STELLA

It doesn't take us too long to reach the mall.

A simple search online had brought us straight here.

Once Riven has parked his car, we sit in silence for a few minutes, each of us scrolling through our phones.

"Do you think I should just throw a nineteenth birthday bash instead? There would be no need to throw two parties if we do that, and a birthday bash means we'll be able to get to know more people quicker."

I think about that idea before nodding at him.

"That sounds like a plan, Riv. We'll have a look around and see what we find here."

He nods once before taking the key out of the ignition and holding it between his fists.

Looking over at me, he speaks.

"Meet me in an hour?"

I grin at my brother as I open his car door and step outside.

"Make that two."

He chuckles but agrees with me, and begins walking in the opposite direction.

Luckily for me, my big brother had given me his credit card which meant that this shopping trip would be completely and wholly on him.

As I look around the parking lot, searching for an exit, I notice a group of boys gathered around a car. When one notices me, he nudges his friends and one by one, they each send me a glance.

Fear takes hold of my body before I force myself to breath out and count backwards from ten.

These boys don't know me.

There's no need for me to be so stressed.

It's clear that a few of them are intoxicated.

There's beer cans littered all over their space and they reek of cigarettes, though I'm not even entirely sure if that's even allowed in the parking space.

With my head held high, I walk through the parking lot towards the exit.

They're loud enough that I can hear them flaunting about all the girls they've slept with.

They describe the girls, quite explicitly too, as either tight and the best that they've ever had, or sloppy and never again.

My face scrunches up at their words.

It's disgusting how little they speak of those girls. Girls trusted boys like them and in return, they were given betrayal. Trust was supposed to be earned and cherished but instead, it was thrown aside and discarded.

Hearing people speak so lowly about one another affected me in so many ways—probably because of my own trust and the lack of it within my family.

Looking up, I notice that I'm only a few steps away from the boys. I fasten my pace as I walk away from them and over in the direction of the exit.

Though, things don't go quite according to plan.

One of the guys, the one who spotted me first, jumps off the hood of the car and he stops directly in front of me. His friends form a circle around us and I find that I'm trapped.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

My fingers dig deep into my palm as I force myself to remain calm.

Who knows what they'll do if I end up having a panic attack right now?

"The name's Ezra Storms."

He tells me confidently as a sly smirk crawls up the side of his mouth. I look straight at his smug face before replying.

"And?"

His smirk falters as his eyebrows furrow.

"…and?"

He repeats quietly with a look of confusion across his face. I have to stop myself from laughing out loud at him.

With dark hair and electrifying blue eyes, the only word worthy to describe him is lost.

I doubt he was expecting me to react like that though. With looks like that, he probably assumed that I'd be swooning over his pathetic one liner.

It's a pity that I need more than just a pretty face to react.

A look of confidence washes over his face and replaces the look of confusion. He proceeds to hold me by the hip, thrusting me forward to his chest, as I try my best to remain unfazed at his unwanted closeness.

"Well babe, a lot of people know that around here, I'm the big deal. How about you do me a favour and find out who I am, yeah? Maybe then you'll be crawling back to the one and only Ezra Storms."

I stop the stream of laughter from bubbling from my face.

Does he really think that highly of himself?

Does he really think that someone like me would be after someone like him?

If he knew who I was—who I still am—I'm certain he'd be on his knees crawling to me. I have half the mind to put him in his place right here and now.

Instead, I allow myself to trail my eyes all along the length of his face before I bite down into the plump of my bottom lip. His eyes track the movement and become even darker if possible.

As he clears his throat, Ezra drops his hand from my body and walks away. His sheep follow behind him.

My breathing returns to normal now that he's no longer touching me.

The boys walk away from me and over in the direction where Riven has gone. Not once does he turn around to face me, but most if not all his friends do.

They're all just as pathetic as he is.

Still, I shake the feeling of unease off of me as I lift my head and continue walking through the parking lot.

I've dealt with enough trouble as it is. To stop myself from getting into more, I'll need to ignore him.

There'll be no Ezra Storms in my life.


Author's Note -

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