Trapped in his End Game (Series)

Gleaming aisles of white and cameras affixed in shiny, black bowls on the ceiling don’t stop me from raking my eyes over the millions of tiny, bright bottles of foundation and tubes of lipstick. I’m behind Maria as she picks up a vial of this or that, my mind thinking how I can steal some makeup without being caught by her, or the employees, or the camera in the ceiling.

I’m stressed, okay? When I’m stressed out, I act out. I drink. I steal.

Dimly, I hear a voice that sounds like my mother’s: Shame on you.

But my heart has turned to stone. What does she know about shame?

It’s unfortunate that Maria decided to enter the Sephora store. There’s so much that I want, but can’t afford. I just paid off the last of Mom’s credit card debt, and there’s still a lot more to go for the rest of my tuition and the loan. And I can’t help but want things. I’m a greedy monster.

An attractive, coral lipstick appeals to me and I slip it into my purse. On the pretense of digging through my purse to find my phone, I remove the plastic wrapper and security strip. My heart pounds when an employee smiles at me.

“Can I help you find anything?”

“No, thank you!”

Fuck. One of these days I’ll get caught.

More and more products get stuffed down my purse and my heart beats a violent tattoo against my chest as we line up for the register.

“Have you declared a major yet?”

Maria’s happy voice breaks through my anxiety. “Um-not yet. To be honest, I don’t know if I’ll be able to afford tuition.”

It’s embarrassing to talk about this while everyone in line can hear us. She gives me a widened look.

“What do you mean?”

Looking into her round eyes, I know that I can’t bear telling her the truth about my mom. She has rich parents. She wouldn’t understand.

“Financial aid doesn’t cover everything. I need somewhere around twenty grand for the rest of the year.”

She immediately spouts out with suggestions and somewhat pleading arguments. “They just can’t do that to you, Adriana. There must be another way.”

I let her get it out of her system as my shoulders tense. We’re walking out of the store and my heart’s beating like it wants to jump out of my chest. It’s almost painful.

A sigh blows out of my mouth as we leave the store, no alarm bells ringing, no angry voices yelling after me. I’m lucky.

“We can talk about it at dinner tonight with my parents. Maybe they can think of something.”

My face burns. “Actually, I’m going with Vince at his mother’s house.”

Maria stops in the midst of walking, smiling as she looks down at me under her sunglasses. “Seriously?”

“Yeap.”

She covers her mouth with a tanned hand, laughing. “Oh my God. You have to tell me all about it. There has to be something seriously dysfunctional about their relationship.”

The comment burns my face, but I’m so grateful that she’s backed off on antagonizing me about Vince that I don’t say anything. “I doubt it. From the way that he talks about her, they seem to get along pretty well.”

“Oh, come on Ade.”

Now I’m starting to feel irritated. “I mean it! You know, he’s not the horrible man you think he is. He’s really thoughtful. He delivers food all the time because he knows that I’m broke. That’s the kind of guy he is.”

Just thinking about him puts a grin on my face. Every day away from him hurts a little bit more. I fell for him, fast and hard. Who else could treat me the way he does? Who else could give me the most amazing sex I’ve ever had?

“That is thoughtful,” she admits grudgingly.

When we return to the dorms, I try to hide the contents of my purse as I stuff them under my bed. Maria’s smiles at me, making me feel incredibly guilty. I deserve to be locked up.

I endure several hours of listening to Maria talk to herself about what classes she ought to take. She decides to major in psychology and I hear her read the course descriptions out loud. Bitterness rises in my throat. It’s not her fault that her parents are wealthy, but damn am I jealous.

While shopping, I bought an innocent-looking dress that would be appropriate for his mother. A heart-stopping sensation fills me when I think about meeting his mother. I’ll probably have to return it, so I don’t take off the tags.

Knock-knock.

Maria’s head perks up from her computer screen and I bolt upright.

“It’ll be fine.”

“Yeah,” I say in a faint voice.

Twisting the handle of my clutch, I walk out of the bedroom into the living room. I open the door, and a tall-dark haired man dressed in dark jeans and a button-up shirt winks at me. Vince doesn’t pull me into his arms like he usually does; instead he gives me a tense smile and a quick peck on my cheek.

What’s wrong with him?

“Hey.”

“Hey, let’s go.”

Clearly, he’s in a hurry to leave. Vince walks in front of me and walks briskly down the steps, almost jogging down. I can barely keep up with him. Grabbing my hand, he moves swiftly down the sidewalk, his head moving from side to side, scanning.

“Is there something wrong?”

He suddenly becomes aware of me and his pace slows down. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

“What does that mean?”

My lungs freeze when I’m ushered into the car. Vince gets in, looking around before he sinks into his seat, his fingers white as they grip the steering wheel.

“You’re in some kind of trouble, aren’t you?”

“Everything’s fine.” He turns his head, giving me a quick smile before he pulls out of the garage.