Chapter 20 #2
He doesn’t respond. Just walks out, slamming the door hard the frame rattles.
The silence that follows is deafening.
I’m shaking. Actually shaking. My legs feel weak, and my hands won’t stop trembling.
I stand there, shaking but standing, as Carter appears in the doorway.
“You okay?”
I nod slowly, my hands still trembling. “Yeah. I am.”
“Rhi.” Carter’s arms are around me immediately.
“I did it,” I whisper. “I actually did it.”
“You did.” He pulls back to look at me, and his eyes are bright with pride.
“I thought I was going to throw up.”
“But you didn’t. You stood up for yourself. You told him the truth.” He cups my face in his hands. “I am so proud of you.”
I start laughing, and then I’m crying, and then I’m doing both at the same time while Carter holds me.
“He’s really gone,” I say into his chest.
“He’s really gone.”
“What if he comes back?”
“Then you can handle it again.”
“He’s going to tell my mother terrible things about me.”
“Maybe.” Carter brushes tears from my cheeks. “You’ll talk to your mom when you’re ready. On your terms. Not his.”
I nod.
“You okay?” he asks softly.
“Yeah.” And, surprisingly, I am. Shaky and emotional, but okay. “Actually, I’m better than okay.”
There’s a creak on the floorboard, and Meg appears, holding two glasses of wine. “I thought you might need these. And also”—she looks at Carter—“you are very hot and I need to know everything immediately.”
I laugh.
She thrusts the wine glasses at us. “Drink these while I order pizza, and then you’re telling me everything. Starting with”—she points at Carter—“where did you come from, and are you really dating my best friend?”
“Yes,” Carter says, pulling me closer. “I really am.”
Meg grins. “Good. Because Matthew was a dick, and you seem much better. Also, you have good arms. Rhi is very into arms.”
“Meg!” My face burns.
“What? You are!”
“We’re going to my room!” I announce, grabbing Carter’s hand and pulling him toward the stairs.
Behind us, Meg’s laughter follows. “I’m ordering extra cheese! And Carter—you’re staying for dinner! Non-negotiable!”
In my room—finally, blissfully in my room—I close the door and lean against it. My space. My things. My life. And Matthew is not in it anymore.
Carter looks around, taking in my books, my string lights, my desk.
“It’s weird. I feel like I know you so well, but we’ve still got so much to find out about each other,” he says.
“Is that good or bad?”
“It’s brilliant.” He sits on my bed, and the sight of him there—in my actual room, in my actual life—makes everything feel real in a way it hasn’t before.
“So,” I say, sitting beside him. “That was awful.”
“I’m sure it was.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Yes, you could have. But I’m glad I was there.” He kisses my knuckles. “For the record, I was about five seconds from walking in and punching him.”
“Very good restraint of you not to.”
“Your roommate was distracting me with tales of her tinder dates.” He grins. “Also, pretty sure she’d throw a better punch than me. She has intense energy.”
I laugh, leaning into him. “She’s great. You’ll like her. She’s very protective of me.”
“Good. You deserve people who are protective of you.” His arm comes around me. “So, now what?”
“Now...” I think about it. “Now I call my mother. Tomorrow, probably. When I’ve had time to prepare. And I tell her the same thing I told Matthew. That I’m done letting other people decide what’s best for me.”
“Do you think she’ll take it well?”
“Probably not.” I look up at him. “But I’m not doing this alone. Right?”
“Right. I’ll be here. Whatever you need.”
There’s a knock on my door, and Emma’s voice calls through. “Rhi? Meg said to tell you pizza’s here in twenty minutes and Carter is staying whether he likes it or not!”
I laugh. “Hear that? You’re staying.”
“Wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else.” He stands, pulling me up with him. “Come on. Let’s go meet your roommates properly. Let me integrate into your real life.”
“You’re sure? They’re going to interrogate you.”
“I rescued you from a collapsed cave. I think I can handle three college girls.” He pauses. “Okay, that sounded more confident in my head.”
“Too late. You’re committed now.”
As we head downstairs, his hand in mine.
My roommates are going to love him almost as much as I do.
The pizza arrives. Meg makes Carter tell the whole rescue story, complete with dramatic reenactments.
Emma—my quiet, artsy roommate—sketches while she listens.
Sophie, our fourth roommate, comes home from her shift at the coffee shop and immediately declares Carter “way hotter than Matthew” before she even knows his name.
And through it all, Carter holds my hand under the table.
Stays.
Shows up.
Just like he promised.
Later, after everyone’s gone to bed, Carter and I lie in my narrow twin bed, tangled together, talking in whispers.
“Your roommates are great,” he says.
“They liked you. Meg gave me the thumbs up when you went to the bathroom.”
“Good to know I passed the test.” He kisses my forehead. “Thank you for letting me be here today. For letting me meet this part of your life.”
“Thank you for being here.” I trace patterns on his chest. “I was so scared. But having you there made me brave.”
“You were already brave. You just needed to remember it.”
I tilt my head up to kiss him, soft and slow and grateful.
When we break apart, he’s smiling.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing. Just—I’m really happy.” He says it like it surprises him. “Like, actually happy. For the first time in a long time.”
“Me too.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”