Chapter 24 Donovan
For the second time since we met, I’m standing with my ear pressed to a door, listening to Carrie on the other side.
No shirtless guy on the horizon today, thank God.
And no sketchy groaning. My sister and my fake girlfriend are right there in the kitchen, their voices raised just enough for me to hear.
I glance over my shoulder, hoping Mom and Dad don’t suddenly burst into the hall. Coast clear.
Carrie pipes up again. “I haven’t known Donovan all that long, and I’m not going to act like what he did back then was great or anything. But I do know that ever since he found out about it all, he’s been working on himself really hard.”
“I mean, you’re screwing my brother.” Amelia snorts. “That’s not what I’d call impartial.”
“I’m not hooking up with Don!”
Anymore, you mean. You’re not hooking up with me ANYMORE. Hopefully, Amelia gets right under your skin and pisses you off and we get back into the groove…
“So, let me get this straight—you’re together, but you’re not having sex? I give you a week. Max.”
“We’re just friends.”
“Really?” I can hear my sister’s snorting from here.
“I know how that sounds,” Carrie says. “And yes, it is weird…”
“Mom said you were dating. And when I asked you earlier, you didn’t deny it.”
“I didn’t want to kill the mood.”
“So, what are you doing here?” asks Amelia.
“I just really love lasagna.”
“This is so fucked up. You guys are acting all coupley…” She pauses. “You know what—whatever. It’s not my life.”
“Let me tell you something, Amelia.” Carrie drops her voice, and I press harder into the door. “Up until this year, I couldn’t care less about your brother. As in, if I saw him lying on the street, I would’ve stepped over him.”
Harsh, man. I knew Carrie didn’t like me all that much back when I first went to talk to her, but I didn’t know it was leave-him-for-dead level.
“I hated his type. Superficial fuckboys who only care about themselves.”
Jesus! Weren’t you supposed to be helping me out? For a second there, I thought she was on my side. Now I’m not so sure.
Amelia bursts out laughing. “I’m so with you…”
“That was dumb of me, though. Because I didn’t actually know him. It kills me to admit it, but maybe I was a little judgmental.” Carrie breathes in. “Know why he came over to talk to me, that first time?”
What?! No! Retreat, Carrie—retreat! Is she seriously going to give my sister ammunition? Don’t do it…
“I’m going to go with—he was trying to pick you up?”
“Negative. He came to ask me for help. He wanted to learn how to be a good boyfriend.”
I freeze. Should I head on in there? Interrupt them before this goes any further? I stand there, rooted to the spot.
“You are fucking kidding me!” Amelia gasps.
“I swear it’s true. Just picture the scene—he’s standing there in the campus dining hall with this dumbass grin on his face, asking me for help being less of a dumbass.”
Objection! That’s not how it went down!
“If you hated him that bad, why’d you say yes?”
“I said no.” I can practically hear Carrie roll her eyes. “But you know him—he’s just as stubborn as you are. He wouldn’t let it go. He kept coming back again and again and again. I actually considered cutting his brakes. Get him off the streets.”
I wouldn’t put it past her.
“He ended up telling me why he cared so much,” Carrie continues. “And the reason was you. That’s when he told me what you went through.”
“I’m not seeing the link. This whole ‘be a better boyfriend’ thing—it doesn’t make sense.”
“It kind of does. You were stonewalling him; he wanted to win back your trust—but he knew you thought he was a man-whore who didn’t respect women on top of it all. And he felt that was the one thing he could change to prove to you that he could be better.”
My heart is pounding as I listen to her walk my sister through my personality glow-up strategy.
I clench my fists. I’m pissed. It feels like she’s betraying me, like I should be the one telling my sister about it all—not her.
At the same time, I feel seen. And when Carrie tried to get me to do it myself back there in the dining room, I didn’t.
Carrie continues. “I know you’re not going to forgive him just like that.” She snaps her fingers. “But I want you to know he sees you, and he feels so bad about it all. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but you’ve gone hard on him. So—now you know.”
Amelia snickers. “So, what now? I head back out there and give him a hug?”
“How ’bout you start by not treating him like your bitch? And maybe quit putting salt in his food when you think nobody’s watching.”
She did that? That explains the weird aftertaste. Carrie could’ve warned me, at least!
“I thought I was pretty smooth.”
“You’re talking to an expert in pettiness here.”
“You sure you don’t want to get with my brother?” Amelia laughs. “I think knowing he’s dating a psycho might make me feel better.”
I shift on my feet, craning to hear what Carrie says next but it’s inconclusive.
I want her to be mine so badly, but she’s impossible to read. And I value her as a friend so much, I don’t want to lose her. What if I tell her how I feel and I ruin everything?
“We should head back in.”
Footsteps are drawing dangerously close to the door.
I jerk my head back. Whatever happens, they can’t catch me here. I dash down the hall and duck into the bathroom just as the kitchen door flies open. I can barely make out their whispers, until Amelia lets out a yelp.
“You can’t do that!”
Now what are they talking about?! I flush the toilet and run the faucet for a few seconds, before slipping out of my hiding spot.
There’s a cake waiting for me in the middle of the dining table, a gift positioned neatly on the chair.
Mom cuts us slices, talking Carrie through everything she really shouldn’t know about me. I wolf down dessert. Every time I meet her eyes, she looks back down at her plate, and I’m so done here—I can’t wait to just get back to the guys.
“I’ll tidy up,” Mom announces. “You guys have a good night. You’ve spent enough time with us oldies!”
Dad frowns. “Speak for yourself.”
“Thanks for coming, Mom. This was nice.” I turn to check on Carrie. “Ready?”
“Let’s do it! You need to change, Amelia? Or you good?”
What?
My sister offers me a pained smile. “I’m good!”
“Oh, you’re going, too, honey?” My mom raises an eyebrow.
“Yeah, Carrie’s such a sweetheart. I couldn’t turn her down…”
Again—what?!
Carrie claps her hands. “Great! Thank you for having me! It was a pleasure to meet you.”
“Don’t forget to try to get Don over to DC!”
“I’ll do my best, Mrs. Wolinski!”
I’m sitting there wondering what the hell is going on, as Amelia and her new BFF head for the front door.
Out on the front steps, I grab Carrie’s arm, watching as my sister slides into the back seat of my car. No point beating around the bush, I decide.
“I think I missed an episode. Care to fill me in?”
She jerks her head up and meets my eye. “Excuse me?”
“What’s the situation with Amelia?”
Carrie leans to the side, and squints. “It looks like she’s fastening her seat belt. Either that, or she’s knifing your leather seats.”
“What the hell is she doing in my car?”
“Like I said, she’s—”
“What did you say to force her to come?” I interrupt.
“Me? Nothing!”
“Carrie—”
“I’m hurt you’d think I’d stoop that low. That would make me a horrible, manipulative, twisted little…” She pauses and grins at me. “Okay, you win—I blackmailed her.”
“You blackmailed my sister?”
She holds up a thumb and finger. “Maybe just a little.”
“I’m listening,” I say, tapping my foot.
Carrie sighs. She reaches for my shirt collar, pulling me in and down to meet her gaze. I can feel her breath on my skin, and all I can think about right now is kissing her.
“I grabbed her by the sweater—which was super soft, by the way. And then with my other hand, I wagged a finger in her face, like this. Scary, right?”
“Terrifying,” I drawl.
“And then I said—‘Listen up, Amelia. You’re coming with us tonight. Because if you don’t…’ ”
Carrie lets go of my shirt, and my head is spinning.
“Because if she didn’t—what?”
“I just left it hanging there. Like a cliff-hanger, you know?”
“You’re such a bad liar.”
“Really?” She smirks. “And how exactly would you know?”
“You do this thing with your nose. A kinda crinkly thing, like this…”
She curls her lip at me. “Oh, great. So, you’re telling me I look like a dog with rabies? Anyway—I call bullshit.”
Carrie pauses, then says, “Okay, fine—I told her she was coming with us, or I would spill. To your parents, I mean. And when I say I would tell them everything, I mean everything.”
Oh, wow. Hard-core.
“And so, this was right after you told her everything about my entire life, right?”
She gasps. “How did you… You were spying on us!” She thumps my chest, thinking for a moment. “You’re not mad at me, are you?”
“At first I was. But then you started building me up…”
“Good thing Amelia doesn’t know about the crinkly nose thing, huh?”
“Good thing I can tell when you’re being honest, too.”
She stares at me for a while, and it’s strange, but she’s not smirking at me the way she usually does. Just a step closer… I can’t help it. I pull her tightly into my arms.
“Donovan, what the hell?” Her voice is muffled against my chest.
“Just trying to suffocate you to death. Payback for letting my sister nearly get away with murder-by-lasagna.”
She’s shaking, laughing hard into my chest, and I hug her even tighter, feeling her arms snake around my back, sensing her relax. This single moment is worth every kiss I want to give her.
“Hey!” My sister sticks her head out of the car. “You guys wanna wrap it up?”
I look down into Carrie’s face. “You sure this is a good idea?”
“I thought if she could meet your friends, maybe that would help change her mind.”
“Yeah, I’m sure hanging out with Lewis is going to be a real game-changer.”
Carrie smiles. “When you put it like that… Let’s steer her toward Adam, instead. He’s super charming.”