Silent Love [Part 3]

by Kenadee Bryant

  Both of them ran G&G, a business that did everything from roadwork to construction. If an interstate needed repaving, you hired my parents’ company and they would do it. Same went for building hotels or something. You need material, the company provided it. Being in a big city like New York, you can imagine how well they did when everything was always under construction.

  When my parents wanted to be parents, they could be pretty great. Like the summer before sophomore year. They took me all around Europe for three months and it was amazing. We saw a lot, and I had never felt closer to my family, even if they did work most of the time we on vacation. That was the last trip I had gone on with my parents. Ever since then they had been too busy, and I decided I was too. I pushed myself into all the sports high school offered and kept myself busy with girls and parties.

  The last straw I had with my parents was my graduation. Unlike everyone else’s parents, mine weren’t there to congratulate me. Instead I had the Millers there as my family. My so-called parents suddenly had to jet off to Spain that morning, so they couldn’t be there. Of course they said they were sorry, with a brand-new car for me.

  I was beyond hurt and pissed that after that I wouldn’t accept their calls unless I really needed to, and I spent their money. If they weren’t going to be my parents, I was going to spend the money they worked so much for. It was a fair trade to me.

  The Millers were more my family than my own was. It was sad, but I had gotten used to it. I couldn’t have asked for a better family to take me in and treat me like their own kid. I owed them a lot, especially Luke. He knew how much it hurt me that my parents basically abandoned me, and always tried to cheer me up. He kept me occupied with sports and always made sure I was included in his family events. Every Christmas I would spend the night at their house so in the morning all of us could run downstairs on Christmas morning to see what Santa Claus brought us.

  Even now, at twenty, I rarely heard from my parents; the only time they called was to apologize for missing my birthday or some holiday, coming up with a pathetic excuse as to why they couldn’t come. Over the years I had come to expect that from them, and most of the time I didn’t even answer the call.

  The day I really fell for Amy was the day my mom called me and went on about the company and how she wished I was there with them in London. She even said that she wanted to fly me out for the holidays to be with them. I knew what she was saying was just formalities. What she really meant was: “Your father and I are having a good time. While we do love you, we don’t want to be around you for the holidays, so stay in New York please.”

  That day I lost it and ended up throwing my cellphone at the wall. I was so angry and hurt that I practically ran to Amy’s dorm room to see her. After I slept with her, she got me to open up about what was wrong. I spilled everything about my parents and how much I hated them. She never once judged me or told me I would regret what I was saying. Instead, she let me go on about it and even threw in a few “fuck thems” as I talked. She didn’t give me any sympathy and I liked that. I didn’t want anyone’s pity.

  It was then that I noticed she was amazing. She was someone I could actually see spending my life with. She didn’t tiptoe around my feelings, and she knew what she wanted. That take-charge attitude was what got me.

  “You ready to go?” Amy’s words broke me out of my thoughts, making me blink at her stupidly.

  “Uh, yeah. I’m ready.” I cleared my throat. Before we left my dorm, I pulled her into a deep kiss. Pulling away with a grin, I grabbed her hand and tugged her after me.

  We headed for Carter and Macey’s dorm, which was only a few buildings away from mine and Luke’s. Mace wanted all of us to meet up first and head to the party together. I was interested in seeing what Macey got Luke to dress up as because last I heard, Luke was getting the same treatment as I was about putting on a costume. Little did I know the girls had planned this whole thing out.

  It didn’t take long to reach their door. When I knocked, someone yelled for us to come in. The moment we entered the room, I stared wide-eyed at what was in front of me. Luke was running around the living room while Macey ran behind him yelling profanities. Off to the side were Carter and Gage.

  “You are going to wear the stupid hat, Luke!” Macey yelled. I looked over at Carter who just shrugged at me. I took in what she was wearing, and a small smile appeared on my face. She was dressed up as Belle from Beauty and the Beast. A beautiful yellow grown clung tightly her body, and her brown hair was curled around her face. She even had on yellow lace gloves over her hands. She really did look like Belle. Next to her I looked at Gage and clenched my jaw.

  He was dressed in a ripped white dress t-shirt and a pair of black pants. If he was supposed to be the Beast, he didn’t fit it at all. In fact, he looked fucking stupid. As I glared at him, he glared right back. I watched as his arm tightened around Carter’s waist.

  There was just something about Gage I didn’t like. I didn’t know if it was all the rumors that went on around campus about him, like he had a bet with his friend on how many girls he could sleep with. Or maybe it was the cocky vibe he had about him. He did look vaguely familiar every time I saw him, but I could never put my finger on what it was. Every time I looked at him, I couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity. I was going to have to look more into Gage Harper.

  When I learned Carter was going out with him, I flipped. Car was too innocent and sweet to be with a guy like Gage. He would just hurt her, and she would come crying to her brother and me. I knew he would destroy her and I did not want that. Carter was like a sister to me. I would hurt anyone who hurt her, and the same went for her brother.

  What was worse, though, was that Luke didn’t seem to mind Gage anymore. At first, he was dead set on his sister not dating him, but lately he seemed fine being around him. Because he was dating Car he had been around a lot, much to my displeasure. Luke even talked to him and included him in conversations.

  It just bugged me how he got everyone to like him and how he got Carter to date him. He had to be threatening her or something. It was just too weird that Car was dating him, and so suddenly too.

  I remember her last boyfriend, some dude with a Q name I believe. I never liked him, and for good reason. He was just using Carter to gain more popularity, and to try and get in her pants. Her brother and I were beyond glad when they broke up. I never really found out why they did, but I didn’t care. The dude was an ass and he didn’t deserve Carter. No one did.

  As I was thinking about Carter and Gage, I missed Macey forcing Luke to put on a small hat. It wasn’t until I felt a nudge in my arm from Amy that I tuned into the conversation.

  “I look like a freak,” Luke was saying.

  “No, you don’t. You look fine.”

  “Why couldn’t we have gone with the Marvel theme?” he whined, and I honestly couldn’t agree more. Apparently, all of us were going Disney style this year. I eyed Luke up and down and held back a laugh.

  He was wearing a pair of what I guess were supposed to be genie pants or something. They were almost like sweats, but a bright purple instead. He wore a black vest that was open, and he didn’t have a shirt on. On top of his head was a little red hat. I guess he kind of fit the look of Aladdin.

  “Or we could have gone DC! I wanted to be Deadpool, or we could have been Harley Quinn and the Joker,” Luke said. His face lit up like a little kid when he thought about all the other costume ideas. I was with him on that one. Us guys should have chosen this year.

  “Okay, let’s go before Luke throws another fit.” Carter interrupted and pushed away from the counter.

  As we all trailed out of the apartment and stood in the hallway, I was bumped by a shoulder, hard. I glared once more at Gage as he sent me a smug look. I glared after him as he held Carter’s hand and led her down the hallway.

  Yes, there was something weird about that guy, and I was going to find out what.

  ***

  Gage

&
nbsp; We were a good hour into the party and it wasn’t absolutely terrible. Sure, I wanted to be somewhere else or do something else with Carter, but I wasn’t complaining. I was leaning against a wall with a beer in my hand as I watched my girlfriend talk with her friends.

  It still felt weird saying the word “girlfriend.” It wasn’t because I didn’t want Carter to be mine or anything like that. I just had never had a serious girlfriend before, so the word was foreign on my tongue.

  As I watched her talk to her friends, I couldn’t help but smile. She looked beautiful in her Belle costume, which she told me was really just a yellow dress she had bought. I thought she looked beautiful in anything, so I didn’t care.

  When Carter told me what we were dressing up as, I was a little hesitant at first. I mean Disney, really? I was with Luke on this one; we should have done Marvel or DC instead. Seeing Carter in a Harley Quinn outfit would have been a fantastic sight.

  When it came to my costume, I was firm on not wearing some dumbass mask so I looked like the Beast in human form. And I wasn’t going to have Carter put some makeup shit on my face to make me look like it either. So instead we settled on me wearing a ripped up white dress shirt that showed some of my chest, as well as some black trousers. Car said it was close to something in the movie, which was fine by me. It wasn’t the worst costume.

  I had it easy compared to Luke or even Ethan. Luke wore baggy, genie-type pants, and a tiny hat just like Aladdin, but it wasn’t terrible. Ethan was stuck wearing what looked like actual pants that Flynn Ryder would wear, along with a semi-matching shirt.

  Something was up with Galloway. Ever since he showed up, he hadn’t stopped staring at me or Carter. The way he was looking at her made me want to keep her by my side forever. He was looking at her like she was his and that she belonged to him. Well, he lost his chance and I wasn’t giving her up, not without a fight either.

  All these years Carter had been in love with him, but he had been too blind to see it. Carter was incredible, and knowing that she liked me made me feel like the lucky one in this relationship. It is not often you find a girl like Carter; someone who is smart, kind, funny, caring, and feisty. If Ethan was starting to realize he had feelings for her, it was too late.

  Seeing Car looking over at me silently asking if I was okay made me smile. She knew I didn’t have any other friends besides her and Dylan, and it was sweet that she was making sure I was okay.

  This scene didn’t bother me. In fact, before Carter, I used to attend plenty of parties here on campus. It was a good way to just forget about classes and the bullshit of life. I could easily score girls at parties, which was just another reason to go.

  The thing was, I was not this loser, this unpopular guy. Everyone around campus knew who I was because of stupid rumors and because girls would always brag about sleeping with me, even though I never slept with most of them. I just became the school’s “bad boy.” The title seemed to get everyone’s attention and before I knew it, I was being invited to parties and getting asked by girls to dance or go somewhere quieter. It was like they were obligated to invite me because I was somehow cool.

  I didn’t mind because I didn’t give a fuck about what people thought of me. People could say what they wanted. There were always going to be people that hated me or liked me. I couldn’t change that, and I was not going to change myself to get someone to like me.

  It had only been since I hung out around Carter that I started becoming concerned about my reputation here on campus. I didn’t want her to hear the bullshit lies. Lies about me being with every girl out there, that I was some sort of player that didn’t care—well, that was partly true a while ago—or something stupid like that. Out of everyone, I did not want her to see me in a different way. I wanted her to see the real me.

  Being with Carter just made me feel better. I didn’t feel as lonely or that I had to keep this persona up twenty-four-seven. Around her, I was myself. When we first met, I knew something was different about her. Even though it was the middle of the night and I couldn’t see her face, I knew she would end up changing my life. And I was correct. Ever since that night, I couldn’t keep her out of my mind and now I didn’t want to. She was the last thing I thought about when I went to bed and the first thing I thought about when I got up in the morning.

  The reason I was so cruel to her at first was because I was afraid of how I could act when I was around her. I would find myself smiling or being nice. I had learned over the years that people hurt you and would always let you down. I thought Carter would be like every other girl and make assumptions without getting to know me. I was not going to do something stupid and end up getting hurt. So being mean was what I chose to do.

  Now of course I took it all back. Carter was not who I thought she would be. She didn’t immediately judge someone. She didn’t just care about herself or money. Yes, she still held the power to destroy me, but I didn’t mind so much.

  I think the moment I really saw a different side to Carter Miller was the night of the party months back. When she bumped into me while crying, I saw something that I could not ignore. She looked so broken and helpless, I had immediately grabbed her and took her out of that house.

  Taking her to that empty field was just a spur of the moment thing and I was still glad I did that. I was able to see her in a different light and in some way get to know her a bit better. It was at midnight on that night, when we were looking up at the stars, that I knew I couldn’t stay away from her.

  The rest was history. Now we were dating and so far it had been great. We were both so new to it that neither of us minded if we took things slow and I was glad. I was still getting used to having someone I could talk to regularly besides Dylan or my grandmother. It was a nice change, though. The both of us were slowly melding into each other’s lives.

  “Gage Harper,” a sudden voice said beside me. I glanced over to my right and saw some guy standing there holding a red cup. I raised an eyebrow at him silently asking who he was. He did seem slightly familiar but not enough for me to remember.

  “Don’t remember me? I am Jason Perkins. I am in your math, social studies, and English classes?” I slowly started to recognize him. “We hung out at a party a few months back.” I nodded, remembering now. We did hang out at a party I went to a few months ago. We ended up sitting around talking for a while.

  “I remember now. What’s up?” I took another sip of my beer.

  “Just trying to find my girlfriend, but when I saw you I thought I would say hi.” I looked him up and down.

  “What are you wearing?”

  “My girlfriend wanted to be original and have us go as a Greek god and goddess. Don’t ask.” He raised his hand, stopping my comment. I held back a chuckle. It seemed I wasn’t the only one getting roped into dressing like a freak.

  “Are you here with your girlfriend?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “Yeah.” I nodded toward Carter, who was laughing at something Macey said. I smiled as I watched her tilt her head back. There was nothing better than watching her laugh. She did it so freely, like she didn’t care who heard.

  “I still can’t believe you got Carter Miller to go out with you.” Jason whistled. His words made me pause and look over at him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Everyone knows she has been in love with Ethan Galloway for years. I for sure thought one day they would end up together,” he explained. I stared at him letting his words sink in. “She’s always been his girl, but hey, now she is with you.” He shoved me in the shoulder.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” I bit out, clenching my jaw. I didn’t like what he was saying. Carter was not Ethan’s girl, and she never would be. She was mine now.

  “Nothing, dude.” He held his hands up. “I like her better with you anyway. You guys fit better.” His words somewhat calmed me down, but I still wasn’t happy.

  “I…I’m just going to go.” He turned and walking away. I stared after him
wondering what he really meant about that. Did everyone think Carter was going to end up with Ethan? It pained me to even think about the two of them together. They just didn’t fit.

  “Hey! You okay?” Carter’s voice spoke through my haze. I blinked before turning to face her. She was now standing in front of me with a concerned look on her face.

  “I’m good,” I yelled over the music.

  “You sure?” she asked stepping closer to me and leaning forward so she didn’t have to yell. Having her close to me made me feel better. Breathing in her intoxicating smell calmed whatever I was feeling inside.

  “I am now.” I grinned a toothy grin at her as I wrapped one hand around her waist and pulled her tight to me.

  “Caveman,” she muttered, but she had a wide grin on her face as well. “I don’t think I said this, but I like you in your costume.” I felt her eyes move over my upper body, taking care to look long at my exposed skin. I smiled wider seeing that.

  “I think it is you that looks good in your costume. You look ravishing in yellow.” I smirked. I saw her blue eyes widen and darken a little. Even though it was dark in here, I could see a slight blush on her cheeks.

  “Dance with me.” Carter breathed out before taking a step back. Even though I wasn’t one for dancing, I grabbed her hand with my own and let her lead me to the dance floor.

  With her looking over her shoulder, I knew she didn’t like Ethan anymore. She was with me. Seeing her smile let me know. But as she led me through the crowd of people, I couldn’t push away the thought of her still being in love with Ethan Galloway.

  Chapter Nine

  Carter

  “No!”

  “No!”

  “Not this one either.” I huffed, throwing down yet another outfit. I was starting to get to the end of my closet and I had found nothing suitable to wear.