Chapter 32

I stayed put where I am. Surprise, shock, happiness, and all those mixed emotions I am feeling spreading through my veins and making it difficult for me to breathe and think properly. Throughout my life, I have never let anyone make me feel this certain way to the point where I can feel the world spinning beneath me.

This is unbelievably insane. Did he just confess that he likes me? Did he just say that he is crazy about me?

"Wow," Troy says while clapping his hands, "what a dramatic turn this is."

"I swear to you this is not. I am not trying to be like that old Carter who plays with girls. I want to be the Carter you like and always appreciate to be, I want to..."

"Meh, all same old bullcrap. Kate, let's get the hell out of here," Troy says and grabs my arm, gently pulling me to the door. I want to stop him and run to Carter's arms and say the same, but my mind is fuzzy that I can't think straight.

What if this is a trap? What is he's trying to lull me and get me into trouble? What if he robs my innocence and kills me with regret and humiliation?

"Hey, she is not yours to take her wherever you like," Carter growls.

"It is what she wants to do. Right, Kate? Let's just go to my crib and chill there, then I could take you to your home," he says quietly to me, but I didn't answer. Instead, I looked into Carter's eyes and stepped close to him. I can see the pure honesty in his eyes, but there is something mixed with it in those hazel eyes, something that I can not easily decipher, what is it?

"Is it true what you said?" is all I can ask and muster to spit out, my throat felt too dry to speak.

"Of course, love bunny, yes it is true! Why would I lie to you?" he exclaimed and held my hands to pull me closer, "I like you, why do you not believe me?"

"Because you're a dickhead." Troy pipes in and intrudes between us.

"Hey man, can you just stay out of their fucking business?!" Cole shouts coming toward us, stumbling all the way. I didn't even realize that the fight stopped and people were surrounding us in a circle, wondering what we are arguing about.

"Who the fuck are you?" Troy asks Cole as he stands nose to nose in front of him. "Katy's friend, ready for her service. And it looks like you are disturbing her peace, so I'll kick your ass with ease," he answers. Surprisingly, I noticed that within his drunk state, what he said rhymed.

"And what will you be doing? Slide your shaky fingers on me?" Troy mocks.

"He will actually slice you into pieces," Xavier speaks and joins us with Jenny trailing behind him. Oh, great.

"I don't think arguing will..." I tried to speak, but the voices around me drowned my voice.

"Another 'friend for her service'? Geez, Kate, you have strange weirdos surrounding you, plus one douche bag." Troy said. Amidst the confusion in my head, this comment made me snap my head to him and glare, "Did you just call my friends and me weirdos?" I ask coolly.

"Yeah, I mean, not in that way but—"

"You have insulted us just because of a stupid beef you have with him, and it sounds ridiculous for a guy like you," I said, not thinking of the words that I'm speaking.

"What? I'm trying to do you a favor by taking you out and...."

"Thank you for the favor, but no.... thanks." I interrupt what he was about to say. He looked at me, at Carter, then slowly moved his eyes to the three of them.

"If anything happens, I will be always there," he said then without a second glance, left the boxing area.

"Hun, you okay?" Jenny asks coming to my side and hugging me, "We can just leave if you want to."

"Yes, please," I whispered and smiled at her, at least my best friend is here beside me.

"Boys, we will be going now." Jenny informs them, but Carter reluctantly shook his head, still not leaving my hand, "Are you going to leave me?" he asked. I avoided his gaze because I know his eyes will hypnotize me and twirl my insides.

"Scott, just leave her alone." Xavier says holding on his shoulder, "But..."

"Kate, ignore him. He doesn't know what he talks about when he is drunk." Xavier says and smiles at me, "I hope this won't affect anything good between all of us. I promise he will fix this when he becomes sober."

"I'll talk to you later," Jenny says to Xavier, and with that, we went out of this hell.

"Jesus, you really took your time to... where's he?" Lucas spotted us and came with an annoyed expression, which turned to confusion as he saw there is no Carter with us.

"He has his friends with him, take us to where you picked us." Jenny demands deadpanned. As if sensing the tension radiating from us, he looked away and nodded his head, "Get in the car. Um, Jenny? Shotgun?" he asked smiling nervously, I chuckled dryly. He does not have any clue on how to talk to her, but how did he know her to even start to like her in the first place? She will not like it when she knows, she's already whipped by Xavier.

"Uh, sure," she said shrugging and getting in the car.

"Kate, do you want us to go to buy some stuff? I don't think there are snacks back at your home, we finished it." Jenny says turning to me.

"I'm good." I answered shortly. I don't need anything to fill my stomach at the moment, it's already filled with anxiety and guilt. My mind is scrambled by what happened today, from the moment I didn't feel well to now. I believe my illness was a sign sent to warn me that something unpleasant was about to happen, but I dismissed it as bad luck. He said exactly what I was thinking, but I fought it because I knew deep down that I was growing to like him and couldn't go any farther because of... who he is. And him confessing that he wants to change and try to be the one that I appreciate and like; honest, trustworthy, and kind to others. The words were simple to be said for someone, but they weighed too much on me.

It is confusing and painful to feel like this. Why does he like me rather than all those model-looking girls? Why would he confess such a thing in front of everyone and not feel embarrassed? Carter is being too blunt these days, but secretive at some things. He told me that I am saying things that make him go mad, but I still don't understand what it is.

He keeps on saying 'I wish we could' and 'Did you mean it?' while I don't have the slightest clue on what he is talking about. But now, the pieces finally came together, he was talking about us. Whenever I say that he is a good friend and that we're only friends, it makes him lose hope in a way that I made him push out the feelings forcefully but not knowing what I am doing and saying. He was trying to say that he doesn't want us to be 'friends', but something more... it doesn't make sense at all.

This is so mad, he can't be saying that to me meaning it. It's been almost ten years, nobody ever liked me and tried to befriend me unless they wanted to use me in a way. I remember this one time when I tried to talk to my classmates back in middle school, they didn't spare a glance at me. What they would do is make fun of my 'extraordinary shoulders and wild hair' and then push me back. Here is the same, and adding my color and ethnicity to the mix, it's already a baked issue that I always serve.

This is why I get shocked when a guy like Carter, who has great posture and is so attractive with the right parts in the right places, who is popular and has already become a star of our school's football team, who every girl wants him so bad, how can he lay his eyes on me and say something like that so casually?

I shake my head to free myself from these thoughts. Xavier is right, he is drunk and had no idea what he was talking about. But my heart tells me otherwise, even though my mind is adamant that he did not mean it to me, but rather to someone else... maybe.

"Thank you for the ride Lucas," Jenny thanks him and gets out of the car. I followed with a small nod looking at him from the rearview mirror. After he left with him sticking his hand out and awkwardly waving at us until he takes that turn to the right, Jenny and I stood there, thinking the same thing.

"Now, how do we climb back up?" Jenny asks looking at the clothes that are still hung from the window frame.

I looked at the other windows of the house to see if there is any movement going on, this would be the end of me if they knew I sneaked out from my window and went to chase a boy, inside a bar and a boxing place.

Gulping in my sparking fear, I shrugged my shoulders and looked at Jenny, "Just as we climbed down." I said and walked to the cloth-made rope. We must do it, because not Jenny, but I would be the questionable person.

"You must be kidding, who would hold the clothes from the other end?" Jenny whispers loudly.

"Why weren't you this scared while you were climbing down and nobody was holding the rope for you? Girl, woman up, and let's just get in my room! It's so cold here." I whisper as loud as she was and gestured for her to climb first, which she accepted dreadfully.

"Be careful," I tell her as she started climbing up with me right at her bottom to catch her if she will ever fall, which I hope she won't.

"Are you looking after me?" she asks stopping climbing mid-way, "Yes, I am! Now just go on!" I said louder than I should have. Shit.

"Quick!" I said and she started to climb faster.

"Someone is turning the lights on! Kate, we're in trouble now—" her voice is cut off when she entered through the window. Oh no, mom and dad are awake.

I quickly hold onto the cloth and start climbing as if my life depended on it, which it actually does. My mind is running wild, if mom and dad saw me climbing to my room, if they knew that we were out, then they would ground me for life. They would never let me see the sun again, they would skin me alive and use it for making rugs, they would... okay, I'm exaggerating now.

I hurriedly reached the edge of the window frame and very luckily, the clothes untied from the leg of the bed and fell to the outside and into the muddy wet backyard floor, yay me.

I am dangling on the window frame and struggling to enter, my hands felt too weak to do that, "Jenny!" I whisper her name and try to look inside my room, she is peeking through the door and looking at what's outside the room. When she hears me, she snaps her head to me and gasps, "Shit, sorry! I was looking if we were on clear coasts, which we aren't, your parents are... here we..." she pauses and pulls me in the room with all her might. Finally, I'm so close to getting in and just forgetting any of this happened. One last pull was all I needed, but before she did, the door swings open, and the first thing we see is dad holding a baseball bat.

"What the hell is going on here?" his voice booms throughout the room, making Jenny squeal and let go of me. "JENNY!!" I scream, but before she even responds or I hold onto the frame, I fell from where I was and land on the brick-hard floor, instantly blacking out and feeling the numbness overtaking me.