Page 20 of Carnival
“Earth to Rosalie,’’ she sighs. “Where did your mind go?”
I just shake my head. “Doesn’t matter. You didn’t find out anything, did you?”
Aria sighs. “No. The hot fella wasn’t very helpful. The only thing he did tell me was the spot of the terror house, but it’s heavily guarded by the cops, so that’s futile.’’
“It’s still worth checking out.’’
“I highly doubt a murder will take place there tonight, given the tight security.’’
I lift a shoulder, shrugging. “Who knows? Besides, I’m not here looking for a murder; I’m here looking for James.’’
Aria immediately freezes, her eyes narrowing at me. It takes me a moment to realize that I just fucked up, majorly, and Aria isn’t the one to let it slide. She grips my wrist and yanks me closer to her.
“Rosalie Grace Ashford,’’ she hisses, and I flinch. “How do you know his name?”
“I just… thought of it.’’
“You thought of it?”
“I just remembered that he told me two years ago that his name was James.’’ I try to play it off, but Aria’s not falling for it. The look on her face tells me enough — she’s pissed, and she won’t drop it until she gets answers out of me.
“Right,’’ she draws out. “And I’m the president of the United States. Cut the bullshit, Rose, and either tell me what’s going on or I’ll force answers out of you, and you know that my methods are less than pretty.’’
“You wouldn’t.’’
“Do you want to test it?”
Reluctantly, I shake my head and take a moment to gather my thoughts. I fiddle with my fingers on my lap, avoiding eye contact with her like the plague, and slowly begin telling herabout what happened last night. My voice is a hushed whisper, as if I’m scared of anyone else hearing me. Judgment is something I’m terrified of, especially when it comes to Aria.
But I know she’ll be able to tell if I miss out on any details, and aside from the dirty talk during the act, I tell her everything. From the moment I woke up to feeling him behind me in the room to the moment I woke up this morning, all cleaned up.
Once I’m done talking, I don’t dare look at her. Shame overwhelms me, and I feel like crawling into a hole and dying. Aria’s sharp intake of breath only fuels the embarrassment I’m already feeling, and like the coward that I am, I don’t offer any apologies.
“Let me get this straight.’’ Her voice is low, and the words are coming out of her mouth at a deliberately slow pace. “While I was trying to extract information on your birth parents and what the fuck is happening in this place, you were getting railed against the tree by the same criminal you’ve lost your virginity to?”
“Yes,’’ I whisper.
A harsh jolt causes me to flinch, and it takes me a few moments to realize that Aria whacked the back of my head, and she didn’t hold back. My eyes snap to hers, and I offer a sheepish smile, to which she responds with a slight narrowing of her eyes — clearly, she’s not impressed.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“I don’t know,’’ I admit, a small sigh slipping past my lips. “I don’t know why I let him do that.’’
“Did you at least enjoy it?”
Blush creeps up my neck, my cheeks dusted with a faint shade of pink. I look away, and the deep laughter from Aria only makes me blush even more. This entire situation is bizarre, and quite frankly, I’m still not positive it’s not a dream.
“Yeah,’’ I mumble. “I enjoyed it.’’
“Jesus Christ,’’ Aria breathes out. Then, she’s silent for a while, looking at my side profile, almost as if contemplating something. The way her brows crease and her lips part a little are her clear tells. “Tell me, Rose…’’
“Yes?” I blink, and Aria inches closer to me.
Our faces are mere centimeters apart, and her expression is blank, void of any emotions. Her eyes don’t falter, staring at me as if she’s trying to look right into my soul. Something about the way she’s staring makes me uneasy, and when a lazy smirk tugs on the corner of her lips, I’m caught off guard.
“Was it good?”
“Oh my God,’’ I groan. Aria laughs and stands up from the bench, walking over to the garbage can and tossing the candy wrappers and empty lemonade bottles into it before turning back.
