by Joy Jenkins
“You idiot! She wanted you to ask her out.”
Link swiveled around to where Amy had disappeared. “Really?”
With a groan, Carter dropped her head into her hand, pointing an accusing finger at Donovan. “I blame you for this.” When Donovan didn’t defend himself, Carter focused on Link. “Yes. You would be more prepared for this if your friend over here didn’t attract a line of girls wherever he went. Link, how many dates have you been on?”
Reddening, Link fidgeted with his glasses.
“That’s what I thought.”
“I’ve been on a few,” Link amended.
“Then this should be fine. When Amy comes back, ask her out.”
Though Link nodded, he paled at the prospect. Carter placed a hand on his shoulder. “You got this. It will be super easy.”
Link didn’t seem mollified by this encouragement but the time for a pep talk passed as Amy returned to her seat.
“What were we talking about?” she asked.
Carter sensed Link succumbing to his nerves. Taking pity on the boy, Carter laid laced hands on the table like she presided over a board meeting.
"We were talking about how this weekend is the perfect time for a double date," she said. "What do you say? You and Link, Donovan and me?”
Around them, the other girls at the table froze, trying to understand how Carter’s name and Donovan’s name were linked with the word ‘date’. Link and Donovan snapped their heads to Carter, their eyes boring into her but she remained unconcerned. Amy brightened and Carter took everything in without a care.
“That sounds great,” Amy said.
“Really?” Link asked, coming out of his shock.
“Of course.” She beamed at him which produced a goofy grin. On Carter’s other side, Donovan worked to keep his expression under control.
“Oh, calm down,” she whispered.
“What do we want to do?” Amy asked.
The trio all shared glances. The double date suggestion was as far as Carter had thought out. What one did on a date fell out of her realm of expertise.
“How about we go see the new romantic movie, Loving All of You?”, Amy offered.
Carter cringed, wishing for a less painful death and Donovan fought back a laugh at her reaction.
“Okay,” Link said.
“This will be fun!” Amy said.
In one breath, Carter could list about twenty different things that would be more fun - including waterboarding in Guantánamo Bay - than sitting through a romantic movie. Before she could suggest anything different, the bell rang. Wrapping her arm with a friend, Amy waved goodbye. “See you in free period.”
Still wearing his goofy grin, Link waved. As Carter went to leave, a hand yanked her back. Both Link and Donovan stared her down.
“What?” she asked.
“You know exactly what,” Donovan said, folding his arms.
“Seriously? I did you a favor and you get mad at me? Remind me to never be nice again. Insults have better and more entertaining results.”
“From where I’m standing this only benefits you.”
Carter rolled her eyes. “Yes, I've been desperately longing for a reason to see Loving All Of You, how did you know?”
“Then why suggest it?” Link asked.
Despite the cafeteria being nearly empty, Carter took a step forward. "As far as I see it, it's not possible for Donovan to let you go out with Amy on your own. Instead of him having to explain himself when he is spotted trailing you, I thought this would be a better option.”
“You honestly think I’d be spotted?” Donovan asked.
“Oh,” Link said at the same time.
Ignoring Donovan’s wounded ego, Carter carelessly nudged Link’s shoulder. “Yes, that’s why. Also, I figured with Donovan and me there we could keep you from doing something stupid. Or make conversation if you run out of topics. I was thinking of you, you idiot.”
“Oh. Um…thanks.”
Carter spun away, tossing her hands up. “Why I do people favors is beyond me.”
Chapter 19
As soon as Maggie parked the car outside the hospital, Carter jumped out. Warm sunlight spread over Carter as she cut through the parking lot. Maggie hurried to keep up with Carter’s long strides. “I checked on him this afternoon. He was resting and the doctor said everything looked good. He should be able to come home within the week.”
The news made Carter ease up on her pace. The glass doors parted and the noise of the waiting room wrapped around them. At the front desk sat the same gray-haired receptionist from the previous night. When she spotted Carter, she pursed her lips in distaste. Vividly recalling what she’d said, Carter approached the desk.
“I want to apologize,” she said, which startled the woman. “For threatening to strangle you last night. Not one of my best moments.”
Despite the pointed way the woman peered at Carter over her glasses, Carter knew she accepted the apology in the way her eyes crinkled. Finally, the woman nodded. “Thank you. I looked up who Steve Owens is and understand. I’m glad he’s alright.”
“Thanks.”
With that out of the way, Carter rejoined Maggie. At her father’s door, Carter let it swing open and leaned against the door frame. “What are you still doing in bed, old man?”
Her father chuckled weakly while Maggie poked Carter reproachfully. Sauntering into the room, Carter shook her head. “Seriously, Captain, it was a gunshot wound to the shoulder, it’s not that bad. I expected better from you.” She gestured to the floor. “Where are the nurses I expected you to have running through drills? I’m disappointed. I thought you were made of stronger stuff.”
“Sarge, I’m sorry I have disappointed you.”
Hooking her foot around the leg of the chair, Carter brought it forward and dropped into it. “See that it doesn’t happen again. You’re a former Navy SEAL. They don’t let bullets stop them.”
“This one won’t stop me.”
A pleased smile broke across Carter's face, relief and vulnerability hidden behind it. “Good.”
When her father held up his arm, Carter hurried to accept the embrace. “I love you, Sarge.”
A weight lifted from Carter’s chest and she let out a small, inaudible breath. “I love you too, Captain.”
As Carter retreated to her chair, her father’s caring expression shifted and she got the distinct impression she wouldn’t like what came next. “Now, do you want to tell me why I’ve had a nurse and a doctor say that you threatened to bludgeon and strangle to death the receptionist nurse?”
“I did not say bludgeon, that would be overkill.”
Her father eyed her, even as he tried to hide his smile.
“I apologized.”
“Apologized because I would make you? Or because you knew it to be the right thing?”
Carter lifted her shoulders. “It could be both, we may never know.”
“Well,” Maggie said. “Either way, she did apologize. Also, we brought edible food.”
Carter handed a sandwich to her father before unwrapping her own. As Maggie took a step back, Carter’s father stopped her. “Stay with us.”
Carter threw him a teasing look, which he ignored.
“I can’t stay long,” Maggie said. “I have to get back for the dinner rush, but I can stay a few minutes.”
“Good,” Carter’s father said.
“Yeah, we love having you here,” Carter said.
This time Carter ignored the sharp look her father sent her as she shared part of her sandwich with Maggie.
“What were you watching?” Carter asked, nodding to the TV.
“Not sure. It was mainly for distraction.”
“And how are you feeling?” Carter asked, picking at her sandwich.
“Sore but I’m still on heavy drugs. It’s not too bad.”
Carter relaxed, guiding the conversation into what the doctors said and how the day had gone. Outside, the hospital kept running: nurs
es passing their open doorway as doctor's orders wandered in. The heart monitor was the background noise to their voices. Their conversation ended when Maggie stood, announcing she had to leave.
"I'll stop by when the shop is closed and pick you up, Carter," she said.
Before Carter could voice her protest, her father cut in. "Carter, you need to get actual sleep tonight. I'll be fine.”
At his tired expression, her arguments died in her throat. “Okay." She looked back at Maggie. "Thanks for the ride. I'll see you later tonight."
Maggie held Carter’s father’s hand. "I'm glad you're safe, Steve.”
"Thanks for being there," he said, returning the look.
After Maggie left, Carter contemplated the door. “Do you think we eat too many sandwiches?”
“I would if I didn’t know that Maggie has replaced a lot of the components with healthier options.”
“How dare she! That’s it, you can’t marry her.”
Her father laughed. “I wasn’t aware that was an option.”
“Wasn’t that why you got shot?” Her father arched an eyebrow. “You were afraid Maggie would reject you, so you took a bullet to the shoulder. What woman would say no to an injured man? Tell me now, have you already asked her out?”
“Sarge, I’m not asking Maggie out. Now finish your healthy sandwich.”
“Despite what I said early, it seems like a wasted opportunity. This whole invalid act will fade and you'll have missed your chance."
When her father turned up the volume on the TV, Carter smirked. "You shy away from this topic but I am only laying out the facts here.”
"Understood," her father said. "But it's not going to happen."
Carter smiled and picked up her sandwich. "If you say so."
Chapter 20
Shutting her locker, Carter stopped short as she found a group of girls blocking her path. Before they even spoke, she knew why they were there. After all, in Carter’s mind they were Donovan’s Posse: the girls who seemed the most determined to snag his attention. Why they still bothered she didn’t understand. She knew all of them but it was only the leader, Sloane Adams, Carter had had the misfortune of sharing classes with.
“Is this where you fulfill my lifelong goal by inducting me into your clique?” Carter asked.
“That’s your lifelong goal?” one of the girls asked, skeptically.
“Not at all, I would hope my goals reach higher than a pair of high heels.”
The joke flew over their heads and Carter received nothing but blank stares, except for Sloane. She surveyed Carter from head to foot. With a disappointed tsk, she shook her head.
“I don’t see it,” she said. “You have no social status. You aren’t connected to any one of importance. Your hair isn’t the right type of messy to be intentional. Your uniform does nothing for your curves if you even had them. Your nails resemble ragged mountains. And you open your mouth too much to be intelligent. Why in the world would Donovan go on a date with you?”
Carter crossed her arms. The insults were nothing new, the disparity between herself and other girls was always apparent in her life.
“Did it ever cross your mind that Donovan finds a brain more attractive than a perfect set of teeth?” Carter asked.
Sloane smiled patronizingly at Carter, displaying her straight, white teeth. “Owens, boys don’t want a girl whose looks would improve with a trash bag over her head. They want a girl that they can show off.”
“Show off, is that all you’re good for then?”
Even with the dig, Sloane held onto her smile. “From one girl to another sad, pathetic excuse for a girl, know that what Donovan is giving you is a ‘pity date’. Nothing more.”
Tired of Sloane’s smug assurance, Carter decided to amuse herself. Rearranging her features into uncertainty, she scuffed her shoe on the floor. “Really? It’s only a pity date?”
Sloane sighed in mock sympathy. “Sadly, yes.”
Carter lowered her eyes as if embarrassed. “And you know it’s a pity date because naturally, you've been on a real date with him?”
Sloane stiffened and Carter milked the moment for all it’s worth. “You have been on a real date with him, right?”
In answer, Sloane pressed her lips together as Carter stole the patronizing smile from her. "That's right, he hasn't asked you out," she said. "He’s talking to me. Has he ever even talked to you? Interesting how you easily jump to the conclusion that it's a pity date when you seem to be the one needing pity.”
Carter sighed in mock sympathy and put a comforting hand on the leader’s arm. “From one girl to another girl, maybe grow a brain and see if that works next time.”
The bell rang, giving the group a reason to abandon Carter. As the hallways cleared, she made her way to the library. She rounded a corner and collided with a massive form. She took a step back, steadying herself. Looking up, she met a pair of gray eyes set in a hard-jawed face. The man wore a janitor's uniform, the dark blue material stretching over his muscular shoulders.
"You alright?" he asked, in a low gruff voice.
Carter nodded, as she took him in, familiarity hovering about his face.
"Okay," he said.
Grabbing his collection of brooms, he walked away. Carter followed his departure, recognition finally clicking.
"Carter."
Link and Donovan stopped in front of her, Donovan studying her face with a slight crease between his eyebrows.
"What is it?" he asked.
“Link, remember that janitor we saw at the Natural History museum talking to Mr. Philips?” Carter asked.
If Donovan thought this question strange, he didn’t show it.
“Vaguely,” Link said.
“Well, anyways I understand now why Mr. Philips was talking with him: Philips must have helped him get a job here. Joining the other former military employees here.”
“Is it normal to have former military men on the janitorial staff?” Donovan asked.
"For a private school with the President's son, yes," she said. "The pay is good and it's a hidden defense against anyone who would try to infiltrate the school and kidnap Mason. If for some reason Smith fails to protect Mason, there are others that could stand in.”
“Smart plan,” Donovan said.
The trio headed to the library, walking by closed doors, the hum of teacher’s voices emanating from beyond. Carter scrutinized Donovan, taking in his strong jaw and prominent cheekbones. Sensing her appraisal, he narrowed his eyes.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Why do girls find it necessary to try and intimidate me over you, when they have received no attention or encouragement from you?"
"What are you talking about?" Link asked.
“I was approached earlier by ‘Donovan’s Posse’ who were trying to convince me the double date is actually a pity date.”
Link burst out laughing. "Donovan, I didn't know your group of admirers had turned so aggressive.”
"It's not me that makes them act this way," Donovan said.
"You certain about that?" Carter deadpanned. "Because I have enough evidence that says it is."
Donovan stopped walking, bringing the group to a halt. "What you are failing to realize is that it's not me personally but what I symbolize."
Carter and Link exchanged a glance. Donovan ignored it and continued. "I am something they desire."
“Yeah, we got that," Carter said, emphatically.
Donovan leveled her with a hard, unamused look. She held up her hands in mock apology and Donovan's expression reverted to normal. "I am something they desire that they can't have. In a world where they have been granted their every wish, I am unattainable. That is why they act out.”
It made sense but Carter simply wished they would accept defeat and leave her alone.
"Really?" Link asked.
Donovan nodded. "Human nature. Attack whatever threatens your way of life."
"I wish they would attack you instead o
f me," Carter said.
Donovan shot her a challenging smirk. "Can't handle a few spoiled girls, Carter?"
She returned his smirk. "Captain told me I'm not allowed to hit defenseless animals. My only defense is to cut down their ego and leave them with their shattered pride."
"What's wrong with that?" Donovan asked. "Sounds exactly within your skillset."
"I prefer a swift punch. It's faster and sends a stronger message. Nothing says “back off” like a broken nose and thousands of dollars in reconstructive surgery."
Donovan laughed as Link's phone beeped and he dug it out of his pocket. "Amy's waiting for us. We should go."
Glancing up from behind her desk, Diana greeted Carter with a bright smile as the trio entered the library. With a wave in return, Carter followed Link and Donovan to Amy’s table. As they approached, Amy looked up and smiled at Link, receiving a blush and nervous smile in response. He took the spot next to her while Carter and Donovan took the seats opposite.
"So," Amy said, "I'm a little lost with this calculus homework. Can you help me?"
She looked at Link with an open, pleading look, her lower lip between her teeth. Donovan and Carter looked at each other, fighting back knowing smiles. Link straightened and edged closer to her.
"Of course, what do you need help on?"
Amy scooted her chair a few inches closer to Link's and leaned on the table, her arm brushing his. She pulled the textbook between them and looked over it, while Link looked at her. Carter looked at Donovan. She gave a nod to Amy and raised her eyebrows as if to say 'she's headstrong.' Donovan nodded.
Carter listened as Link fumbled his way through helping Amy understand the homework. Knowing privacy might help Link be more comfortable, Carter slipped away from the table, trusting Donovan would understand her departure. Wandering through the rows, Carter eventually came upon Donovan as Sloane strode determinedly up to him.
Carter stopped. Clearly her jab about Donovan’s refusal to talk to Sloane hit home. Pity she didn’t give up, salvaging her pride. Some people were gluttons for punishment.
“Hi,” Sloane said. “Looking for something?”