Page 148 of The Dollhouse

Wyatt looked down, shaking his head a few times. “I don’t know what to say, man. I just… I thought she liked me. I thought, hey, it’s a little weird she’s got other boyfriends, but I liked her back anyways. I feel stupid, and—and I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this. We aren’t friends. I don’t know you.”

“I get it. It’s going to take time, but everything will be okay. Things’ll work out exactly how they’re supposed to.” I took a step forward, lowering my voice to a bare whisper to add, “And if you decide you want to talk to Zoey, hear her out, I’m sure that would make her really happy. She wants to talk to you, but I totally get it if you’re not ready for that.” I paused. “If you decide you’re ready this weekend, though, you could swing by the house. I’ll be there. I can hold Roman and Carter back while you do.”

He said nothing, not that I expected him to. There was still so much left to say to him, but my words didn’t mean much. I might feel like I knew the guy, but we were strangers all the same. It didn’t matter how much I’d heard about him from Zoey.

“All right,” I said, stepping away from him when he continued to say nothing, “I’ll leave you alone now. But think about it, okay?” I gave him a smile before turning and walking away, and as I walked away, I wasn’t sure if I accomplished anything there. Probably not, but at least I’d tried. For Zoey.

She’d be pissed if she found out I’d gone to talk to Wyatt without her, so I didn’t plan on telling her. I figured it would either help out or not change things at all. If my words could help Wyatt see that this wasn’t about him, that it was about Zoey and how her family had screwed her over and not anything he’d done wrong, then I’d consider it a good talk.

I finished my coffee during the walk back to my car, and thank goodness no ticket waited for me on the windshield. Within a few minutes, I was on the road, driving to the house. I hadn’t told Zoey that I was coming, and with everything winding down, I wasn’t sure if she was in class right now or not. I knew she’d skipped Monday’s classes, but as for the rest of the days, I had no clue. Guess I’d find out.She hadn’t really been too talkative during our phone calls lately.

If she wasn’t home, that meant I’d be welcomed by Roman and Carter, my two least favorite people on this earth.

Okay, okay, that was an exaggeration, mostly because I was more okay with them now than I was months ago. And the last time I’d come up to Hillcrest had been interesting, to say the least, so I couldn’t keep saying how weird it was when this was my new normal.

I pulled into the driveway, parking beside Roman’s car. Though the house had an expansive garage, it was like he never used it. Strange. Maybe people with money liked having everything on display, including their vehicles. I didn’t know. I wasn’t one of those people who had more money than they knew what to do with. I worked hard for mine, and we never had much growing up. We weren’t a family that went on vacations every year, and for Christmas, we’d get maybe three or four presents, but nothing huge.

I got out, grabbed my bag from the back, and headed to the front door, hitting the doorbell. I didn’t text Zoey, mostly because I wanted it to be a surprise. If she was here, she’d get surprised now, and if she was in class, she’d be in for a surprise later, providing Roman and Carter didn’t spill the beans.

The person who opened the door for me was Carter, and he scowled down at me, as if seeing me there was the last thing he’d wanted. “Go away,” he harrumphed, and then he shut the door in my face.

I was so stunned, I could only blink, but eventually I worked up the nerve to ring the doorbell again. And, surprise surprise, Carter answered it once more. Before he had the chance to say anything—and also before he was able to close the door again—I said, “I’m here to surprise Zoey. Please don’t shut the door on me again.”

Carter rolled his eyes and let me in, even though he didn’t want to. He was… well, hot and cold. That was the best way to describe him when it came to me. It seemed he had no problems sharing Zoey when we were all naked, but when clothes were on, he hated me.

But, you know, I was choosing to see it as the type of hatred an older brother held toward his youngest. There might be years between them, and the younger one might annoy the crap out of the older one by just being alive, but there was still some kind of affection.

A weird analogy, since we were both with the same girl, but you know what I meant.

I walked inside, not knowing what to do or where to go. I ended up dropping my bag of clothes near the base of the stairwell, following Carter into the kitchen, where Roman paced the length of the room, on the phone. His dark eyes flicked to me for only a few moments before he turned his back to me and started pacing the other way.

Carter went to the fridge, opening it and getting something out. I spoke up, “I could go for some water—” I watched Carter shut the fridge without saying a single word, and without getting me anything from it. He’d gotten himself a snack of cubed cheese. “That’s okay,” I added, “I can get it myself.”

“Yeah, you can,” Carter grumbled. “You got two fucking hands.” He slid onto a barstool near the island, glaring at me. “What the fuck are you doing here, anyway? The party ain’t till Saturday.”

“I came early to surprise Zoey,” I repeated. “I take it she’s in class?”

He nodded, shoving the cheese cubes into his mouth. I would’ve laughed at the ferocity of it all, but since it was Carter, I knew he was liable to punch me for laughing at him, so I kept it in. “Since she’s got to show around some girl afterward, she figured it was best not to completely drop out of her classes yet.”

I slipped into the stool beside Carter’s. “So, what do you guys do when you’re cooped up in here?”

“We clean our guns a lot” was Carter’s answer. I honestly didn’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t that, and hearing about their guns made me quiet for a while.

Because I was not talking, I could overhear Roman speaking on the phone: “I can pay for the waiters. I already have the pole, it’s being delivered tomorrow. We’ll get the house set up for Saturday no problem.” He paused, listening to whoever was on the other line. “Ah, I see. That’s fine. We can run out today and grab some.”

“Who’s he talking to?” I asked Carter.

“Markus Scott, the man who apparently knows everyone in Hillcrest and Midpark.” Carter grumbled out, “He’s the one who Richie knew out here.”

I nodded. I knew who he was. Zoey had told me all about him. She’d mentioned he was the one who’d sent the doctor out with that Lincoln guy back when Zoey got shot. I didn’t like thinking about that time, for obvious reasons. Knowing Zoey was put in danger merely because she was with Roman and Carter made me upset. Not like there was anything I could do about it, though, since she loved them.

“He’s helping us with this thing on Saturday,” Carter muttered. “I’m sure Zoey told you all about that.” He was finished with his cheese snack now, and he ran his hand through his hair, letting out a sigh. “Should be interesting, considering who’s all coming.”

Ah, yeah. Zoey had told me about that, too. I managed a smile. “Yeah, I hear it’s going to be something crazy.”

Before Carter could say anything else, Roman got off the phone, walking towards us with a dark expression on his face. AKA his usual look. He wore a sleek suit today, all black. He looked like a villain who’d stepped out of a comic book, impossibly put-together and ready to wreak havoc on anyone who dared to cross him.

“What’s the word? Please say it’s not the bird,” I quipped, chuckling to myself. But Roman and Carter simply stared at me like I was nuts. Clearly they didn’t watch Family Guy. Okay. Moving on.

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