“Do you want a piece?” I asked, my voice soft, hoping that he would ept my peace offering.


    But his face remained expressionless. “Are the condoms that you purchased strawberry vored so that it can be like a chocte covered strawberry?” he asked dryly.


    I swallowed thickly. Did he think that I was nning to use the condoms with someone else? Was that why he was so mad?


    “Do you want a sip of the water?” I asked, trying a new approach.


    But Alexander just frowned down at me. “Maybe I’ll take a swig of that whiskey since I hadn’t gotten to drink any of the wine that Naomi had gotten me.”


    Thatment felt like a p in the face. Why was he bringing up Naomi right now? I thought that we had decided that Ethan had bought him the wine, not her.


    “Here,” I said in a clipped tone and handed him the liquor. “You can keep it. I hate whiskey.”


    Alexander stopped and met my gaze. He studied my face like he was trying to figure out a hard math problem. For what felt like the millionth time, I wished that his moods weren’t so up and down.


    To myplete surprise, Alexander smiled. Honestly, that was thest thing I thought that he was going to do.


    “Are you trying to poison me?” he asked, referring to the fact that I had warned him against drinking the wine because I thought it had been


    0.00%


    1411


    tampered with


    I kept his gaze, and just to prove a point, I opened the bottle of whiskey. Even though the smell of gasoline hit me and I wanted to gag. I put the bottle to my lips.


    Alexander’s face changed. “Wait, Olivia, you don’t…”


    But I was already tipping up the bottle and allowing the liquor to flow down my throat. Immediately. I regretted my decision as the intense whiskey made my throat <b>burn</b>. I choked and started to cough violently. As I struggled to take in a breath. I bent down and put my hands on my knees.


    Alexander patted me on the back, but I could hear himughing. “Wow, it’s nice to know that you still have a conscience,” he teased.


    We were back at the entrance of the park and when I looked back up at him to scold him for making fun of me when I was choking on that disgusting liquor, I was shocked to see any trace of humor had vanished from his face.


    He was staring into the distance, near the pond in the middle of the park, and his entire body was tense. Before I could look at what had made him react like that, Alexander’s hand gripped mine, and he tugged me back.


    He started to run so fast that I stumbled. I hadn’t expected him to make an escape so quickly.


    “Hurry!” Alexander called as he continued to tug me along after him.


    The anxiety in his voice made my heart sink, and my hands became slick with sweat.


    Had Alexander seen Ethaning after us with a weapon? Were we


    17258 Nouchers


    in grave danger?


    *Olivia*


    Alexander pulled me through a beautiful flower bed that had a riot of bright colors.


    I winced as we trampled through the vibrant pink, blue, and purple flowers. Usually, I would refuse to ruin the park’sndscapers‘ hard work, but this wasn’t the time to worry about the shrubby. My heart pounded against my chest as my mind created terrifying images of what we could be running from. What if Ethan had hired a team of guards to chase us down with guns?


    We ran through the flowers and entered an area filled with tall bamboo. Because of the gentle sound the bamboo made when it swayed in the wind, this was a calming space people could sit inplete with benches and a bubbling water fountain that had coins glittering on the bottom from past wishes. Under different


    circumstances, I would love to explore this ce, but I’d never felt less calm in my life.


    14:11


    75.41%