I struggled to remove the ring from my finger but it wouldn’t budge. “What the hell? Hailey it won’t come off!”
She paled. “When you said you had an amazing night, you didn’t mean that amazing of a night, right?” She looked at me questioningly and I was afraid of what she would ask next. “I mean you didn’t sleep with him, did you?”
“What does that matter?”
“Oh my god, you consummated it. Oh my god. Levi did that without telling you… unbelievable.”
“Consummated it? What the hell are you talking about?”
“You can’t give the ring back, Allie. Spending the night with him kind of made it permanent.”
“Permanent?” Heat flooded me and the room started to spin. I was terrified to hear her response.
“As in you are now his mate and he can’t take another. There’ll have to be an official celebration… Wow I don’t even know what to say.”
“You have got to be joking! I didn’t agree to this and why would Levi want to make me his… Uggh I can’t even say the word. Get this damn ring off me!”
“It’s not going to come off, it’s permanent. You have to stay here with him now. Oh my god, I knew he was crazy about you, but I can’t believe he did this. Levi has done stupid things, but this is way beyond anything—”
“Please tell me this is a joke. Please.” I started feeling hot.
“I’m sorry.”
“I can’t do this. I can’t do this.” I stood up quickly, knocking over my glass of champagne. I had to get out of there.
“Allie, wait!” Hailey called after me but I ran down the corridor.
Dashing down the street, I jumped in the car, starting it without looking behind me. I had no idea where I was going, but I had to get away from the craziness. There was no way I was buying anything they were selling.
Sitting at a stoplight I struggled with the ring again, using my nails to try to pry it off, but it did nothing. Tears nearly blinded me as I drove through the city haphazardly. There had to be a way to get the ring off, because there was no way I was spending time with anyone who would trick me like that. It just didn’t make sense. Levi could have any girl, why would he need to trap me?
Still unsure of where to go, I knew I had to leave New Orleans. I couldn’t risk going back to the hotel and running into any Pterons. For all I knew, Natalie was in on it. I’d just have to buy the necessities I needed on the road.
Memories of the summer flooded me as I tried to understand how I could have fallen under Levi’s spell. Maybe it was all part of him being supernatural. I hoped I was right because I didn’t want to believe it was my own mistake that got me into the mess.
Chapter Sixteen
The monotony of the interstate helped calm my nerves enough for me to make a plan. I was going home and getting as far away from Levi as possible. There had to be some way to remove the ring. I wanted to believe that Hailey had made it all up, but I knew she hadn’t. It all fit. Levi’s nerves before he gave me the ring, his comment about needing to talk to me that night—he was probably going to drop the bomb about what he’d done. What I couldn’t understand was why he would want to trap me. Sure, there was chemistry between us, but we had only known each other a few months. It didn’t make any sense.
I called Mom, dialing my house number with absolutely no idea what I was going to tell her. After three rings I expected the machine to pick up, but instead an unfamiliar male voice said “Hello?”
“Hi.” I wondered if I had hit the wrong contact on my phone. “Is Diane there?”
“Allie?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, it’s Andrew.”
“Andrew Thomas? What are you doing at my house?” I asked, completely taken aback that one of my least favorite acquaintances from high school was answering my home phone.
“Didn’t your mom tell you about her and my dad?”
“She said they were dating, but why are you there?” I repeated, getting frustrated.
“We’re staying here while we redo the kitchen at our house.”
“Oh… I didn’t know.”
“Yeah, my dad says he’d never be able to sell it without some upgrades.”
“Sell it?” I asked fearful of the response I would get.
“Your mom really didn’t mention it? My dad’s probably moving in with your mom once we leave for school in the fall.”
“No. I guess she forgot to mention that,” I said angrily. And my mom got mad at me for not telling her about Levi? What else was she keeping from me?
“Geez, that must be weird. But on a good note, we’ll get to hang out on breaks and I think our parents are planning a cool vacation for winter break for all of us.”
“Seriously?”
“Yup. Cool, right?”
Nothing about it sounded cool.
He continued. “By the way, you have an awesome DVD collection in your room.”
“You’ve been in my room?”
“Yeah… it’s not a big deal, right?”
“I’ve got to go.” I hung up without waiting for his response. I felt sick. The thought of going home no longer appealed. Andrew was a total jerk most of the time, and never stopped bothering me. I considered where else I could go.
My mind clouded with dark thoughts, and I needed a distraction. I needed ice cream. Not just any ice cream, I needed a hot fudge sundae. There was nothing like it to help drown your sorrows. Of course, the craving hit me just after passing Chattanooga and miles from Knoxville.
As I drove through the middle of nowhere, scanning every sign advertising food, I was almost able to forget about the stupid ring. I flipped through the channels on the radio, frustrated by every song that came on. Who would have thought it was possible for so many songs to be about taking it slow? After giving up on the radio, I saw a sign for Dairy Queen. Even though it was half a mile from the exit, I couldn’t pass it up.
Pulling into a spot in the nearly empty lot, I took a deep breath and tried to focus on the task at hand. Find a bathroom, get some ice cream, and get as far from New Orleans and Levi as possible.
The Dairy Queen was the kind connected to a small gas station and convenience store. On a Sunday I would have expected a post lunch crowd, but I was the only customer. The clerk disappeared as soon as she handed me my cup of vanilla ice cream with gobs of hot fudge (I had asked for extra) so I took a seat at a small table by the window.