front of me. The engine coughed

hair was slightly disheveled, and his hoodie

sorry," he blurted, walking toward me quickly, hands already raised like he was pleading for mercy. "My fuel ran out. Right in the middle of nowhere. I had to hike to some goddamn station like a mile away to get just enough fuel to move

laugh, as if he couldn't believe it himself. "I didn't

my heart

said quietly, even though it kind

1/3

blinked like the words surprised him. Then he opened the passenger door. "Come

a second, then slid into the

got in on the driver's side, twisting the key. The engine

reached for the gear, I turned to

He paused. "Somewhere special."

"You said we'd just talk. In your car. You said you wouldn't keep me

keeping his gaze forward. "And I still mean it. But I need you to trust

silence for fifteen

Fifteen long, uncomfortable,

was the low, sputtering hum of the engine and the occasional squeak of the wipers dragging across the dirty windshield. Jake didn't say a word. Not even a

Yet

Streetlights disappeared behind one by one, swallowed by the night. Houses gave way to fields.

we went, the tighter

felt. sŵnovel

Something wasn't right.

my seat, fingers picking at a loose thread

with.

might already be home," I said finally, "If he doesn't

still fixed on

blinked. "Almost

away. He just pressed his foot slightly

turned to the window again, watching

But right now, it wasn't just

-

was not a single streetlight in sight. Every direction