Page 54 of Rematch
Another wave of silence washed over us. Yet, she still didn’t move. She sat in it with me, bearing every uncomfortable feeling that came with it.
“Thank you,” she whispered after a while. “For driving me home.”
“Yeah. You’re welcome.”
She opened the door, climbed out, and gently closed it behind her.
I watched her walk up the short path towards her house, hoping she’d look over her shoulder and give me some indication she wasn’t upset - that she still had some faith in me. But, she didn’t.
She walked inside and slammed the door shut behind her.
Chapter 21
Audrey
“There you are!” Gianna exclaimed as she stepped into our usual hiding spot. “I’ve been looking for you all day!”
“I’ve been busy,” I replied, my voice as flat as I felt.
Gianna frowned as she observed my storm cloud floating over my head. “What’s wrong?” She asked, moving to sit beside me on the cot. “Is your dad alright?”
“Yeah, he’s fine.” I fixed my gaze on the floor. “What’s going on is actually pretty stupid compared to that.”
“It’s not stupid if it’s bothering you.”
Sighing, I gave her a concise play-by-play of my disastrous date last night.
With every word, her brow rose higher and higher.
“I know you’re not upset about two hot guys fighting over you,” she said once the story was over. “Hell, if I were you, I would’ve sat my ass down and grabbed some popcorn. Winner gets a little reverse cow-girl action.”
I rolled my eyes. Gianna didn’t completely understand because I’d left out the most important detail: Max pulling out a gun and damn near shooting Carter with it.
In that moment, all traces of the boy I used to know vanished and he became practically unrecognizable. It was like someone pulled shades over his brown eyes, darkening any light they oncepossessed. The glare on his face was cold enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine. It reminded me of the glimpses I’ve caught of his father in his moments of silent rage. The perpetual fire in his eyes turned blue, burning at the hottest temperature - and ready to take out anything in its path. Scared me to death seeing Max could possess that much anger too.
And watching Carter match his energy certainly wasn’t any better. Sure, he had every right to be upset considering Max attacked him. But the fact he felt so comfortable putting his hands on me, his fingers squeezing my arms so tight that it could’ve left bruises, made my stomach clench. That mixed with the attitude he’s been giving me lately made me think Carter wasn’t the man I thought he was.
“It was just a little too alpha-male-ish for me,” I told half the truth.
“Have you spoken to either of them since?”
I waved my hand in a side-ways motion.
Carter sent me a short string of messages not too long after Max dropped me off, upset and betrayed at the fact I’d left him hanging. When I left those on read, too tired and drunk to deal with it at the time, he followed up with another string, but with a softer, more apologetic tone. Rather than fussing about his feelings of being led on, he expressed concern about my well-being and wanted to know I was okay. After all, I did get into a car with my armed ex.
I kept my response short and told him I was fine. Since then, he’s sent me short messages here and there, but I haven’t had the mental energy to respond.
Max, on the other hand, hasn’t reached out at all. No texts. No phone calls. No pop-ups at my window. Nothing.
After being so vocal since our reunion, his silence was concerning.
“So, since you left with Max, does that mean you’re getting back together?” Gianna asked.
“What? No!” I replied quickly.
“Then, are you and Carter breaking up?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, hanging out with him is fun, but…” My shoulders deflated as I prepared to say the hard part out loud. “It was never going to last.”
