Chapter 23

Prism

“How didyou manage a solo dorm room?” I asked as Arsen carried the speaker Eli needed out of his room in Thayer Hall.

“My dad knows the dean,” he replied.

“It’s all who you know,” I teased.

“That coming from experience, Mr. Elite Swimmer?” he teased back.

I laughed, and he motioned to the wagon with his chin. “You mind opening up the back for me, baby?”

I grabbed the keys from him and jogged forward to open the back door. “This has a lot of trunk space.”

“It’s good for hauling equipment.” He agreed.

“How many parties do you do a month?”

“Usually, at least one a weekend. Sometimes more.”

“That’s a lot.”

“Yeah. I like it, though.”

“What do you like most about it?”

He turned from the Mercedes and smiled. “You trying to get to know me, princess?”

I was glad it was dark, and I hoped it hid my blush. But yeah, I wanted to know him. He put so much effort into knowing me, into our date tonight. I wanted to put in the effort too. I wanted to know just as much about him.

Grabbing my hand, he kissed the back of it, then led me around to the passenger side.

“Honestly, my favorite thing is coming up with my own mixes and laying tracks in ways that give them new life. So I guess that would be more on the production side. But with DJ-ing?” He considered. “I think I just like to watch people enjoy the music I play, giving them a break from the bullshit in life where they can just sort of be in the moment with nothing but some good beats.”

“You’re good at it,” I told him. “I’m not huge on parties, but I always like the ones you run.”

He caught me around the waist and pulled me in. Our hips bumped together, and the familiar rush of want I’d been feeling all night coursed through me.

“You like the music I play, princess?”

I nodded. “Drowns out everything else,” I confided. “I like watching you on stage too.”

“Yeah?” he murmured, tugging the piercings in his lip with his teeth.

Staring at them, I nodded. “You’re very confident.”

“Sexy too?”

“Oh yeah,” I replied without thinking.

He groaned, then reached around me to open the door. “Come on. Let’s get this over with so we can be alone.”

Cars spilled out of the long Psi Zeta driveway and crowded the street. The entire house, which looked more like a mini mansion, was lit up, and the thump of music could be heard as we walked up.

“As soon as I give this to Eli, we can bounce,” Arsen said, hauling the large speaker.

“Are you going to introduce us?”

“Of course,” he replied.

I could feel the vibration of the music in my chest already, and the uncomfortable sensation spiked my heart rate. Without thought, I pulled the AirPods I hadn’t needed at all tonight out of the pocket of my jeans and pushed them in my ears. I didn’t bother to turn on any music because there was already some playing. The AirPods would help buffer some of it, though, so it wasn’t quite as overwhelming.

“Hey.”

I felt Arsen’s hand on my arm. I stopped walking and looked at where he touched.

“You want to wait in the car?”

I shook my head. “I want to go with you.”

My aversion to sound took a lot from me. In truth, I often wondered who I’d be if sound didn’t stimulate me in a way that made it nearly impossible to function at times. Would I be more outgoing? Confident? Would I have excluded myself less from life and had more experiences? Would I trust myself?

Would I have a family?

I fought against it of course, which probably also resulted in trauma, so the things I did have I clung to so tight because I refused to lose them too.

Arsen was one of those things now. I was terrified I’d be too much for him. That the reality of dating someone like me—someone with a brain disorder—would rob me of love.

Like before.

Even if the music did seem overly loud compared to the calm night we’d had and the house was lit up like a Christmas tree on fire and crawling with the douchiest frat boys on campus, I was still going inside. I would not let those things outmatch the love I had for Arsen.

“You sure?” he asked, worry creasing the space between his brows.

“I’m sure, bear.”

His face softened instantly, and my stomach felt fuzzy. He really liked it when I called him that.

Inside, the music was loud, the speaker crackling in a way that made my eyes squint. The crowd parted for Arsen as he stepped through, people calling out his name and slapping him on the back.

He was clearly popular, something I knew but I guess hadn’t seen. The deeper into the house we got, the denser the crowd became and the louder the music got. Off in the corner, a group of guys were chanting as two held up another who was upside down with a long keg hose pushed between his lips.

I watched as the guy chugged until his face was red and beer sprayed out of his mouth. He tapped his buddy on the stomach, and they pulled him around, dropping him to his feet. He stood up, lifting his arms as though he’d completed the best swim of his life. Everyone cheered.

“Hey, hey, Triple A in the house!” the DJ yelled over the speaker, the sound screeching a little at the end.

I cringed, pushing the AirPods deeper into my ears.

Everyone cheered, and the DJ—Eli, I presumed—pulled a pair of headphones off and leaned over the stage to tug the speaker up onto the platform. Once it was there, Arsen leaped up and turned, holding out his hand for me. Stomach fluttering, I surrendered my hand and let him pull me onto the platform with him.

From up here, the music was even more piercing, and the ringing in my ears rose to combat it. It was momentarily disorienting, and I shut my eyes and took a breath. Arsen’s hand brushed the small of my back, and I lifted my head as Eli offered his hand.

“Yo, Elite, what’s up?” Eli said, smacking his hand against mine and performing a handshake I did not know.

“It’s Prism,” Arsen yelled over the bad music. It was weird to hear him call me that.

“Hey, bro,” I called.

Eli was shorter than Arsen, probably even an inch shorter than me. He had a bright-white smile, deep-brown skin, and a diamond stud in his nose. A black-sequined fedora covered his head, and he had a pair of sunglasses slung into the loose neckline of his T-shirt.

“Eli,” he said, introducing himself even though he didn’t have to. “Thanks for coming!”

“The sound quality is shit,” Arsen hollered and then stripped off the black denim jacket. Beneath it, he was wearing a white T-shirt with a black-and-white print of the Mona Lisa on the front, and when he took off the jacket, I noted it was sleeveless. The armholes were wide and exaggerated, which showed off the DNA tattoo down his side and the sheet music on his arm.

He turned to me, noting the obvious way I was staring, and smirked. I felt hot when he grabbed me around the waist and hauled me in. Our sneakers bumped as he lowered his face to my ear. Even though he was so close, he had to speak loudly. “Like what you see?”

In response, I reached into the open armhole and plucked one of the piercings in his nipple.

He growled. “I’ll be right back.”

The second he stepped away with Eli, the music became unbearable, and I hopped off the platform and moved away from the staticky speaker.

Bodies were everywhere, dancing and grinding. Beer sloshed over the rims of red cups, and the scent of weed lingered in the air. I turned to go be a wallflower, but someone caught my hips and pulled me back. At first, I thought it was Arsen, but the thought died almost instantly because the hands touching me made my skin crawl.

I jerked away, and the guy stumbled.

“Dance with me,” he hollered, a cup in one hand as he reached for me again with the other.

“Pass,” I said, knocking his hand away.

“You know you want to,” he said, taking a slurp from the drink.

I turned away again, and he grabbed the hood against my back and jerked me around. Agitation sparked inside me like a match against a flint.

“Back off,” I said, using both hands to shove him.

He stumbled into a group of people dancing, and they shoved him back. He went flying forward, knocking into me, the contents of his cup spilling all over the front of my hoodie.

The scent of beer burst under my nose, along with his bad breath. His sloppy hands grasped my shoulders to right himself, and I noticed the sweat beading his forehead.

My skin crawled.

“Look what you made me do!” he yelled, hot, nasty breath in my face.

“Hey!” someone yelled, and the guy was pulled off me, a fist smashing right into his face.

He folded faster than a house of cards, dropping to the floor like dead weight. The cup in his hand rolled and was crushed under someone’s foot.

Cursing, Arsen reached down to haul him off the floor. “Get the hell out of here, asshole,” he yelled, pushing the guy toward the exit.

He stumbled away without even looking back.

Arsen appeared in front of me, taking in my beer-soaked shirt. “I left you alone for five minutes,” he called over the new song that just dropped that was thankfully static-free. Guess he hooked up the new speaker. Reaching down, he grasped the hem of the hoodie. “Up.”

I lifted my arms without thought, and he peeled the shirt over my head. Underneath, I had on a white T-shirt that, thankfully, wasn’t wet.

Grasping my chin, he lifted my face. “You okay?”

“Dance with me.”

Surprise flickered through his eyes, but it was quickly replaced with desire. “You wanna dance?”

“With you,” I confirmed.

After quickly tying my alcohol-soaked shirt around his waist where his jacket was already anchored, he took my hands, dragging me a little deeper onto the dance floor. We were swallowed almost instantly by the crush of people already there, but when he pulled me in and anchored me close, I forgot about everyone else.

He moved just like I knew he would, the same way water flowed in the pool—graceful and fluid with the ability to mold itself around me. Holding me close, he pushed one lean thigh between my legs, rotating his hips seductively. One palm curled around my ass, not really squeezing but settling firmly enough that I could feel the heat of his fingers through my jeans.

The width of his shoulders hunched in, his entire body creating a sort of cocoon for me to exist in. Anchoring onto his biceps, I dragged my hands up his arms and skimmed under the edge of the shirt to knead the muscles in his back.

He swayed, and I pressed against his thigh, grinding against him while my lips flirted across his jaw. Grabbing a fistful of hair, he tugged my head back and pierced me with lust-drenched eyes.

I didn’t know who moved first, but suddenly, we were kissing, all tongue and teeth, my hands grabbing wherever they landed as we undulated to the heavy beat of the music. Bodies pressed around us, but none of them mattered because it was him and only him. There beneath the neon lights, we danced as if we were fucking. It didn’t matter that we weren’t naked or alone because his hands were on me, and with every roll of his hips, every brush of his hard dick against me drove me closer and closer to the edge. Desperation swelled inside me, spilling out in the form of a whimper as I sank my teeth into his studded earlobe.

He cursed, a dark, rumbling sound, and then he was dragging me through the mini mansion, the earbuds in my ears amplifying the sound of my own heavy breathing.

We went past the line at the bathroom, and he tugged me into a dark, empty bedroom at the end of the hall. He closed the door, locked it, and pinned me against the wood for another scorching kiss.

Using his shoulders for leverage, I tried to climb up his body, but he peeled me off, and I whined dejectedly.

“Take your clothes off first, baby. Do it fast,” he said, already yanking down his jeans and ripping the Mona Lisa shirt over his head.

Undressing myself became an afterthought as I dove at his bare chest, latching on to his nipple and rolling the barbel around my tongue. Both of us groaned, and his hands grasped my head, pushing me even closer.

I sucked harder than I would have if I’d had any presence of mind, but untamed need roared through me like wildfire, and all I could do was take.

He muttered something unintelligible, and the back of my neck broke out in chills. I sucked deeper, the hint of metal coating my tongue.

Finally, he pulled me back, and my eyes fell to the tattoo just under his pec. I dragged my tongue over it, leaving a trail of saliva marring the design.

“Clothes,” he rasped, tugging my shirt over my head. I kicked off my sneakers, not paying attention to where they went, and then pushed my jeans down and kicked them off too.

“Come here,” he invited, holding out his arms and curling his fingers. His grunt turned into a groan when I leaped on him, suctioning myself to his upper body like an octopus and tugging his ear between my lips.

He tilted his head to let me trace the piercings lining the delicate flesh and carried me forward to press me against the door. Between us, my dick ached, and I thrust my hips to rub against his abs.

His own erection stabbed against my ass, and I let go of his ear to bury my face in his neck and wiggle until his shaft slid through my crack.

We both groaned, and he thrust up again, forcing his rigid length where I was split.

“Please,” I whispered, then kissed his neck sweetly.

“Please what?”

“Get inside me, bear. I can’t take it another fucking minute.”

Fingers slid over my ass, dipping between my cheeks and swiping over my hole. I clenched around nothing, my body already overstimulated and ready to go off. I whimpered again, and he shushed me by laying his finger right on my entrance.

I tried to push down on it, but he resisted.

“Lube’s in my jeans.” He started to shift, likely to put me down, but I bit into his shoulder.

The tip of his finger slid in, and I groaned in relief. He pushed a little deeper but stopped. “I can’t, baby. I don’t want to hurt you.”

He pulled back, leaving me empty again, and lowered me to my feet. Wobbling, I leaned heavily against the door while he grabbed the packet of lube from his wallet and ripped it with his teeth.

“Good boy,” he said. The praise on his tongue coupled with the visual of him slicking up two fingers had me reaching for my cock.

“You wanna touch yourself, baby?” he murmured so close I could feel the heat off his body, smell the scent unique to him.

I nodded, and he smiled.

“You stroke yourself while I open you up. But no coming. You can’t come until I’m balls deep inside you.”

My head hit the door, my neck too weak to hold it up as I fisted my dick, spreading the slick precum around the head.

“Turn around,” he instructed, voice going deep.

I spun, bracing one hand on the door and presenting my ass like it was some kind of trophy. Thankfully, he didn’t make me wait and pushed two slick fingers inside me in one movement.

I sucked in a breath, hand falling away from my dick and head dropping between my shoulders as my body sagged under the stinging pain of intrusion. Even as my hole clenched, I bore down, wanting more.

“There you go,” he murmured, blanketing my back with his naked body while pumping those thick fingers inside me. I pushed back against them, and he scissored me open with the same impatience I burned with.

“You ready for me?” he asked, and I nodded so hard my head banged against the door.

“Careful,” he cautioned, reaching up to rub my head as he pulled out.

More cool lube drizzled over my hole, and then the hot thickness of his head hit the tight ring of muscle. I shoved back on him instantly, forcing him through, his engorged head locking inside my body.

“Jesus,” he cursed, voice strained. “Patience, baby. Don’t hurt yourself.”

“Please, Arsen,” I said, voice cracking.

He thrust upward, and my eyes rolled back in my head. Slapping my hands on the door, I braced myself, and he grabbed my hips, pulled out, and slammed back in. He set a pace that stole my breath and had me grunting with every snap of his hips. I had no doubt if anyone was outside the door in the hallway, they would hear me falling apart on this man’s dick, but there was no room inside me to care.

My entire body hummed, toes curling into the floor as my back bowed under his power. My body stretched around him, his dick the perfect girth to impart pleasure and pain. Mine slapped against my stomach as he plowed into me from behind, bouncing with every thrust.

Large palms covered my ass, parting my cheeks as he slid out and then back in. “Look at how good I fit inside you, how well your body stretches around mine. I love the sight of you split open on my dick, princess. Such a greedy little hole you have, taking every inch.”

I whimpered, his dirty words pushing me to the very brink and holding me there. His perfect hostage. Releasing my ass, his body blanketed mine, and he lifted, bringing me upright as he thrust so hard I rose onto my tiptoes and stars burst behind my eyes.

“Arsen.” I gasped. “Deeper.”

He thrust harder, and for a moment, my feet left the floor and I was completely impaled and at his mercy.

“Fuck,” he growled, wrapping his arms around me from behind and holding me in a tight hug while his hips pumped shallowly inside me. “The inhuman urge I have to breed you right now,” he rasped. “Pump every last drop of my seed so deep into you that it absorbs and permanently marks you as mine.”

“Yes,” I whined, grappling against his forearms that were tight around my waist. “Do it.”

“You want me to breed you, princess? Fuck so deep inside you that when you sweat, it’s my scent that comes out of your pores?”

“Breed me,” I gasped. “Jesus, please.”

Dragging his throbbing dick through my channel, he paused just before pulling out and then crashed home, lifting me off the floor for the second time and rocking his engorged shaft against my sensitive prostate. I came apart instantly, the orgasm so powerful it robbed me of all coordination, and I melted against him as my dick jerked and cum shot out, smearing my abs and the door.

Against me, Arsen shuddered and moaned, the sound so guttural the hairs on the back of my neck rose, and I felt the warm rush of his release inside me. As he unloaded, I smacked my hand on my stomach, faintly feeling the way he spasmed, and rocked against him, wanting every last drop he had to give.

As he panted, his hand slid down, covering mine where I held my lower stomach, and something about that silent gesture had tears pricking the backs of my eyes.

My chest heaved, and overwhelming emotions barreled through me as the high of the orgasm drained away, leaving behind a pleasantly full feeling. I floated there for a while, legs trembling, body limp as he kept me plugged and full of his release.

“The next time I do this, you’re going to be facing me,” he rasped, peppering kisses across the back of my shoulder. “I want to see the look on your face when I fill you.”

My hole clenched around his softening dick, and he kissed the back of my shoulder again.

“You okay?” Another kiss. “That was intense.”

“Mm.” I agreed. “I’m good.”

“Even, ah, the stuff I said?”

Was that actually a little bit of shyness coming from him? Did something finally pierce his endless confidence?

Smiling, I said, “You mean that you want to breed me?”

“Was it too much?” he whispered.

Tingles raced over my scalp, and I pulled my hand from under his to press his palm against my belly. “I liked it.”

“Yeah?” He seemed a little surprised.

I eased forward, his dick slipping out of me. The emptiness I felt when he was gone was startling, and I wanted to ask him to push back inside. But I didn’t, spinning in his arms instead to press our naked chests together and wrap my arms around his neck.

“You’re hot when you’re all growly and possessive, telling me you’re going to breed me and then being able to feel when you do it.” I also loved knowing part of him was still inside me. “In case you didn’t notice, I came completely untouched.”

“Oh, I noticed,” he murmured, dipping in to kiss me. “I think you unlocked a new kink in me.”

“You’ve never done that before?” I asked, curious.

He laughed. “No, definitely not. I’ve never felt so territorial over anyone ever. I’d smother you in my jizz if I could.”

“I’d like it,” I whispered. “I like having you inside me.”

Groaning, he palmed my hips. “Turn around and show me.”

I bit into my lip but slowly did as he asked.

“Good boy,” he murmured, pressing against the small of my back so I’d bend at the waist. His hands slid over my bare ass, then gently parted my cheeks. Arsen blew out a breath as I felt his stare. “Yeah, definitely a new kink,” he said, swiping his thumb through what was slipping out and gently pushing it back inside me.

I whimpered, and he shifted, pressing a kiss against the shelf of my ass.

“Mine.”

We were lucky there was an attached bathroom to the bedroom we were in, and we used it to quickly clean up before pulling on our clothes.

“When we get home, you need to shower,” he murmured, shaking out his jacket and pulling it around me.

“This is yours,” I said, pointing out the obvious.

“And you’re going to wear it.” He gestured for me to push my arms through. “I’ll wear yours.”

I wrinkled my nose. “But it’s all nasty.”

“Exactly why I’m wearing it and you aren’t.”

A tide of emotion caught in my throat. The fact that he so willingly put me first broke me down in ways nothing else could. He owned me. He might not know it. I might not be able to voice it. But it was no less true.

“Will you stay with me tonight?” I asked, unable to tell him all the things he made me feel but wanting to show him I didn’t plan on letting go.

He nodded, the movement wildly overexaggerated, and it made me laugh.

“Come on, princess,” he said, tucking the jacket close beneath my chin. “Let’s get out of here.”

It took less time to get out of the house than when we arrived because Arsen didn’t stop to talk to anyone and made a beeline for the door. My back was slightly achy, my lower half sore in ways it had never been before. I settled into the ache, maybe fixating on it a little, enjoying the sensation of being well fucked and owned. Marveling in the fact Arsen possessed unmatched ability to distract me from my own demons, granting me a little reprieve.

Just off campus, on our way to my townhouse, the flash of red and blue lights appeared behind us. Straightening, I glanced out the back window, noting the police cruiser right on Arsen’s ass.

A little blip of the siren accompanied the flashing lights, and I turned back to him.

“What the fuck now?” He muttered, slowing to pull onto the shoulder of the road.

I hoped the car would pass us, but no such luck. It pulled off the road and right up behind the Mercedes.

“Were you speeding?” I asked, knowing he wasn’t.

“No.” He confirmed.

“Maybe you have a taillight out,” I guessed, biting into my bottom lip. Anxiety formed in my chest, creating an intense foreboding that I wished I could reach in and rip out.

The one bad thing about Arsen’s ability to calm my haywire nervous system and somehow soothe my physiological responses was that the relief—even if it was short-lived—made the affliction feel worse. Almost as if I’d been lured into a false sense of security. When it was inevitably ripped away and my brain started misfiring, the panic seemed to snowball because I panicked about panicking as if I’d forgotten this was my usual state.

I didn’t expect it to make sense because I had a hard time making sense of it myself. All I knew was, as I sat there gripping the edges of the seat, my heart thumped uncomfortably, my stomach rolled, and the ball of panic in my chest seemed insurmountable. So insurmountable that I glanced out the window with the urge to run away.

Remove yourself from the situation. Get away, Prism. Go.

This was probably nothing. He probably blew through a stop sign. Or really was out a taillight. Or maybe it was a routine stop for a seat belt check. My heart leaped into my throat with the thought, and I reached up, grappling at my chest to check for the strap.

I blew out a breath, relieved to find I was in fact wearing the restraint.

“Matthew,” Arsen beckoned, and I dropped my hand into my lap.

My finger started bouncing against my thigh. One, two, three. One, two, three.

“Look at me.”

I turned, staring at him but not really seeing. I was lost somewhere in the confines of my mind where everything was blue and red.

Warm palms grasped my face, thumbs swiping under my eyes. “You’re okay,” he told me, but that didn’t make me feel better.

“What about you?” Us.

A soft sound left his lips. “I’m okay too, baby. I’m right here.”

Another blip of the siren and my tapping fingers started to tremble.

“Where’s your AirPods, princess?”

I said nothing.

“Are they in your pocket?”

I nodded.

“Get them out for me, okay? Put them in your ears.”

“What do you think he wants?” I whispered, eyes straying out the back window where a uniformed man was stepping out of his cruiser and making a show of putting on a hat.

“Probably something just as stupid as that hat,” Arsen muttered.

I laughed. It was more of a panicked sound, but the release of pressure felt good in my chest.

“What if they arrest us again?” I worried.

“They have no reason to do that,” he reasoned.

There was a loud knock on the window. I jolted, peering through the glass over Arsen’s shoulder to where the officer loomed in the dark.

“Eyes on me,” Arsen said, not even bothered the man was there. I shifted back to his dark, steady stare. “I’ve got this,” he vowed. “We’ll be out of here in just a minute.”

Knock, knock, knock.

Still unhurried, he leaned over to kiss me softly. “Get your AirPods,” he whispered as he pulled away.

I dug them out of my jeans as he rolled the window partway down. “What seems to be the problem, officer?”

“License and registration.”

Gripping the case, I watched Arsen hand over his ID and registration card.

The officer stared at them a moment. “Have you been drinking tonight, sir?”

“No.”

“Step out of the vehicle please.”

“You mind telling me what this is about?”

“You smell like alcohol. Step out of the vehicle.”

I made a sound, staring down at the beer-stained hoodie he was wearing so I didn’t have to. The officer thought he was drunk because of me.

This is your fault! Such a liability.

Arsen glanced at me. “It’s fine, baby,” he said low, then stepped out of the car. Without thought, I vaulted out of the passenger side, racing around the front to where Arsen stood.

The officer reacted, unhooking the gun on his belt and spinning. “Stay where you are.”

I froze, squinting against the bright headlights.

Cursing, Arsen ignored the twitchy cop and skirted around him to step in front of me. “While I understand your caution,” he told the officer, “it’s not needed here.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“The hoodie is mine. He’s wearing it because someone spilled a drink all over me and we traded shirts,” I tried to explain. “He hasn’t been drinking.”

“I’ll take a breathalyzer to prove it.” Arsen volunteered.

“Wait right there,” the cop said and retreated to his cruiser.

“Get back in the car, Matthew.”

“No.”

Arsen looked over his shoulder, piercing me with a hard look. It made my stomach hurt, but I held my ground. “I’m not leaving you alone out here with some cop with a twitchy trigger finger.”

“I’m fine.”

“He thinks you’re drunk because you’re wearing my shirt.”

“But I’m not drunk, and I’ll prove it. Besides, you look cute standing there in my jacket.”

“Now is not the time to flirt with me, Arsen Aaron Andrews,” I spat. Oh God, I sounded like the girls.

The officer came back, and Arsen blew into the breathalyzer. Moments later, it came back exactly as he said it would: clear.

The officer’s face pinched. “You mind if I search the vehicle for open containers?”

Arsen gestured to the wagon. “Be my guest.”

In that moment, another cruiser with flashing red and blue lights pulled up, parking right behind his buddy. The two officers conferred and then went to the Mercedes to look for open containers.

Arsen glanced at me and winked. “Must be a slow night.”

I didn’t understand how he could be so calm. I started pacing in the headlights, my eyes watering from their brightness.

“Looking kinda nervous,” observed the officer who didn’t pull us over.

“I have anxiety,” I snapped.

“Or something to hide.”

Arsen grabbed my wrist and pulled me to his side. “Settle,” he murmured, moving his hand to the small of my back. “Everything is fine. They’ll see we have no alcohol, and then we’ll be on our way.”

I pulled in a deep breath and then blew it out, leaning into Arsen’s touch,

The officer who pulled us over looked out from the back seat and called his buddy. I stiffened.

Seconds later, both officers approached, body language tense. “Care to explain this?” he asked, holding his hand out, palm up. In the center was a small, clear, sealed baggie of white powder.

“Where the hell did you get that?” Arsen asked, body straightening.

“Funny. That’s what we were just about to ask you.”

“That’s not ours,” I told them, shock numbing some of the anxiety rattling my brain.

“Yeah? Well, we found it in your car.”

“If you found it in my car, maybe it’s because you put it there,” Arsen said, voice quiet.

The officers exchanged a look.

“Aren’t you two the ones brought in on possession charges not too long ago?” the one holding the drugs asked.

“Say nothing,” Arsen told me quietly.

“Funny, after you two spent the night at the station, one of our buddies got transferred.”

Oh shit.

Arsen stiffened, his body vibrating like a live wire. Still, he said nothing.

“Looks like they got nothing to say,” one said to the other.

A pair of cuffs appeared.

“Maybe a ride down to the station will loosen their tongues.”

Arsen spoke then, taking a step forward while holding his arm out to the side in an effort to shield me. “This is my car. So this is on me. I’ll come to the station. He can just go.”

I stared at the back of his head incredulously. He was seriously trying to protect me? Trying to cut a deal so I could walk while they put him in cuffs?

“No,” I said, voice strained. “I’m coming with you.”

Arsen flashed an angry look over his shoulder, and I had to work not to recoil. “You’re not,” he intoned. “Call your brother. Tell him to come get you.”

“No.”

Arsen’s eyes flashed, but whatever he was about to say was interrupted by the officer.

“This is not up for you to decide. You’re both coming to the station.”

Instead of arguing, Arsen pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit the screen.

“Hey! No phone calls,” the officer demanded.

Arsen ignored him and put it to his ear.

“No phone calls,” the officer repeated, coming forward.

I rushed between them, trying to buy him some time.

“Dad, I’m getting arrested again. I need you to come,” he quickly spilled into the line.

The cop lunged around me, and Arsen pulled the phone down, jamming it back in his pocket.

The officer slapped some cuffs on him, and his friend did the same to me.

And then for the second time in a week, we got escorted into the back of a cop car.