Chapter 233 - Use the Car
Zac drove away from the school while Roxie kept her face turned toward the window.
He glanced at her twice before they reached the main road, but he stopped asking what happened. The silence inside the Tesla was different from the quiet in other cars. There was no engine beneath them, only the tires against the pavement and the low air coming through the vents.
Roxie could still feel everyone looking at her.
The attention had changed after Zac arrived. Kendall’s hundred dollar bill disappeared beneath questions about the Tesla, and the girls who had started studying Roxie’s clothes suddenly looked impressed instead.
She should have been relieved.
Instead, she kept seeing Kendall holding the money toward her.
Cheap.
The Tesla had hidden the truth, but Roxie hated that she needed it to.
"You shouldn’t have brought this to school."
Zac looked at her. "Why?"
"Everybody was staring."
"They were already staring when I got there."
"You made it worse when you told them it was mine."
"They asked."
"You could’ve ignored them."
"I was picking you up, Rox."
"We walked this morning."
"And now you don’t have to walk home with that bag."
"That isn’t why you brought it."
Zac adjusted his hands on the steering wheel.
Roxie watched the side of his face. He looked comfortable driving the car. He had found the seat controls, connected his phone, and changed the display sometime before reaching the school.
"You wanted people to see it," she said.
"No."
"You parked right in front."
"That’s where you were."
"You could’ve waited somewhere else."
Zac breathed out through his nose. "I wanted to use it."
The answer irritated her because he said it as though wanting something gave him the right to take it.
"You should’ve asked."
"You would’ve said no."
"That doesn’t mean you skip asking."
Zac’s jaw tightened, but he kept his attention on the road.
Roxie could feel the argument opening between them. She wanted to keep going until he admitted he had taken another decision from her. Mr. Robinson bought the Tesla without asking. Zac took the key card and drove it without asking. Everyone kept doing things for Roxie before she could say whether she wanted them.
Her breathing shortened.
She looked through the window and forced herself to inhale slowly.
The car passed two houses before she released it.
Again.
Air in through her nose. Hold it. Let it out.
She had bruises beneath her clothes from the last time anger moved faster than either of them could control it. She could still remember the broken glass and Zac’s hands around her wrists.
They were inside a moving car now.
Roxie closed her mouth.
Zac glanced toward her before turning his eyes back to the road.
Neither of them spoke for the rest of the drive.
When the bungalow appeared through the trees, Zac turned into the yard and parked beneath the charging unit. He looked at the screen for several seconds before shutting the car off.
Roxie opened her door.
"Rox."
She reached into the back seat for her practice bag.
"Can we talk before you go inside?"
"I need to shower."
"It’ll take five minutes."
Roxie pulled the bag toward her. Zac had placed the passenger seat too far back, and the strap caught beneath it. She tugged harder until it came free.
"Then talk."
"Here?"
"You wanted five minutes."
Zac watched her grip the strap.
Roxie knew he could see she was still angry. He also knew sitting inside the car made her feel trapped with him.
He opened his door.
"Inside."
Roxie climbed out before he came around to help. She carried her own bag toward the porch while Zac followed several steps behind.
The Tesla remained beside the bungalow, its black paint clean beneath the new charger. Roxie had spent the entire morning refusing to look at it. Now Zac had driven it through the school entrance and told everyone it belonged to her.
She unlocked the front door and entered.
Zac closed the door behind them.
Roxie dropped her practice bag near the couch and removed her old school jacket. Her skin still felt warm from the locker room, though the bungalow was cold.
Zac stayed near the kitchen entrance.
"I wasn’t trying to piss you off."
"You still should’ve asked."
"I know."
Roxie looked at him.
His answer came too easily.
"You knew before you took it."
Zac rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought if you used it once, you’d stop treating it like it was going to hurt you."
"It came from him."
"It’s still a car."
"To you."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You don’t have to think about why it’s here."
"I know exactly why it’s here."
"No, you think it solves everything."
"I think it gets us from one place to another."
Roxie felt the anger rising again. Her chest tightened, and she pressed both palms against the kitchen counter.
She breathed in slowly.
Zac stopped talking.
Roxie held the air until the pressure beneath her ribs eased, then released it through her mouth. She stared at the electric bill lying near her hand instead of looking at him.
One breath.
Then another.
Behind her, Zac moved farther into the kitchen but kept several feet between them.
"I wanted to show you it was useful," he said.
"I know it’s useful."
"Then why leave it outside?"
"Because using it feels like accepting everything."
"The car is already here whether you accept him or not."
Roxie closed her eyes.
Mr. Robinson had said the same thing in different words. The title was hers. The account belonged to her. The support had always been meant for her.
Everyone made it sound simple until she imagined Cynthia learning that Mr. Robinson bought Roxie a car and planned to pay for her college.
"Did you come here before school to get the key?" Roxie asked.
Zac hesitated.
"Yeah."
She turned toward him. "You left me at school, walked back here, took it, and drove it there?"
"Dylan brought me."
"So this was planned."
"I wanted to try it."
"You could’ve tried it without making everyone watch."
"I didn’t know everyone would be outside."
"You parked in front of the gym after practice."
"That’s where people get picked up."
Roxie shook her head and looked back at the counter.
Zac could turn anything into a reasonable answer. He had wanted the car. He had also wanted Roxie inside it before she could refuse again.
"Why did you need it today?" she asked.
"I didn’t need it today."
"Then why couldn’t you wait?"
Zac went quiet.
Roxie turned enough to see him leaning against the other counter. His attention had dropped toward the floor.
"What?"
"I don’t have the truck anymore."
The anger inside her shifted.
"What do you mean?"
"My father took it."
Roxie stared at him.
"When?"
"After the fight."
His voice remained low.
Roxie had noticed the truck was gone, but Zac always appeared in another vehicle or walked to the bungalow. She assumed the truck remained at home because his face was bruised and he wanted to avoid his parents.
She had never considered that it had been taken from him.
"For how long?"
Zac gave a small shrug. "It’s gone."
"He said that?"
"He took the keys."
"Because you hit him?"
Zac’s mouth tightened.
Roxie looked at the bruising along his cheek. The color had begun fading, but the marks still reached toward his jaw and beneath his eye.
"Was it because they found out about us?"
Zac looked toward the living room.
He did not answer.
Roxie waited.
His silence filled in everything he left out.
Arthur already hated her. Miranda had called her a slut and a gold digger. Zac made their relationship public, went against his parents, and returned days later with bruises covering his face.
Now his truck was gone.
Roxie leaned back against the counter.
"You should’ve told me."
"You had enough happening."
"That doesn’t mean you hide it."
"What would telling you have done?"
"I would’ve known."
"And blamed yourself."
Roxie looked down at the electric bill.
She was blaming herself now.
"You lost it after choosing me."
"I chose to go against them."
"Because they wanted you away from me."
Zac stayed quiet again.
He never confirmed it. He also made no attempt to tell her she was wrong.
Roxie pressed her palms harder against the counter as guilt moved through the anger. She breathed in, slower this time, but the air still felt tight beneath her ribs.
Zac took her ultimatum and made their relationship public. He had taken her hand in the hallway when everyone watched. He returned to the bungalow after she accused him of leaving and stayed while she slept.
She had been angry because he drove a car without asking.
His father had taken his truck after Zac refused to give her up.
"You really thought I couldn’t handle knowing?" she asked.
"We got into a fight then you were dealing with Mr. Robinson. Then I came back and found you with Ethan."
"That has nothing to do with the truck."
"You were already blaming yourself for everything."
"And keeping things from me helps?"
"I wasn’t trying to add more."
Roxie heard concern in the answer when she should have heard another decision he had made for her.
She hated that the bruises softened everything.
"How have you been getting around?"
"Dylan."
"Every day?"
"When I need to."
"And when he needs his car?"
"I figure something out."
Roxie studied him.
Zac had always moved as though getting somewhere required no thought. He drove to her bungalow, school, practice, and the grill whenever he wanted. She had never seen him waiting beside a road or asking someone for a ride.
Now he depended on Dylan and still pretended nothing had changed.
"You could’ve told me you needed transportation."
"I don’t need you to fix it."
"But you took the Tesla."
"It was sitting outside."
Roxie’s jaw tightened.
Zac lifted one hand before she could speak.
"I should’ve asked. Fine. I should’ve asked."
"You say that like you still would’ve taken it."
"I probably would’ve tried harder to convince you."
"That isn’t better."
"I know."
Roxie breathed out again.
Zac looked toward the window above the sink, where part of the Tesla was visible.
"It makes sense to use it," he said. "I can take you to school and pick you up after practice. You won’t have to walk when it’s freezing or spend money on rides. Until you get your license, it’s just going to sit there."
"I can get places without it."
"I know you can."
"Then why are you pushing?"
"Because you don’t have to."
Roxie turned away.
She wanted to reject the argument because it came from him. The practical part still sat there.
The car was already insured and charged. Leaving it untouched would not punish Mr. Robinson. It only meant Roxie kept walking while Zac borrowed Dylan’s car.
"You like driving it," she said.
Zac smiled slightly. "Yeah."
At least he admitted that.
"That’s part of this."
"It’s a nice car."
"You looked smug when you got out."
"I was picking up my girlfriend in a Tesla."
Roxie gave him a flat look.
The smile disappeared, though she could still see it trying to return.
"I wanted you to see it could help," he said. "That’s all."
"That wasn’t all."
Zac rubbed his hands over the front of his jeans.
"No."
Roxie waited.
He looked toward the car again before meeting her eyes.
"I lost the truck after I went against them. I’m borrowing from Dylan, and I hate it. I can use this and still take you where you need to go."
The words sat differently from the argument in the car.
Zac was asking now.
Roxie understood what he was giving her, but she also heard what he wanted. Driving had always belonged to him. He picked her up, waited outside practice, and brought her home. Losing the truck had taken that from him along with everything else his father controlled.
Using the Tesla gave part of it back.
"I can’t do much right now," he said. "Let me do this."
Roxie looked at his damaged face.
He had not told her he needed anything. He carried her bags, fixed things around the bungalow, cooked, and acted like the absence of his truck changed nothing.
She wondered what else he had lost without telling her.
"You should’ve asked," she said again.
"I know."
"And you ask next time."
Zac hesitated, then nodded.
Roxie watched him carefully.
"You can use it."
His expression changed before he could hide it.
The relief made her chest loosen.
"For school and practice?" he asked.
"Wherever we need to go."
"You’re sure?"
"I said yes."
Zac nodded and looked down, but Roxie caught the small smile near his mouth.
"You already like it too much."
"It drives better than Dylan’s."
"Don’t tell him."
"I already did."
Roxie almost laughed. The sound never came, but the anger no longer pushed against her ribs.
Zac moved closer and stopped in front of her.
"You okay?"
Roxie looked up at him.
The bruising beneath his eye had yellowed at the edges. She lifted one hand and touched the skin near his cheek.
Zac became still.
"I’m sorry."
"For what?"
"You lost everything because of me."
His eyes stayed on hers.
Roxie waited for him to correct her. He could have told her the fight began with Holly and Nathan or that his father had been angry long before their relationship became public.
Zac turned his face into her palm.
"You’re worth it."
Her throat tightened.
Roxie rose onto her toes and kissed him.
The kiss started gently because of the healing cut near his mouth. Zac placed one hand against her waist and pulled her away from the counter. His other hand moved behind her neck as the kiss deepened.
Roxie held his shirt and let the guilt move into something easier. Zac still wanted her after everything his family had taken. He was still there.
When they separated, his forehead rested against hers.
"You’re really letting me use it?"
Roxie opened her eyes. "You’re ruining this."
"I want to be sure."
"Yes."
"Tomorrow too?"
"Zac."
His mouth curved.
Roxie pushed lightly against his chest. "I need to shower."
He kissed her again before letting her go.
Roxie picked up her practice bag and carried it toward the hallway. She stopped when she heard Zac open his wallet.
He stood near the kitchen counter with the Tesla key card between his fingers. After looking at it briefly, he slid it behind his license.
Roxie watched from the hallway.
She had agreed that he could use the car. She had not said he could keep the only key card.
The question rose inside her, but she looked at the bruises across his face before it reached her mouth.
Arthur had taken Zac’s keys after he went against his family. Asking for this one back felt like taking something else from him when she had just agreed to let him drive.
Zac closed his wallet and placed it inside his pocket.
Roxie took one slow breath and let it out.
Then she went to shower without asking for the key.