Off Limits Read online

  Off Limits

  Alexandra Vos

  © Alexandra Vos 2015

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Also by Alexandra Vos:

  Young Adult Novels

  The Reluctant Assassin

  Young Adult Novellas

  The Kissing Ban

  New Adult Novellas

  Hunting Him

  Contents:

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Epilogue

  Chapter One

  Luke was doing his absolute best to make everyone’s mood miserable. “I swear she hates me,” he continued to whine, waving around his test score as if anyone actually cared. “Another E, really? I’m sure I can’t have done that badly.”

  “It’s a standardized test. If you got that mark it’s because you sucked at the test. End of story.” I was in a bad mood, too, and it definitely wasn’t helping to resolve the situation. I just wanted to get home to say goodbye to my dad, not have to listen to perfect, intelligent Luke whining about how he failed something because he chose not to revise for it.

  Phoebe, his girlfriend and my best friend, was far more compassionate. “Your grade will improve,” she squeezed his hand, “I’m sure you’ll have mastered it by the end of the year.”

  “Can we just get going? It’s his own fault he failed. Normal people do actually have to revise for things if they want to get a good grade.” Luke had always sailed through school without a single problem. It was part of the reason I was so opposed to him. Working my ass off to get the same results made me incredibly bitter.

  Unfortunately, I was forced to put up with him on a daily basis since he’d started dating my best friend.

  Realisation seemed to dawn on Phoebe’s face and I almost sighed in relief. Finally. I wasn’t going to even catch my dad if we kept dawdling around. “You’re good at German, right?”

  German was the only thing about school I genuinely enjoyed and whilst it didn’t come naturally to me like everything else did to Luke, I was quite good at it. “I guess,” I admitted. I knew where this was going and I didn’t want any part of it.

  It wasn’t just my distaste for Luke’s natural ability that got on my nerves; we’d always been at odds with each other. Since I could remember Luke and I had play-fought in the playground, one of us always ending up getting genuinely hurt. We’d sabotaged each other’s relationships, engaged in some incredibly messy food fights and got each other more detentions than was really acceptable. My mum definitely wasn’t a big fan of the name Luke, even if she’d never actually met him.

  Our bickering was odd. Sometimes it ended in laughter and sometimes my bad mood extended for days afterwards.

  “You could tutor him!” It was like Phoebe had finally found the solution to all her problems. Our bickering always annoyed her, even if I secretly revelled in it.

  There was something about Luke, even with all the shit he caused me, that had me daydreaming about the possibility of him going out with me instead. It wasn’t often and I really tried to avoid it, but sometimes, the idea was too tempting to resist. He was attractive, with his mess of black, unruly locks and there was no hiding the fact he worked out.

  I liked to think I knew that because he punched me in the arm so often, rather than because I sometimes couldn’t stop myself checking him out.

  It was silly and I almost loathed it, but there was phases when I fancied Luke so much I could hardly look at Phoebe.

  “I really hope you’re joking,” I spared her a sideways glance, speeding up my pace and wanting to get away from this conversation as quickly as possible. “I just want to go home and have as much Luke-free time as possible.”

  Luke fired me a grimace. “Don’t think I’m loving this idea. Come on Pheebs, I’m sure I can manage a bit of French without being stuck with the short-arse.”

  But Phoebe had come to a complete standstill, forcing us to stop as well. “Nope, I’m serious about this. You two need to stop arguing so much, it’s silly. I’m sure you’d get on if you just got to know each other.”

  I did know Luke. I knew every relationship he’d ever been in and why it failed, I knew all his friends and all their drama. I knew how good he was in school and, when I’d been forced to sit next to him in history last year, he’d blurted about how his grandma was dying of cancer. I knew he’d regretted it almost instantly and I’d never mentioned it again.

  I knew Luke and I knew I didn’t want to be spending any more time with him than I had to.

  “I really don’t want to do this.”

  “Well, we’re not going anywhere until you do,” she was much less of a genius than the smug smile suggested.

  Luke frowned slightly. “Don’t you think that’s taking it a bit far?”

  Phoebe sighed. “I know you both don’t want to, but if you were actually friends just imagine how awesome it would be.”

  I was ashamed to admit Luke and I had ruined plenty of Phoebe’s plans by falling out. It wasn’t too surprising she wanted to stop us being at each other’s throats all the time. “Fine, whatever. I just want to go home.”

  Phoebe grinned. “Awesome. Why do you want to go home so badly, anyway? I thought you were all up for avoiding your mum as much as possible.”

  I blinked. So all I’d needed to do was remind her and she’d have let me go without this palaver. “My dad’s leaving today.”

  Phoebe’s eyes widened. “Oh, shit, I didn’t realise. I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you just say?”

  I scratched the back of my head. I couldn’t really admit I thought she might actually have been playing on it to get me to accept. “I don’t really know.”

  “I’m really not that much of a dick,” pulling out her car keys, the door unlocked. “Well, let’s get going, then. I’m really sorry I forgot. I had it in my head it was next Monday, for some reason.”

  Luke, for a change, shook his head. It wasn’t often I saw anything even slightly negative towards Phoebe from him. Their relationship had been going quite perfectly so far, even if it had only been three months.

  I was kind of certain their lovey-dovey behaviour had made me even more bitter.

  In fact, I was generally just a bit of a mess right now and I just wanted it all to go back to normal. My parents were divorcing and it had thrown me completely off-balance. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with anything or anyone, almost permanently.

  “Does this mean you’ll undo the forcing her to tutor me pact?” Luke tried to bargain when we were safely on our way. He wrapped a finger around one of her long dark brown ringlets and managed some extreme puppy dog eyes. Luckily, this wasn’t one of the phases I was head over heels for him.

  “No way. You and Carmen need to start getting along, I mean that. This will help, I’m sure.”

  Luke’s expression fell immediately, into something exasperated and annoyed, but he reigned it in. “Fine, I guess.”

  At least Luke and I were agreed this was a terrible idea. Maybe he could bring his laptop and we’d agree to sit with our headphones in for a few hours and not talk. That could definitely w
ork.

  When we pulled up outside my house, I was forced to recall the misery of my parental situation. My dad was sat on his suitcase at the end of the front garden, staring into the road with such a forlorn expression that he must have really thought I wasn’t going to make it. I hopped out of the car, not bothering with my bag, and enveloped him in a hug.

  “Sorry I’m late,” I didn’t have the motivation to explain anything else. I just wanted him to stay and her to leave. “How are you?”

  “I’ve been better, but I’m sure it’s all going to be fine. I’m glad to be leaving.” His voice caught and his arms tightened around me, but there were no tears.

  At least not on his part. My eyes were watering and when I caught a glimpse of my mother watching from the window, it almost sent me over the edge. “I’m going to really miss you.”

  My parents had been separated for many months, but that hadn’t been so bad because it was amicable. They’d both been muddling through a divorce they knew needed to happen within their tight monetary constraints. Up until my mum had been caught with another guy in the bed they were forced to still share, anyway.

  Then it had all gone downhill. My dad had said he was leaving straight away, throwing away the agreement they had to wait until it was financially viable for him to move out. He had been put in the most awful situation and it was all my mum’s fault.

  “I’ll miss you too, sweetie,” he squeezed extra hard before pulling back, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “But I’m sure I’ll still see you a lot. You’ve got my number and I’ll let you know when I’m settled in.”

  “Okay. Love you, dad. See you soon.”

  He picked up his case and shoved it into the boot and my throat burned. I needed so desperately to cry, but I refused to let my mother see it and I didn’t want Luke and Phoebe to see, either. Instead, I wrapped my arms around myself and attempted to stay stoic.

  When he was gone, I stood still, staring at where his car had been. My mum had disappeared from the window.

  Avoiding the bitch was my new top priority.

  Chapter Two

  I snatched my bag from the back seat, hiding my head in case I’d managed to smudge my make-up. “Thanks for the lift, you really didn’t have to wait around.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, really. It’ll all seem normal pretty soon, I guess.” I highly doubted that. I wanted to live with my dad and not be stuck in the house with the whore that had made this all happen, but it was impossible. My dad didn’t even know if he’d got anywhere to stay, yet. He hadn’t really got any friends and he didn’t work to have any colleagues. His family lived out of the country. If he ended up on the streets I’d never forgive my mum.

  “Try not to be too harsh on your mum, I’m sure she’s upset, too.”

  I raised my head and shot her a harsh glare. “Please don’t sympathise with her, I really can’t deal with it right now.”

  Phoebe opened her mouth to try and argue, even looking to Luke for help, but coming up with nothing. “You could tutor Luke tonight, if you wanted. It might help get your mind off things.”

  I wanted to snap that she was being ridiculously selfish, but had to admit that she was right. Putting my mind to work coming up with snarky comebacks would probably be a very good distraction. “Sure. May as well get it over and done with.”

  “You’re sure? You really don’t have to,” Luke actually sounded quite uncomfortable about the whole thing. I couldn’t blame him for worrying that I might break down and he’d have to deal with it.

  I slammed the door and called over my shoulder that I was positive. Luke was forced to scramble to catch up with me. My mum was waiting just inside the door, but I strode past her and straight up the stairs, expecting Luke to follow. “Carmen!” She called after me. “I need to talk to you. Who is this? I don’t want you upstairs alone with a boy. Keep the door open.”

  I slammed the door, not feeling the need to explain that this was Phoebe’s boyfriend, the notorious Luke she already hated through hearsay. I’d let her stew on it for a while. Maybe I could convince him to bash my bed into the wall for a while and see what happened.

  “So. German. Are you really that bad? Because I’m not that great myself.”

  My room was tiny: a single bed pushed against one wall, my desk cramped into the other side and a tiny walkway to get from one to the other. Luke took an awkward seat perched on the end of my bed. For once, he looked like he had no idea what to say to me. “I got a load of E’s, how bad do you think I am?”

  Grimacing, I took a seat on my desk chair. “I guess I’ll be able to manage if I start at the basics. How are you even going to get home? I’m going to have to drive you,” I made a noise of discontent. “This was all such an awful idea.”

  Luke chuckled, making himself comfortable on my bed just to annoy me. My bum was already starting to go numb from my hard chair. “I have to agree. But, I really do need to get a better grade to get into the uni I want, so hopefully you’re not completely hopeless.”

  “You’re the hopeless one, so shut up and listen to what I’m saying. I’m the one passing here. Please actually concentrate, I want this to be as quick as possible.”

  Luke smirked and watched smugly as I attempted to figure out the best way to teach him the vocabulary. It was embarrassing, more than anything, staring at my notes and wondering how to teach the guy who was a prodigy at everything else in the world. Eventually, I sucked it up and got on with it and Luke was nice enough to keep any sarcastic comments to himself.

  Part of me knew he really did need this and I revelled in the knowledge I outperformed him in something.

  Halfway through, the sound of my mum’s loud laughter came floating through from downstairs. My mood, which had been slowly been improving as I got lost in explaining the German grammar rules, dropped straight back down. I grimaced, standing up and excusing myself.

  Luke put his foot against the door to stop me. “What happened with your parents?”

  “It’s none of your business,” I snapped, attempting to wrench the door open. His leg was stronger. “Now let me go and talk to her.”

  “My parents went through a messy divorce. You should talk about it instead of shouting at her. It’ll make you feel better.”

  He was sincere, but my first reaction was to snap, “and why would I ever talk to you about it?”

  Luke didn’t look too offended. “Ring Phoebe up then, but you should talk to someone.”

  I retook my seat at my dressing table and gave in, explaining everything. He’d done this to me once, I could repay the favour. I’d probably regret pouring my heart out, too, but for now, I couldn’t stop focusing on the fact he actually looked like he cared.

  “So yeah, now you understand why I hate that bitch and why the fact she’s downstairs, no doubt talking to that piece of shit that she slept with in my dad’s bed is slightly irritating.” I was on the verge of tears and I couldn’t hide it. I swiped at my eyes and couldn’t look up. “And that’s that, really. I don’t feel better for having told you, just so you know.”

  Part of me wondered what it would be like if Luke hugged me, but I didn’t move a muscle and neither did he. “I bet you feel better than if you’d gone and shouted at your mum. Avoiding her is probably better.”

  “You’re not of the opinion that I should forgive and forget because she’s my mum, then?” I’d thought Luke and Phoebe were some kind of single-entity at this point.

  Luke chuckled. “I do have my own opinions, you know,” he scratched his head and thought about it. “I don’t think what she did was completely abominable, but I can understand that it’ll take you a while to get over it. Just don’t mess your relationship up beyond repair.”

  Part of me knew I didn’t want to do that anyway, but right now I was just so angry with her that it was difficult to remember that eventually we’d be okay. “I’ll really try my best, but I’m not very self-disciplined.”

  “Yea
h, you don’t have to tell me that.”

  Remembering all the times I’d taken out my frustrations at Luke in petty ways did serve to make me feel a little bit better. I was dying to ask Luke about his parents, but resisted. We definitely weren’t close enough for that. “Do you think we’re done for the night? I just want to go and buy some ice cream before the shop closes and see if I can get away with buying wine without them asking for ID.”

  “I’m not eighteen either, otherwise I might have been kind enough to offer some help. But yeah, I’m definitely done with this shit. I don’t even know why I took it in the first place. I could have passed anything else just fine.”

  I rolled my eyes, double-checking my make-up was okay before grabbing my car keys. “Why didn’t you, then?”

  “I needed a language to stand out from the crowd. That’s why I’m doing as many A-levels and extracurricular stuff as I can.” Luke was, of course, the only person doing five A-levels in our entire school. It was quite ridiculous.