Mayhem

by Catharina Maura

  “How was your test?” Carter asks.

  I groan and shake my head. “Don’t ask,” I mutter.

  Kate looks at us, her eyes moving from Carter to me, before settling back on her textbook. She purses her lips and looks away absentmindedly.

  “How did you do, Kate?” Asher asks her. She looks up in surprise and smiles at him, and it isn’t until then that I realize Carter asked me how the test went but not her. She nods at Asher and smiles as she answers him.

  Carter pushes his essay towards me and underlines a couple of phrases. “What do you think, Minx?” he murmurs. He leans against me so that my shoulder is against his chest and I long to just lean back against him, to be wrapped in his arms. I can barely focus as I read through his essay. My attention is shot entirely when Carter bursts out laughing and holds his phone up for me. “Look at this,” he says. I stare at the Baby Yoda meme and shake my head. Thanks to his dad, Carter loves everything Star Wars related. He’ll laugh at every single Baby Yoda meme he comes across. “That’s not even funny,” I say, even though I’m smiling. It isn’t funny, but I can’t help but smile when he laughs like that.

  Kate tries to look at his phone but he doesn’t notice and pulls it back before she manages to take a look. Kate’s expression clouds over and she closes her book with force before shoving it into her bag and walking off. I jump up and run after her immediately.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  She pauses and turns around to face me, her expression a combination of anger and sadness. “Why are you even following me? It’s not like you need me. Seems like Carter and you have plenty of fun and inside jokes together. It’s like I’m not even your best friend anymore. You two keep shutting me out and making me feel like I’m an outsider.”

  I blink in disbelief and hold her by her shoulders. “Kate, what are you even talking about? That’s not true at all. Of course you’re still my best friend.”

  She looks away sadly and I immediately feel guilty. “Milly,” she says. “I’ve told you that I’m sorry so why do you still punish me for what happened with Gabby?”

  I let go of her, shocked. “What are you talking about?” I murmur. “I didn’t do anything, Kate. It’s just that Carter and I became closer friends while you were friends with Gabby. You’d go out with her and you didn’t often invite me along so Carter would hang out with me instead. That’s all it is. I don’t really know what I’ve done wrong or how I can even fix it. What am I supposed to do, Kate?”

  She shakes her head and lowers her eyes but not before I catch a glimpse of the tears gathering in her eyes. I always knew that I’d be hurting Kate if Carter and I got together. If she’s this hurt from me being close friends with Carter, which is all we’re trying to be, then she’d truly never get over it if he and I dated. It hurts to know that I’m causing her pain, yet I can’t help but still want Carter despite it.

  “You haven’t done anything wrong, Milly. I’m just— I’m just jealous, I guess. That’s part of why I started hanging out with Gabby in the first place. I love you, Milly, but sometimes it feels like my family loves you more than they love me. You’re so close with Carter that it’s like you’re now his best friend instead of mine, and my mom always asks for you before she’ll ask for me. I know I’m being crazy but still…”

  I nod and wrap my arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Kate. I didn’t realize you felt that way. If you want me to I can stop coming over so often? I don’t know.”

  I sigh in relief when she shakes her head. “No, Milly. You’re part of our family. You always have been. It’s my own fault that there’s so much distance between us and between me and my family. It’s because I let Gabby get between us, and I’ll work on fixing it myself. I just thought you should know how I’m feeling and why I sometimes get angry when you haven’t done anything. I know it’s not fair and I’ll work on it, Milly. Don’t you worry about it.”

  I smile at her and nod. So long as Kate puts in even the slightest amount of effort everything will fall back into place. I have full faith that it will.

  Chapter 31

  Carter

  Emilia comes rushing into my room and closes the door behind her. I sit up at my desk, startled. Her cheeks are flushed and she’s panting, as though she ran all the way here. She looks stunning, and I’ve missed her like crazy. The last few weeks have been tough. I’ve had to put my all into school and football, and on top of that Kate has been keeping a good eye on the two of us. Forget pranks or kisses, I’ve not even been able to have a single full conversation with my Minx.

  “I heard you got scouted,” she says, her chest rising and falling. I bite down on my lip and nod. Word travels fast, I see. I was going to tell her myself, but it looks like someone beat me to it.

  “Sort of, but not exactly. Coach got in touch with the Coach at UCS. I owe him big time for getting the USC coach to come look at me play. God, Minx, I’ve never been more nervous but it was so worth it. They offered me a partial athletic scholarship, can you believe that? They said the award letter would likely arrive today or tomorrow. If everything goes to plan and my grades don’t slip I’ll get a partial academic scholarship too, and between them most if not all of my college fees will be covered. I’m so relieved, Minx. You have no idea. Football scholarships are usually renewed every year, though. If I get injured or don’t perform well enough I might be at risk of not graduating but I’m trying not to worry about that for now.”

  Emilia nods and walks up to me. I immediately wrap my arms around her waist. Just holding her sets my heart at ease. “Carter. I’m so proud of you,” she whispers. “You have no idea. I’ve seen first hand how hard you’ve worked for this and I’m so happy it all worked out.”

  I blush and pull her closer to hide my embarrassment. “You’re honestly so impressive. I don’t know anyone that’s got football offers and might also get an academic scholarship. Carter, you’re the best.”

  I grin and bury my head in her chest, and she laughs. “It’s only one football offer, Minx. It’d be much more impressive if I could get a full scholarship for either, but I’m very happy with this.”

  “Where are you touching,” she whispers. I press a kiss to her chest and she giggles. A shrill sounds interrupts us, followed by the sound of someone rushing up the stairs loudly. Emilia and I pull away from each other seconds before my mother storms into my room, her face flushed.

  “It came,” she says, her eyes wide. My heart drops. Mom doesn’t even have to tell me what it is. I know exactly what she’s talking about. The letter from USC is here. I follow her down the stairs anxiously. I didn’t think I’d be so nervous, but I am.

  My parents, Kate and Emilia are all seated around the dining table as I stare at the letter from USC. It’s my dad’s alma mater, and the school both Kate and I have always wanted to get into, but if I didn’t get the academic scholarship I won’t be able to attend. What if I open it and it says I’ve been awarded the athletic scholarship but not the academic one? Emilia smiles at me and nods. “Open it,” she whispers. I nod and pick it up with trembling hands. My dad hands me the letter opener and I slice through the envelope. It takes me ages to actually take out the letter and read it. I stare at it in disbelief. I don’t know how much time has gone by but everyone’s expression falls one by one. My parents and Kate look at each other, worried, but Emilia grins and snatches the letter from my hands.

  “Congratulations,” she reads out. My dad exhales in relief and claps me on the back. “Had me worried there, kiddo,” he says. My mother squeals and Kate looks at me like I just hung the moon and the stars. Emilia smiles at me as though she never had any doubt I’d make it. She hands me back the letter and I put it away carefully. My family hugs me one by one, and finally Emilia is in my arms. She hugs me tightly and presses her lips against my throat. “I’m so proud of you,” she murmurs. I tighten my grip on her and smile widely. I hold her much longer than I held anyone else and don’t pull away until my dad clears his throat
. Emilia blushes and I smile smugly. Staying away from her in the last few weeks has been tough as fuck. It doesn’t help that she keeps looking at me like she’s thinking about the things she wants to do to me. I’ll take every second that I can get with my Minx.

  Mom grabs a bottle of champagne while dad hands each of us a glass. “This is a special occasion and definitely a reason to celebrate so you can all have just a few sips,” Mom says, filling up our glasses. I’ve waited for this day for what seems like forever. We all toast and celebrate. Everyone is just as happy as I am. If anything, my parents might actually be even happier than I am. Even mom’s strict no drinking rule is out the window.

  Emilia slips onto the patio with her champagne glass in hand and I follow her. The warm breeze blows through her hair and ruffles her satin skirt. She looks stunning, and she looks hurt. I walk up to her and wrap my arms around her from behind. She stiffens and turns in my arms, startled. She was so lost in thought she didn’t even notice me. “Carter,” she whispers, her voice tinged with longing. I smile down at her and wrap my hands around her waist. She places her palms on my chest and steps closer to me. “Congratulations,” she murmurs.

  I grin and dip my head. “Hmm... shouldn’t you reward me for my accomplishment?” I whisper. My eyes fall to her lips and Emilia looks at me with blazing eyes. The need between us is palpable.

  “We shouldn’t,” she whispers. My lips brush against hers and she gasps softly.

  “Make an exception for me, baby. It’s been so long.”

  Emilia rises to her tiptoes and kisses me. Her arms wrap around my neck and she pushes her breasts against me. I groan and tangle my hand in her hair, pulling her as close as I can get her. I kiss her deeply, out tongues tangling together. The way she moves her body against mine drives me crazy. She giggles against my lips when my hard on presses against her stomach.

  Emilia’s lips are on mine when the door opens behind us. We spring apart just before my mom walks out. We’re both acting awkwardly, but thankfully mom ignores our behavior. I’m sure she knows something is going on or she wouldn’t have asked us if we were dating, but I’m grateful she isn’t on us the way Kate is. Mom hands me her phone with a wide smile. “Grandma wants to speak to you,” she says. I smile and take the phone from her while Emilia blushes and disappears back inside. My heart is still hammering when I walk back into the house. Emilia is sitting next to Kate and looks up when I walk in.

  “I’m proud of you, son,” my dad says. “I knew you’d get in. You’ve worked really hard and it’s paid off, kiddo.”

  My mom nods and throws her arm around my shoulder. “My little boy is all grown up now,” she says. I shake my head and blush – so embarrassing. Kate and Emilia giggle and I glare at them. I’m glad to see Emilia smiling. Lately, her mood seems to drop whenever anyone mentions me going away to college. It takes a couple of days to drive home from USC so it won’t be easy for me to come back often. It’ll be some time before I can actually afford flights instead and it’ll be two years before Emilia and Kate join me, if they end up getting into USC at all. Things will change soon. We won’t be able to play pranks on each other and I won’t have any more stolen moments with her. I won’t see her every day anymore. A lot can change in the two years that we’ll be mostly separated. I’m not sure what things are going to be like between us. Would we text and call? Would we stay in touch at all? I can’t imagine my life without Emilia, but I have no idea what our future holds.

  Chapter 32

  Emilia

  I stare at the stack of neon pink post-it notes and smile. Kate looks at me and shakes her head. “He’s going to kill you,” she says. She drops down to the floor and extends her legs as she stuffs a handful of popcorn into her mouth. I can’t believe she actually brought popcorn.

  I grin and start pasting post-it notes to Carter’s car. It’ll take me forever to do, but it’ll be so worth it. “It’s gonna be so weird when Carter and Asher are gone. I’ll really miss them,” she says, a sad expression on her face. I nod and smile sadly. “Me too,” I murmur. Kate hasn’t told me anything but I’ve seen what she and Asher have been like at school. The two of them have been acting a bit suspiciously and lately she’s grinning at her phone more and more often. I’m not a hundred percent sure what’s going on but I have a feeling they might’ve acted on their feelings somehow. I wouldn’t be too surprised if they kissed or something. I’m a tiny bit hurt that she’s keeping something from me but I have no right to be mad at her, since I’m keeping so much more from her.

  I have a feeling Carter suspects something too but just isn’t calling them out. Part of me feels conflicted about her thinking that it’s okay to go behind Carter’s back like that but being unwilling to even entertain the idea of me with Carter. I’ve been wanting to talk to her about it but our friendship only barely just survived Gabby and I don’t really want to put it to the test so soon again.

  Kate nods and looks away. “I don’t know, Milly. I mean, they’re going to college. They’re both football players and they’ll be living in a frat house. I’m sure they’ll go out a lot, and there’ll be girls. I know Asher and I aren’t together, but I just don’t like the idea of girls trying to seduce him. What if Carter asks him to wingman and stuff like that?”

  My heart drops. She’s right, of course. Carter will likely start going out a lot – he might even start dating. The idea of Carter drunk and messing around with some girl tears me apart. In the last couple of months he and I have threaded a fine line. We’ve kissed a few times, but mostly we’ve managed to stick to being just friends. Neither one of us has so much as flirted with someone else since the Gemma incident. We aren’t dating, and we aren’t even together at all, but it seems like we have an implicit agreement of sorts.

  Kate drops her head to her knees and sighs. “I have no right to even be worried about it but my heart refuses to listen to reason. I’m so worried. I know Asher and I will never be together but I also can’t stand the idea of him being with someone else. I’m so selfish, Milly.”

  I shake my head and look down at the floor. “You’re not selfish, Kate. You’re just in love. It’s okay not to be okay, you know? I know you have feelings for Asher and letting him go will hurt. But like you said, you two can’t be together, especially since he’s leaving soon. There’s no point in agonizing over it. Just enjoy the time you have left with him as best as you can.”

  She looks up at me fearfully. “I think I really am, you know. In love, that is.”

  She drops her head back to her knees to hide her flushed face and I bite back a smile. She’s being so incredibly cute that I kind of want to tease her about Asher. “I know,” I murmur instead. “I noticed the way you’ve been smiling at your phone and I’ve seen the dozens of notifications on your lock screen — all from Asher. I kind of figured you were going down that path.”

  Kate pouts and looks away, ignoring my comment altogether. I know what she’s like. She won’t want to face her feelings, especially because he’s leaving soon. My arms are starting to get sore from the post-it notes and I stretch them out for just a minute. I’ve covered half of Carter’s car already, transforming it into bright pink. It looks ridiculous and I love it.

  “Will you miss Carter?” Kate asks. I’m startled by her question and blush. It almost feels like a trap. I hesitate before I answer. “Yeah,” I admit. “Of course I will. We’ve seen each other almost every single day since I moved here and I’ve always loved pulling pranks on him. It’s going to be pretty weird once he’s gone. We might argue a lot, but I actually see Carter as one of my best friends. He’s annoying as hell, but he’s also always there for both of us. It’ll just be weird.”

  Kate nods and sighs dramatically. “I don’t like how everything is changing,” she murmurs. I’m glad she isn’t questioning me further. I wonder if she’s letting it be because she’s now in the exact same position I’m in. I nod at her and continue to paste post-it notes to Carter’s car. Just as I stick the
last one on, Carter walks out of the house with his car keys in hand. I jump up, surprised, and Carter stares at his car, open mouthed.

  “Surprise,” I yell. I start off running but Carter catches up to me quickly and throws me over his shoulder. I squirm in his hold and giggle. Carter grabs my ass and holds me in place. I look up to see Kate running into the house. I can’t believe she abandoned me and left me to deal with Carter’s fury.

  “I needed to run to the store, but if I have to drive around in that monstrosity then you have to as well. You’re coming with me, Minx.”

  He opens the passenger door and drops me into the seat before running around the car. I groan, embarrassed, and buckle myself in.

  “I can’t believe you did this,” he says, laughing. “How many damn post-it notes did you use? How long did this take you?”

  I giggle. “Hundreds. It took over two hours, but the look on your face was so worth it.”

  Carter shakes his head and I glance out the window, frowning. “Hey, I thought you said we were going to the store?”

  Carter shakes his head and glances at me. “We’re not,” he says, his voice dangerously low. I stare at him with wide eyes. “Now, what should I do with you? I can’t believe you violated my precious baby this way.”

  I laugh and roll my eyes as Carter parks the car in the middle of nowhere. He grins at me and unbuckles my seat belt. My heart is racing and I’m certain he’s going to kiss me, but instead he pulls back. He crosses his arms over his chest and glares at me. “So, how should I punish you for making my car pink?”

  I blush and shrug, but my heart is beating wildly and I’m filled with anticipation. The way he looks at me tells me he wants me just as much as I want him. “I’m sure you can come up with something,” I whisper, my eyes dropping to his crotch. He’s acting all cool, but he’s really hard. Carter grins and leans into me, his lips brushing against mine. A soft moan escapes my lips when he finally kisses me. Carter deepens the kiss and pulls me closer. His tongue tangles with mine and his hands roam over my body. Carter pushes his seat back and looks at me, beckoning me over with his fingers. “Come here,” he murmurs.