Page 28 of Sinful as They Come
“I dunno.” I groaned loudly. “But the last thing you should be doing is getting involved in their fucking stupid, high school drama.”
“Holly deserves to know. Do you think she knows?”
“If he’s fucking her friends, they probably haven’t told her. Maybe they get off on it. Carter too. Can we please stop talking about that asshole? They’ll probably break up when school is over with and never see each other again. Then she’s all yours. That make you feel better?” The light turned green and I happily hit the accelerator, thankful to put Highland Park behind me.
“I don’t like her,” mumbled Brodie. “I just think she deserves someone nicer.”
I rolled my eyes. Holly deserved whatever was coming to her.
Chapter 8
HOLLY
I was too scared to see Carter on Saturday. He needed more time to cool off and I didn’t want to upset him all over again.
My Friday night was restless and I barely got any sleep. Not just because of Carter, but because of Sawyer’s nonsense as well. He just tore up that money like it was nothing. He thought I was doing it to be mean. Like I was being patronizing or something. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Either way, I just wanted to see my boyfriend. But I knew he needed time to calm down. He didn’t call me all day on Saturday, but maybe he was waiting for me to make the first move. I had spent the entire morning all anxious and flighty and had ended up dragging Annie to the spa so we could get facials and manicures and massages in the hopes that I’d leave feeling calmer and less uneasy, but none of that had seemed to help.
That was why I waited until Sunday to talk to him. I was standing outside of Carter’s home with butterflies in my stomach, and I hated that they didn’t feel like the good kind. The kind he used to give me when we first got together.
In my hands was a shopping bag. I brought a bunch of snacks for us. We’d watch movies and then maybe get pizza for dinner before we handled the upcoming school week like it was meant to be: with Carter and I walking hand in hand in the hallways.
I knocked on his door, a bright smile on my face when I saw his motheropen up. “Hi Mrs. Henderson.” I nodded once. “How are you?”
“Oh, Holly. Carter didn’t tell me you were coming over,” she muttered. She looked over her shoulder, her sleek blonde hair moving with her. That was where Carter got his shining locks from. “Are you here to see him?”
“Is that okay? I brought snacks.” I held up the bag.
“Snacks?” she repeated, narrowing her blue eyes. “Let me see if he wants to see you.”
My smiled faded at that. It seemed like Carter told her about our fight. He told his parents about all of our fights. They liked to know our business and they knew more about us than I was comfortable with.
But at least they were interested in me. Even if it got a little intense sometimes. I stood there, more than uncomfortable as Carter’s mother – Violet – practically shut the door in my face. I was left out there at the front, alone with my bag of snacks. She must have only been gone for a couple minutes or so, but it truly felt like an hour had gone by before she opened the door back up again.
“Carter’s in his room. You can head on up.” She nodded to the stairs.
“Thank you, Mrs. Henderson.” I sent her a nod and practically scurried up the stairs. I knew exactly where to go as I moved down the hallway, noting all the photos of Carter, Violet, and his father. The glorious photos had me smiling brightly. I was so ready to fall back into Carter’s arms and forget all about our stupid fight. He’d say sorry. And I would forgive him. And then we’d move on.
Carter’s door was locked as I stepped in front of it. I knocked, unable to hide the smile on my face when I heard his voice from the other side, telling me to come in. I pushed the heavy door open in a hurry, greeted with the sight of my boyfriend laying down on his king size bed. His hands were behind his head, his eyes stuck on his TV. He was watching football.
“Hi,” I said softly, shutting his door behind me.
Carter sighed loudly. “Hey.”
“Are we… Are we gonna talk about the other night?” I looked down at the expensive, hardwood floor.
“The other night? Not sure what you mean.”
It was my turn to sigh. “Carter. Please.”
“You can’t even look at me, Holly.”
“I don’t want you to be mad at me…” For a second, I found myself sounding utterly pathetic. But I just didn’t want Carter to be angry with me, and I couldn’t stand to see any more fury in his eyes. “I don’t want to fight again.”
“You think I like fighting with you? You think I enjoy that?” he asked with a grunt. “I was mad that night, and you couldn’t take a hint.”
“I was just trying to comfort you.” I finally looked up at him, hoping that I would see some form of sympathy on his face. But all I saw was frustration. “I knew you were upset, because everyone was focusing on Lucas, but—”
