Page 65 of Steeling Her
“Carter?” Danielle snaps her finger in my face and I whip my eyes around to see all eyes on me.
“Huh?” I ask, embarrassed. I must have zoned out for the rest of the movie.
“You alright? You look a little pale?” I nod to say yes, although I’m feeling really uneasy. It could be the nerves trying to answer back what’s on my phone.Yeah, that’s probably it.
“Yeah. I’m fine, I don’t think the pizza is agreeing with me, that’s all. I’m good.” I smile back at her, but her quirk of the eyebrow shows she’s not buying it.
“Bullshit! What’s wrong?” Danielle asks and Haley stands up from the sofa to get a better look at me. I sigh loudly and give her my phone. Haley runs beside her to look for herself.
“Ryan asked you out?” Danielle asks as she looks at my screen.
“He what?!” I wince after hearing Nick’s voice for the first time since the car today. He sounds annoyed. Very annoyed.Why? He’s probably banged another girl, why can’t I have a guy ask me out?“You’re not going out with him,” he declares, and that really annoyed me.
He can’t do that. He doesn’t get to do that. He doesn’t get to ignore me, allowing those girls flirt with him all day, and then when someone asks me out he answers for me. No, he’s in the wrong. That’s not fair.
“Actually, I am.” I grab the phone from Danielle and type my reply to say I would like to meet up sometime and do something fun. I make sure not to call it a date.
“What?” he asks, sounding a little hurt, and my eyes reach his as they’re standing over me. I see it in his eyes. Hurt, then he masks it with anger. “Your choice. Have fun on your date. He’s a piece of shit.” He walks off, leaving everyone stunned in silence while the credits roll. I watch the door snap back until it clicks.
“What’s up his ass?” Haley mutters but slides back onto the sofa with TJ. I look to Danielle for help.Do I go after him? Or do I leave him? Why is he so against Ryan?I flump back against the sofa, not feeling good at all now.
Ryan: Perfect! I’ll pick you up tomorrow at your dorm? Let’s say 7pm? xx
Me: Sure, see you then!
Guilt sets in.Did I do the right thing?I thought he was over what happened between us last night. That’s why he ignored me for the entire day. No, that has to be the reason. He got to me and now he’s moving on to his next conquest. I thought it was different between us. Clearly, I was too naive.Why would I be the girl to change him?
“There’s a party tomorrow in one of the guys’ house, you guys game?” TJ asks, reading the message on his phone.
Haley yells, “Hell yeah, we’re game!” She hoots for added effect.
“I have a date tomorrow,” I whisper lowly.Why did he react so badly if he’s done with me?I can’t get his face out of my head.Did I make a rash decision?
“Ryan’s going, he’ll probably take you with him.” I catch TJ’s eyes and see some sadness in them.Does he know something I don’t? What was that look for?I nod back, trying to get the awkward attention off me.
Later that night, we’re all in bed and the three of us are cuddled up to each other. It’s a cold night. Well, it is for me. The others don’t think it’s too bad. I’m in a large hoody trying to keep myself warm. Usually at nighttime, I can’t keep myself warm. I don’t know what it is about me. Both girls are glued to their phones, giggling every so often.
“Ugh! Look at what Maya is wearing here.” Danielle shows me and Haley her phone. She’s in a short red dress—a very short red dress. My heart sinks seeing who liked it.Nick.People are tagging him in the comments and I feel so upset.
Those rumors were right. He does always go back to her. I should’ve known better. They’re more suited to each other anyway. She’s stunning while I’m so plain. She has tons of friends while I only have a handful. She immediately gets attention when entering a room while I fade into the background. We’re so different. Why did he even bother last night.
I feel the tears prick in my eyes. I refuse to cry over him. I refuse to do that. They deserve each other.
“Ugh. She’s so annoying. Yeah, she’s hot, but she’s so annoying!” Haley rolls her eyes at the picture. “My brother, of course, liked it . . . What an idiot. He always goes back to her.” Her eyes focus back on her phone and I feel a shiver up my spine. I’m pretty much trying to stop my body from vibrating. I pull another blanket up my body to keep some warmth in me, any warmth.
“Are you alright, Carter?” Danielle stares down at me and I smile back up at her dimly lit face. “You’re shaking and you have about five layers of clothes on your body.” She puts down her phone and rubs my upper arm for friction and heat but it’s no use.
“I can get you a hot-water bottle?” Haley asks and I rapidly nod. I love hot-water bottles in bed. They feel so good. She smiles at us. “Then I can talk to TJ.” She winks and slips out of the bed. We hear her feet patter along the wood in the room. She swings the door open and walks down the stairs to get me my warmth in a bottle.
Moments later, we hear another set of footsteps coming down the hallway and we both smile because we know who it is. TJ stands in the doorway smiling at us. “Kitchen,” we whisper to him.
He winks at us as he leaves, but then he comes back. “Are you alright, Carter?” He checks up on me. It’s sweet, unlike his best friend. I nod and smile to assure him not to worry about me and spend time with Haley downstairs. He taps the wooden frame before leaving shirtless with his sweatpants hanging off his hips.
Safe to say, Haley’s going to die when she sees him.
We lay in bed, waiting for a squeal from her. Once we hear it, we both chuckle and simultaneously say, “Knew it.” Which makes us both laugh even more. After a few moments of just staring at the door and ceiling, Danielle is the first to speak, ending the silence.
“So . . . this date?” I groan at the word. I truly hate it. It makes my stomach queasy. “I thought you didn’t like Ryan?” she questions me.
