"I really need to remember to lock that door," I say to no one in particular, but it hits its target.
He chuckles. "I'd just break it down."
"You already did that. Remember?"
"That was different," he argues. "I thought you were dead."
Bullshit. "It was four in the morning. Any normal person is fucking sleeping at that hour."
"Whatever."
Neither one of us say anything else for a bit, and the only sound that fills the room is that of me throwing and catching the ball. Honestly, I'd prefer it to stay that way, which is probably exactly why he breaks the silence.
"So, I was surprised to see Paige last night."
And there
it is—the topic I hoped like hell to avoid. "I wasn't."
"No?" he asks. "She looks good, though she didn't stay very long."
"I wouldn't know."
Honestly, I would like to pretend I didn't see her at all. Maybe then I could get the image of her fucking doe eyes looking up at me like she was looking for someone to save her. Unfortunately for her, I'm no one's hero. Not anymore. Hell, I can't even save myself.
"Yeah, because you left as soon as she got there. You should have stuck around and said hello."
This time, I throw the ball with a little more force than intended and it hits the ceiling. "No thanks."
"Oh, come on," he presses. "You can't tell me she didn't look hot."
"Then you fucking date her," I snap.
He cringes for a second. "God, no. You hit that way too many times."
I shrug. "Wouldn't be the first time you had my sloppy seconds."
Carter comes over and catches the ball right out of mid-air. "Paige is anything but sloppy seconds, and you and I both know it."
"What the hell do you want from me?" I yell as I sit up. "She ghosted me, remember? Or did you forget that part?"
"Yeah. I also remember someone not locking it the fuck down before we left, no matter how much I told you to," he counters.
"And what? Be one of those guys who talks about his feelings?" I spit as I try to walk past him, but he doesn't let me. "That's not me, and you know it."
He rolls his eyes. "Maybe it's not, but it caused you to lose the girl. It doesn't take a damn rocket scientist to figure out why she cut you off. For all she knew, you were out fucking most of Tallahassee."
"Maybe I was."
"Yeah, okay. Are you forgetting I was there with you?" A smirk makes its way onto his face, and I want nothing more than to deck him for it. "It took you months before you even looked at another girl. It took until—"
I shove him back before he can finish that sentence. "You say her name, and I swear to God, it'll be the last damn thing you ever say."
His eyes lock with mine, and I can see the determined look in them as his lips form the one name I never want to hear again.
"Davianna."
Nothing could stop me from swinging my fist directly toward his pretty boy face, but he was anticipating it. He catches my punch before it can cause any damage, and then his knee comes up to get me right in the stomach. I double over in pain, and Carter quickly climbs on top of me. He pins my arms above my head and hovers over my face.