up with someone.”
Lily smiles, her entire face lit up with happiness. “That is so amazing.”
“She’s lying. Stay away, evil child,” Blanche growls, slamming her door shut behind her.
“Were you coming to see me? Lily asks, chewing her lower lip. “We were on our way out.”
The guilt on her face has me reassuring her quickly. “I’m just going to see Charlotte, but I will catch up with you when you’re free.”
She lets go of her lip, visibly relaxing. “I’d really love that.”
“I’ll catch you both later.”
“Wait, who are you setting Blanche up with?”
My gaze flicks from Lily to Jaxon, who looks smug as fuck.
“Jaxon’s granddad.”
I leave him with his mouth hanging open and race up the garden to the small gate Maverick installed a little while ago to make it easier for us to come back and forth.
Letting myself in, I hear sobbing and head towards the sound. What’s she got herself into now? As I pass a set of shelves in her hallway, I see a flicker of movement and duck in time to miss her cat taking a swipe at me.
The thing hisses, so I hiss back, baring my teeth. “Don’t make me lock you outside,” I warn it, before stepping into the front room.
The scene before me doesn’t surprise me. Charlotte has always been nutty—it’s why she’s my favourite. But what does surprise me is the gruesome scene on the television.
“You got scared to tears again?”
Jumping, Charlotte spills her bowl of popcorn. “Oh, Hayden, it’s so sad.”
I glance at the television to check I’m seeing this right.
I am.
My brows draw together. “What is?”
“He was bullied by the kids at his school and his parents always made fun of him. That one,” she says, pointing to a brown-haired chick with an axe, “just taunted him about it and then killed him.”
“Isn’t he the killer?” I ask, motioning to the creepy looking thing on the screen as I sit down, grabbing a handful of popcorn.
“Yes.”
“Then why are you crying?”
She bursts into tears again as the credits begin to roll. “It was so sad. He only wanted to be loved.”
“Well, okay then,” I mutter, before realising she’s alone. “I thought you were spending the morning with Scott?”
She’s suddenly interested in flicking through Netflix. “We should find a movie.”
“What happened?” I ask, leaving no room for argument.
She shifts on the sofa, facing me. “I upset him. He thinks he likes me more than I like him.”
“And if he did like you more than you liked him, what’s the problem?”
I hate this Scott already, and I’ve not even met him. They just met. They should be getting to know one another, not having a competition on who cares for whom more.
“I really like him. I do. But I think I’m doing it wrong.”
Please don’t let this be about sex.
“Doing what wrong?”
“Being a girlfriend. I keep messing up.” Her bottom lip begins to tremble.
“Does he tell you that?” I ask softly, hiding the need to yell about the piece of shit.
I can sense the lie before she even opens her mouth. Her gaze diverts to the side and she twists her fingers together in her lap.
“No. No, nothing like that.”
“Charlotte,” I warn.
“What do you want to watch?”
Sighing, I let her think I’m dropping it. I’m not. I’m going to give this Scott a real Carter greeting and let Landon know to do the same.
He’s going to feel like shit once he finds out. He loves Charlotte. They’ve been close our whole lives. I think his hero complex was drawn to her bubbly personality and naivety.
With Paisley now in his life, he’s not been around as much, and it’s starting to show. I don’t want some toss pot thinking he can take advantage of her. She’s family. No one fucks with my family.
“Why don’t we watch Grey’s Anatomy until it’s time to go out?” I offer, giving her a small smile.
“Out where?” she asks, visibly relaxing.
“I’ll explain later.” She’s definitely holding back, but until she’s ready to talk, there’s no use in trying to push her. “What episode should we watch?”
“Ooh, we could watch the episode where Izzy gets married.”
I roll my eyes. “Or the one where McDreamy dies.”
She twists her lips. “That’s not really a cheerful episode.”
“Really? You just sat here crying over a serial killer. Horror movies aren’t meant to make you cry.”
She mulls over my words before shrugging. “All right, as long as you skip to the part where she tells people he’s dead.”
“After we watch the car scene.”
“Deal.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“You are so