Chapter 15
Carter walked in and saw me lying on the bed. “You okay?”
I didn’t want to burden him anymore, so I sat up and tried to act like there was nothing wrong. I smiled as best I could. “I’m good. What’s up?”
Carter looked at me skeptically. I don’t think he bought my fake smile. “Dinner is almost ready, do you want to come down?”
“Sure, why not?” I said sarcastically. I got up and followed Carter to the kitchen. The table was set and Harrison looked like he was almost finished with dinner. “Can I do anything to help, Harrison?”
“Nope, everything is almost done. Why don’t you sit down and relax?” he replied.
Carter and I were the only ones so far and for that, I was glad. I reclaimed my chair and picked at the salad already on the table. The rest of the house came in a little while later and dinner was served. I usually loved Harrison’s cooking and he made what I requested, but I just didn’t have an appetite. Thinking about how Chase had been with other girls and was now bonded to one made my stomach queasy. At least he had the decency to not sit beside her tonight. I looked up, because no one was talking and everyone looked deep in thought, except her. She was looking around at everyone and seemed confused. “Why is everyone so quiet tonight? Did someone kick your puppy?” she asked.
No one really acknowledged her comment; they just continued to eat and contemplate. I wondered what everyone was thinking about, how the dynamic of the house would be once Chase was gone, or God forbid, she would move in here. Oh shit, what if they want to live here? There is no way I will live in this house with her. I honestly think I would kill her and that would hurt Chase and that is something I could never do. I was right before. I need to move back to my dorm and separate myself from the guys. It is the only way for my heart to survive.
“Bre!” Mason yelled.
“What?!” I yelled back.
“I have been calling your name for five minutes, are you okay?” Mason asked.
“Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about something. What did you ask me?” I replied.
“I just asked how the movie was, you were so excited about it,” Mason said.
“Oh, it was great! She is such a badass. I want to grow up to be just like her,” I said.
“Good Lord, you guys are pathetic,” Alexis said, even though no one was talking to her. “Sweet little Breanna looks upset and you guys baby her like she is a toddler. For heaven’s sake, she is Carter’s girlfriend, let him take care of her moodiness.”
I slammed my fork down and stood up, “Look, bitch, I kicked your ass once today and I have no problem doing it again. Back the hell off.” I stormed out of the room, as I seemed to be doing a lot lately. I walked to the door to head outside and overheard her innocently ask, “What did I say?”
I got outside to breathe in the fresh air, and noticed it was getting cooler at night. Soon, it would be Thanksgiving and my birthday. I hadn’t been home since I got to college and I needed to see my parents. Maybe being away from the guys for a little while would do me some good and give me some perspective. Bryce must have followed me out, because he came to me, grabbed my hand, and pulled me away from the house and into the shadows.
Once we were out of sight of any windows of the house, he took my other hand and turned us so we were facing each other. “Bre, I know this has been hard on you with Alex here. I plan on speaking to her tonight about leaving in the morning. She has done nothing but disrupt our lives since she got here. Just give me until tomorrow and I promise she will be gone.”
“You can’t do that, because she will take Chase with her. It is better if I leave so she can be here with Chase and you guys can stay together. I am the odd man out, not her,” I said.
“Just give me one more day and everything will work out, trust me. Do you trust me, Bre?” Bryce asks.
“Yes, of course I trust you, but I am not breaking you guys up. Out of everyone, Chase needs you guys the most. I will not take that away from him just because I can’t get along with his bonded.”
Bryce wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. I stiffened at first, because I needed to be pushing these guys away, not embracing them. But Bryce felt so good, I couldn’t help but relax into his arms. I breathed him in. This may be the last time I got to feel this close to him and I was going to enjoy every second of it. “Just give me one more day, please, Bre.”
“Okay, one more day. I have school tomorrow, so I won’t be here anyway.” We stayed like that for a few minutes more and then he walked me back into the house. I could really go for a movie night, but I didn’t want to be in the same room with her again, so I headed to the library to find a good book. Maybe that would get my mind off of everything. I grabbed one that I thought would be good, climbed up the stairs to Carter’s room, and found him there waiting for me.
“Hey. Sorry I stormed out of dinner tonight. I just can’t take her anymore. She is such a bitch,” I admitted to him.
“Don’t worry about it. I can’t take much more of her either. I don’t remember her being such a bitch before, but I guess people change. It just seems like she is trying to get you worked up. I really don’t know what her problem is. Did you find a book?” he asked.
“Yes. I really wanted a movie night, but I don’t want to be around her, so I thought a book was the next best thing.”
Carter took his shoes off and laid in the bed on top of the comforter. “Come here.” He patted the space beside him. I took off my shoes and got on the bed. He sat propped up on a couple of pillows against the headboard and spread his legs. He moved me in front of him so my back is to his front and pulled me back against him. “Just relax and read.” I reclined into him and he wrapped his arms around me. I opened the book and started to read. He was much more comfortable than the chaise in my room. The book was interesting, but I started to doze off after a few chapters.
“I’m going to change. I can barely keep my eyes open.” I grabbed my pajamas from the closet, and then changed in the bathroom. When I got out, Carter was already in his pajamas. He slept in just the bottoms and it was sexy as hell, especially when they were hanging low on his hips like they were now. He was not as large as Harrison, but he was cut, with a lean, muscular build. I could see a V shape above his hips before it disappeared into his sleeping pants. I longed to trace that V with my fingers to see if he would flinch.
He caught me looking and smirked. “Like what you see?”
“Mmm hmm,” I replied. Apparently I couldn’t even complete an entire word at the moment.
Carter chuckled, took my hand, and interlaced our fingers. “Come on, let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a better day and things are going to change. After tomorrow, you can do whatever you were thinking about just then.”
My entire face turned red and I looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean things will be different after tomorrow?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll see. Just get some sleep.” He helped me into bed and we laid facing each other. This was my nightly ritual with the guys and it was my favorite part of the day. I loved being here with Carter, but I missed my private time with the others. Oh, well. I guess I better get used to it, since I was leaving tomorrow and this wouldn’t be happening again.
I sighed and lifted my hand to his face. “You are beautiful, do you know that?”
“Bre, you are the most beautiful person I have ever met, inside and out. This is the best part of my day.”
I traced the side of his face lightly with my fingers. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
He took my hand and intertwined our fingers again. “Get some rest, my sweet. Tomorrow is another day.”
I closed my eyes and tried to have hope like Carter said, but it was hard. I was terrified of losing my guys, and I’d already lost one of them. I drifted off into a restless sleep, still holding Carter’s hand. At least I had one more night with him.
Alexis dialed the number and he answered, “Hello, Alexis.”
“Hello, Sir.”
“What do you have for me?”
“Not much. I haven’t seen her do anything out of the ordinary, except maybe during sparing. The guys are teaching her self-defense and I joined in,” Alexis said.
“I bet you did. You better not have hurt her,” he said.
“I didn’t. Exactly the opposite, she put me on my ass twice. I didn’t see her speak any spells, but I have a hard time believing that someone that little can hit that hard. Maybe she just got lucky.”
“Maybe. What else?”
“There isn’t much to tell. All she does is hang out with them and go to school. They told me that she is Carter’s girlfriend, but she is very close with all of them,” Alexis said.
“Well, that’s interesting.”
“Not really, they are all good-looking guys and any girl would want to be with them,” Alexis countered.
“Is that all?”
“Yes, and well, Bryce asked me to leave in the morning. It seems I have disrupted their little family. They are keeping her close and treating her like one of them and not a witch, or whatever she is. What is so special about her?” Alexis asked.
“Nothing for you to worry about. I am not pleased that you are not able to stay longer, but I think I got what I needed. Next time I ask something of you, refrain from opening your mouth and pissing everyone off like you tend to do.”
“Yes, sir, I will try harder next time.”
He ended the call and she dialed another number. “Hey sweetie, how are things going?”
“I just got off the phone updating him and wanted to let you know what was going on. I am leaving tomorrow morning. Apparently, I hurt the little girl’s feelings and Bryce told me I have to be gone by tomorrow,” Alexis said.
“Well, you do have a mouth on you,” he said.
“I thought that was one of the reasons you loved me?”
“Oh baby, it is, but it does tend to get you in trouble when you use it to speak,” he replied. “Any interesting information you can give me about her?”
“Not really, she is boring as hell. All she does is hang out at the house with the guys, work on self-defense, and go to school. I don’t understand why everyone is so interested in her, she doesn’t do anything,” Alexis answered. “Why are you both so interested in her?”
Ignoring her question, he said, “I need you to do something for me.”
“Sure, love, what do you need? And can I see you when I get back tomorrow?” Alexis asked.
“Sure, sure, come by after 11:00 tomorrow night, I should have a couple of hours. Now, what I need you to do before you leave is get her away from the guys in a private area on the property. Can you do that?”
“Maybe. They watch her like a hawk, so she is rarely alone; one of them is always with her. There is a large rock on the back of the property that she likes to hang out on, though. I might be able to get her out there in the morning. Will that work?”
“Yes, that will work perfectly. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” He then hung up.