Page 55 of Princess and Country

Carter and I busied ourselves cleaning up the mess as Jeff sat there, his gaze empty. As he if was thousands of miles away from here.

From across the room, my eyes found Carter’s. Are you okay? they asked.

Yeah. I don’t know what to do, mine answered back as they drifted to Jeff.

My best friend inched closer.

“You want me to talk to him?”

“What’s the point? He just wants to be left alone. Guess what? His wish will be granted. We’re leaving for South America, and he’ll have all the space he needs.” A heaviness settled in my chest. As much as I ached for my boyfriend, I was also tired of all this. “Maybe some time apart is what we both need.”

I wiped off the new set of tears building up in my eyes with the sleeve of my teal shirt—Jeff’s favorite color on me.

“Can I at least try?” Caster asked me, a little spark in his eyes.

“Go ahead.” I turned on the balls of my feet and stormed inside the house.

With my back resting against the door, I clamped my hands together to stop the tremors. I heard the voices on the other side.

Carter said something I didn’t quite catch.

“…I’d never hurt her. I love her, man. I’d be dead if it weren’t for her. Never say I don’t deserve her ever again. When I was in the middle of the fucking desert, the thought of seeing her again was the only thing keeping me alive. Don’t talk to me about relationships when you have none. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Carter spoke in a low voice, and I heard nothing.

“Dahlia’s mine. It’s about time you accept that, little bro. Let us deal with our own shit. None of it concerns you. Stop pining over my girl. Get a life. Stop living through ours.”

A loud pound resonated in the garage.

“Go to hell, big bro. That’s low. You used to be considerate. Now you’re nothing but an angry jerk.”

The sound of something shattering startled me. I wanted to go in there, but I couldn’t, my feet glued to the kitchen floor.

“Leave my girl alone. We don’t need you, Carter.”

“Who do you think has to step up every time you step down? Who was there for her when you were trying to prove a point by joining the Army? It was me. Every time. So don’t you tell me what I should or shouldn’t do. You brought this on you. Screw you. I came here to talk to you, not to be blamed for caring for the girl I’d give my life for but who chose you and loves you enough to deal with all your shit—”

“She loves me. Not you. Why can’t you accept it?”

“You knew how I felt about her when you asked her out. You never took my feelings into consideration. That was a low blow. You fucking broke me that day. We were supposed to have each other’s back—” Carter’s voice cracked.

Jeff mumbled something inaudible from where I stood.

I cupped my mouth with both hands.

I ran to my bedroom, choking on my sobs.

I stripped down, removing all my clothes from my body as if they had caught fire.

I jumped into the shower, wishing the hot water would ease my pain.