Free Fight for Me by Bethany Bazile

home, Ry.”
    He looked me in the eye, and I saw it. There was pure panic in them. He’d do anything to get rid of us and not disrupt his new family.
    “Please, Ry. This isn’t a good time. Take her home.”
    “Fuck you.” The words sounded ragged between my gritted teeth. It took everything in me not to throw my fist and level him. Even at seventeen, I knew I could’ve taken him, but I couldn’t bring myself to strike the man who once was the most important person in my life. I never broke eye contact, so I noticed when he flinched as if my words burned.
    “Ryder.” He began, but I never let him finish telling me more excuses.
    “No. Fuck you and your new family. You think you can just drive up onto this fancy hill and forget about the people you left behind. You were never the man I thought you were.”
    I took Mom’s hand and pulled her back toward the car, despite her hollering for Vanessa to come out. I put Mom in the passenger side and took her keys.
    David watched us with his hands in his pockets and a forlorn look on his face. As I pulled around the circular driveway, I saw Vanessa step out the door. She put her hand on David’s arm, and he looked over his shoulder at her. Right before I turned out of the driveway, I saw them in the rearview mirror. She pulled him into a hug, trying to relieve him of the pain we apparently caused.
    The backdoor to my car opened, pulling me back from a time long ago. Alexis threw a fancy overnight bag into the back seat, then joined me in front. She changed into a tight pair of jeans and an oversized sweatshirt that still managed to accentuate her curves. Her hair was pulled up into a tight ponytail, and she applied something to her lips that made them look plump and pink. I wanted to grab her by the back of her head and press those lips to mine.
    She turned her head toward me and smiled like she knew what I was thinking. I didn’t really give a fuck if she knew or not, just as long as her mind was on the same path.
    “Are you going to sit there and stare at me all day?”
    I stared at her a little longer, and she rolled her eyes and pulled on a pair of sunglasses. I turned the car on and pulled out of the driveway.

Chapter Twelve
    Alexis
    Ryder turned into the parking lot of the bar.
    “Holy shit.” I breathed the words as my heart clenched. My car was the only one left there. Well… what was left of it.
    There was glass everywhere. Whoever did this didn’t even leave an unbroken window or mirror. Red spray paint tainted the flawless pearl varnish of my sporty little Audi R8. My mom had bought it for me on my twenty-first birthday when my dad’s inheritance became mine but still insisted I let her manage it. The car was worth more than some people’s houses, and I nearly died from the sight of its injuries.
    I was such a dumbass. Who leaves a luxury car overnight in a bar parking lot? Granted, the bar was upscale and not far from my gated community, but still, I was feeling pretty moronic at the moment. Not to mention heartbroken.
    “Who would do this?” The question was more of an outspoken inner thought, but Ryder chimed in anyway.
    “Maybe it was that asshole who got in my face last night.”
    “Logan?” I looked at the car and back at Ryder. “No, Logan wouldn’t do this. He knows how much I love that car. He wouldn’t hurt me like this.”
    He shrugged as if he didn’t believe me, but I was sure. Logan wouldn’t do this.
    “We have to call the police,” he said, finally opening his door and stepping out. I followed, but I only got more depressed the closer I got to the car. It was going to be a long day.
    ~*~*~
    After the car incident, filing a report with the cops, and a trip to the garage to see what they could do for my car, I was exhausted. Despite being drained, I couldn’t sleep. Ryder agreed there was no reason we couldn’t sleep in the same bed, but I’d have to behave. Just like when we were kids, Ryder was always interested in every