by Becky L Bell
“Do you want to play a quick game before Mom calls us for dinner?” Carter asks with a shy smile making my heart melt. Carter is so sweet and cute; how can I say no to him. “Sounds good to me.” So, for the next several minutes the three of us play a racing game. It is like old times, as we laugh as I try to push Ren’s car off the track. “Hey now,” he said with a laugh making my heart warm at the sound.
Suddenly, the door opens, and my smile dies as I get a good look at an angry Markus. “What is she doing here?” he growls when he takes a seat in one of the armchairs.
“Knock it off Markus,” Ren growls back, “leave her alone.” “Why should I, Tristan will be pissed when he finds her here and I am not happy about it either. I thought we agreed to leave her alone. Plus, there are far prettier girls to hang out with,” he adds with a smirk on his handsome face. I sit there in stunned silence at his words slice through me like a knife as I fight back tears. I know I am not beautiful, but to hear it from Markus really hurts. Like a lot. He used to hold me when it stormed, and I was afraid. What happened to that sweet kind boy? “What the hell did you say?” Ren snaps as he stands up staring down at his brother with his fists clutched. “You heard me.” “Keep your fucking mouth shut,” Ren growls back just as Tristan walks into the room.
Great just great. All I want to do is leave and the big oaf is standing in the way. “What is going on here?” Tristan asks as he scowls at his brothers. “Nothing man.” “Markus needs to keep his big mouth shut before I make him,” Ren and Markus reply at the same time. It is then that Tristan sees me behind Ren and his scowl deepens. “Oh, I see. I thought I told you she is not allowed here,” he snaps in fury. Yeah, I really need to leave before I embarrass myself and start crying. Never before had any of these guys said or looked at me with such anger. I don’t know if I can take it. We used to be so close.
I stand up quickly as Carter follows suit. “It is going to be okay,” he whispers to me. No, it’s not. As Ren, Markus, and Tristan continue to argue, I move around Carter and head out the door which Tristan has left to confront Ren. Racing through the house, tears run down my cheeks. I just cannot seem to hold them back anymore. Thankfully, the guys were too busy arguing to notice that I left.
“Tuesday, honey, what is wrong?” I hear Mrs. Wolfe ask as I start to pass by the kitchen. Oh crap, I totally forgot about her. Quickly wiping away my tears, I turn to see Mrs. Wolfe coming towards me. “Nothing. I just need to go home,” I reply. “Honey, you are crying so something is wrong.” “No, really I’m fine. Just leaving,” I add turning from a concerned Mrs. Wolfe to head towards the door not wanting her to know that it was two of her sons that made me cry.
Thankfully, she does not stop me as I head out the door and down the porch. I am about halfway down their mile-long driveway when it hits me, I need a ride. Their house is about 10 miles from mine.
Before I pull out my cell phone, I suddenly notice that the woods on either side of the drive way are eerily quiet making my heart race in my chest. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Looking around, I stop when I think I see a pair of red glowing eyes in the dark woods to my left. Yeah, I should not have decided to walk home.
Suddenly, I hear a car roaring towards me making me jump. Shit. For a split second, I look from the red eyes to the car coming towards me then back again. Looking back into the woods, it is long gone. Calm down, you must have been seeing things, I tell myself. Yeah, that sounds about right, no way did I see glowing red eyes.
Pulling my eyes away from the woods, a black SUV pulls up beside me making me feel relieved. I don’t even care that it might be Tristan or Markus as long as I am not alone out here.
The window slides down and I see Carter in the driver’s seat. “Come on Red, I will take you home.” He does not have to ask me twice as I climb inside.
“I am so sorry for the way Markus and Tristan were acting,” he says as we continue down the driveway. “It’s not your fault Carter, really. I guess I just thought we could pick up where we left off, but it seems they don’t want too,” I reply as I look out my window at the woods on the right.
Before we hit the main road, I see three wolves amongst the trees. Oh wow, I heard there were wolves in these woods, but I have never seen any. They are so beautiful, all with beautiful black fur. The one in front is a little bigger than the others are, but not by much. As we pass them, I hear a wolf’s howl that brings tears to my eyes. For some weird reason, I think the wolf’s heart is breaking and I want to break alongside it. Poor thing.
Chapter 6
The next week is the same with me hanging out with Ally, Matt, and Logan after school then hanging out with Ren and Carter after 7 until they have to leave. I hate lying to Logan, but his anger regarding the quad has only increased since their arrival and telling Ally or Matt would get back to Logan. They cannot keep a secret from him because Logan is so popular; Ally and Matt are a little star struck if you ask me.
As I sit in the cafeteria with Logan, Matt, and Ally, my phone vibrates inside my back pocket. Pulling it out, I hide it under the table as my friends continue to talk. Blocking out their conversation, I read.
Carter: Want to go to the movies with me Friday? Just you and me. I almost give a girly squeal of excitement but catch myself at the last second. That would be embarrassing since Car is my friend not my boyfriend. Of course, I want to go and spend some alone time with him. I quickly type back a yes and we decide that he will pick me up at seven.
“Tuesday, who are you texting?” I hear Logan’s annoyed voice. Looking up, I am surprised to see all my friends staring at me making me feel like I did something wrong which is ridicules, I did nothing wrong. “Oh, sorry, Mom asked me if we wanted to have a family night this Friday,” I reply hating the lie, but I am sure not saying anything about Carter. Hell no.
“Oh, I thought you could go with me to the party Tommy is throwing,” Logan replies with disappointment, which is weird since I have never gone with him to any of the parties hosted by the popular kids. Why would he think that would change? “You know I don’t go to those parties. That is just not my thing,” I reply. “Yeah, okay then let’s do something Saturday night. You and me,” he asks making me feel bad that I haven’t been spending that much time with him like before. “Ok, Saturday night it is,” I reply making him smile for the first time since the Wolfe quad arrived.
Finally, Friday night arrives, and I am so nervous. Get a grip, this is not a date, it is just a movie with a friend, nothing more, I tell myself. Deep down I really wish it was something more. Ugh, I need to stop right now before I do something stupid and jeopardize our friendship.
In my nervousness, I decide on black skinny jeans, a white cold-shoulder top, and three-inch heels. Grabbing my purse, I hear doorbell ring. Oh, my he is here. Okay calm down this is just a friend no big deal. Taking a deep breath, I open the door and head downstairs to find Carter and Mom talking.
“I am so glad you boys are back, Tuesday missed you all so much,” Mom says. “Thanks, we missed Red too. She was and is the best girl anywhere,” he replies making my heart flip. Wow, he is so sweet.
“I’m ready,” I say making them both turn towards me. Carter’s eyes go big as looks me up and down slowly causing me to blush. Wow. I cannot believe a guy like him would look at me like that.
Chapter 7
First, Carter takes me to dinner the next town over that has a cute little French restaurant. The food was delicious, and the company was so even better. I would have eaten canned ravioli in a tent if it meant spending time with Carter. We laugh and talk about everything and anything.
Next, we head into the theater. “Okay, Red, do you still like popcorn, M&M’s, and a small Coke?” “Wow, Car, how do you remember that?” I ask with a laugh as we head to the concession stand before the movie. I cannot believe he remembers, it has been four years. “I remember everything about you Red.” Oh wow, I think as I blink back tears. That is one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said
to me.
“Tuesday! What are you doing here?” I hear pulling my gaze away from Carter to see Ally and Matt. Shit what are they doing here? “We are going to see a movie,” Carter replies as he puts his arm around my shoulders pulling me closer. “Bu.. wha... I mean, Matt and I will sit with you guys,” Ally adds pulling Matt closer to us. “We are seeing Casablanca,” I say getting really irritated as each second passes. I want to be alone with Carter not on some group thing. “Oh, wow that is what we are seeing too,” she adds. “What? Ally I just paid for the new superhero movie. I don’t want to see some boring old movie, it’s not even in color,” Matt complains. Thank you, Matt. Keep complaining, come on buddy. “Well we can exchange them,” Ally hisses pulling him back to the ticket booth. Damn it, this is not good. Not good at all.
After we get our snacks, Ally and Matt are already waiting for us. “I am so sorry about this. I had no idea they would be here,” I whisper to Carter as we follow them into the room. “I know. Let’s ditch them.” With a wink, Carter spots two empty seats in the back of the room and pulls me along behind me. With a snicker, we sit down to the shock of Ally since there is no seat available near us. They have to go all the way down towards the front with Matt complaining all the way.
Halfway through the movie, Carter puts his around me and pulls me close. God, he smells so good. Daring to look over at him, I am surprised to see him looking at me. “You look so beautiful Red,” he whispers before he leans down and kisses me. Oh my gosh, he is kissing me. Carter Wolfe is kissing me. Hot damn and what a kiss. We spend the rest of the movie making out when the lights finally come up.
Reluctantly we pull away from each other as the theater clears out. “Best movie ever,” Carter says with a smile making my heart sing. I couldn’t agree more. I wonder if this means we are dating? Before I can think about it, I look up to see Ally scowling at us. Great, what does she have to be mad at? I am allowed to kiss a hot boy for goodness sakes.
“Let’s go,” Carter, says looking from Ally to me. “Yes, lets,” I reply as I take his hand and we head out into the lobby. Sighing in content, I could get used to this, I think. “Hey, Tuesday, I need to talk to you,” I groan as I hear Ally’s voice. No, go away. “If you need to talk to her, I will be getting us a refill,” Carter whispers as he looks down at me. “Okay, and I am really sorry about this.” “I know Red.”
I watch as he walks away before turning to see Ally coming up to me with Matt in tow. “What?” I snap, I know she is my friend, but I just cannot help it. She is acting crazy. “What are you doing with him? And you guys were kissing. Does Logan know about this?” she growls making me go on the defensive. What the hell? Why does Logan have to know my business? He’s my friend not the boss of me. “No. Why would I tell him?” “Well, maybe I will tell him,” she snaps back, her face red with anger. I just stand there in shock as I watch her storm off with Matt following. What the hell just happened?
“Hey, are you okay?” I hear Carter say. Pulling my gaze from my friends to him, I cannot help but give a weak smile. “I have no idea why she was so mad.” “Oh, I have an idea,” he says before taking my hand in his. His touch makes me forget all about them. I am not going to let her spoil the rest of my evening. She already did enough.
Chapter 8
The next day, I am getting ready to go out with Logan since I promised we would spend some time together. I have no idea where we are going, so I dress in jeans, tee, and ankle boots.
It is 7:30pm when I hear a knock at the door. Racing down, I open to see Logan smiling down at me. “You ready to go?” he says giving me a funny look. Okay, don’t know what that’s about, but yeah, I am ready. “Yup,” I reply before hollering goodbye to my Mom, who will leave to go back to work to fill an order.
Riding down the street, I finally ask, “so where are we going?” I cannot help it, my curiosity is getting the better of me. “It’s a surprise,” he says as he continues to drive. Hmmm, well it cannot be dinner or a movie in town since we just passed everything. Could we be going to New Haven, the town 20 miles away? New Haven is bigger and has more theaters and even clubs for teens. I haven’t been to New Haven in a couple of months, so that would be fun.
Five minutes later, we turn onto Duncal Street. Well, this is not the way to New Haven, only homes are on this street. Then it dawns on me, we are going to Chris Matters party. Damn it, he knows I hate these parties held by football players. They always get out of hand. I can feel my irritation rise, what the hell is he thinking?
He parks then turns to me. “I know you hate these parties, but I really wanted you to come with me. We won’t stay long then we can go to the movies,” he says giving me the sad eyes. Ugh, I hate sad eyes. “Fine, but we are not staying long,” I reply before getting out.
As I round the front of the car, Logan grabs my hand making me jump slightly. Calm down Tuesday, geesh, this is Logan, your friend, the one who has held you hand for years. I cannot help the guilt that eats at my stomach, I feel like I am cheating on Carter. Ugh, what is wrong with me? You are not attracted to him so your fine.
Looking around, the whole school must be here. Damn, the last time I was at one of these parties there was a huge fight. I was lucky to get out without being hit. We walk past several people drinking and playing beer pong on the front lawn. Ugh, wonderful, it’s not even 8pm yet.
We finally make it to the door where music is blaring from inside, so we push our way in. Chris’s home is big, similar to the Wolfe home except the kitchen is not open with the living room. Logan stops to talk to some of his friends as I look around the entryway and into the living room. There are several kids dancing while some sit on the sofas that have been pushed against the walls. My heart about drops when I see Tristan and Markus on one of the sofas with a girl in each of their laps. Do not cry Tuesday Malory, don’t you dare cry. They have a right to be with their girlfriends, but, boy does it hurt.
Looking away, Logan is saying goodbye to one of his friends as he pulls me to the living room. Damn, I so don’t want to be in here. Markus and Tristan are in here. “Let’s dance,” Logan yells into my ear. “Okay,” I yell back, anything to put some distance between those two and me.
Before I know it, he pulls me into his arms and now my body is flush with his. Whoow, that is happening? We never dance this close. “Did I tell you, you look beautiful tonight,” he whispers in my ear before he kisses my neck. Oh shit, he is my friend. What is he doing? I try to pull away, but his arms just tighten around me. “We are made for each other,” he adds between kisses. “Stop! Logan,” I yell, but the music just drowns out my voice as I try pushing him off me. “Why, so you can spend it with the Wolfe guys. Ally and Matt told me everything,” he growls as he pulls away a few inches as he looks down at me with such rage in his eyes. I cannot help the fear that shots through me. “We are just friends. I never said we were more than that,” I whisper back and immediately regret it as his face turns even angrier. Oh God, you need to keep your mouth shut, I think, as I struggle to get away from him, but his arms are like steel not letting me go but pulling me closer.
“Your mine,” I hear him growl as panic starts to set in as I feel his teeth against my neck. What the hell? Is he going to bite me?
“HEY!” I hear just before I am released from Logan’s steel grip. I cannot help the relief I feel. Looking around, I see Tristan has Logan pinned to the wall by the neck. Shit, this is not good.
Suddenly, the music stops as everyone looks at the two. It is so quiet you could hear a pin drop. “You leave her alone,” Tristan growls low and threatening. “Get your fucking hands off me, Wolfe,” Logan snaps back as he tries to break Tristan’s hold around his neck, and not being too successful.
This needs to stop now before someone calls the cops. With determination, I head towards the two before an arm wraps around my middle stopping from getting too close. “Hey now Red, I cannot let you get too close. You could get hurt,” I hear. Turning my head, I am surprised to see t
hat arm belongs to Markus. “They need to stop,” I reply, coming out harsher than I intended. For some reason, all I can do is picture Tammy wrapped in his arms. Damn, I am acting like a jealous fool. I don’t care if he has a girlfriend or not. Yeah, right, keep telling yourself that, my inner voice says. Ugh, what the hell is wrong with me? “Why do you care? I thought we weren’t friends anymore?” I add. I cannot help but see several emotions cross his handsome face, one of those being hurt. Why would that hurt his feelings? He is the one that is being a jackass not me.
Suddenly I hear, “fight, get him.” What the hell? Quickly, I turn to see Tristan and Logan exchanging plows. “Let me go, we need to stop them,” I say trying to step away from him. “No, you don’t. I will handle this, you stay out of it,” he growls before letting me go. I watch as Markus and one of Logan’s friends pull them apart. I let out a sigh of relief before my anger ignites inside me. Mad that Markus and Tristan don’t want to be friends and already have girlfriends, and Logan for pushing himself on me and almost biting me. Really who the hell does that?
I need to get out of here and now. Letting them growl and threaten each other, I push my way through the crowd towards the front door when I see Tammy and Vanessa blocking my path. Damn it to hell. This is all I need.
“Excuse me,” I say, hoping they will just move. Can’t they see, I just want to leave? I don’t have time for this. “Oh, you want out huh. Well you better listen to us, you piece of trash,” Vanessa snaps glaring at me. “You are to stay away from our boyfriends. It’s bad enough that you are blackmailing Logan to hang out with you, you will not sink your ugly claws into our men,” Tammy snaps back. Where the hell do they get off saying I am blackmailing Logan? “You will just embarrass yourself, anyway. Tristan and Markus think you are the ugliest girl they have ever seen,” Vanessa adds with a smile on her perfect face.