Page 102 of Steeling Her
“Well, I think I know who did it? I asked for the security tapes and they told me I have to fill out a form to get them. I’ve taken pictures of my car—” he cuts me off in a rage now.
“Send me on those pictures right now, sweetheart!” I can hear him grinding down his molars while talking to me. I flick through my phone and send him one of the pictures that I took today. One after the other, I can hear him huff after each one. “Jesus Christ, honey, were you in the car when it happened? Or near the car? Are you okay?” He’s worried, and I can hear the defeated tone in his voice because he’s not here to handle it.
“No, I wasn’t in or near the car when it happened, Dad. I’m okay, just a little annoyed that it happened,” I assure him that I’m in one piece.
“You need to go to the cops about this, honey. They won’t get away with it. I’m not standing for that. I will make some calls too. To ensure they get the maximum punishment they can get . . . I’m sorry this happened, baby girl. I’ll come down and sort this all out for you.” I can hear him panting. I know he’s going home to tell my mom about this. I know they’re going to get on the next flight to come see if I’m okay.
“You don’t need to come down here, Dad, I’m fine. I just want it fixed so I want to move on from it” I tell him not to worry about coming down to see me or the car; it’ll just anger him even more.
“You said you think you know who did it? Can I ask if this the same girl who Jackson had a thing with?” he asks, still gritting his teeth, and I snap my eyes up to meet Nick’s. I bite my lip nervously. If I confirm that it is her, he’ll tell me to stay away from Nick. I can’t do that, I just can’t bring myself to stay away from him.
“Yes, it’s her. I spoke with her too—”
“You what?!? Carter, what did you say?” he bellows back, in disbelief that I spoke to Maya.
“I told her not to mess with me because I’m a Steel.” I grin at my feet and hear Nick laugh beside me. I can almost see my dad smiling through the phone like I know he is doing right now.
“You said that?” I chuckle at his proud tone.
I reply with a solid, “Yes, in so many words.” I roll my eyes back and smile at the sky.
“That’s my girl! I’m proud you stood up for yourself, Carter. I’m so proud of you, honey! But I’m coming down regardless of what you want. I’m sorting this shit out. Nobody does that to my baby girl—”
“Her dad’s a detective, just so you know,” I inform him of what Maya threatened me with. I know she wasn’t bluffing either, I could tell by her stone cold stare that she wasn’t lying about her dad being a detective.
“I don’t give a shit if her father is the top judge in the Supreme Court, Carter, she’ll get what’s coming to her. Was there anyone else involved?” he promises me, and I bite my lip at how protective he’s being over this. I love my dad with everything I’ve got because he’s done nothing but protect me since the day I came into this world.
“I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I think there’re two others involved, but the tapes will show them. When I bluffed and called them out on it, they looked guilty. I just need the security tapes, Dad—”
“I’ll handle that, honey, don’t you worry. I’ll call the dean right now and tell him to take control of this. This cannot be happening on school grounds, and it cannot happen to my daughter!” He’s assertive; he knows what he has to do to get the justice for me. “Has she been bothering you much, Carter?” he asks and I hear his door slam shut and the sound of an igniting engine.
“She’s been bothering the both of us. Any chance she gets, she does something to either me, Nick, or both of us. She just doesn’t take the hint . . .” I shrug and look back over to Nick, who is walking around the car, looking at different things, and taking the odd photo here and there of my beaten up car.
“Say no more, I’ll handle all of this. You get yourself down to the police station and press some charges. I’ll be there as soon as I can, honey,” he orders me to get on this right away, and I couldn’t agree more. I need to take a stand with this and with her. She needs to have herself put into place. I’m sure her father will love hearing about this.
“Okay, Dad. Thank you. I love you!” I smile down at my feet, thanking him for everything.
“I love you too, Carter. I’m going home to tell your mom about this. We’ll be on the next flight for you, okay? Hold tight!” I smile and thank him once more before hanging up and walking around the car myself. I scan the scratched-up paint job, dents, and smashed windows. My entire car is destroyed.
Poor Roxy.
I pat her hood then run my hand along the sheet metal.
“I’m sorry this happened, Carter.” Nick sighs around the other side of the car where I can’t see him. I briskly walk over to him and see him looking inside at the broken shards of glass acting as passengers in my car. Making eye contact with me, I smile up at him and rest my open palm on his cheek to show him it’s alright.
“You don’t need to apologize, Nick, it’s not your fault. How were you meant to know she was going to do this?” I gesture towards my car. He tries to speak again but I shake my head, stopping him. “Nick, seriously, listen to me. This is not your fault. I don’t blame you at all.” I cup my hands around his sharp jaw and neck, making him focus on me and not the car.
“Still, if it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have done it. I knew she was crazy, but I didn’t realize the extent of it.” He sighs, stepping forward so our foreheads meet each other. “I’m sorry this happened to you, Carter. You don’t need this added stress right now, especially after what happened to you. You don’t deserves this, and I don’t want your health deteriorating again. I can’t have that. I’ve only just got you back, I don’t want to lose you again. It drove me insane when you didn’t speak to me, and I was terrified that you weren’t going to get better. Out of all the girls I know”—I slightly flinch at that and he knows because his two hands meet my face—“there’s something about you, something that keeps pulling me back to you, and I don’t know what it is.” He chuckles.
I smile up at him, because that’s exactly how I feel about him. There’s something there between us, and neither of us know what it is or what it means. But it’s there, and it has been there since the day we met.
“I know what you mean.” I grin, biting hard on my lower lip because I don’t want to look clingy or weird. I lean in for another quick kiss that we’ve both quickly become accustomed to doing so freely with one another. We don’t hold back with each other because people know now. Haley knows, more importantly. Not the way I wanted her to find out, but she knows. “Would you mind bringing me to the police station? So I can report this?” He nods, wrapping his bulging large arms around me for a hug. I let him. He’s smells divine.My God, does he smell divine.
“Let’s go.” He takes my hand again and we start to walk back to the guys’ house so he can drive me to the station to press the charges and take my statement.
Despite what happened today, I feel really happy with him and his endless support.
Chapter Twenty-Three
