Page 69 of Shut Up and Drive

And I like where this is headed.

Chapter 27

HIDE AND SEEK

Sera

Iwander down the trail, looking for Bradley, Thane, Bash—oranybodyfor that matter. When I finish changing into my swimsuit, the lake and dock are empty, rows of soaking-wet towels left behind as the only proof of life.

“Hello?” I holler into the trees. “Mom? Dad?”

I listen quietly, hoping for an occasional squeal or laughter from Thane’s nieces and nephews playing, but the birds in the trees and the boats on the water are the only sounds. I throw on my cover-up and meander toward Jamie’s parents’ lake house, hoping everyone went down for a visit.

As I near their dock, I spot Bradley crouching behind a rack of kayaks. My brain throws a flag on the play and I’m instantly suspicious of him. Call it a hunch, intuition, or just mediocre detective work, but something doesn’t feel right. My eyes follow his line of sight through the trees.He’s eavesdropping on Bash and Thane, so I slow my stride and tiptoe to observe. A twig snaps underneath me as I approach, and he whips around.

“Serafina! There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

I fold my arms. “Looked more like you were spying on my brother and Thane, if you ask me,” I say.

He shifts on his feet. “Well, I didn’t want to go down to Jamie’s lake house without you, so I was trying to see if you were there before I invited myself over.”

Funny, you didn’t think twice about inviting yourself on my vacation…

“I was changing into my swimsuit. Where have you been all afternoon?”

His narcissistic grin makes my skin crawl. “Getting some work done down by the lake.”

“Then you would’ve seen where everyone went. I’ve been looking for them.”

His eyes look everywhere but mine. “I wasn’t atyourguys’ dock. I went to one down the trail that was unoccupied.”

“Mmmm-hmmm,” I say, not buying a word of his story.

“Anyway, I wanted to go on a hike with you. But let’s go this way.” He grabs my shoulders and whirls me around toward the direction I just came from, and creeps up the path.

His phone chimes like crazy while we’re on our hike, and he ignores it repeatedly. After he silences a call coming in—twice—I stop on the trail. “Are you going to answer that? It seems pretty important.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Probably just some work stuff.”

“You never ignore work stuff,” I say, doubling down.

“What do you want me to do, Serafina? Answer every little message and call?” he shouts, and I startle at his overreaction.

I put my hands up in surrender. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, I just know how important work is to you, and I wanted you to know I didn’t mind if you answered it.”

“I don’t need your permission to answer phone calls or ignore them. Stay in your lane,” he says before stomping off ahead.

I watch him go. I know I should feel upset about how he treated me, but in order to be hurt by someone, you have to care about them, and in that moment, I realize I don’t.At all.I couldn’t care less about what he thinks of me—or my weight—for that matter. I’ve been so submissive so he’ll stick around, when what I should have done is sent him packing the second he showed this side of himself. Instead of chasing after him and trying to smooth things over, I let him throw his tantrum, and pivot back toward the lake house instead.

He’ll find his way back… eventually.

An hour later,Bradley returns with a scowl on his face. I resist the urge to pacify him, and focus on the snack I’m making instead.

“Hey, Brad, how was the hike?” I ask in a cheery voice.

“You know I hate being called Brad,” he grumbles. “My hike was horrible. Not only did you leave me, but I lost service on the trail and couldn’t find my way back. Now my phone is almost dead.”

He stomps past me and up the stairs, coming back a few seconds later.