CHAPTER 3
DELLA
When I turn around and see Rhett and Carter taking a seat in my section, I just know that the rest of my day is going to be bad.
For a second I contemplate asking Maggie to help them, but then I suck it up and walk over to them. If I don’t face them now, then they’ll just keep coming back.
I feel awful for the way I behaved last night. My eyes take in everything about Carter as I weave through the tables, to where they are seated in the corner.
I feel the same twinge of disappointment I felt the night before. This time it’s because I treated him unfairly. I’m not that kind of person. I’d like to think that I’m not judgmental, but after my behavior, I need to take a good look at myself.
When I reach the table, Carter doesn’t bother to look up from the menu.
“Can I get you something to drink?” I ask.
Rhett grins and leans on the table with his elbows while wagging his eyebrows at me. “I’d like a tall glass of you.”
I ignore him and glance at Carter. When he still doesn’t look up, I just go for it. “I’m sorry about last night.”
He drops the menu to the table, leans back in the chair, and gives me a harsh glare. I start to doodle on my notepad, feeling uncomfortable under his intense stare.
“On second thought,” he says as he slides out of the booth. I have to look up to keep eye contact. “I’ve just lost my appetite.”
The look on his face is one of disgust, and it actually hurts knowing it’s because of me.
“You’re just going to give up on the bet?” Rhett asks. His tone is light and playful, and in total contrast to the tension between Carter and me.
Carter’s eyes never leave mine as he takes a step closer to me. I hold my ground, determined to not show him how intimidated I really feel by him. He leans in really close and for one blinding moment I actually think that he’s going to kiss me. My heart starts to slam wildly against my ribs, and my stomach is engulfed by a wave of nervous excitement.
Instead of kissing me, he sniffs at me. I suck in a shaky breath as he pulls back.
“Smells like shit to me.” His words are cruel and each one stabs at my sense of worth. I can’t believe he just said that to me. Now I understand what Evie meant when she said Carter is heartless. He’s not just cruel but an asshole as well. I know I shouldn’t let him get to me, but damn, it’s hard.
I drop my eyes from him and turn back to Rhett. Yeah, I’d rather face Rhett and all his flirting than the hatred I just saw on Carter’s face.
“What can I get you, Rhett?” I ask as I fight to keep control of my emotions.
I shouldn’t let Carter upset me. Hell, I’m not even sure why his words hurt so much. I’ve never cared before what people think of me. Besides, it’s not like he actually means anything to me.
“Yeah, babe,” Rhett says, and this time there’s no playful tone. He actually sounds sorry for me. “Let me have a burger and fries.”
“And to drink?” I keep my eyes on my notepad as I write the order down, thankful that I have a reason to not look at them.
“Just water.”
I walk away, fighting the urge to glance one last time at Carter. I need a moment to catch my breath.
***
It’s been a long day. Everything went wrong. My truck wouldn’t start this morning, then there was the thing with Carter. At least, Rhett didn’t give me any trouble when I brought his order to him. I even spilled a shake on a customer. Like I said, it’s been a long day.
Even though it’s past midnight, it’s humid which makes the walk home torturously long.
I’m halfway home when I hear music coming from a nearby house. As I get closer to the house where it’s coming from, I notice a bunch of cars parked in the driveway and on the pavement. It looks like someone’s having a party. It’s a wonder no one has complained to the cops, yet.
Most of the houses and apartments in this area are occupied by students.
I’m busy walking by the house when I hear some guy say, “Check it out.”
I don’t glance back but instead walk a little faster, not sure if they’re talking about me or something else.
I become hyper-aware of the footsteps behind me. Dammit, this is the last thing I need.
Someone grabs hold of my arm, swinging me around. My eyes dart over two guys as my breathing speeds up.
“What’s the hurry? Come hang with us,” the one holding my arm slurs.
Just great! Drunk jerks.
Panic starts to swirl in my chest when I realize how serious my situation is right now. I’m practically alone in the dark with two guys who have clearly had too much to drink.
I try to pull my arm free, not wanting to piss the guy off. When he tightens his hold on my arms, I calmly say, “I’m heading home. Just two houses away. I have people waiting for me.” I hope they fall for the lie.
The guy chuckles darkly, then looks at his friend. “You hear that? She has people waiting for her. How stupid do you think we are?”
“The jump from your ego to your IQ would be suicidal,” I snap, yanking my arm free.
The guy makes a grab for my arm again, and I just react. I bring my knee up and it connects hard with his groin. The force is enough to make him stagger back with a cry of pain.
I dart around and make a run for it while the one guy is clutching his crushed balls. At least, I hope I crushed them.
“Get the bitch!” The guy yells.
When I hear their footsteps slamming against the road as they come after me, fear explodes in my chest. I push my legs as hard as I possibly can, but their thundering steps keep getting closer.
My chest starts to ache with every breath I take. Panic clamps down on my lungs until all the air is squeezed from them and I can’t suck in another breath.
Dark thoughts roll over me in sickening waves.
This is not happening to me.
I swallow back the bile pushing up my throat and try to suck in a painful breath. Digging my nails deeper into my sweaty palms, I focus on every step that brings me closer to home. I need to get away from their perverted clutches.
I can feel them right behind me, and it makes the panic and fear spike sharply in my chest. I’m not going down without a fight. I struggle to get my next breath into my burning lungs, to stay calm for another few precious minutes.
My vision tunnels on the road in front of me.
Keep your shit together, Della. Almost, babe, you’re almost there.
You can make it.
I want to sag down to the floor and just curl into a ball. My lungs are burning something fierce. But I can’t stop running because that will mean that I’m giving up, and I’m not a quitter.
Suddenly, a car swerves in front of me, coming to a screeching halt half over the pavement.
My stomach sinks heavily as it blocks my way. When I swerve to run around the back of it, one of the guys catches up to me. His fingers dig into my arm, yanking my body back.
As I lose my balance and slam against the guy, I want to scream for help, but there’s nothing but my terrified breaths escaping my lips.
I fight to get my balance back and wrench my arm free from his grip. As I turn to run, I slam hard into something. Arms come around me, and I finally find my voice. I let out a frightened shriek, hoping the occupants of one of the nearby houses will come to my rescue.
The person takes hold of my chin, but I rip my face away. “Let go of me!”
His arm tightens around me, and this time when he takes hold of my chin, there’s no pulling away. He nudges my face up until our eyes meet. The second I see that it’s Carter my blood runs cold.
Is all of this because of the fight last night? No one can possibly be that cruel?
“Are you okay?” he asks, but the words don’t register through all the fear. I push against his chest, trying to get free.
“Della,” he snaps, and I instantly freeze. “Fuck,” he hisses, then I’m shoved into another pair of arms. “Hold her while I deal with these fuckers.”
My eyes are wide and watering. When I look up at Rhett, I almost start to cry.
“Let me take her,” a gentler voice says. My head snaps toward it and when I see that it’s Logan, I actually feel a flicker of relief. Logan doesn’t look like the kind of man who will hurt someone, especially not a woman.
He pulls me away from Rhett, and I willingly go, hoping I’m not wrong about him.
“Come on, man.” One of the guys that were chasing me whines. “We saw her first.”
When I hear the same guy grunt, I glance over my shoulder. Carter, Marcus, Rhett and Jaxson circle the two guys. I see the moment the guys realize that they’re in trouble.
Carter throws a punch, slamming his fist against the jaw of the guy that grabbed me.
Only then do I start to understand what’s happening. The guys stopped to help me.
Logan turns me away from the group as they start to beat the two assholes.
“You don’t want to see this. Get in the car,” Logan says.
“They’re not your friends?” I ask, needing to make sure that I’m not in trouble anymore.
“We don’t associate with trash,” Logan grinds out as he opens the backdoor.
I slide inside with Logan following behind me. When he pulls me into his arms, I curl up against him, glad to finally be safe. My heart is still beating wildly and I feel dizzy from the fright.
I focus on my breathing as the sounds of grunts and punches fill the night.
When the other men get back into the car, things get really awkward. There’s not enough space in the back for four of us. Rhett slips in on my right side. When he pulls me onto his lap, I almost start to fight. But then I see his bloody knuckles, and I let him hold me. He won’t hurt me after fighting for me. At least I hope he won’t.
“You okay, babe?” His voice is like a cold shower on my overheating brain.
I drop my chin to my chest so they won’t be able to see the lingering fear and embarrassment on my face.
Rhett surprises me by placing a kiss to my hair as he pulls me against his chest. His arms circle me protectively and he holds me tightly.
He just holds me. There are no perverted remarks. No flirting.
Gosh, I need this so much. It’s like a soothing balm on my frail nerves.
When they park in front of my apartment block, I hear Carter ask, “Why the fuck were you walking the streets in the middle of the night?”
Logan gets out first. I start to move, but Rhett slides out of the car, taking me with him. He keeps an arm around me for which I’m thankful. Maybe he’ll keep Carter from killing me.
I glance up, but when I see the anger on Carter’s face, I quickly look away.
Wrapping my arms around my waist, I whisper, “My truck wouldn’t start this morning.”
“So you decide to go for a fucking midnight stroll and endanger yourself?” he grinds the words out.
The shock of the night starts to wear off, and I scowl at Carter.
“I can’t fucking fly, asshole!”
Anger rips through me, and I yank away from Rhett. I start to walk away, but my anger gets the better of me.
“What is it to you anyway?” I say, my voice dangerously close to sounding hysterical.
He stalks towards me, his long legs making quick work of the short distance between us.
The sudden close proximity of his body makes my pulse rate spike. Confusion swirls in my mind and I feel like a bug, ass-splatting against a windshield.
Rhett again surprises me when he steps in front of me, shielding me from Carter with his body.
“You need to calm down. She’s had a hell of a night. I’m taking her up.”
Rhett takes hold of my hand and pulls me away from Carter. I feel like a zombie as I trail behind him.
When we get to my apartment, he holds out his hand to me. “Give me the key, babe.”
I start to dig in my bag, and when I find them, I hand it over with a trembling hand.
A headache is starting to pulse right behind my eyes.
Rhett opens the door and lets me walk in first. It’s quiet in the apartment. I’m not sure if the other girls are home.
I walk into the kitchen and get myself a bottle of water and some aspirin. Only when I’ve swallowed it down, do I see that the guys have all come inside.
“What’s wrong with your truck?” Jaxson suddenly asks, catching me a little off guard with his question.
I clear my throat and take a breath before answering him. “It just makes this whining sound when I turn the key.”
“Give me the keys and I’ll take a look at it for you.”
I force a smile to my numb face as I take the key from my keychain. When I hand it to Jaxson, I whisper, “Thank you.”
“Are you going to be okay?” Logan asks.
Damn, the twins are turning out to be amazing guys. Even Rhett, if I have to be honest with myself. Marcus hasn’t said anything yet. I’m thankful for that. The last thing I have strength for is some wiseass comment about the stupid bet.
“I’m fine,” I say, trying to force one last smile to my face. I just need a shower and sleep.
I watch Marcus, Logan, and Jaxson leave. Rhett places his arm around my shoulders and gives me a sideways hug. “Try to get some rest, babe.”
I nod, suddenly feeling the sting of tears behind my eyes. I never expected Rhett to be so nice. It seems I’ve been wrong about them all. They must think I’m such a bitch.
When Rhett notices that Carter isn’t leaving, he stops.
“I’ll be fine,” I whisper, not wanting to prolong this night any longer than I have to.
Carter watches until Rhett is out of the apartment before he turns back to me.
“Why were you out so late?” he asks again.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I was coming back from work.”
“You couldn’t get a ride with someone?”
I shake my head, not ready to explain that I don’t have a someone to ask favors of.
“Give me your phone,” he whispers, the bite now gone from his voice.
I give him a cautious look, not trusting the peace for one second.
“Just give me your fucking phone,” he bites out.
I scowl at him as I pull my mobile from my bag. Reluctantly, I hand it over.
I watch him punch in his number as he growls, “You’re fucking stubborn.”
He hands the phone back to me. “Don’t ever walk at night again. Phone me and I’ll come get you.”
My scowl turns to a what-the-hell look. Did I bump my head and now I’m hallucinating? Maybe it’s the shock that’s making me see and hear things?
“Don’t give me that look,” he says as he starts to walk towards the door. “Lock it behind me and get your ass in bed.”
I do what he says, locking the door behind him. Then I just stare at it, trying to figure out what the hell happened tonight.
***
CARTER
Fuck, that woman has a death wish.
What angers me most is that it happened down the street from our house. If we weren’t driving back from visiting with Mia, we wouldn’t have been there to help her.
A chill ripples down my spine at the thought of what could’ve happened. Della is Evie’s roommate. That’s the only reason I’m upset, because I know how upset Evie will be.
I’m going to make sure those two fuckers get kicked out of UNC. No woman is safe as long as they’re around.
We’re all quiet on the way home. Once I’ve parked the car, we head inside. I go straight to my room. Before I can close the door behind me, Jaxson says, “I’ll fix her truck tomorrow.”
I want to bite out that I don’t care if they set the fucking truck on fire, but the fact that it’s a lie keeps the words from spilling over my lips.
“Thanks,” I whisper instead.
I shut my bedroom door and yank my shirt over my head. I’m just about to head to the shower when Rhett comes in.
“It’s late,” I snap.
“It’s late,” the fucker mimics me, pulling his face like a damn toddler. He falls on my bed. “Why are you such a bastard to her?”
I glare at him, but I should know by now that it won’t intimidate Rhett.
“You’re like a turd that won’t come out. Fucking annoying man,” I snap at him.
He sits up, a serious look on his face, which is rare.
“And you’re so fucking stuck up, dude. Do you have a ruler rammed up your ass? Cause I’ll pull it out and beat you with it.”
“You and what fucking army,” I say, knowing we’re both just pissing in the wind. We’ll never get violent with each other.
Rhett gets up from the bed and comes to stand in front of me. “All jokes aside, you need to ease up on her.”
“I wouldn’t want to disappoint little miss high and mighty.”
“What are you talking about?” He frowns at me.
“When I took Evie home, Della assumed that it was who had hit Evie.”
“Oh,” he says, rubbing his hand over his day old beard. “Is that why she apologized earlier?”
“Yeah.”
“And you’re not going to let it go?”
“No.”
“Why?” he asks.
“Why fucking not?” I snap back.
“Look,” Rhett says as he starts to walk towards the door. “I get that you have to follow in your old man’s footsteps but that doesn’t mean you have to be a dick like him. “
Rhett closes the door behind him.
Only when I’m in the shower do I think about what he said. All my life Dad has lectured me on how I should behave. It got really bad after his first heart attack. It’s as if he switched over to panic mode, scared he won’t be around to make sure I become the man he wants me to be.
I know he loves me. He only wants the best for me. My mother split before I was out of diapers. My old man raised me while running a billion-dollar empire. He could’ve passed me off on a nanny, but he didn’t. Until I was old enough to stay at home alone, I was either at school or at the office with him.
He worked his ass off to make sure I would always be taken care of. Fuck, he even paid for this house so we could all live together. He’s paying for all of our studies, giving me three years of being with the guys before I have to join Dad in New York. He didn’t have to do that. He could’ve stuck me in a college near him. Hell, he could’ve forced me to start working right out of school. I owe him a lot. I can’t let him down.
I know Rhett is right. I’m becoming just like my father.
I’ll ease up on Della but I’m sure as hell not going to kiss her ass.