by Mariano, Sam
Some of the other kids are at different tables, but in the same groups as usual.
My perusal of the room stops short when I feel Carter’s eyes on me. I turn my head to meet his gaze and he frowns, cocking his head in confusion. I avoid the cafeteria like the plague, so he must wonder what brought me here.
I smile blandly, holding his gaze as I reach into the small school purse dangling by my hip. His gaze follows the movement, then darts back to my face, still confused. I pull out the cash he gave me Friday night and hold it up for him to see. His scowl deepens. My smile widens, then I break eye contact altogether and make my way over to the table where several members of my youth group sit, eating their lunch.
Luke looks up as I approach. His sandwich is frozen halfway to his mouth. Since I’m looking right at him with a look of determination on my face, he puts it down and offers up a pleasant smile and scoots down to make room for me.
“Finally comin’ back to our table?” he surmises.
I shake my head. “No, I’m not staying. I just wanted to give you this,” I tell him, holding out my babysitting earnings.
He looks at the money with a frown, then looks back up at me. “What…?”
“I heard what happened to your car, and I felt terrible about it,” I explain, dropping my gaze, not quite able to meet his gaze.
“Yeah,” he mumbles.
“I recently came into a little extra cash though. I was plannin’ to waste it on something I didn’t need, but it feels right to use it to help a friend instead.”
Beaming up at me then over at Luke, Grace says, “What a blessing.”
I nod and look back at Luke. “I know this doesn’t cover all the damage that was done, but… I just wanted to…”
He doesn’t make me finish. Nodding his head as the money transfers from my hands to his, he says, “Thank you, Zoey. You really don’t have to do this.”
“I feel…” Responsible. I can’t say that though, because it implicates Carter. As much as I probably should be ready and willing to turn Carter over for his crimes, I’m not. I don’t even think they would stick. This town would let Carter out of a rape accusation, so really, what’s a little vandalism as long as he takes the team to the championships?
Ugh. Gross.
Shaking it off, I clear my throat and offer up a weak smile. “I want to. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”
Now that my mission has been accomplished, I excuse myself from my old table as quickly as possible and turn back around. Before I head for the exit, I decide to walk over to Carter’s table. Clearly understanding what I have just done, he does not look remotely amused. He looks pretty pissed, and just being so close to his temper turns my blood hot. A mental image floats across my mind of him grabbing me, pushing me down on the table, and taking me right here in front of everyone. My body throbs in response, but I try to shake it off and stay focused.
He really has broken me, hasn’t he?
Ignoring the heat, I walk around the table and stop behind him. Wrapping an arm around him from behind, I lean down and whisper in his ear, “Turns out I don’t have money for that dress, after all. Guess you’re gonna have to find another date to homecoming.”
Carter faintly shakes his head, but he doesn’t respond verbally. All of his friends are sitting at the table. None of them know what just happened, but they’re all casting looks at me—some confused, some guessing and getting it dead-wrong, others who missed that Carter and I even broke up in the first place. In any case, Carter isn’t going to let me embarrass him in front of his friends, so he can’t say shit to me about what I just did.
I knew he wouldn’t, so I’m feeling pretty smug. I stand and let my arm fall from around him. Then I flash him a little smile and wink like he did in history class, make my way around the table, and walk right out of the cafeteria.
* * *
Nothing horrible happens over the rest of the week. I go to school, study, and work. Carter doesn’t commit any additional crimes, as far as I can see. I don’t think I won the war that easily, though, so even his silence makes me worry about what he’s planning.
He hasn’t cashed in his second booty call yet, either. I know he planned to save the third for homecoming, but now I’m not going to homecoming with him, so he had better pick a different time and place.
It occurs to me I should have given him a strict window when I made this deal. Like, three times within the next four weeks. I hadn’t been in a position to negotiate terms—or even think about terms—but now that circumstances are what they are, I’m wondering how long Carter could string me along with time two and time three. I suppose it wasn’t a very honorable agreement to begin with, so maybe I don’t have to keep up my end of the bargain… but even if it was a sex agreement, that doesn’t sit right with me. I don’t like to renege on my obligations, and I know Carter wouldn’t like it.
I’m not going to like if I’m in Pennsylvania settling in for my first semester of college and I get a text from Carter in New York telling me I better take a weekend road trip, because it’s time for our second round of math test sex.
If I ever make another deal with him, I need to set clearer terms. I gave him way too much leeway on this one. It could be a real headache, if he wants it to be.
By the time Friday rolls around, I think maybe it’s all over. Maybe he realized this was also the wrong method for getting me back and he is concocting a new idea…
Or maybe he’ll just give up altogether. I’m not proud of the fact that it makes me a little sad to consider. I know I won’t like when he moves on. Considering he went so long without a girlfriend before and he’s not fond of girlfriends to begin with, I’m hoping it will remain that way for the rest of the school year. Then he can go off to college and I won’t have to witness it. As long as we’re in school together, I have to live in fear of the day I see him with someone else, see him looking at her the way he looked at me, and know he’s not just doing it to piss me off, like the Jenna situation.
I’m kept awake a good part of Thursday night worrying about that and my math test, so I make sure to stop and grab myself an iced coffee on my way to school. I’m early this morning anyway, so I have time for a caffeine fix. I text Grace on my way and ask if she wants me to pick one up for her, but she doesn’t respond. Just in case she is watching her sugar intake today, I don’t bring her one.
When I get to school, I feel naively good about the day. It’s Friday, so I only have to make it through a few hours, then it’s weekend. Even better, I don’t have to work tonight, so I actually get to go home after school, and since there’s no school tomorrow, I can have some down time tonight. Tomorrow I study, since I still have to kick Carter’s rally girl’s ass, academically speaking.
I spot Grace’s car in the parking lot with an empty spot next to it, so I nab it before anyone else does. Close to the building—another win. I can’t help smiling as I get out of the car… at least, until I see Grace crying in hers.
My heart drops and I slam my door shut, hoping the noise will get her attention. She looks up and meets my eyes. Even from the distance and through the window, I can see her eyes are red and puffy and her nose is red.
I hustle over to the car and open the driver’s side door. She doesn’t even have the car running, so the air isn’t blowing and her car is an oven. “Grace, what’s wrong?”
Sniffling into a Kleenex, she looks up at me. “I’m sorry. I’m having a really bad couple days.”
Leaning down so I’m closer to her level, I ask, “Why? What’s going on?”
“Scout got out of the yard last night. We never let him out of the fenced area, he’s too little and he runs after cars.”
Gasping, putting the pieces together, I try to think how delicately to ask. “Did he… get hit?”
She sniffles and brushes tears from her already red cheeks. “I don’t know. We couldn’t find him. We were out looking everywhere for him last night. My dad said maybe h
e would find his way home, but when we woke up this morning, still nothing. He could be anywhere, and he’s probably so scared and hungry…” The image of him hungry and scared must break her, because she bursts into fresh tears.
“Oh, Grace.” I bend down and hug her. “You should have texted me, I would’ve come over and helped you look. I’ll help today, after school. Don’t worry, we’ll find your puppy.”
“What if he did get hit?” she wails into my shoulder.
“I’m sure he didn’t get hit. Someone would have seen him in the road.”
“I don’t understand how he got out in the first place. Before I left him out there I walked the fence and made sure he hadn’t dug any holes I missed. The gate was shut and there are no loose boards. I was so careful.”
Dread fills me because this is a bad situation either way, but the party at Erika’s house surfaces in my mind. Carter knew he wanted me at the party that night, but no matter how much he asked, I declined. Eventually, he used Grace and my protectiveness of her to get me there, threatening Grace if I didn’t show.
He wouldn’t hurt a dog, right? I don’t think he would, he’s not a monster, but kidnap a dog? He might do that. Keep it—and Grace’s emotional well-being—hostage until I give in and come riding to her rescue.
Dammit, Carter. It’s not fair that he has all these ways of defeating me. He plays so dirty, and he knows I can’t match him. He knows I won’t stoop, so he knows he will win every damn time as long as he does.
Once I’m done comforting Grace and calming her down with assurances that we’ll get Scout back tonight, I give her a minute to get it together and walk by myself up to the entrance of the school.
My blood heats when I see Carter standing against his wall, arms crossed, watching me as I approach. This time it’s anger heating my blood, not arousal. Unluckily for the people in my life, I only really have a few relationships, so if he wants to terrorize me into getting back together with him, he can only target those same people over and over again.
“Good morning, Ellis.”
I glare, ignoring his jock buddies who part like the Red Sea as I storm up to him. “Did you steal Grace’s puppy?”
Pulling a look of exaggerated innocence, Carter points to himself. “Why would I steal a dog?”
“Because you’re fucking crazy,” I snap.
“Whoa, shit,” Cartwright drawls, laughing a little. “Carter’s drivin’ Zoey Ellis to curse, this must be bad.”
“Baby girl, bring that dirty mouth over here,” Shayne says.
“Fuck off, Sutton,” I snap, before looking back at Carter. “The puppy is too far. You give that puppy back to her, or I swear to God, I’ll never speak to you again.”
Carter keeps his tone level, but the warning behind the words is real when he tells me, “Don’t threaten me, princess.”
I know I would get better results if I had waited to confront him until we could be alone, but when I saw him, I was too angry to wait. As much as I want to escalate things and fight him to the death, I know I’m outmatched. He knows, too, so if I want to be smart, I need to heed his warning and rein myself in a bit.
When a few second pass and I haven’t continued to rage, despite the clear fury in my eyes, Carter nods once and says, “Now, go ahead and try again. I’ll give you a do-over.”
I grit my teeth, wanting to hit him for being such a jerk, but I keep my eye on the prize. It doesn’t matter that his friends are snickering. Only he cares what they think, I sure as hell don’t. Swallowing down a lump of anger and meeting his gaze, I ask, “Can we talk privately, please?”
Carter reaches out and caresses the side of my face, an intentionally condescending move. “Since you said please.”
Murder, murder, murder. Stab, stab, stab.
Thinking happy thoughts, I turn on my heel and head for the school entrance.
“I’ll catch up to you fellas later,” Carter tells the guys as he follows after me.
“Have fun,” Cartwright calls.
“He’s goin’ off with Zoey Ellis, you know he will,” Shayne says with a snicker.
“Hey,” Carter barks more sharply. A little more civilly, he reminds Shayne, “Show a little respect unless you want to lose your place again, Sutton.”
Yeah, asshole. At least Carter isn’t being a complete toolbag. Just mostly a toolbag.
I don’t know where I’m going as I walk through the doors. This isn’t our normal meeting time. When we encounter each other after history, everyone else is heading to lunch and there are empty classrooms in every hall. Right now everyone is just getting to school, making their ways through halls, chatting up friends, opening lockers. There’s nowhere for us to be alone.
Apparently unconcerned, Carter picks up the pace until he’s ahead of me, then his arm shoots out. He grabs me and backs up, pulling me with him against an empty stretch of wall. There are still lockers and students everywhere, we have no actual privacy, but as if he sealed us inside a bubble, Carter looks at me like we do.
“Now, what can I do for you?”
“Give Grace her dog back.”
Cocking his head slightly to the side, Carter asks, “Why did you just find out about this today?”
“What? I… I don’t know.”
“The dog went missing last night. This wasn’t today’s scheduled hissy fit, it was yesterday’s. Did she tell you, and you just didn’t connect it to me until today, or did you just find out?”
Given that also briefly crossed my mind when I first found out, I frown. “She didn’t tell me last night. She was probably too busy looking for Scout, she didn’t think to text me.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” he points out. “If she wanted to find the dog, the more eyes looking for it, the better.”
“I don’t know,” I say, shaking my head. “It doesn’t matter. Where is her dog?”
“Hmm, Grace must be mad at you,” he says, ignoring me. “Did you do something to piss her off? Maybe I did. Maybe she blames you for Choir Boy’s car. Yeah, that makes sense. It’s probably that. She’s got a point, too. Maybe you should stop fighting and come back to me now so nothing else bad happens to your friends.”
“Maybe I should stop talking to you and see what happens if I ignore you completely,” I suggest.
Carter grimaces. “I wouldn’t recommend it. If I get much more destructive, I’m bound to start attracting notice. It’s gonna get more complicated. I’ll have to frame someone else for my wrongdoing. I haven’t pinned anything on Jake lately,” he muses, theatrically rubbing his chin and glancing up in thought.
Reaching out and grabbing his hand, I pull it away from his chin. “Stop it, Carter. No more destruction. The sweet talk may not have worked, but this… I hate this. You know I hate this. You know I hate you hurting other people period, but especially my friends.”
Carter smiles faintly, catching my other arm and tugging me closer until my breasts touch his chest. “Yes, I know. That’s the point. Only you can stop it, Zoey. Better go grab your red cape. You can wait in my bed wearing nothing else. Fucking me is morally upright if you’re doing it to save the world, right?”
“Or I could just call the cops and tell them what I know,” I suggest innocently, looking up at him.
“Go for it,” he says, unconcerned. “You don’t really know anything, you just suspect. Surely you don’t think there’s any actual evidence that I’ve done anything wrong, right? Tell me you don’t think I’m that sloppy.”
“Maybe I’m recording this conversation,” I offer.
“Maybe you are.” His gaze moves over my body, lingering on my breasts, then dropping lower. “Maybe I should do a strip search, just to be safe.”
Arousal stirs at the mental image of his hands running down my sides, moving over every inch of my bare body. Languidness follows, making me wish for a bed so we could work out all these frustrations.
It’s entirely off-topic, but since my mind has gone there, I ask, “When are you plannin
g to cash in on round two?”
Carter smirks at me. “I’ll get around to it. Getting impatient? I can buy you a toy to tide you over until I fuck you again.”
“I think for simplicity’s sake, we should establish a time frame. An expiration date of sorts. If you don’t use your two remaining passes before a certain date, they expire.”
“Coupon prostitution, huh? That sounds cheap.”
Ignoring him, I plod on. “I suggest fall break. If you haven’t cashed in by fall break, you don’t get to.”
“Hmm.” Carter pretends to consider for a moment, then says, “No.”
“Winter break, then. That’s plenty of time.”
“No expiration date. That’s not what we agreed to, and I’m not amenable to changing the terms. Sorry, princess.”
“I don’t like being on your hook indefinitely,” I tell him honestly.
“Too bad. Back to the dog. I can’t imagine you showed up to a hostage negotiation without an offer to put on the table? Don’t you know how this works?”
Narrowing my eyes at him, I mutter, “You already have me on the hook for two more rounds. What do you want this time?”
“Your mouth around my cock. I might end up fucking you, too, but it doesn’t count toward the first debt if I do.”
I try to ignore the throbbing in my core, try to stabilize the rise and fall of my chest as I breathe, but judging by the warmth in Carter’s eyes, he recognizes that he’s turning me on. More because I actually want it than because I want Grace’s puppy returned to her, I say, “All right. Lunchtime today?”
Regretfully, he shakes his head. “Can’t do it today. Can’t do it tonight. How ‘bout tomorrow? We can grab some dinner or catch a movie.”
“You don’t get a date,” I inform him, keeping my voice low, given the occupancy of the hall. Leaning in a little to remain unheard by passersby (and a little to torture him), I murmur, “You get your dick sucked. Nothing more.”