Chapter Five
The first week of Carter staying with me had flown by. We had created ourselves a nice little routine since the first day, one that didn’t consist of me opening up his bedroom to see him naked. He’d taken to driving my car to and from school, and although I hadn’t told him it was a relief not to deal with the assholes who liked to occupy the roads, I had a feeling he knew.
Now we were at the end of his first week at school where he’d attended every day without fail. I’d managed to look at his transcripts from his old school, and my thoughts had been confirmed. He’d been at the top of his classes, and the school he’d attended didn’t have any AP classes, which was the suspected reason for him skipping out. That and being able to provide for him and his mom.
“I’m going out,” Carter grunted from behind me. I was yet again on my sofa, my blanket wrapped around me, and my trusty tub of ice cream attached to my hand.
I turned just in time to see him walk into the kitchen, and took stock of what he was wearing. His usual ripped jeans were low on his hips, but this pair were black and paired with a bright white T-shirt. I had no idea how he’d managed to keep it so white. All my white clothes always ended up looking gray and depressed.
“Where are you going?” I asked. Part of me wanted to know so I didn’t worry, but the other part of me was just being nosy.
“Dunno. I’m meeting up with Jarod.”
“Jarod?” I raised my brows and lifted up on my knees. “As in,myJarod?” I placed my arms on the back of the sofa and stared at him as he looked down at his cell.
“Your Jarod?” Carter asked, pocketing his cell and then moving closer to me. He stopped a couple of feet away from and crouched down so his face was level with mine. “Got something you need to tell me, Skylar? Are you being a bad girl with one of your students?”
I rolled my eyes. “As if. Jarod isn’t my type.”
Carter grinned, his honey eyes capturing my full attention. “Yeah? Too geeky for you, huh? Maybe you like yourself a bad boy?”
My cheeks burned from his attention, and I was tempted to press the cool ice-cream tub against them. “No. I’ll have you know, I’m dating someone.” I paused, waiting to see his reaction. I didn’t know why I wanted to see it. Maybe a small part of me wanted to seem less like a loser than I felt like at that moment. It was Friday night, and I was staying in all on my own. Guy had asked if I wanted to go out, but I’d declined, and now I wondered if I should have accepted his invitation.
“Really?” Carter asked, his voice lower. The silence stretched between us, and I could hear the buzz of his cell in his pocket.
“Yeah,” I croaked out and leaned farther forward. I was only about ten inches away from his face now, and I knew I should have moved back and not closer to him, but it was too tempting for me to resist at that moment. I didn’t know what it was exactly that drew me closer, but the invisible force wouldn’t let me go. “His name is Guy. He actually works at the school.”
Carter’s hand flinched on his thigh, but I wasn’t sure why. It was an instinctive move, one I couldn’t think too much into. “Have I met him?”
I nodded and bit down on my bottom lip. His gaze zoned in on the move and I let my lip go. I didn’t do it to gain his attention, it was a knee-jerk reaction when I was nervous. “He’s the chemistry teacher.”
Carter was silent for a beat and then let out a brash laugh. “Wait, his name is Guy Pal?”
“I guess.” I couldn’t stop my own lips from pulling up. It was a weird name, one I’d thought was a joke when he’d first introduced himself to me, but apparently, I had been the only one to find it funny at the time. But now Carter was laughing, and I felt myself drifting to him even more. Maybe it was because he was my family, and I hadn’t really had a real family, not in the traditional sense. Sure, I’d had my dad and mom growing up, but they were too busy telling me I had to be a good girl and do as I was told than be bothered to spend actual time with me.
“Oh man, I would not have liked to have been him growing up.” Carter shook his head and pulled his cell out when it buzzed for the tenth time. “Ah shit, I gotta go.” He stood, and I couldn’t help watch him as he stretched his arms over his head, revealing some ink on the bottom of his stomach. The temptation to look closer and see what it was was overwhelming, but I managed to keep my hands to myself.
“Okay. Don’t forget your curfew.”
“Sure, Mom,” he replied, not looking back at me as he moved toward the front door. It closed behind him only seconds later, and once he was gone, I frowned.
The house was empty without him in it, and even though over the last week it had taken some adjusting to having him in my space, I’d gotten used to having him here. I let out a deep breath and turned on the sofa to stare at the TV. I was in the mood for something fun, anything to take my mind off wondering what Carter was doing.
Was this what it was like to have kids? Constant worrying and stopping yourself from contacting them to make sure they were okay? He’d only been gone a few minutes, and my mind was already a whirl of thoughts.
I bit down on my bottom lip and stared at my cell. Maybe I should call Jenifer. She never did tell me why he needed to get away from where they lived, and if I was harboring a fugitive, I had a right to know, right? I unlocked my cell and scrolled my contacts to find her name then clicked call. It rang and rang, and just as I was sure it would go to voicemail, the call clicked on.
“Skylar,” she breathed, and I could sense the smile in her tone. “I was wondering how long it would take you.”
“How long what would take me?” I asked, bringing my legs up on the sofa and curling them underneath me.
“To call and ask why I sent Carter there.” I grinned. We may not have spent all the time together normal siblings did, but she knew me better than anyone else in this world. “That’s why you called, right? He’s not in trouble, is he?”
“No, no. He’s fine. You were right.” I paused and waited for her to say something, but when she didn’t, I added, “So? Why did you send him here?”
She huffed out a breath, and I could imagine her shoulders slumping as she did. “Damn, Sky. I’m not even sure where to start.” She was quiet for a couple of seconds and then she said, “He’s been running for some guys in the neighborhood for a while. He thought I didn’t know, but of course I did.” I nodded as if she was right in front of me. “Anyway, that moved into boosting cars, and let’s just say he boosted the wrong person’s car.”
“The wrong person’s car?”