Bastard (12 page)

During the day I see her a few times, but when she notices me she turns and walks in the other direction. It only serves to piss me off even more. At lunch she has Brad at her table again. It makes my blood boil.

When afternoon rolls around, I’m not surprised when she doesn’t turn up in the car park. On my drive home, I see her waiting at the bus stop. It tells me everything I need to know. I flip her off when I pass. The anger has worn off. It’s now replaced by hurt. I hate this feeling. It’s been a long time since I felt like this.
Rejected.

I did plan to work on my car this afternoon, but I’ve even lost interest in that. Instead, I grab my sketchpad from under the passenger seat and go to my room. The first thing I do is close my blinds. I don’t need any reminders of Indiana. And I certainly don’t want to risk having to see her.

I sit on my bed with my back against the headboard. If I can lose myself in my drawing I won’t have time to think about her.

As soon as I open the cover I see the number Candice wrote in there. I’m tempted to call her. Maybe losing myself in some random pussy is exactly what I need. Indi has made it quite clear she’s not interested.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I decide to call her. “Candice speaking,” she says when she picks up.

“Hey Candice, it’s Carter. I was in there on Sunday—”

“Oh I know who you are. You have the kind of face a girl would never forget. Have you decided to take me up on my offer?” she purrs after cutting me off.

“Yeah. You still up for it?”

“Of course. Name the time and place and I’ll be there, handsome,” she says seductively.

“Tonight?”

“Tonight sounds perfect. I get off work around 6:00pm. How about I meet you at 8:00pm?”

“Great. I’ll text you my address,” I say apprehensively. I’m not even sure if I want to do this.

“Looking forward to it,” she replies.

Once I end the call I text her my address and ask her to call me when she’s close. I don’t explain why. She’ll find out when she gets here I suppose. I’m not sure how she’s going to feel about me sneaking her through my bedroom window, but I’ll worry about that later.

••••

“Fuck. You didn’t tell me you still lived at home with your parents. How old are you anyway?” Candice asks as I haul her through the window.

“I’ll be turning eighteen soon.” 

“Shit. You’re still a kid,” she says in a shocked tone as I set her on the floor.

“I’m not a fucking kid,” I snap. Of all the words she picks, it’s fucking that.

“You look older.” What does age have to do with anything? I may be young, but I know I’ll be the best damn fuck she’s ever had.

“Are we going to do this or not?” I ask frustrated as I begin to lose my patience with her.

“Calm down,” she replies, taking a step towards me and sliding her arms around my waist, pressing her soft body against mine. “I didn’t say there was a problem with it, handsome. I’m just surprised, that’s all.” Her lips find my neck as she kisses a trail across my jawline until her mouth covers mine. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her closer. She’s the first person I’ve kissed since Indi. Surprisingly I feel nothing. I definitely felt something when my lips were locked with Indiana’s. She made me feel things I’d never felt before, which I fucking hate.

Opening my eyes, my gaze moves in the direction of her window.
Great.
She’s standing there watching us. Even from here I can clearly see the hurt etched on her beautiful face. Then in an instant she draws her blinds and she’s gone. What the fuck am I doing?

Pulling out of the kiss, I look down at Candice. “I’m sorry I can’t do this,” I admit looking over towards Indi’s bedroom window again.

“What? Why?” She follows my line of sight as I continue to stare where Indi stood only a few moments ago. “What’s the problem?” I pull away from her and make my way towards my bed. Sitting, I lean my elbows on my knees and bury my face in my hands.

“It’s not you,” I say without making eye contact.

“Then what?” she asks, coming to sit beside me. What can I tell her? I’ve got this love/hate relationship going on with the girl next door? I can’t say that, but surprisingly that’s exactly what I say. I tell her everything. Well kind of. We end up sitting on my bed talking for over an hour before she eventually leaves, unsatisfied. Makes two of us. One simple kiss and the fucking
kid
has ruined me.

I feel like a prick for what I’ve done. To both her and Indi. Thankfully, Candice was a good sport about it. I have a sinking feeling in my gut that’s not going to be the case with Indiana.

And I was right.

••••

Six days have passed and I’ve barely seen her. She won’t even make eye contact with me. Stubborn arse. Her bedroom blinds have been closed ever since. After the incident with Candice, Indi locked herself in the house for two days. Two fucking days. She didn’t even go to school.

I asked her father if everything was okay with her when we were working on my car. He told me she was just a little under the weather.

Under the weather my arse.

I can’t understand her. She was the one who went all weird on me, ignoring and avoiding me at every turn. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out she’s upset about Candice though. Which is a total mind fuck. What happened to my fiery girl? The one who refused to take my bullshit? I wish she’d let me have it. Tell me what the fuck is going on. At least I’d know where I stood. The alternative is making my head hurt.

Even Megan is giving me death stares whenever I run into her. I asked her how she was doing the other day and she fucking flipped me off. What pisses me off more than anything is on the few occasions I have seen Indi at school, that prick Brad has been with her. If she’s hanging around with him to upset me, then it’s working.

I’d like to knock that fucker out.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Indiana

“Brad wants to come over this afternoon,” I tell Meg over lunch. “Mr. Jenkins has paired us up to do our English assignment together. He wants to get a start on it. I’m not sure what to do.”

“Let him. Make sure you get him to climb through your bedroom window though. Give that arsehole next door a taste of his own medicine.”

“I’m not getting him to climb through my window,” I laugh. “Two wrongs don’t make a right. Plus, if I do, Brad will get the wrong idea.”

“No he won’t. Tell him your front door is broken,” she says seriously. Has she lost her mind? I can’t do that.

“You’re such a dork,” I say. “I’m not even sure I should have him over. My dad has forbidden me from seeing him, remember?”

“This is school related. He’ll be at work anyway, won’t he?” she states with a flick of her wrist. “He’ll never know.” She might be used to doing things behind her parents’ backs, but I’m not.

“He will if Carter tells him. He’s the reason I’m not allowed to see Brad in the first place.”

“It’s up to you, but I’d be all over that shit if it was me. Not only is Brad a total babe, it’s the perfect revenge for what Carter’s done.” Good point, but I’m still not sure if I’m comfortable with this. I’m not really into revenge.

“What if he tries to, you know?” I ask. I’m not comfortable about going against my dad’s wishes. I’ve never defied him in the past. Like Meg said, it is school related. Do I really have a choice? I’m certainly not going to go to his house.

“Have sex with you?” she giggles. “You can say the word you know. You’re such a prude.” My eyes scan the room to make sure nobody is listening.

“I am not,” I reply, throwing a chip at her.

“Just make it clear that you’ll be doing your assignment. Nothing else. Your father’s a cop. It’s not like he’s going to force himself on you. Unless he has a death wish.”

“I guess you’re right.” My dad would kill him if he laid a finger on me. Changing the subject, we talk about Derek, Meg’s latest lover. I’ve met him a few times. He seems nice enough. He doesn’t go to this school.

“Can I join you ladies?” Brad interrupts a few minutes later. I want to roll my eyes, but I refrain.

“Sure, handsome,” Meg purrs. She’s so forward sometimes. Of course he takes the seat right next to me. I’m really getting tired of him hanging around all the time. He’s really sweet to my face, but I don’t trust him after what Carter told me.

“Are we still on for that assignment this afternoon?” he asks.

“I guess. We only have a few days to get it done,” I reply.

“About that,” Meg chimes in. “If you’re going to do the assignment at Indi’s place, you’ll need to climb through her bedroom window. Her front door is broken.” Oh. My. God. She did not just say that to him. I kick her under the table.

“What?” he replies, looking at me confused. “Can’t I just use the back door?”

“Nope. She has a vicious dog that doesn’t like strangers. He’ll probably try and eat you,” she tells him with a serious face. I can’t help it. I burst out laughing. Lick him to death would be more like it. She is such a schemer. Sometimes I wonder how we became friends.

••••

“I can’t believe you said that to him,” I say to Meg as we make our way to our next class.

“I knew if I didn’t, you wouldn’t. Let Carter see. It’s alright for him to have girls jumping through his bedroom window. See how he likes it when you do the same.”
He won’t care
, but I don’t say that to her.

“Can we not go there again?” I plead. I’m still reeling over what happened. I can’t believe I let myself develop feelings for that douche.

••••

My stomach is in knots as I sit here waiting for Brad to arrive. I have Meg’s number on speed dial just in case he tries to make a move. She’s already promised to come straight over if I need her. So she should, since she’s the one that’s gotten me into this mess in the first place.

It’s just getting dark when I hear the tap on my bedroom window. I was hoping he could’ve come earlier, but he had football practice. As I make my way towards the window, I see him smiling up at me. He really is good looking, but in my eyes he has nothing on Carter.

“Hey,” I say as I slide open the glass.

“Hey, pretty girl.” I have to hold back the eye roll. He can put on the charm all he likes, but he still has no chance of getting into my pants.

He places his hands on my windowsill ready to launch himself up, but in an instant he disappears. What the hell? I hear a growl, followed by, “I don’t fucking think so.” Carter. Shit. He pulls Brad backwards, making him stumble. When I stick my head out, I see them standing face-to-face.

“What the fuck, Reynolds?” Brad snaps. “What’s your problem?”

“You are,” Carter spits. Oh shit. I’ve never seen him look so angry. His face is red and there’s a vein protruding from his neck. This isn’t going to end well. Fucking Meg and her brilliant ideas.
Not.

“Carter,” I screech, my nails digging into the wooden frame.

“You stay the fuck out of this,
kid
. I’ll deal with you later.” He doesn’t even look my way. His eyes are firmly fixed on Brad. He looks like he’s ready to rip him apart. I bite my tongue. As much as I’d like to retaliate, common sense tells me to keep my mouth shut.

“You’ve got five seconds to turn around and go back to where you came from, or …”

“Or fucking what, Reynolds? What are you going to do?” Brad retaliates, getting up in his face. Shit. Does he have a death wish? That murderous look on Carter’s face alone would have me running for the hills.

“After I kick your arse, I’ll drag you down to the police station. That’s what.”

“That’s real smart, dumb-arse. You’ll assault me and then take me to the cops. It’ll only result in you getting charged, so go right ahead,” Brad retorts with a chuckle. God he can be so cocky sometimes.

“I don’t think so. When I tell her father I caught you trying to sneak in through her bedroom window he’ll thank me for what I did.”
Carter’s right, he will.
Then my dad will rip him apart.

Brad doesn’t move. He stands strong. Then he goes and does something incredibly stupid. Instead of taking Carter’s advice like he should, the imbecile pushes him.
Dumb move, dipshit.
Carter stumbles back slightly and then smirks. Actually smirks at him. Like he’s saying,
‘is that the best you got?’.
Shit, he’s crazy.

Stepping back into his face, Carter says in a calm, yet intimidating voice, “One.” What is it with Carter and his damn counting? My eyes move to Brad. He’s no longer looking so sure of himself. I don’t blame him. This is like watching a train wreck. As much as you’d like to look away, you can’t. “Two.” I want to call out,
run Brad,
because that’s exactly what I’d be doing. The idiot just stands there.

On the count of three, Brad raises his hand to throw a punch. Carter’s quick and catches it mid-air. “Four, five,” he says quickly before launching at him. He tackles Brad to the ground with a thud. Raising his fist, he brings it down, connecting it with Brad’s face.
Fucking hell.

Climbing out the window, I run towards them. Probably not a wise thing to do. “Carter,” I scream as I grab hold of his shirt. “Carter.” With my other hand I reach for his arm and try to pull him off. He doesn’t budge.

“Get off me,” Brad whines. I’m relieved when Carter finally listens. He’s breathing heavy as he stands. Brad snakes his way backwards on his elbows, never once taking his eyes of Carter. He eventually manages to stand, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. “You’ll pay for this, Reynolds,” he spits before turning and walking away.

“I look forward to it, Cartwright,” Carter says to his retreating back.
Idiots,
the pair of them. I turn in a huff and make my way back towards my window. I’m so mad right now.

Climbing back through, I reach for the glass to close it. “I’m not finished with you,” Carter says as he pushes the window back open and hauls his arse into my room in one bound. Fuck. I take a step back. When I get a glimpse of the look on his face, I take another step. “What the fuck were you thinking?” he growls.