Page 23 of Even in the Dark

“Perfect.” I give him a sardonic smirk. “Then I’ll have extra.”

“For sure.”

“Also, guacamole, but on the side.”

“Anything else?” he asks sarcastically—not like he’s, you know, an actual server whose job is literally to take people’s food orders. No way I’m going to Jackie’s later, if this jerk’s going to be there.

“Yes. A side garden salad. Extra tomatoes.”

“No matter what tomato variety?” He arches a dark brow. “Or only if they’re some sort of rare organic striped, cone-shaped Himalayan variety?”

I hold his gaze for a beat. “I’m allergic to organic striped cone-shaped Himalayan tomatoes.”

The corner of his mouth curls up. “I’ll make sure to double-check, then. Wouldn’t want you having a reaction.”

“God, can you imagine?”

“The horror,” he deadpans, sliding the menu off the table with a twinkle of humor in his eyes. Then he turns and strides off to the kitchen, a few feet behind the counter.

I lean back in my chair. Jackie’s place might be a fun time, after all. I could spar like this for hours.

I syphon through my notes and get started on my paper. Ten minutes into it, my phone buzzes. A text from a number I don’t recognize.

Unknown

u around this wkd? Might come to Sandy Haven

I text back.

Scarlett

Who's this??

Unknown

Carter. From Lake Willowmere a couple summers ago

I suddenly feel sick to my stomach.Why is Carter Beaumont texting me?Bringing up the incident that almost got him dragged to court. An incident that happened over two years ago.

I swore I wouldn’t let that guy have any kind of effect on me if he ever contacted me again, and yet my insides are churning as wildly as they did that summer two years ago. My skin feels like it’s slowly heating up and my breaths are heavy and shaky. I don’t understand. Why is he doing this? Why now?Why at all?

I stare blankly at my phone, and I swear, it’s like I’m there—relaxed and sprawled on my back, the wood of the dock rough and warm beneath my skin. Carter stretched out above me, one golden palm sliding up my stomach, fingers dipping beneath thestring tied at the front of my bikini top, the other clutching his cellphone…. That crooked smile I thought was the nucleus of everything that summer… The aroused glint in his eyes, and the gentle brush against my skin as the flimsy scrap of fabric slid down my ribs and fluttered to the dock. The red flashing circle on his screen I dismissed because the only thing in focus in that moment was his gaze on my body and the desire it reflected for me—a gangly grade nine nobody. When Carter was everything I thought was unattainable for someone like me. He was cool, and a revered wide receiver and the dreamiest guy I’d ever laid eyes on. The fact that he was from a different town and another school only made him more exotic in my eyes—even more out of my league. But he wantedme.And I was such a wide-eyed lamb, and he was such a cunning wolf, the whole thing was destined to evolve into either an eye-rolling cliché or a gut wrenching “should have seen it coming” finale.

Suddenly, I’m furious. Why am I letting a text from this guy affect me like this?Idecide if and when to unlock those corrosive memories—not him. I am not that same naïve, pliable girl from freshman year. And if Carter thinks he can still mess with me, he is in for a shock. Just the idea of him presuming he’s still stronger or more worldly or superior to me makes my blood boil. As far as he’s concerned, he is nothing to me. Just like that summer was nothing. My biggest wish is for him to know that what he did hasn’t affected me one bit. I go out to parties and have a blast, have a gorgeous, popular boyfriend. I am on top of the world, and he didn’t so much as graze my self-esteem. It would be satisfying to know that if he trolled my Insta account, he at least saw all the photos—physical proof of how little that summer affected me. I text back:

Scarlett

Carter Clarke?

There is no Carter Clarke. I want him to think he had such a minimal impact on me that hearing from a Carter in relation to Lake Willowmere doesn’t immediately conjure up memories of him and what he did to me. That there might be another “Carter” who I associate just as equally with Lake Willowmere.

Unknown

r u serious rn?

Scarlett

Yes why?

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