AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kate, on the other hand, looks furious. “Dating?” she repeats. Carter lets go of my hand and wraps his arm around my shoulder instead. “Yep,” he says. Kate looks at me and I involuntarily shrink into Carter. She’s looking at me like I’m the vilest thing she’s ever seen.
“Emilia, tell me this is a joke,” she says, her voice harsh and unyielding. “Tell me you guys are pranking us or something.”
Carter’s grip on my shoulder tightens and I inhale deeply before shaking my head. “It’s not a joke, Kate. We’re dating.”
She leans back on the sofa and stares at me with so much malevolence that I can’t help but shudder.
“How long?”
Carter sighs and starts to draw circles on my shoulder with his thumb — his attempt to calm me down a little. Usually that would’ve set me at ease, but right now it just makes me feel even more on edge. It makes me feel like we’re provoking Kate unnecessarily.
“It’s been a few months,” Carter says, and Kate bursts out laughing. There’s no humor in that laugh, though… only malice.
“Jesus, Emilia. You were fucking Carter and Mason at the same time?”
Carter and Helen both freeze, and it’s my turn to soothe Carter. I look up at him and smile reassuringly before shaking my head.
“No,” I tell Kate. “Mason and I have never been together. I said I was seeing someone, and you just assumed it was Mason. I couldn’t correct you and tell you it was Carter, so I kind of just let it go, and it all ended up spiraling out of control.”
Kate looks at me with raised brows. “Couldn’t correct me, or wouldn’t? You’ve been lying to my face for months now. I’ve never asked anything of you, Emilia. The only thing I ever asked was that you stay away from Carter. What kind of friend are you? How could you betray me like that? How could you look me in the eye and lie to me for months?”
I’m filled with shame and heartbreak. I knew I’d be letting her down when I followed my heart, and I did it anyway. I knew she’d react like this, and I decided Carter was worth it. I still believe that with my heart and soul, yet every single word that comes out of her mouth makes me feel like I’m being cut a thousand times over.
Kate looks at Carter and grins at him. “If she’s been lying to me, then she’s probably been lying to you too. Loyalty clearly doesn’t mean shit to her if she can go behind my back like that. How long until she does it to you? Can you really be sure that she hasn’t been screwing Mason?”
Helen straightens and pins Kate down with an angry stare. “That’s quite enough, Kate,” she says, her voice soft. “I know you’re angry, but don’t say anything in the heat of the moment that you’ll regret.”
Helen looks at us and tips her head toward the door. “You two… just go upstairs for now. We’ll talk later.”
I hesitate, wanting to speak to Kate, wanting to explain myself, but Carter tugs on my arm and walks me out of the living room.
“Give her time,” he says, sighing. He grabs my hand and pulls me up the stairs. Carter leads me into his room and lifts me into his arms as soon as the door closes behind us. He sits down in his desk chair and places me on his lap. It’s not until I feel his thumb glide over my cheek that I realize I’m crying.
I look up at him as the first of my sobs escapes my lips. “She hates me,” I whisper, my voice breaking. Carter inhales deeply and pulls me closer. I rest my head on his shoulder while his arms wrap around me.
“She doesn’t hate you,” he whispers. “She’s just shocked and angry. We’ve been keeping this from her for so long now. Give her some time to calm down first, and then we’ll try to talk to her, okay?”
I sniff loudly and Carter presses a kiss on top of my head. He rubs my back while I try my best to stop crying. “I’m sorry… I don’t mean to cry. This must be so hard on you too,” I murmur.
Carter smiles and presses another kiss to my hair. He leans back in his chair and repositions me so we’re both comfortable. “No, I pretty much expected exactly that. I’m not hurt, baby. Just annoyed my little sister is being an asshole. She’ll get over it, Minx.”
“No, she won’t. We should’ve told her months ago.”
Carter sighs and presses a kiss to my temple. “And ruin the first few months of our relationship? Why would we want to add more strain when our relationship was still so new? Don’t second guess yourself now, Minx. We did the right thing for us.”
The door opens behind us quietly, and I jump off Carter’s lap in surprise. Helen walks in, a concerned look on her face. I wipe my tears away and try to pull myself together, but I know she sees straight through me. Helen sighs and walks up to us. She cups my cheeks and wipes away the last few stray tears on my cheeks, a sad look in her eyes. She steps back and looks at the two of us, her lips slowly transforming into a smile. “So you two finally got together, huh? I always knew you’d find your way back to each other.”
I look up in surprise and she chuckles. She pushes a few strands of my hair behind my ear gently and shakes her head. “You two have my blessing,” she says. My eyes fall closed and I exhale in relief. I was terrified she’d be disappointed in us. I don’t know what I would’ve done if she was.
“Kate will need some time, Emilia,” she says, her voice gentle. I bite down on my lip and nod.
“What can I do? How do I make this better?”
Helen shakes her head. “You can’t. You know what she’s like, honey. She’ll get over it eventually, but in the meantime she’s going to feel betrayed and she’ll lash out at the both of you. Just keep in mind that she’s hurt, and that she didn’t mean any of the things she just said. Have some patience, okay? Everything will fall into place.”
Helen wraps her arms around me and I hug her back tightly, barely able to keep a new bout of tears at bay. I sniff and squeeze my eyes close, trying my best to stay in control of my emotions. Helen squeezes tightly and then pulls back. “Things will be okay, honey. Don’t you worry.”
I hope she’s right.
