Page 5 of I Could Never

While Scottie did eventually let go of Josh’s sack, he re-wrapped his arm around his neck and proceeded to wrestle him until he had Josh pinned. Josh was a big guy, but Scottie was even bigger.

After Josh finally managed to break free, he stood up from the bed, his hair all messed up.

“So much for being a big, strong man who can handle him, huh?” I cracked.

Josh shot me a death stare.

Carly: One.

Josh: Zero.

CHAPTER 3

CARLY

WITH NO HEATcurrently on, the house was growing more frigid than the vibe between me and my apparent new roommate. So, Josh ventured out to the store to get wooden pellets for the pellet stove.

While he was handling that, I struggled to give Scottie a bath, which left me looking like I’d won a wet-T-shirt contest. Scottie seemed to think the bathtub was a waterslide. He kept gliding his body from the back of the tub to the front, and each time he did it, a deluge of water hit me and the floor. We won’t mention the stiffy he got while I was washing his nether regions, either.

It took a while to get Scottie to calm down enough to go to bed, too. It now made sense why he had a mattress on the floor rather than on a bedframe. He would’ve broken the bed, considering all the jumping he liked to do.

I exited Scottie’s bedroom after getting him settled and plopped down on the couch, exhausted already and feeling overwhelmed. Not only was my first night an epic failure, but it seemed Josh would be here to witness this disaster moving forward.Is he reallystaying?Even though it might be helpful to have a second set of hands, the idea of him being here made me uneasy. Although, maybe he wasn’t planning on sleeping here? I decided to corner him to clarify his plans. I could see he’d gotten the pellet stove going, but he was nowhere to be found. Had he left the premises again?Could I be that lucky?

A minute later, though, Josh came in from outside, smelling like cigarettes.

I stood and got straight to the point. “So…” I rubbed my hands together. “What’s the deal? There’s only one bedroom besides Scottie’s. So…”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “I’ll take the couch—until you decide to go back home. Which I still think would be wise, since you’re out of your element.”

“I told you, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Come on, Carly. You’re a virtual stranger to him. You don’t belong here.”

“A virtual stranger is better than a bad influence,” I spat.

“You think I’m a bad influence on Scottie? What…am I gonna bring women over and get him drunk? Get your head out of your ass, Miss Righteous. I wouldn’t do anything to put him in harm’s way.” He looked down at my shirt. “You take a bathwithhim or something? Why are you all wet?”

“If you knew as much about him as you claim to, you’d know the answer to that. He thinks the bathtub is a Slip ’N Slide.” I sniffed the air. “You reek of cigarettes. I hope you don’t think you’re gonna be smoking around him.”

Josh squinted. “Youdoknow Wayne smoked, right?”

“Well, I don’t care. No one should be breathing that stuff in.”

“I’m trying to quit,” he muttered. “I was doing great until coming home. The second I landed in New Hampshire, I just…” He sighed rather than finish his sentence.

“Well,try to quitoutside—not in this house or around Scottie.”

“Did younotsee that I was just outside?”

“Keep it that way,” I scolded.

Josh feigned a smile. “You know where you won’t have to worry about my smoking?”

“Where?”

He gritted his teeth. “Back in California.”

“You think you’re funny?”

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