Even Megan is giving me death stares whenever I run into her. I asked her how she was doing the other day and she fucking flipped me off. What pisses me off more than anything is on the few occasions I have seen Indi at school, that prick Brad has been with her. If she’s hanging around with him to upset me, then it’s working.

I’d like to knock that fucker out.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Indiana

“Brad wants to come over this afternoon,” I tell Meg over lunch. “Mr. Jenkins has paired us up to do our English assignment together. He wants to get a start on it. I’m not sure what to do.”

“Let him. Make sure you get him to climb through your bedroom window though. Give that arsehole next door a taste of his own medicine.”

“I’m not getting him to climb through my window,” I laugh. “Two wrongs don’t make a right. Plus, if I do, Brad will get the wrong idea.”

“No he won’t. Tell him your front door is broken,” she says seriously. Has she lost her mind? I can’t do that.

“You’re such a dork,” I say. “I’m not even sure I should have him over. My dad has forbidden me from seeing him, remember?”

“This is school related. He’ll be at work anyway, won’t he?” she states with a flick of her wrist. “He’ll never know.” She might be used to doing things behind her parents’ backs, but I’m not.

“He will if Carter tells him. He’s the reason I’m not allowed to see Brad in the first place.”

“It’s up to you, but I’d be all over that shit if it was me. Not only is Brad a total babe, it’s the perfect revenge for what Carter’s done.” Good point, but I’m still not sure if I’m comfortable with this. I’m not really into revenge.

“What if he tries to, you know?” I ask. I’m not comfortable about going against my dad’s wishes. I’ve never defied him in the past. Like Meg said, it is school related. Do I really have a choice? I’m certainly not going to go to his house.

“Have sex with you?” she giggles. “You can say the word you know. You’re such a prude.” My eyes scan the room to make sure nobody is listening.

“I am not,” I reply, throwing a chip at her.

“Just make it clear that you’ll be doing your assignment. Nothing else. Your father’s a cop. It’s not like he’s going to force himself on you. Unless he has a death wish.”

“I guess you’re right.” My dad would kill him if he laid a finger on me. Changing the subject, we talk about Derek, Meg’s latest lover. I’ve met him a few times. He seems nice enough. He doesn’t go to this school.

“Can I join you ladies?” Brad interrupts a few minutes later. I want to roll my eyes, but I refrain.

“Sure, handsome,” Meg purrs. She’s so forward sometimes. Of course he takes the seat right next to me. I’m really getting tired of him hanging around all the time. He’s really sweet to my face, but I don’t trust him after what Carter told me.

“Are we still on for that assignment this afternoon?” he asks.

“I guess. We only have a few days to get it done,” I reply.

“About that,” Meg chimes in. “If you’re going to do the assignment at Indi’s place, you’ll need to climb through her bedroom window. Her front door is broken.” Oh. My. God. She did not just say that to him. I kick her under the table.

“What?” he replies, looking at me confused. “Can’t I just use the back door?”

“Nope. She has a vicious dog that doesn’t like strangers. He’ll probably try and eat you,” she tells him with a serious face. I can’t help it. I burst out laughing. Lick him to death would be more like it. She is such a schemer. Sometimes I wonder how we became friends.

••••

“I can’t believe you said that to him,” I say to Meg as we make our way to our next class.

“I knew if I didn’t, you wouldn’t. Let Carter see. It’s alright for him to have girls jumping through his bedroom window. See how he likes it when you do the same.” He won’t care, but I don’t say that to her.

“Can we not go there again?” I plead. I’m still reeling over what happened. I can’t believe I let myself develop feelings for that douche.

••••

My stomach is in knots as I sit here waiting for Brad to arrive. I have Meg’s number on speed dial just in case he tries to make a move. She’s already promised to come straight over if I need her. So she should, since she’s the one that’s gotten me into this mess in the first place.

It’s just getting dark when I hear the tap on my bedroom window. I was hoping he could’ve come earlier, but he had football practice. As I make my way towards the window, I see him smiling up at me. He really is good looking, but in my eyes he has nothing on Carter.

“Hey,” I say as I slide open the glass.

“Hey, pretty girl.” I have to hold back the eye roll. He can put on the charm all he likes, but he still has no chance of getting into my pants.

He places his hands on my windowsill ready to launch himself up, but in an instant he disappears. What the hell? I hear a growl, followed by, “I don’t fucking think so.” Carter. Shit. He pulls Brad backwards, making him stumble. When I stick my head out, I see them standing face-to-face.

“What the fuck, Reynolds?” Brad snaps. “What’s your problem?”

“You are,” Carter spits. Oh shit. I’ve never seen him look so angry. His face is red and there’s a vein protruding from his neck. This isn’t going to end well. Fucking Meg and her brilliant ideas. Not.

“Carter,” I screech, my nails digging into the wooden frame.

“You stay the fuck out of this, kid. I’ll deal with you later.” He doesn’t even look my way. His eyes are firmly fixed on Brad. He looks like he’s ready to rip him apart. I bite my tongue. As much as I’d like to retaliate, common sense tells me to keep my mouth shut.

“You’ve got five seconds to turn around and go back to where you came from, or …”

“Or fucking what, Reynolds? What are you going to do?” Brad retaliates, getting up in his face. Shit. Does he have a death wish? That murderous look on Carter’s face alone would have me running for the hills.

“After I kick your arse, I’ll drag you down to the police station. That’s what.”

“That’s real smart, dumb-arse. You’ll assault me and then take me to the cops. It’ll only result in you getting charged, so go right ahead,” Brad retorts with a chuckle. God he can be so cocky sometimes.

“I don’t think so. When I tell her father I caught you trying to sneak in through her bedroom window he’ll thank me for what I did.” Carter’s right, he will. Then my dad will rip him apart.

Brad doesn’t move. He stands strong. Then he goes and does something incredibly stupid. Instead of taking Carter’s advice like he should, the imbecile pushes him. Dumb move, dipshit. Carter stumbles back slightly and then smirks. Actually smirks at him. Like he’s saying, ‘is that the best you got?’. Shit, he’s crazy.

Stepping back into his face, Carter says in a calm, yet intimidating voice, “One.” What is it with Carter and his damn counting? My eyes move to Brad. He’s no longer looking so sure of himself. I don’t blame him. This is like watching a train wreck. As much as you’d like to look away, you can’t. “Two.” I want to call out, run Brad, because that’s exactly what I’d be doing. The idiot just stands there.

On the count of three, Brad raises his hand to throw a punch. Carter’s quick and catches it mid-air. “Four, five,” he says quickly before launching at him. He tackles Brad to the ground with a thud. Raising his fist, he brings it down, connecting it with Brad’s face. Fucking hell.

Climbing out the window, I run towards them. Probably not a wise thing to do. “Carter,” I scream as I grab hold of his shirt. “Carter.” With my other hand I reach for his arm and try to pull him off. He doesn’t budge.