Steeling Her: A Romance Novel

Carter

Lecture after lecture, this day keeps dragging on. I have been scribbling down notes when they hint to learn this for the exams. I’m so bored, I want to get out of this lecture so bad because it’s the last one of the day.

Also, the fact that Nick is outside waiting for me might have a lot to do with my impatience and foot tapping that’s annoying the people around me.

Could you really blame me though? If you had the hottest guy you’ve ever met in your entire life waiting outside a classroom for you, you would totally be having a meltdown too. I’m exploding inside because I’m so excited yet so nervous—so, so nervous.

Smiling at the thought of seeing him and also at the fact that my last lecture of the day is finished, I bounce down the steps, my hair flying all over my face, and walk outside and look both ways for him. Seeing him leaning against the wall talking to a group of girls, my heart rate spikes. Is he interested in them?

I slowly and unsurely make my way towards him, and he instantly spots me like my movement caught his eye. He beams a smile my way and pushes himself off the wall to head towards me. The people around him part to move out of his way, And the girls admire him from behind and in front of him. Not that I can blame them; he looks like he was carved by God Himself. He looks like Adonis.

Reaching me, he smiles down at an awe struck me. “Hey, you ready?” He has a laptop in hand, with a notebook too.

“Yeah, I hope I wasn’t interrupting—”

“No, you weren’t, don’t worry,” he interrupts me and places an arm around my shoulders. “I’m glad you came out actually.” He laughs as we walk away from the group he was talking to. “They just started talking to me. I’ve never met them before.” He shrugs his shoulders. I feel a little uneasy with the stares I’m getting from them. It’s always like this when I’m around him. I get the glares. I mean, I know why, literally every girl in the campus chases after him and he doesn’t have the slightest notion at the magnitude of it.

I laugh at him and how clueless he is. Typical guy. “I’m really not surprised though,” I mutter to myself. He stops moving, making me stop. I turn on my heel to look up at him in the crowded hallway.

“Why?” he asks curiously. “I know girls like me and all, I’m not blind, but why does it not surprise you?” His left eyebrow quirks up, and I start to get butterflies in my stomach with the way he’s looking at me.

“You’re just a nice guy who’ll talk to anyone. You’re good looking, so of course you’d get approached by admirers . . . It’s bound to happen.” I laugh nervously because the look he’s giving me is making me weak at the knees. My breathing is short and hard, and I can’t do it properly with his eyes staring at me like that.

“I’m not interested in them though.” His grin makes me smile too. His perfect set of white teeth gleam in the full lighting. Anything he does at this point is hot. I’m nervous around him all the damn time. “I’m interested in you, however.” He steps inside my bubble so we’re chest to chest. “Very interested in you.” He leans down to me, whispering onto my lips.

I don’t even know what to say to that. I’m so flustered. Every time he comes anywhere near me, I can’t speak. I’m so wrapped up in this, I forgot where we were. Onlookers pass by us, and I clear my throat. The curious looks we’re getting makes me a little embarrassed.

“Me too.” That’s all I can come up with.

“You’re very interested in yourself?” he teases me, and I laugh back, all while he wraps both his hands around my waist. I can feel his laptop on my back. “I wouldn’t blame you. If I were you, I would be too,” he chortles, making me laugh again. Just like that, it went from me feeling nervous to me feeling slightly at ease with him.

“No, I’m very interested in you too,” I finally manage to force out my mouth but it comes as a weak whisper.

“Good.” He leans in, catching me off guard, to kiss me. In front of everyone. A crowd. An audience. I’m in such a big shock that he’s actually doing that right here. It takes me a moment to calm down.

Finally closing my eyes to lean more into him, I rest my palm around the side of his neck and stroke it lightly. It’s not a heated kiss, I think he knows that it’ll be a bit much to do right now, and I couldn’t agree more. Pulling back an inch, he compliments me, “You look pretty also, I should’ve started with that.” We both chuckle and continue to walk out of the building.

We decide to go back to my dorm to do the work. There’s less noise and nobody’s home. I haven’t seen Danielle in a while, and she’s oblivious to the awkward tension between me and Haley right now. She doesn’t know what happened yet.

I walk beside Nick and talk about the next game, which is in a few days. It’ll be at home, so I’ll be able to attend once he’s alright with it. It will be awkward with Haley, but I’m there to support both guys on the field.

“You’ll come watch, right?” he asks as we step onto the grass, moving towards our study time together. I nod back, excited to watch the next game. I’ve always loved going to football games. The atmosphere is what I love most; The dedication from some fans is amazing to see. “You want to wear my jersey? It’ll look good on you.” he asks with a smirk. I freeze, he just asked me if I want to wear his jersey.

Holy shit.

“I mean, you don’t have to if—it was just a thought . . . you don’t have to—” he stutters out, stopping in front of me. His cheeks are pink, and I bite my cheek stopping myself from smiling. He looks so adorable like that. The rosy tint to his cheeks make him look so young.

“Are you sure? I know some guys will think it’s a big deal and all. I mean, like . . . do you want me to wear it?” I shift between my feet nervously. “I would wear it, I just don’t know if that’s what you want? I know you asked and all, but—” He cuts my rambling off with his lips. I smile once again and kiss him back. I can never get enough of his kisses. They’re so soft and always leave me wanting more. It’s just something about him that I can’t describe. He sends my heart racing every time I’m around him and I can’t control it. Half of the time I think I’m going to pass out.

He leans back an inch and lightly rests his lips on mine, still feeling that heat. “Of course I want you to wear my number, Carter. I’d like to see you in the stands with my name and number on you. So, how about it?” I chuckle and nod once more, looking down at my feet because I’m embarrassed at my own reaction. I feel like such a schoolgirl with a huge astronomical crush on him. Kissing my forehead as a sign of sealing the deal, I feel so at home with him—comforted by him. This feels so good.

As we approach the dorm building, we could see a crowd hustle and bustle in the car park beside my dorm room. I’m wondering what’s going on there. There’re crowds around taking pictures of what looks like a car. I stop for a second as we march up the steps and try to get a better look. Once I do, I see it’s my car they’re taking pictures of.

I feel a slight panic in my bones. I have a bad feeling about this. I turn to Nick with my eyes rimming with worry and he notices this, darting his eyes back to where my car is. We both go down the steps and over to the crowd. Nick moves people aside, trying to get in and have a look at what’s is wrong with my car.

Coming to it, I gasp and freeze when I look at the side of my car. It’s been vandalized. My front window has been smashed and along with the others too. Scrapes can be seen across the doors. A dent is prominently shown on the driver’s door. Bright pink paint scrawls across the side of it, saying, “Slut,” “Man Steeler,” and “Bitch.” I swallow down the lump in my throat and feel a sob coming up. I look down at the ground, embarrassed by all of this. The tears fall freely. Nick is just as frozen staring at my car. I just run away from it towards the door and bump into somebody. I’m rub my teared-up eyes to make out who it is.

It’s Haley, and her disgusted expression mixed with pity and worry. Darting her eyes behind me, I continue to run away and up the steps towards my room, where I want to go.

I can hear Nick chasing after me, calling my name and telling me to wait up. We both make a break towards my dorm door and I slip my key in the hole, slamming it open. Once I’m in I sob into my own hands, and Nick’s strong build cradles me while I cry hard on him.

Soothing me by rubbing my back, I can’t stop drenching his shirt. He’s whispering into my hair, trying to calm me down as time ticks on.

“Not now, Haley,” he says in a defeated tone.

“I saw it, Nick. It wasn’t me, I swear.” Haley’s voice is shaky. She’s scared that I think it’s her. I know it wasn’t her. It was that psychotic girl pining after Nick. Why does she keep targeting me? What have I done to her? She’s such a bitch, she’s been nothing but one to me since I’ve met her.

“I know it wasn’t you, H-Haley.” I hiccup, bawling my eyes out on his shirt. I hear a sigh of relief leave her mouth.

“You need to take this to the cops, Nick. It’s not right to do that to her.” TJ is here too. Nick sighs heavily, but TJ is right. I need to report this. My car has been destroyed, and I know who did it.

She’s going down.

That bitch is going down for this.

I clear my throat and loosened my shoulders, taking my phone in my hand and readying myself with a video.

I’ve reached my point of pure rage.

I rush past Haley and TJ, power walking down to my car for evidence. As I do, I ring the bell at the reception area where our student adviser is. I ring it again impatiently, and she finally comes out.

“How can I help you?” she asks me in a bored tone, like she’s said it routinely too many times for her liking, as she seats herself on the other side of the desk.

“Get me the security tapes from today,” I request them as Nick, Haley, and TJ jog over to me from behind.

“I can’t get—”

“Then find me someone who will!” I snarl back, slamming my hand on the desk and making her jump a little. She needs to know I’m not fucking around. She better find me someone who has those tapes or they’ll be hearing from my parents in a heartbeat. She stands up and scurries back to the office, my clipped tone lighting a fire under her ass. I don’t care, my car has been ruined under their watch, and they’ve done nothing about it.

A security guard comes out of the back office tucking his shirt in and wiping his mouth with his sleeve. Just great, he’s been sleeping on the job.

“I understand you want to see the security tapes for today, Miss . . . ?”

“Steel,” I finish his sentence for him with no hesitation. “And yes, I would like to see the tapes for today; right this second, preferably,” I snap at him. He clears his throat and swallows visibly hard.

“I’m afraid you need to fill out a form for that.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? Her car had been vandalized under your watch, and you expect her to fill out a goddamn form even though we know who did it?” Haley shouts out for me. I give a slight smile at the fact that, even through the rough few days, she’s standing up for me.

“If you knew who did it, then why are you asking?” the adviser says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Because she may want to press charges.” Haley answers for me. On second thought, I think it’s about time I give Maya a piece of my damn mind. I push off the desk and bulldoze out the main doors with Nick calling me back, but I keep walking towards my car.

“Back the fuck off!” I yell, and everyone stands back at my sudden outburst. Everyone stops taking pictures. I whip my own camera out and take pictures for evidence.

“Carter, are you really going to press charges?” Nick asks me in my ear and I nod back to him. Once I’m done, I start to walk away from the college and towards that stupid sorority house of hers. She and I need to have a little talk.

“Carter, wait up! You look like you’re on a mission!” He laughs, and I growl at him to not joke with this. His hands shoot up in surrender and he apologizes, “Sorry, too soon. Look, I can take you to the police station to press the charges.” I take his hand and squeeze it, appreciating his help and apologizing for my mood swings.

I hear two other people catch up with us. I still storm towards her house while holding onto Nick. Haley and TJ come up behind me. “Where are you going Carter? Come on, talk to me.” His voice tries to soothe me but I’m beyond pissed at this point. She’s played nothing but games with me and him, trying to push me away, but it’s not going to work. She my have seen him first, but I sure as hell won’t let her win this one.

“I’m going to have several words with the bitch who had the audacity to call me a slut and scrawl it across my car.” After meeting his widened eyes, I pick up my pace, knowing I’m nearly there.

“Ohhh, I’m so coming to see this!” Haley chuckles behind me. She’s loving that I’m about to give the girl she hates a piece of my mind, wipe her on the floor, and send her back to the pits of hell where her deplorable ass crawled up from. Nobody does that to me. I’ve taken her shit for so long, but I’ve had enough. I may be quiet and shy, but I can sure as hell stand up for myself.

Seeing the house in my sights, I can feel my heart beating a million miles an hour, but I get tugged back. “Are you sure you want to do this, Carter?” Nick asks me to make sure I can take the heat from her, but I’m so pissed off that she’s going to be dealing with something much worse. I’m about to end this once and for all.

“She’s pushed me around long enough, Nick, I’m standing up for myself. What she’s been doing to me is not right, what she did to you is not right, and what she did back there is most definitely not right!” I point back to the dorm building and he nods, understanding me and my rage. No more questions were asked. Reaching the door, I open my camera and click record to catch her out on a confession that I’ll know she’ll give.

She’s as dumb as the fucking doorknob.

Speaking of doorknobs, I bang on hers with so much aggression I thought I would break it. I’m shaking so much not because I’m afraid of her, but because I’m furious with her. Just as I was about to slam it again, a brunette opens the door with wide eyes. She sensed my rage through the knocks.

“Get Maya. Now!” I order through gritted teeth. She nods rapidly and walks back inside to get her. She should be scared for her friend.

When I see her blonde hair saunter out with a knowing smirk on her face, I walk backwards out into the yard, not wanting to do this in the house. It’s disrespectful to the other girls. This is between me and her.

Following me out, I haven’t broken our gaze, but her eyes flicker across to my right. I know she’s looking at Nick, begging for his attention.

Both of us are on the lawn with an audience surrounding us.

“To what do I owe this pleasan—”

“Shut the fuck up!” I roar at her. Her eyes widen for a fraction of an inch before composing herself. The brief second of terror on her face tells me she’s hiding the fact that she knows I’m about to cut her in half and feed her to the sharks. “You know why I’m here. You think it’s funny to destroy my car? Huh? You think that’s funny?” I step closer to her and look her up and down with so much disgust on my face. She must think that this is hilarious, because she starts to chuckle at me. I see red and step closer to her once again, less than an arms length away from her.

“I have no idea what you—”

“Bullshit, Maya! You know exactly what I’m talking about. You thought it would be hilarious to ruin my car because I ‘took’ him from you.” I point at Nick and she follows my finger while I stare hard at her. “He was never yours to begin with! He didn’t belong to you, he never did!”

“Yes, he fucking did, you stupid slut! He still does!” she snaps at me. We’re both breathing fire at this point. “He was always fucking mine, you’re just a bump in the road! You don’t know shit! I didn’t do shit to your ugly car either that daddy bought you.” She smirks again; lying through her teeth.

“I have the tapes, Maya, you’re obviously stupid enough to get yourself caught on camera,” I bluff, but I know the tapes will show her and her posse ruining my car. “That bleach has gone straight to your brain! I mean, it’s a cardinal rule to not get yourself caught doing something you shouldn’t be doing. You might as well walk into the police station and confess to it.”

“Why the fuck are you here then if I ‘did it’?” She uses air quotes.

“I just wanted to tell your stupid ass and your friends.” I whip my head around to face the other two culprits, who are looking worried and guilty right now, confirming my bluff. “ I’m taking this to the police and pressing charges against all of you. I just thought I’d let you all know so you can come up with a lie as to where you were when it happened, even though you’re clearly seen on camera spraying my car with paint and smashing it up.” I smirk back at her shocked expression. “What did you expect, Maya? Me to run, cry, and hide from this? To let it all blow over and let you continue to walk all over me? That I would back down from all of this and let you get the upper hand? Let me tell you this and your fucking backup dancers, you fucked with the wrong girl.” I stand a breath away from her scared face. “You really pushed the limit now. You don’t fuck with a Steel. You do, you pay the damn price. I won’t hold back on the charges, Maya. Everyone has a breaking point, and I’ve reached mine. You knew who I am, who my parents are—”

“My dad is a detective! You can’t prove shit, Carter!” she defends herself. Like that shit’s going to help her.

“By the time I’m through with you and these charges, Maya, not even your goddamn father can help you get out of this one. Not even the fucking President can get you off.” I snarl back at her. I have so much anger towards her and her two idiot friends that I don’t even care about how I look right now. I make good with my threats. I won’t hold back, not a single bit. She’s speechless right now as I just stare at her. I may be smaller than her, but I sure as hell look bigger than her right now. “There’s so much evidence against you, your dad can’t help you with this. You’ve been caught, along with your little friends too.” I scowl as I look at the two of them sweat, still telling me that they’re guilty. They may as well hold up a sign saying “‘I did it” thanks to the looks on their faces.

“This is what you like, Nick? Huh? A bitch who is bullshitting her way through college, taking girls’ boyfriends? Careful, Haley, you might be next,” she taunts them, and I sigh in frustration.

“You know what! You can think all you like that he was your boyfriend, but it’s sad when it’s only you who sees it that way. He even denies it.” I hate bringing Nick into this, but it’s necessary to get it through her delusional brain of hers that they were never official.

“Like he’d ever ask you out, you little troll.” She growls back, looking at me from head to toe. I start to laugh at how stupid she looks. For such a pretty girl, her appeal is wasted on how stupid she really is. I can see why Nick never wanted to be official with her.

I’m backing off the lawn still staring directly at her. “The police will be in touch, along with my lawyers and possibly my father. The only one you should be terrified of is the last person I mentioned.” I laugh at her once again. Her face is priceless. I know I was a bitch, but you’ve got to be one to beat one at their game.

After a certain distance, I stop and look over at Nick, who has a slight smirk on his face. I turn back to Maya and shout, “Oh, and another thing. He’s not yours, Maya. Never was and never will be, so you can fucking forget about that one. So, stay the hell away from us, Haley and TJ included. I’ll be filing a restraining order against you.” I walk back down the street mumbling “Stupid clingy hoe” to myself, and I feel a hand grip mine. I intertwine my fingers together with Nick’s.

“That was hot—really hot,” he whispers to me and I smile, a little glad I got that all of that off my chest. I feel so good. Maybe my words were a little harsh, but I think it needed to be known that I don’t like being punched around.

“Was it too much?” I ask him softly.

“Are you fucking kidding me? That was epic! When you went all ‘Don’t fuck with me! I’m a Steel!’ That was so cool! It made me want to be a Steel!” Haley laughs beside me. It feels weird to have her on my side again. But is it short lived?

As if she knows what I’m thinking, she backs away from me and walks next to TJ. I look up to him and he mouths, “Give her time.” I nod back in understanding and rest my head on Nick’s arm, feeling so drained by all of this. I just wish my relationship with Haley could back to normal, but I understand why she’s mad at me. But she has to understand that it’s not like that between me and Nick. We like each other, but she’s feeling hurt because she thinks I don’t want to be friends with her. I do.

I actually miss her already.

“I wish I said that shit to her. Stupid bitch,” Haley mumbles to a laughing TJ. Hearing them kissing makes me smile, but Nick squeezes my hand. I wrap my other hand around him, taking his attention away from his best friend and sister making out behind us.

“You need to talk to her, Nick,” I say lowly so only we can hear my voice. He sighs, staring back down at me. I know he’s agreeing with me; they need to talk this out. He needs to accept that they have both fallen for each other and can’t help it. They are really sweet together too. I just wish she was accepting about whatever is happening between me and her brother.

“Don’t give me those eyes, Carter.” He laughs a little, knowing that he’ll give in to my puppy eyes. It always worked on my dad and brothers. I keep looking at him like that. He starts to laugh and look away. “Stop!” he bellows with a huge contagious grin and wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him.

“Stop what? I’m not doing anything,” I tease him and he laughs once more, showing off his pearly set of white teeth. He rolls his eyes at me and leans down.

“Not yet, I need it to soak in a little more. That shit is still weird,” he whispers before kissing me on my own lips. I smile into the kiss and peck him back. I appreciate that he’s trying with this entire thing. It was a huge shock to him. I get why he is so protective of his sister, but they both need to realize that we’re all in the same situation. I just hope they both come around in time.

We’re all walking back towards the campus, and I feel so much lighter after getting that fire off my chest. It needed to be said; she needed to be put back inside her little box. If I wasn’t going to do it, then another girl definitely would have. She’s rotten to the core.

I most certainly don’t regret what I said, maybe I shouldn’t have used my name to state a point to not push me to my limits, but it was the heat of the moment. It just flew out of my mouth and I can’t take it back. I was so mad at what she did to my car.

When we finally reach it again, there’s nobody around my unrecognizable car anymore. I stand there and stare at it with Nick while the other two walk inside the dorm building, leaving us alone.

“I’ll call the dealership tomorrow morning if you want? I’ll tell them to fix it for you,” he consoles me, and I smile at how nice he’s been to me throughout all of this mess. I just ridiculed his psycho, clingy ex—or whatever she is—and he’s super chilled with it. I lean my head against him and he slings his arm across my shoulder, making me press closer to his body.

“Thank you, Nick,” I whisper to him and he presses his lips on my head to comfort me.

“You know I’m here for you, right?” I nod back at the question, one I know the answer to in a heartbeat. I know he’ll be there for me.

“I need to call my parents though. They need to know about this so they can organise the down payment to fix my car. I don’t have enough in my account at the moment.” He nods and we stay outside while I make this dreaded phone call. My dad will flip his shit once he hears about it. So, I fish out my phone from my pocket and start to dial the number I’ve been told to know off by heart.

Ringing and waiting has me antsy, until it suddenly stops and I’m met with a, “Hi, Carter, honey! How are you feeling?” His tone is always light and cheerful when I call him. He’s my dad, I’m so close with him that I can tell him anything; except about guys. He can’t handle that topic.

“Hey, Dad! I’m good . . . well . . . sort of.” I back track my words. I’m not really that good after what happened, and I can’t lie to my dad.

“What’s wrong? What happened? Is it that Jackson kid again? Or is it the other one now?” He panics slightly. I hear some whistles in the background, knowing he’s at work, but he always takes my calls unless he’s extremely busy.

“No, it’s not them, don’t worry.” I smile at Nick, who now knows I’m talking about him. He sends a weak yet encouraging smile my way. “It’s just, well . . . my car got vandalized today, and I need it fixed-”

“Vandalized?!” he roars, and I flinch at my phone taking it away from my ear. “What do you mean it’s been vandalized, Carter?” he squeaks out. I know he’s not happy at all. “What happened?” he continues his twenty-one questions at me.

“Well, I think I know who did it? I asked for the security tapes and they told me I have to fill out a form to get them. I’ve taken pictures of my car—” he cuts me off in a rage now.

“Send me on those pictures right now, sweetheart!” I can hear him grinding down his molars while talking to me. I flick through my phone and send him one of the pictures that I took today. One after the other, I can hear him huff after each one. “Jesus Christ, honey, were you in the car when it happened? Or near the car? Are you okay?” He’s worried, and I can hear the defeated tone in his voice because he’s not here to handle it.

“No, I wasn’t in or near the car when it happened, Dad. I’m okay, just a little annoyed that it happened,” I assure him that I’m in one piece.

“You need to go to the cops about this, honey. They won’t get away with it. I’m not standing for that. I will make some calls too. To ensure they get the maximum punishment they can get . . . I’m sorry this happened, baby girl. I’ll come down and sort this all out for you.” I can hear him panting. I know he’s going home to tell my mom about this. I know they’re going to get on the next flight to come see if I’m okay.

“You don’t need to come down here, Dad, I’m fine. I just want it fixed so I want to move on from it” I tell him not to worry about coming down to see me or the car; it’ll just anger him even more.

“You said you think you know who did it? Can I ask if this the same girl who Jackson had a thing with?” he asks, still gritting his teeth, and I snap my eyes up to meet Nick’s. I bite my lip nervously. If I confirm that it is her, he’ll tell me to stay away from Nick. I can’t do that, I just can’t bring myself to stay away from him.

“Yes, it’s her. I spoke with her too—”

“You what?!? Carter, what did you say?” he bellows back, in disbelief that I spoke to Maya.

“I told her not to mess with me because I’m a Steel.” I grin at my feet and hear Nick laugh beside me. I can almost see my dad smiling through the phone like I know he is doing right now.

“You said that?” I chuckle at his proud tone.

I reply with a solid, “Yes, in so many words.” I roll my eyes back and smile at the sky.

“That’s my girl! I’m proud you stood up for yourself, Carter. I’m so proud of you, honey! But I’m coming down regardless of what you want. I’m sorting this shit out. Nobody does that to my baby girl—”

“Her dad’s a detective, just so you know,” I inform him of what Maya threatened me with. I know she wasn’t bluffing either, I could tell by her stone cold stare that she wasn’t lying about her dad being a detective.

“I don’t give a shit if her father is the top judge in the Supreme Court, Carter, she’ll get what’s coming to her. Was there anyone else involved?” he promises me, and I bite my lip at how protective he’s being over this. I love my dad with everything I’ve got because he’s done nothing but protect me since the day I came into this world.

“I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I think there’re two others involved, but the tapes will show them. When I bluffed and called them out on it, they looked guilty. I just need the security tapes, Dad—”

“I’ll handle that, honey, don’t you worry. I’ll call the dean right now and tell him to take control of this. This cannot be happening on school grounds, and it cannot happen to my daughter!” He’s assertive; he knows what he has to do to get the justice for me. “Has she been bothering you much, Carter?” he asks and I hear his door slam shut and the sound of an igniting engine.

“She’s been bothering the both of us. Any chance she gets, she does something to either me, Nick, or both of us. She just doesn’t take the hint . . .” I shrug and look back over to Nick, who is walking around the car, looking at different things, and taking the odd photo here and there of my beaten up car.

“Say no more, I’ll handle all of this. You get yourself down to the police station and press some charges. I’ll be there as soon as I can, honey,” he orders me to get on this right away, and I couldn’t agree more. I need to take a stand with this and with her. She needs to have herself put into place. I’m sure her father will love hearing about this.

“Okay, Dad. Thank you. I love you!” I smile down at my feet, thanking him for everything.

“I love you too, Carter. I’m going home to tell your mom about this. We’ll be on the next flight for you, okay? Hold tight!” I smile and thank him once more before hanging up and walking around the car myself. I scan the scratched-up paint job, dents, and smashed windows. My entire car is destroyed.

Poor Roxy.

I pat her hood then run my hand along the sheet metal.

“I’m sorry this happened, Carter.” Nick sighs around the other side of the car where I can’t see him. I briskly walk over to him and see him looking inside at the broken shards of glass acting as passengers in my car. Making eye contact with me, I smile up at him and rest my open palm on his cheek to show him it’s alright.

“You don’t need to apologize, Nick, it’s not your fault. How were you meant to know she was going to do this?” I gesture towards my car. He tries to speak again but I shake my head, stopping him. “Nick, seriously, listen to me. This is not your fault. I don’t blame you at all.” I cup my hands around his sharp jaw and neck, making him focus on me and not the car.

“Still, if it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have done it. I knew she was crazy, but I didn’t realize the extent of it.” He sighs, stepping forward so our foreheads meet each other. “I’m sorry this happened to you, Carter. You don’t need this added stress right now, especially after what happened to you. You don’t deserves this, and I don’t want your health deteriorating again. I can’t have that. I’ve only just got you back, I don’t want to lose you again. It drove me insane when you didn’t speak to me, and I was terrified that you weren’t going to get better. Out of all the girls I know”—I slightly flinch at that and he knows because his two hands meet my face—“there’s something about you, something that keeps pulling me back to you, and I don’t know what it is.” He chuckles.

I smile up at him, because that’s exactly how I feel about him. There’s something there between us, and neither of us know what it is or what it means. But it’s there, and it has been there since the day we met.

“I know what you mean.” I grin, biting hard on my lower lip because I don’t want to look clingy or weird. I lean in for another quick kiss that we’ve both quickly become accustomed to doing so freely with one another. We don’t hold back with each other because people know now. Haley knows, more importantly. Not the way I wanted her to find out, but she knows. “Would you mind bringing me to the police station? So I can report this?” He nods, wrapping his bulging large arms around me for a hug. I let him. He’s smells divine. My God, does he smell divine.

“Let’s go.” He takes my hand again and we start to walk back to the guys’ house so he can drive me to the station to press the charges and take my statement.

Despite what happened today, I feel really happy with him and his endless support.