A Son of Carver (Carver High #2)

by Haven Francis

  “Shut the hell up,” Nash bites. “It’s none of your damn business but we weren’t having sex. And that room up there was hers. But you can have it back because we’re getting her the hell out of here.” He pulls me out of Nate’s hold and starts to walk me towards her but my mom holds out an arm to stop us.

  “Hold on,” she says. “I would like to hear the answer to Nate’s question.”

  “She already answered you,” LeAnn scolds.

  “No. She didn’t. Even if her answer was true, that’s no reason for the awful things she and her friends have been doing to Presley all week. I want to know why.”

  “Jesus. Can you be any more dramatic? You act like I’m trying to ruin her life. It’s a few stupid pranks and harmless words. Get over it.”

  Nash turns from her, wraps his hands around my waist and walks me a few steps backwards. His face is tense and his eyes are practically vibrating. “I can’t,” he mutters, shaking his head. “I can’t fucking look at her. I’m gonna loose it. I swear to god, Presley, I’m gonna punch the girl.”

  “Okay,” I tell him, running my fingers over his face, trying to bring him back to me. “We can go.”

  “No one’s going anywhere. Not yet,” Nick tells us. “Not until she answer’s Laura’s question.”

  “What exactly did you tell these men that my daughter did to you, Presley? I mean, I have to agree with Jolee. This is all a little dramatic, don’t you think? All of you coming in here, telling me your moving my niece out because… what? What could be so bad, Laura, that you would let your daughter move in with her boyfriend? What kind of mother would let that happen?”

  “How long have you had to live with these crazy bitches?” Nate asks through his laughter.

  “Too long,” I mutter, still staring at Nash who’s unmoving, his eyes still crazed.

  He blinks hard then turns to LeeAnn. “She started a nasty rumor about her and made sure it spread. She’s called her a slut, a whore, a bitch, a skank. She’s called her disgusting, gross, fat, ugly, nasty- every ugly word she could come up with and made sure her friends were doing the same thing. Everyday Presley finds a new word spelled out on her locker. Every damn day your daughter shoves shit in mine – porn magazines, bras, suckers shaped like breasts, douches, balloons, lice shampoo, plastic surgery pamphlets… it’s ridiculous. It’s beyond cruel. It’s straight up hostile and hateful and… what the fuck? Answer the damn question, Jolee, because it doesn’t make any sense. She’s your damn cousin. She’s never done shit to you.”

  Everyone’s standing in stunned silence. I asked Nash not to tell them what was going on. As far as they know, Jolee and her friends have just been talking about me. Nick and Mom are both looking at me with shock. My mom’s crying. Nick look like he’s about to. LeAnn’s staring at her daughter with confusion. Nate is literally rubbing his fist, staring at Jolee like he’s about to do as promised and punch her vagina.

  And Jolee? She’s laughing. “I just don’t get it, Nash. There was a time when you could have had me. Me. I mean, look at me. And so when I saw you with her it was a little insulting. Maybe I was just trying to point out the obvious – she is gross. And you can do better.”

  Shit goes a little crazy then. Nick is holding Nate and his vagina punching fist back. I’m doing my damndest to restrain Nash. My mom is yelling incoherently and for some reason, LeAnn is crying.

  Nash breaks free from my hold and goes to her. He wraps his hand around her neck and towers over her. “I’m gonna kill you. I swear to god, you say or do one more thing to the girl I love and I will kill you.”

  Nate, of all people, gets Nash pulled off of her even though he’s looking at her like he would like to watch her be strangled to death.

  With one hand pushed into Nash’s chest and the other pointing an angry finger at her, Nate says, “What kind of fucked up universe are you living in where you even compare to Presley? I mean, looks aside, which by the way, she’s gorgeous and you… aren’t, she’s the coolest chick I’ve ever met. She’s sweet. She’s got a kickass personality, she can be a pain in the ass, but I love her like a sister and as much of an ass as it sounds like her dad is, I’m grateful for his stupidity because it forced her to come to this shit town. And as far as I’m concerned, my brother is the luckiest guy in the world because he did that. We’re all the luckiest bastards in the world because he did that. I don’t think you realize how much we care about her so try it. Try to do one more thing to this girl and see what fucked up things we’re willing to do for her.”

  “This is ridiculous,” she says, turning and heading back up the stairs.

  “Jolee,” my aunt says forcefully. My cousin stops but doesn’t turn around. “Get back down here. Now.” She turns but doesn’t come back down. “Is that true? Did you do those things to her?”

  Jolee smirks. “No. I can’t help that I have good friends who feel bad that I’m stuck living with her.”

  “Oh my god,” my aunt says under her breath, walking to the hooks in the entryway where Jolee’s purse is hanging. She opens it and digs out her wallet.

  “What are you doing?” she asks, walking down the steps and going to my aunt, trying to pull the receipt she’s holding out of her hands.

  “Apologize to her,” my aunt says, her eyes not leaving the piece of paper she’s holding.

  “What?” she asks, laughing.

  My aunt’s eyes come to her now. “Apologize to her. Now. I paid for that… stuff. All of that awful stuff. I paid for you to do that to her. She is your cousin. Part of your family. And you did those things to her. Apologize. Now.”

  She turns to me, a shit eating grin on her face. “I’m sorry, Chestly,” she says.

  Clearly, she thinks that stupid word is gonna piss me off. It doesn’t. “I forgive you,” I tell her. “And I’m sorry, too. I’m sorry that you’re filled with jealousy and hate. I’m sorry that you don’t have people in your life that love you enough. I’m sorry that the happiest your ever gonna be is when you’re making other people miserable. I’m sorry that you don’t respect yourself enough to not sleep around. I’m not gonna speculate on what’s inside of you, but on the outside you really are beautiful. I wish you could see that.”

  “You’re delusional,” she says under her breath before turning and retreating up the stairs.

  “Can we get her crap and get the hell out of here now?” Nate asks. “I legitimately feel like I’m in hell.”

  “Hold on,” Nick says. “I think you have some apologizing to do yourself,” he says to LeAnn.

  She pinches her manicured eyebrows together like she has no idea what he’s talking about. He stares her down. She eventually lets out a long breath and turns to me. “He’s right,” she admits. “I turned a blind eye to what she’s been doing to you. I want her to have everything she wants. I thought she deserved that. She’s my only child and I’ve always wanted everything for her. And…,” she pauses, turning to my mom, “I’ve let this become a competition between the two of us. Who has the better life, the bigger house, more successful husband, most beautiful daughter. I love you Laura. You’re my sister. But there’s part of me that was happy when part of your life fell apart. Really, I’m no better than Jolee. In fact, I probably raised her to be just like me. You didn’t deserve that. Presley didn’t deserve that. I’m awful. She’s awful. I’m sorry.” She’s crying now. My mom is too.

  They hug and Nate mutters, “Why do I feel like I’m in a Lifetime movie?”

  “What’s Lifetime?” Nick asks.

  “Yeah, what the hell is Lifetime?” Nash says.

  I laugh. I shouldn’t be laughing right now, but I can’t help it.

  “Never mind. Let’s go get your crap, Sis,” Nate tells me.

  I smile at him. He just called me Sis. I hug him and, reluctantly he hugs me back.

  “At least one of my son’s is embracing the step-sister idea,” Nick says, wrapping his arms around me and Nate.

  24

  “God damn it,
you look too good,” I mutter to myself before shoving the knot in Nash’s tie, too hard, into his neck. It’s the night of winter formal and even though I still have no desire to go and I’m happy for Summer that she has such a hot date, I don’t really want to let him go. He looks way too good and I don’t get to enjoy the view.

  “It’s not too late to change your mind,” he tells me, grabbing onto my ass and sliding me across the bathroom counter and into his dress pants where a hard rod is hidden.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I get to go to work which will be way more fun than some dance.”

  He kisses me deeply, sending my body into instant lust mode, but then pulls out of my mouth, the heat behind his green eyes covering me in desire. “I didn’t really care about this dance until this moment,” he says in his gravelly voice that totally turns me on. “But I’m starting to agree with everyone – this is stupid. I should be taking you.”

  That throws me. He’s told me I shouldn’t be afraid to go if that’s what I want but now it sounds like he wants me there. “I love you, Nash. But I don’t want to have that conversation.”

  He looks at me, his eyes narrowed, his nostrils flared and I know he’s stopping himself from saying what he wants to. He’s been doing that a lot lately and I feel bad about it but I’m not talking about this again.

  In order to distract him, and because I really want to, I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. He hesitates. He’s frustrated with me. But then he kisses me back. Softly at first so that butterflies flutter around in my tummy and then forcefully and all at once: his tongue plunging into my mouth, his teeth nipping at my lip, and instantly I’m worked up. Damn him and the way my body responds to him.

  I’m tempted to undo all the work we just did getting him into that dark gray suit that looks so good on him it makes me want to cry. I manage to restrain myself, but he takes his hands off me in order to get his belt undone.

  He pulls my shorts and panties to the side, preparing to enter me when the doorbell rings.

  “Crap,” I mutter, pushing him off of me.

  “No. Oh, hell no, Presley. It’s too late for stopping.”

  I stare at him for a moment actually considering letting him nail me in his bathroom while Summer waits in her dress in the living room. “Ugh,” I mutter out of frustration. “We can’t.” I push at him again.

  “Seriously?” he asks, staring down at his big hard on.

  Crap. I push it back inside his boxer briefs and force the zipper up over his huge bulge. “Umm… I talked to my mom today. She said my uncle was at the doctor this morning getting all these nasty, pussy, warts frozen off of his ass. He couldn’t even sit down when he got home. My aunt had to strap bags of ice on him and she was complaining to my mom about how hairy he is down there and I literally threw up in my mouth…” I tell him, watching as his hard on deflates.

  “Jesus, Presley. Seriously?”

  I smile at the flat front of his pants and then at the disgusted look on his face. “No.” I laugh. “But damn, I’m a good story teller, huh?” I hop off the counter before reaching up on my tip toes to peck his lips. “Okay, go. She’s out there waiting for you.”

  “Sometimes I really want to strangle you,” he tells me as I shove him out the door.

  “Have fun,” I whisper as I duck into his room and close the door behind me. I take a few deep breaths trying to get my own body under control before going to his closet and grabbing my work clothes. It’s cheerleader night… oh joy.

  I try to ignore the sounds of their voices out in the living room. I can picture him giving her the flowers we picked out for her. Maybe Nick’s even snapping photos. After I’m changed I look out his window at the limo parked on the street. Nash’s friends are inside with their dates. They’ll probably have a great time tonight. I want Summer to have a great time and I’m irritated that I now wish I could be with him.

  I’m tempted to keep staring so I can see how beautiful she looks. How beautiful they look together, but I close the curtains and wait until I hear the front door close before leaving the room.

  When I get to the living room, Nick is waiting for me with a sad look on his face.

  “Don’t even start,” I warn him. “I already feel bad enough.”

  And because I said that he comes and gives me one of his big bear hugs. I let myself relax into his arms, feeling safe and protected and letting my guard down for a minute before retreating and staring at Nate. “Let’s go,” I tell my backup driver. “I’m gonna be late.”

  “Who the hell would bring their formal date here?” I ask as we head around the front of The End Zone where a limo is parked. “I thought this would be the one night I wouldn’t have to see anyone from school at work.”

  “This is where I brought Corey before formal,” he says about my boss, his ex-girlfriend.

  “Exactly my point,” I laugh.

  He takes his hand off the steering wheel to slap the back of my head.

  “Ouch,” I mutter, slapping him back. We engage in a slap war until he’s got the truck parked around back. “Thanks for the ride,” I tell him, opening the door. He turns the engine off and steps out of the truck. “What are you doing? I’m fine, Nate. You don’t have to babysit me.”

  “I’m not. It’s a restaurant. I can go inside if I want.”

  I roll my eyes but head to the backdoor with him by my side. When I open it the first thing I see is Tatum. In her formal dress. Looking absolutely stunning. “Oh my god, you look beautiful,” I mutter before I remember she hates me.

  She smiles at me. “Never thought I’d be caught dead in a dress like this, but what the hell, right?”

  I smile at her tentatively. “Are you talking to me?”

  “I was such an asshole last week,” she says, walking to me and wrapping me up in her arms.

  I hug her back and let out a breath of relief. I managed to feel little to nothing last week, but losing her hurt. And I felt terrible about keeping Nash a secret from her. I felt terrible about falling in love with her ex-boyfriend. “I was an asshole for a lot longer than a week.”

  She pulls back and looks down at me severely. “No. You weren’t. I get why you didn’t want to tell me about the two of you. But I wish you would have realized that I would have understood and not judged you or thought you were stupid. I mean, I would have thought what you were doing was stupid, but I would have still loved you.

  “But after seeing the two of you together this week – the way he cares about you and was trying to protect you… that’s all I ever wanted for him. I wanted him to find a reason to be the guy I knew he could be. And I’m glad that reason is you.”

  “Really?” I ask her.

  “Yeah. Really. And I can’t believe I spent the entire week being pissed off. I can’t believe I sat back and watched Jolee and her bitches treat you the way they did. I’ll never walk away from you again.”

  “And I’ll never keep secrets from you again.”

  “No. You won’t.”

  I let out a relieved breath and then ask her, “What the hell are you doing at work in your dress?”

  She winces slightly then says, “Promise you won’t kill me?”

  “What?” I ask, angry already.

  Nate and Corey come around the corner then. He’s in a suit and she’s holding a blue dress in her hands. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Presley,” Nate says, coming to me and taking my hands in his. “Will you go to winter formal with me?”

  I laugh my ass off for a full minute before I realize he’s serious. I take my hands back and push them into his chest. “No. What the hell, Nate. No.”

  “Presley, just listen to us,” Tatum says. “You’re gonna regret it if you don’t go. One day, you and Nash will be married, showing your kids pictures of Nash and Summer at the winter formal…”

  “Oh my god,” I interrupt.

  “And you’re going to think, I got over all those things my cousin did to me that year, but I’m s
till pissed that I let her take that night away from me.”

  I shake my head at her. “You’re ridiculous. Do you really expect me to show up there and be like, oh hey Summer, I know you spent a ton of money on that dress and got your hair and makeup done because this night is really important to you… but excuse me while I take it all away.”

  Nate laughs. “Who the hell do you think got me- a twenty-one-year-old who was damn glad to leave that school for the last time three years ago- into a damn suit?”

  “Of course she did.”

  “Do you love my brother?” he asks, sternly

  I roll my eyes. “Yes. But he understands. He doesn’t care about a stupid dance.”

  “You sure about that?”

  I shrug my shoulders, thinking about the way he looked at me and the words he spoke to me tonight. I haven’t really taken a moment to consider that tonight might mean something to him. I’ve just been thinking about what I want.

  “He’s done everything you’ve asked him to this past week and you’ve got to know how damn difficult that’s been for him…”

  “Yeah, I do. I mean… he’s been beyond great.”

  “He has. So do something for him.”

  I pinch my eyes closed, the anxiety of walking into the dance already building because, yes, I’m gonna do it. For Nash. “I hate you. All of you.”

  25

  I’m standing on the stage in the middle of the gym, hot lights shining down on me, my mind checking out for a moment because with Summer on the other side of Principal Reynolds in the girls section of formal court, I don’t have to pretend, for her, like I’m having a good time.

  It’s really not fun watching in-love couples dancing around me and knowing that my girl is at work in those clothes she hates, serving people food when she should be here with me. The looks Jolee is giving me are infuriating. She knows she’s the reason Presley was too scared to show her face here. I hate that, no matter what Presley says, she’s giving Jolee control.