He loads up his plate, smiling at me as he tosses a carrot stick into his mouth, his two dimples popping in his cheeks. He’s cute; I could do a lot worse where rebounds are concerned, but at the same time, I don’t want to lead him on, because truthfully, I’m not interested in jumping into anything sexual or even halfway serious with Carter. Bishop was a wake-up call. Our one-night stand set off the alarm in my head.
“Who will be coming?” I continue, coming to the end of the table and taking a bottle of water.
“Pauly and Alias will be coming, with their girls, but you could bring Tatum if you want.”
I take a bite of my apple, my eyes going over his shoulder and landing on Bishop and the rest of the guys that are there, Nate included.
“One problem,” I interject, squirming under the daggers Bishop is aiming at me. “My aggro stepbrother and his pack of hounds? They won’t let me out of their sight.” Please let this go. Please let this go... I chant my prayer, hoping he’ll tell me to forget it.
No such luck.
He shrugs. “It’ll be a party.”
I look over his shoulder again, catching Ally on Bishop’s lap and playing with his hair. But his eyes are still on mine, boring holes into me.
“Good.” I smile sweetly, looking directly at Bishop. “It should be fun.” Two can play this game. I know I have no right to get angry or upset about him and Ally, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t sting a little seeing her so cozy on his lap—and him doing nothing to move her. But I’m not naïve enough to say we had a connection and that we were deeply into each other now. This isn’t a fairy tale, and that’s just not how things go. At least not for me, anyway.
“So when is it?” I ask, looking back to Carter and letting him lead me to the table where Tatum is sitting.
“Next weekend.” He surprises me by sitting beside us at the table, a couple of his friends who were waiting for him at theirs following suit, scattering themselves around our group.
“What’s next weekend?” Tatum asks, peeling off her yogurt lid.
“Camping!” I answer her cheerfully, knowing full well she’s going to scold me.
She kicks me under the table. “Great! Should be fun.”
I laugh, taking another bite out of my apple, and go back to ignoring Bishop. That is, until Nate comes to our table, leaning down and grinning at me, right before winking at Tatum. “Hey, sis, you need a ride after school?”
I nod happily, wiping my mouth. “Yeah, thanks.” He nods too, a small smile coming onto his mouth, and then he goes to push off the table and walk away. “Wait!” I holler, and he stops, turning back to face me. Nudging my thumb to Carter, I say, “Carter invited us to this camping trip this weekend. You wanna come with?”
“What, you think you can take my new baby sister without me, fucker?” Nate grins at Carter, but the grin isn’t the playful one Nate usually displays. This one is edgy, filled with warning bells and sirens. Nate continues to walk backward. “Of course we’ll be there.” Then he turns and goes back to where he was. Great. I could cut the tension in the air between these two.
I look at Carter, searching his eyes. “Hey,” I prompt, shoving his arm. I can’t be mad at Carter. He’s done nothing but make me feel wanted every time he’s around me. He looks back at me, his frown slowly disappearing. “You okay?”
He smiles. “Of course.”
“Is there something I should know between you guys?” I search his eyes, his breath a mere centimeter away from me. If he leaned forward, he could kiss me. Please don’t. I like Carter, but I think I’ve put him in the friend zone without knowing it.
“Yeah,” he whispers, his eyes falling onto my lips.
Oh no. Oh no, oh no.
Standing to my feet quickly, I tell him, “Great!” and pick up my tray.
“You didn’t eat much.” He points down to my food, and I pause, looking back up to Bishop to see Ally sitting beside him now, not on him. Progress, I suppose, but I still hate him. I drag my eyes away from Bishop and smile down at Carter. “Sort of lost my appetite.” Then I take my tray and walk toward the doors, emptying my trash and placing it onto the table.
Tatum runs up behind me. “Hey!” She takes my hand but I pull away from her, picking up my run. I’m not used to being around so many people, or even so many people being interested in me and my life. It’s all starting to overwhelm me, and I’m confused about Bishop and his mind games.
Why would he just leave? Was I not good enough?
Of course you weren’t! You’re a disgusting little girl who likes to do bad things.
My eyes shut as I attempt to push the ugly voice out of my head. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that voice, and I don’t know what triggered hearing it today, but there it is. Opening my eyes, I see the bathrooms and run toward them, ignoring Tatum cursing behind me. My tears partly blind me, and the blue sign that shows it’s the girls’ bathroom looks all distorted and warped. I push through the door and fly into one of the stalls, slamming it closed and sliding the lock over. A second later, the door opens again.
“Madi?” Tatum whispers. “Can you talk to me?”
I’ve begun to like these people. Nate and Tatum, and maybe Hunter, anyway. I’m not sure about the rest of the Kings. Carter, too, he’s not bad. But it’s overwhelming. I’ve never had so many people show they give a fuck so much. I can’t help but think this is all some sort of sick game. Why did Nate and Bishop
