Page 59 of Unhinged Love

That needs to stop. I need to face up to my shit. I need to be the kind of man Dad thinks I am, because that’s the kind of man Elliana deserves.

TWENTY-FOUR

Elliana

The hot watercascades over my skin as I wash the shampoo out of my long hair. Once the water runs clear, I take the conditioner bottle and squirt a healthy amount into my palm. I step out of the spray and massage the smooth liquid into the long strands when I feel the air shift in the bathroom.

A shiver runs down my spine as I realize I’m not alone. I quickly spin around, almost falling over my own two feet.

“Slow down. I don’t feel like scraping you off the shower floor.” I hear him chuckle a second before I see his blurry outline through the glass door.

“Get out!” I yell, trying my best to cover my chest and privates with my hands and arms.

“I’ve seen the good before, remember? No need to be shy now,” he says nonchalantly while peeling his clothes off.

He can’t be serious right now.

“Get out, Carter, I mean it!” I try again, but he continues to pull his shorts and underwear down his legs. He steps out of the pile of clothes and closer toward the shower.

“I swear I’m going to call your dad and tell him everything!” I threaten him as a last-ditch effort.

“No, you won’t,” Carter quips confidently, sliding the shower door open like he belongs here. Steam billows out of the stall and cool air washes over me. “You wouldn’t want to ruin our parent’s honeymoon like that. You’re a good girl. Always doing the right thing.”

I blink my eyes, staring at his bruised cheek and busted lip. “What the hell happened to your face?”

He doesn’t say anything at first. He just steps under the spray. I watch him grab hold of the liquid soap.

I cross my arms in front of my chest and lean against the cold shower wall. “What happened?” I ask again.

He shrugs his shoulder. “I guess you’re going to find out, regardless. I got into a fight.”

“Why?” Now genuinely curious.

“It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that they got what they deserved,” he says ominously.

“They?”

“Just hand me the washcloth,” he orders me, but I don’t make a move.

He rolls his eyes and reaches around me to grab the cloth.

“I already used that.”

“I know,” he snaps, before winking at me. He pours a healthy amount of soap onto the rag before lathering it over his muscular body.

My eyes wander to his abs, where I notice a large bruise forming on his side. “Seriously, who did you get into a fight with? Did you really fight two guys?”

“Just let it go,” Carter presses before going on to wash his short hair.

Why won’t he tell me?The only reason I can come up with is that I know who they are, or that it has something to do with me.Then something pops into my mind. No… he wouldn’t. Or would he…

“Did you fight those two jocks who were bothering me earlier?”

Carter closes his eyes and dips his head under the spray until the soap is washed out of his hair. When he leans his face away from the water, he asks, “What if I did?”

I can’t believe this guy. I stare at Carter in shock as I try to make sense of his actions. Does he really think suddenly playing my hero is going to make me forget everything he has done to me? Everything he put me through.

“Can you say something, at least?”

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