CHAPTER 7
1525 Words
Mary
Driving was supposed to be calming. Therapeutic even.
But this was neither.
There is nothing soothing about being trapped in a car that smells like stale snacks while some girl is out there wearing your body and slowly ruining your life.
I pressed harder on the accelerator. The engine responded instantly. At least something in this life listened to me.
“Everything is f*****g ridiculous,” I muttered, tightening my grip on the wheel. “Absolutely ridiculous.”
Emily Carter, of all people, threatening me in my own body.
On a normal day, she wouldn’t even look in my direction.
My jaw clenched and I pushed the pedal further. The road stretched ahead in a blur, buildings slipping past in streaks, but it still wasn’t fast enough to burn off the anger sitting under my skin.
And when I thought my day couldn't get shittier, I heard a sharp wail slicing through the air. Blue and red lights flashed in the mirror.
Oh, for the love of the moon!
“Are you serious?”
The siren blared again.
I tightened my grip on the wheel. For a second, I considered not stopping. Just driving off and pretending I didn’t hear anything.
But I did not have the emotional capacity to deal with a police chase on top of everything else.
So I slowed down, reluctantly pulling over. The moment the car stopped, I let out a sharp breath.
“Unbelievable.”
The officer walked up and tapped on the window.
I didn’t move.
He tapped again, firmer this time.
I rolled the window down just enough to acknowledge his presence.
“Yes?”
His brows drew together slightly, like he expected someone else.
“License and registration, please.”
I blinked at him. “Don’t you know who I am?”
He didn’t react to that. “I asked for your license and registration, ma’am.”
Ma’am?
I straightened, offended. “I’m Mary Saint Laurent.”
“And I’m Alpha Callister.”
I bit my lip. “My father—”
“License and registration.”
He wasn’t moving. I stared at him, waiting for him to reconsider his life choices and let me go. But he was adamant on making my day worse than it was already.
Fine.
I reached into the glove compartment. An open pack of cereal fell forward, followed by an embarrassing amount of random snacks.
I pushed everything aside and grabbed the documents, handing them over with as much dignity as possible.
He looked at them after dusting off some snacks off the document. I was officially embarrassed.
Then his gaze moved to me.
Then back at the documents..
Then at me again.
I narrowed my eyes, clearly frustrated. “What?”
“This isn’t your name.”
Oh, right.
That teeny-weeny details that I had forgotten.
“This car belongs to Adrian Carter.”
I smiled sweetly. “He’s my brother. I’m Emily Carter. You see the connection?”
He frowned. “Didn’t you just say you were Mary Saint Laurent?”
“A slip of the tongue.”
“ID.”
I pulled out Emily’s ID and handed it over. He studied it, then said, “Call him.”
“Excuse me?”
“If it’s his car, call him.”
“Yoi must be joking,” I muttered under breath.
“I don’t joke on duty, ma’am.”
I exhaled sharply and reached for the phone.
Fine. If he wanted a call, he would get one. I scrolled through the contacts until I found Adrian. Saved as “Addy, my one and only.”
I paused.
That's how you save your brother's number when you're single and no one's willing to date you.
My fingers hovered for a moment before I pressed call. The line rang twice before he picked.
“Emily?”
His voice was calm. I had stolen his car, why wasn't he screaming my ear off?
“There’s a situation,” I said. “I’ve been stopped.”
There was a short pause before he spoke again. “What kind of situation?”
“Cops.”
Another longer pause.
“I’m coming,” he finally said. “Where are you?”
I gave him the location and the call ended. I lowered the phone slowly, frowning. That was anticlimactic.
The officer stepped back. “We’ll wait.”
I leaned back in the seat, crossing my arms.
If this car had a proper air conditioner, I might have been less irritated. It was on, technically, but it felt like an aesthetic rather than the actual cooling stuff.
Minutes passed, then a car pulled up behind the patrol vehicle.
Adrian stepped out.
He spoke quietly with the officer, then glanced toward me.
“Yeah, that’s my sister.”
There was no anger. Not even frustration from stealing his car. Just concern, like he was genuinely worried.
Maybe I was going to get a scolding later.
He opened the passenger door and slid in beside me. For a moment, we sat in silence.
Then he spoke.
“Are you okay?”
I turned to him. “What?”
“You’re unnaturally quiet,” he said. “And you don’t even like my car, yet you drove it fast enough to get stopped.”
“I still hate it,” I said. “And I think it needs cleaning.”
He was quiet again, studying me like he was trying to figure out what was wrong with me. “Next time,” he said, “ask before taking my car.”
“Now you know.”
“Know what?”
“I won’t be using the school bus to school.”
Emily could continue the routine when she was back to her body.
He reached for the door immediately. “Switch.”
“What?”
“I’ll drive.”
His tone made it clear this wasn’t a discussion. I stepped out, expecting him to leave me there out of spite and let me figure out how to get home.
He didn’t. We switched seats, and hee started the engine and pulled back onto the road like nothing had happened.
I stared ahead, quiet.
If this had been my life, my mother would have made it a public event if I had been flagged by a police for reckless driving.My father would have made sure I never forgot it.
This?
This was different.
We pulled into the driveway a few minutes later. Before I could get out, the front door opened.
I braced myself. This was where the lecture came in. And if I was unlucky, I would get a good beating too.
But he stood there, waiting for me to get out.
And that was when I saw him stepping out of the house, standing like he had been waiting, tall, broad shoulders and devastatingly good looking.
But he wasn't even looking at me.
Such a bummer.
I stepped out, suddenly self aware of how I looked, and Adrian shut the door, walking up to meet the other guy.
For Emily's sake, I hoped he wasn't her brother...or cousin.
"Finally, poochie," he said, pushing himself off the doorframe. "Thought you got lost."
Poochie?
Was Emily poochie-zoned by this fine man?
His eyes landed on me and stayed there for a second too long. Then his brows lifted slightly.
"Well," he said slowly, "this is new."
I heard a chuckle behind me. Adrian was laughing like I hadn't given him a ticket because of my reckless driving. "Emily is finally growing up and thinking about her looks."
I rolled my eyes. "Don't start."
The handsome boy laughed, revealing perfectly white teeth. "I'm serious, poochie. You look different...in a good way though."
Of course I did
I had seen myself in a mirror before stepping out. And while Emily hid this body like it was a crime, I was about to stir up trouble with it.
"You haven't seen me look this good before?" I asked, my tone shifting.
Adrian had stepped in already, giving me ample time with his handsome friend.
"Not like this," he answered.
His gaze didn't move, like he was more than amused about the way I looked, like there was something else buried under those gaze that wouldn't move away from me.
I straightened slightly. "Get used to it," I said.
He huffed a quiet laugh.
"Hey, Col!" I heard Adrian call from inside as he straightened. "Another round to floor you."
Col.
That was his name.
He smiled at me. "See you later, poochie."
I watched him for a second, a naughty thought slipping into my head.
Well, Col could be useful.
If Emily thought she could ruin my life, then fine. I would return the favour. And if I had to stay in this body for a while, I might as well make it interesting.
My gaze remained on his retreating back. Col was fine. Very fine…devastatingly fine.
Not as fine as my Ethan Sparrow but good enough to be a distraction.
Maybe if Emily knew what I was planning to do, she would hurriedly find a solution to this godforsaken swap.
- Writer
