I hear a car horn sound from next door. Gazing over towards Indi’s bedroom, I catch a glimpse of her as she throws a backpack over her shoulder and runs out of her room. Standing, I make my way towards the window. Where the fuck is she going?
Indiana
As soon as we arrive at Meg’s house, she drags me towards her bedroom. “Dinner will be ready in an hour girls,” her mum calls out.
“Thanks, Mum,” Meg replies.
“Thanks, Mrs. Miller,” I add. Meg closes the door once she’s pulled me inside her room. She takes my backpack off my back and drops it on the floor before leading me towards her bed with her hand between my shoulder blades.
“What the hell is going on with you?” she asks as soon as we are seated.
“One guess.”
“What has he done now?” Her face screws up with disgust.
“Nothing to me. Well kinda … it’s just …”
“Just what?”
“He told me something a few days ago. I’m not sure if I should tell you. It’s kind of personal and pretty bad,” I admit.
“Seriously, you have to tell me now.” I chuckle when she rubs her hands together and bounces on the bed with excitement. She thrives on gossip.
“I’m not sure if I should.” I’d feel like I’m betraying Carter if I tell her.
“Did he tell you not to tell anyone?” she asks. I know she’s saying this to try and get me to spill. She’s such a schemer.
“No.”
“Well what’s the problem then?” she asks, raising her eyebrows hopefully.
“I’d feel like I was betraying his trust. I’m not sure how he’d feel about me repeating it,” I tell her.
“That juicy huh?” She rubs her hands together again.
“Yes,” I laugh.
“Look, if you don’t want to tell me that’s fine. I respect that. But, I need you to know that not knowing is probably going to kill me.”
“You’re such a dork.”
“It’s up to you, babe. You know you can trust me. We tell each other everything. Maybe I can help if I know exactly what you’re dealing with,” she says. I trust her with my life. In my heart I know she’d never repeat anything I ever told her, just like she knows I wouldn’t do that to her.
“I guess,” I reply with a shrug.
“So you’re going to tell me?” she squeals. See what I mean, she thrives on this shit. There’s nothing funny about what I’m going to say. I know she’s going to be just as shocked as I was when he told me.
“Promise me this stays between us.” Although I know I don’t need to ask.
“Pinky promise,” she says holding her little finger up to me. Wrapping my little finger around hers we shake on it. I take a deep breath before I speak.
As I tell her everything Carter told me, her eyes almost bug out of her head. “No fucking way.” She’s gobsmacked. This is no pissy little thing. It’s huge.
“Yes way. See why I was hesitant in telling you?” Her mouth is still open. I’m sure I must’ve looked the same when Carter confessed it to me. It still upsets me that he had to go through that.
“He got paid to have sex?” she deadpans.
“Uh huh.”
“Fuck. He must be good. All the more reason you should jump his bones.” Her eyes drift up towards the ceiling and she breaks out into a smile. Oh. My. God. She’s thinking about his sexual skills, I know it. I reach out and slap her arm.
“You’re disgusting,” I laugh.
“So is that why you’re upset?” she asks rubbing her arm. Hello. Is she even listening?
“Yes and no.”
Meg reaches her hand out, putting it over mine. “You know what guys are like. They think with their dick not their brain, babe.”
“I blame his landlady, not him. He was only fifteen. She took advantage of him.”
“Does he see it that way?” Instead of answering, I shake my head. “Of course he wouldn’t. He was getting laid and getting paid. Show me one fifteen year old horny male that wouldn’t jump at that chance.”
“I suppose,” I reply. “But, I still think it’s disgusting.”
“Depends how old the landlady is. If she’s like eighty in the shade then that’s nasty.” We both laugh at her comment.
“She was in her thirties, he said,” I tell her in a disgusted tone as I roll my eyes.
“Pfff,” she says flicking her wrist. “I know plenty of people in their thirties that are still hot. This all happened before you even met him, so it shouldn’t really bother you.”
“Well that’s the thing. He promised me he wouldn’t go there again,” I confess.
“And he did? Is that where he was yesterday?” she asks, her eyes widening as she waits for my answer.
“I think so. He had some parts on hold at Mr. Gregory’s shop because he couldn’t afford them. Today, he had the money.”
“That’s doesn’t mean he got it from her. Maybe his mum gave it to him.” If it hadn’t been so much money, then that could’ve been a possibility.
“The parts were over a thousand dollars, Meg. His mum doesn’t work and I can’t see Mr. Shepard forking over that kind of cash. When I asked him where the money came from, he said that he’d come into some money yesterday, but didn’t elaborate. How is a seventeen year old going to earn over a thousand dollars in one day without, you know …?”
“Shit, if she paid him that much money just for sex, he must be fucking amazing in bed. Like, mind-blowing.” She’s probably right, but I have no plans of finding out. I need to stay as far away from Carter-friggin’-Reynolds as I can get. It’s going to be hard when I live next door to him, but if I want to protect my heart I don’t have a choice.
Carter
I sat up half the night waiting for her to come home, but she never did. By morning I’m fucking pissed off. Pissed I let my guard down with her. Pissed that she weirded out on me and I have no clue why. Pissed that she never came home.
I don’t even bother waiting to give her a lift to school. What’s the point? Even if she was home, after her performance yesterday afternoon she probably wouldn’t accept one anyway. Fuck her. Maybe it’s for the best if we go back to what we were. Nothing. This shit is too complicated. It hurts my fucking head.
During the day I see her a few times, but when she notices me she turns and walks in the other direction. It only serves to piss me off even more. At lunch she has Brad at her table again. It makes my blood boil.
When afternoon rolls around, I’m not surprised when she doesn’t turn up in the car park. On my drive home, I see her waiting at the bus stop. It tells me everything I need to know. I flip her off when I pass. The anger has worn off. It’s now replaced by hurt. I hate this feeling. It’s been a long time since I felt like this. Rejected.
I did plan to work on my car this afternoon, but I’ve even lost interest in that. Instead, I grab my sketchpad from under the passenger seat and go to my room. The first thing I do is close my blinds. I don’t need any reminders of Indiana. And I certainly don’t want to risk having to see her.
I sit on my bed with my back against the headboard. If I can lose myself in my drawing I won’t have time to think about her.
As soon as I open the cover I see the number Candice wrote in there. I’m tempted to call her. Maybe losing myself in some random pussy is exactly what I need. Indi has made it quite clear she’s not interested.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I decide to call her. “Candice speaking,” she says when she picks up.
“Hey Candice, it’s Carter. I was in there on Sunday—”
“Oh I know who you are. You have the kind of face a girl would never forget. Have you decided to take me up on my offer?” she purrs after cutting me off.
“Yeah. You still up for it?”
“Of course. Name the time and place and I’ll be there, handsome,” she says seductively.