“Bye, Scar.”
I stepped away, slamming the door. A few seconds later, he pulled out of the driveway and out onto the main road.
I watched him drive away. My stomach lightened as I wrapped my arms around my chest. I was holding my shoes in one hand as I padded up the drive and through the back door.
Dad’s house was quiet, so I slipped through the kitchen and into my room. Michelle was fast asleep on the bed, the comforter tangled up around her.
I took a quick shower and pulled on my pajamas. After throwing my hair up into a messy bun, I climbed into my bed, reveling in the feeling of the down comforter and soft mattress.
Being with Cayden was like heaven, but the sand was no place to sleep. My bed was ten times better.
I closed my eyes as my body felt heavy. A few seconds later, the darkness took over and I fell asleep.
Chapter Thirteen
I woke up to Michelle climbing into bed with me. She grunted and pushed me until I scooted over. I kept my eyes closed as I snuggled my pillow.
“Well, you got in late,” she said. “I had to put pillows in your bed and tell your dad you were already asleep.” Sleep was clinging to her words.
“Thanks,” I said, grateful that I had such a good friend. Then the memory of last night washed over me. It felt like a dream, and yet, my body was very aware that Cayden’s lips and mine had touched. That he’d gotten closer to me than anyone else in my whole life—besides Michelle and Mom.
I was completely and indescribably smitten with Cayden Rivers.
“I take it from that smile that things went well last night?”
I slitted my eyes as I peeked at Michelle. She was lying on her side, propping her head up with her hand. I shrugged as I rubbed my eyes and then blinked a few times as the room came into view.
“It was pretty much perfect,” I said as I rolled to my back and stared up at the ceiling.
Michelle leaned over me and stared. “Um, details.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks as I thought about Cayden. About how close we’d gotten to each other. I closed my eyes for a brief moment as the memory of Cayden lying next to me filled my soul.
“He’s perfect,” I whispered—and then felt like an idiot. It was a really good thing that he wasn’t here right now. He’d never let me live a statement like that down, and I had a feeling that it would go straight to his head.
“Perfect? Wow.” The bed bounced as Michelle flopped back down on the mattress next to me.
I hugged the pillow with both arms. “I’m in so much trouble.”
Michelle gave a soft laugh. “I’m happy for you, Scar. You deserve this. It’s good to see you opening up.”
I studied the ceiling above me, taking note of the smooth surface. I wondered what it felt like. I reached up, pretending that I was running my fingers over it. “We kissed,” I whispered.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I thought you just said that you kissed.”
I covered my face with both hands. “Yes.”
A pillow smacked me in the face. Startled, I pulled my hands back and laughed.
“Scarlett!” she squealed.
I popped up and scooted to the head of the bed. “Geez, Michelle. What the heck.” I laughed as I grabbed a pillow to defend myself. “That’s how you congratulate your friend?” I swung the pillow at her, but she just jumped to the side.
“I don’t know. How am I supposed to react?”
I shoved the pillow behind me and leaned against it. Michelle took up residence at the end of the bed. I pushed my hair from my eyes and studied her.
She had a triumphant smile on her face as she pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. “So what does this mean?”
I fiddled with the edge of the pillow. “I don’t know. I think he really likes me. I mean, really, really likes me.”
Michelle’s smile grew bigger. “This is amazing! I’m so happy for you.”
I was pretty sure my smile matched hers. “I’m happy, too.”
A sharp knock sounded on the door, effectively halting our conversation. My gaze whipped over to the door. When I glanced back at Michelle, she looked just as startled as I felt.
“Come in,” I called.
The door opened, and a very unhappy Dad stood in the hallway. His arms were folded and his eyebrows were knit together. His lips were pinched into a tight line.
“Kitchen. Now,” he said as he unfolded one arm and pointed down the hall.
I swallowed, suddenly feeling like I was a kid again, getting scolded for stealing cookies. “Okay,” I said, my voice wavering.
Dad studied me for a moment longer and then huffed as he disappeared down the hall.
Once he was gone, I let out the breath I hadn’t known I was holding. I glanced over at Michelle. We were both shocked.
“Does he know?” she whispered, leaning closer to me.
I sighed and shrugged. “Is it wrong that I don’t care?” I gathered my courage and slipped off the bed. “But I better get moving.” I dressed quickly in a t-shirt and jeans, threw my hair up into a ponytail, and then padded out into the hallway.
I could hear low voices coming from the kitchen. I strained to make out the words, but it was just hushed tones—nothing discernable. Just Dad and a woman who I was really hoping wasn’t Trinity.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves, as I paused just outside the kitchen. Once I felt cool and collected, I stepped into the doorway. Of course, Trinity was sitting at the bar while Dad paced in front of her. She looked as upset as Dad was.
Great.
“Hey,” I said, hoping my nervousness wasn’t too apparent.
Dad whipped around to stare at me. I could see his anger in his eyes, face, and posture. Something was wrong.
“What happened?” I asked, stepping closer. It was like watching the numbers tick down on a bomb. Dad was about to explode.
“Do you mind explaining this?” he asked, tossing a piece of paper in my direction.
I caught it and stared down at a grainy picture of Cayden and I, asleep on the beach. It looked like it had been printed from a social media feed.
“I can explain—”
“I really hope so. I can’t believe you were so reckless,” Dad said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Thank goodness Trinity brought this to my attention. I mean, Scarlett, how was sleeping with Cayden part of our agreement?”
I know Dad had said a lot, but all I could focus on were those six little words.
Trinity brought this to my attention.
“Are you spying on me?” I asked, shooting my accusation in her direction.
Her perfectly lined eyebrows shot up. Her gaze flicked from me to Dad then back to me. “I, um…” she said.
I scoffed as I turned back to Dad. The least she could do was own up to what she’d done.
“Cayden and I spent the evening together. We fell asleep on the beach. That was it. Nothing happened,” I said as I crumpled up the piece of paper and threw it back to Dad.
His expression hardened as he watched it sail across the kitchen and land at his feet. He bent down, uncrumpled it, and smoothed it against the countertop. “This,” he said, pointing at the photo, “doesn’t look like nothing. This looks like two kids getting a little too close for comfort.”
Rage began to boil up in my stomach. For the first time in a very long time, I was happy. And he was, what? Taking it away from me?
There was no way I was going to let him do that. I was going to fight him with every ounce of my being. “I don’t care what you think. Cayden was a total gentleman. He’s more than what you give him credit for. He’s…” I wanted to open up. To tell Dad just how amazing Cayden made me feel. But I knew he wouldn’t understand. And telling him how I felt went against my need to protect myself when it came to all things Dad.
He seemed to pick up on my lack of candor. He just stood there with his eyebrows raised, waiting for me to finish.
&n
bsp; I folded my arms and held my ground. “He’s more than you’ll ever know.”
Dad scoffed as he threw his hands up into the air. “I knew this was a mistake. Guys like Cayden don’t change, Scar. They hurt people.”
I hated how Dad was talking about him. “Do you ever think that he acts that way because he thinks that’s what you guys want? More press. A front page in the latest tabloid. That sells more movies, doesn’t it, Dad?”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Trinity stand. It was like everything around me slowed as she moved toward Dad, her hand raised.
“I think what your father is trying to say is—”
I raised my finger. “Don’t,” I said, cutting her off.
“Don’t talk to Trinity that way.”
Anger turned to hurt as tears brimmed my lids. Here I was, getting ganged up on by Dad and his new family. This was not how I’d wanted to spend my summer. And breaking down into a sobbing mess wasn’t what I wanted to do, so I decided to stay and fight.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know who you are. I come here, and suddenly you are in my life? Well, I’m not ready to be taking advice from a woman that my dad has just brought here.” I hated the words that were spilling from my lips, but I didn’t care.
This was all Dad’s fault.
He dragged me to California. He pushed Trinity into our crumbling relationship, knowing full well how bad it already was. And then he brought Cayden into my life just to try to pull him away.
That was not okay on so many levels.
“Trinity is about to be my wife. You will respect her.”
I blinked a little too hard, and a tear slipped down my cheek. I hated that Dad now knew just how much he was hurting me.
I hated that my perfectly placed walls were disintegrating around me.
“Scarlett, I know this is a lot to take in,” Trinity said, “and I’m not trying to replace your mom. I was just hoping that maybe we could try to be a family.” Trinity raised her hand as she stepped forward.
All my frustration and anger came to a head at that one word. Such a simple yet gut-wrenching word.
Family.
She wanted to be a family? What about Mom? What about the family that Dad had walked out on? Why did he get to walk away and start over? Didn’t he care?
A sob escaped my lips as I shook my head. “I don’t want your family,” I said through gritted teeth. “And you can’t keep Cayden away from me.”
I shot them each a poignant look before I turned and stormed out of the kitchen. Once I was in my bedroom, I shut and locked the door.
Michelle was sitting on my bed with her hands clasped. She looked a lot more put together than I felt. She was dressed, and it looked like she had makeup on.
Her expression told me she’d heard everything. Not wanting the “I’m sorry” speech, I stormed over to my dresser and grabbed my purse. “Come on,” I said, moving over to the small door that lead outside and opened it. “We’re leaving.”
The sound of Michelle scrambling behind me didn’t slow me down. Soon, she was standing next to me, holding out a pair of shoes.
I glanced down, grabbed them, and slipped them on. Then I stepped out onto the small patio outside of my room and swung my leg over the railing.
I guess that was one of the perks of having a room on the first floor. It made escaping that much easier.
“Where are we going?” Michelle asked as she followed behind me.
I shrugged as I crept along the side of the house like a thief. There was no way I wanted Dad or Trinity to know that we were leaving.
Once I was pretty sure they weren’t looking, I dashed across the grass with Michelle hot on my heels.
“We’re going anywhere but here,” I said once we made it far enough from the house that I was pretty sure we wouldn’t get caught.
We walked a ways before Michelle spoke.
“I can’t believe your dad did that,” she said.
I nodded as a lump formed in my throat. I knew I was acting crazy. I knew it was erratic to just storm out of Dad’s house. But as someone who normally needed everything to be meticulously planned, it felt good to just react.
I was mad. And I wanted Dad to know how I felt.
I was tired of hiding. Of keeping my feelings to myself. Dad had hurt me—for a very long time. And I wanted him to know that.
I deserved to stand up.
I blew out my breath as I stared up at the early afternoon sun. It beat down on me, causing my skin to prick with sweat.
I knew the one place I wanted to go.
Cayden.
I grabbed my phone and pulled up his number. We’d swapped them last night. He put his name in as The Cayden Rivers and I put mine as Treasurer.
It was fun, having nicknames for each other.
After a few rings, Cayden’s groggy voice said, “Hello?”
“Cayden?” Man, just the sound of his voice caused butterflies to take flight in my stomach.
“Hey,” he said. I could literally hear his smile.
“Any way you could pick Michelle and me up?”
I heard him shifting around. “It’s ten.”
“Yeah, I know. I kind of stormed out of my dad’s house.” I winced. I really didn’t want to have a conversation with Cayden about what Dad and I had been arguing about. Telling him that Dad didn’t like him was the last thing I wanted to do.
“Miss me that much, huh?” he asked. His tone had turned teasing, and I couldn’t help but blush.
“You know what? I just spotted another actor who isn’t as full of himself. We’ll catch a ride with him.”
“Wait,” he said with a hint of panic in his voice.
It was cute that he might be getting jealous.
“I’ll be there in 10. Lucky for you, I don’t have to be on set today. Text me your location.”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my lips. After he hung up, I texted him the street we were on.
Michelle and I found some shade and sat down. I realized that this morning had been all about Cayden and I, so I asked her how things had gone with Bryant.
Her soft smile at the mention of his name was hard to miss. She obviously liked the guy. Apparently, he was a freshman at MIT. He was here for the summer, working as a lifeguard before he started school in the fall.
My jaw dropped with every detail that she rattled off.
“Michelle,” I said as I reached over and shoved her shoulder. “He sounds amazing.”
She giggled and shrugged. “He’s sweet. We had fun.”
I nodded and wiggled my eyebrows. Michelle was such a catch. And even if it didn’t amount to anything, she deserved to have an amazing, whirlwind romance. I was happy for her.
“Well, he better treat you good or he’ll have me to answer to.”
She nodded as she pushed her hair from her face. Then her expression stilled as she studied me.
Sensing the change in conversation that was on the tip of her tongue, I shook my head as I stood. I brushed off the leaves and dirt that clung to my legs as I prayed that I could get a handle on my life before Cayden showed up. I really didn’t want to be a mess when he arrived.
I didn’t need him asking what was wrong. And I certainly didn’t want to tell him that our relationship just might be over before it even started.
Chapter Fourteen
Thankfully, Cayden pulled up about a minute later, halting any further conversation between me and Michelle. The sight of his black car made me happy, and I was excited to spend some time with him. I just wanted to have fun and forget the fight Dad and I just had.
I needed some time to be happy before I went home and faced the music.
Dad must have realized that we’d left. Just as I slammed the door to Cayden’s car, my phone chimed.
Dad.
I ignored the text, swiping away the notification and silencing my ringer.
Cayden must have noticed, because he was staring down at me as I slipped my p
hone into my purse.
“What?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing. Just wondering who was texting you.”
I gave what I hoped was a relaxed smile. “Just Dad. Making sure I know not to be out too late.”
My stomach twisted at the lie. But, before I allowed myself to come clean, I pushed the guilt aside. I didn’t want to have the conversation that I knew would happen if I told him what was going on.
I just wanted to forget.
So I reached out and tapped the dashboard. “Come on. Let’s go,” I said, smiling over at him.
He studied me for a moment longer before flicking his gaze back to Michelle. “Hey, Michelle,” he said.
I glanced behind me to see her nod. “Cayden.”
He merged into traffic and drove down the street. “Have a good night with Bryant?”
Michelle’s soft smile returned. “Yeah,” she whispered.
Cayden chuckled. “Yeah, I got that from the sheer volume of texts Bryant sent me last night.” Cayden glanced over at me for a moment and widened his eyes.
I laughed. “I’m not surprised,” I said, turning to wink at Michelle.
She blushed as she fiddled with her purse strap. “So where are we going?”
Cayden slowed to a stop at a red light and then turned to glance at Michelle and me. I could tell he wanted to ask me what was going on, but I didn’t want him to. Call me crazy, but I had this feeling that if I told Cayden what I was running from, he’d drive me straight home.
And that was the last place I wanted to be.
So I shrugged, pushing away a nagging feeling in the back of my mind. “Anywhere you want to take us. I’m pretty open.”
He held my gaze for a moment, as if he were trying to get something out of me, and then sighed as he pressed on the gas. “I’ve got a few places I can take you.”
Grateful that he wasn’t going to push me to tell him more, I clapped my hands. “Perfect.”
Fifteen minutes later, Cayden pulled into a busy parking lot. From the white tents and Ferris wheel peeking up from behind them, I could only assume he was taking us to a carnival.
Rule #6: You Can't Fall for Your Fake Summer Fling: A Standalone Sweet High School Romance (The Rules of Love) Page 10