Kaitlyn frowned. “Isn’t Brady supposed to be in the slammer?”
Bekah shrugged. “Dunno. I think so. But he’s getting out, something to do with overcrowding of prisons. He’s on house arrest, and he’s being released into Marcus’ custody.”
Kaitlyn knew Carter would hate for his cousin to be living in a house with a guy like that, so she made an offer. “Do you wanna come and live with us, then? I know Carter wouldn’t mind.”
Bekah was surprised. “Are you sure? You guys don’t want some privacy?”
She shook her head. “It’s ok. I think you should come and stay with us. The house isn’t fit for habitation at the moment, ‘cause my mum is fixing it up, but when it’s done, you can move in.”
Bekah grinned. She leaned in and kissed Katie on the cheek. “Kaitlyn, I love you!”
They laughed in unison. It felt good to laugh with a girl about her age. It made her feel normal.
Now all she had to do was tell Carter.
They chatted for a few more minutes about nothing in particular. It was oddly liberating.
But the squeal of tyres interrupted them. The car in the lead was a red, Mitsubishi Evolution. It was Carter’s car.
It amazed Kaitlyn that even after his break from racing, he was still the best. He was the one people wanted to win. Cheers erupted as he crossed the finish line, closely followed by Alec. Marcus was a slow third.
The first thing Carter did when he got out of his car was look for Kaitlyn. Their eyes met briefly, before she shot through the crowd and launched herself into his arms. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing him deeply.
“Congrats,” she whispered.
Carter grinned and gently squeezed her hips. “Thanks.”
A not so subtle cough interrupted them. Carter put Kaitlyn down and looked over her head. T-Man was standing there, a cheesy grin on his face.
“What?” Carter asked.
T-Man gave a nervous laugh. “Just wanna congratulate you on winning, and I wanna give you your winnings. But if you don’t want them…”
Everyone around them laughed.
“Dream on,” Carter smirked. “Gimme my money.”
T-Man rolled his eyes and handed over a nondescript metal lunchbox. Carter opened it and grinned at the amount of money.
“How much?” Kaitlyn asked T-Man.
“Two-fifty.” He handed over another lunchbox, exactly like the first one. “And this makes five.”
Kaitlyn opened the second lunchbox and squealed. She slammed the lid shut and pulled Carter’s head down to kiss him.
“Oh my god,” she whispered. “So much money. What are we going to do with it?”
Carter shrugged. “No idea. Bank it? I think after winning this much, my racing days are over.”
The crowd booed him. Carter could never stop racing. He was the best of the best. People loved him.
Looking around, Carter grinned. “Just kidding.”
The crowd cheered. Kaitlyn looked at Carter and wondered how she could have landed him. He was amazing.
“But,” Carter continued, “I’m taking some time off. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks.”
Ignoring the booing, he fist bumped T-Man then got back in his car. Kaitlyn followed his lead.
In the car, as they drove away, Kaitlyn admired Carter.
If he really wanted to, he could be a race car driver, a professional, she thought.
Carter caught her staring. “What?”
She sighed and looked down at her lap. “Nothing. I’m really proud of you.”
Carter’s chest swelled. It was nice to hear those words from her, especially after all the mistakes he’d made, and all the times he’d hurt her.
“Thanks, Katie, that means a lot.”
They got back to Proximity and Carter promptly hid the money in the apartments safe. He and Kaitlyn readied themselves for bed, and settled in for the night.
He wrapped his arms around Kaitlyn and she laid her head on his chest. She traced the muscles of his chest with her fingers, wishing that he’d always been just hers, and not a cheater. He had broken her heart so often, that if he did it again, she feared it would be broken forever. If anything bad happened to him or to their relationship, she didn’t think she could handle it.
Carter was thinking. He wanted to make it up to Kaitlyn. He would do anything to make her happy. He just wished he could take his arrogant, cheating ways back and throw them away. He wanted to erase them.
Even proposing hadn’t worked. They’d broken up.
Maybe I should get a tattoo, he thought.
In the next instant, his eyes were closed, and he succumbed to sleep.
Carter woke the next morning, a grin on his face. Kaitlyn was encased in his arms, perfectly at peace. He wanted to make a huge declaration of love, to prove that he was worthy of her.
He loved her so much, and he couldn’t imagine life without her.
Slipping out of bed, he made sure not to disturb her, and snuck out of the apartment. He made his way down to the carpark where his car was and jumped in. He turned the engine on and drove to the nearest tattoo parlour.
He entered, and announced to the tattoo artist what he wanted.
“Are you sure?” the guy asked him. “It’s not the best idea to get someone’s name tattooed on yourself.”
“It’s my daughter’s,” he lied.
The guy shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
He began working away at Carter’s tattoo. The pain wasn’t that bad, despite the guy saying it could be excruciating. Carter had felt worse.
An hour later, he proudly walked out with Kaitlyn tattooed across his shoulders.
He later entered the apartment and found Kaitlyn in bed, watching a crappy daytime movie.
“Hey,” he said casually.
She laid down the remote and smiled at him. “Hey. Where’ve you been?”
He grinned and pulled his shirt off. He turned around and showed her the tattoo.
He heard her gasp. “You got my name tattooed on your back?”
He turned around and grinned. “Yeah, you like it?”
Her jaw dropped. “I can’t believe it! Why? Why’d you do that?”
His smile dropped. “You don’t like it?”
She closed her mouth, and then opened it again, like a fish. “No, no,” she stuttered. “I love it. It’s just…why? I didn’t think this was your kind of thing.”
He shrugged. “I wanted to prove to you how much I love you, how much I care. And seeing as asking for you to marry me didn’t work out…”
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “That’s the sweetest thing ever, Carter!”
His smile returned. “Really? You like it?”
She smiled back at him. “Yeah, I love it.”
“Awesome.”
He climbed into bed with her, shirtless. She grinned and lay back against him, letting his bare skin warm her up.
“I miss this,” she said quietly. “We used to do this all the time, do you remember? Then you got all weird on me.”
He sighed. “Can we just forget about that, Katie? I want to move forward, and forget the past. I was a screw-up, and I don’t really want to remember that.”
She sighed, silently agreeing with him. The past was the past.
She just wished her heart would remember that.
“So, what inspired you to get my name tattooed across your shoulders?”
He shrugged. “Like I said, I wanted to prove to you that you’re my one and only. I can’t imagine life without you.”
She blushed. It seemed Carter was always making her blush. God, she loved him so much.
“I love you,” he promised. “I love you so much.”
She sighed, utterly content. “I love you too, Carter.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I promise, I will never let anyone hurt you, ever again. I swear, no one will even get close to doing that. I’ll murder them in their beds bef
ore they do.”
She giggled. “Thanks, that means a lot.”
Carter sighed dramatically. “Don’t you trust me, Katie?”
She rolled her eyes and raised her head. She looked him in the eye. “You are so weird.”
They both burst out laughing. It was as if things were back to normal.
But Carter had a gut feeling that things were just going to get worse.
***
Deangelo Carboni was fuming. After being thrown out form T-Man’s house, he’d been banned from any and all future races T-Man organised.
He just didn’t get it! What was it about that bitch that made everyone want to take her side?! Hell, did they not see how she was all over him at that K’Road race?
He wanted to hurt someone. He wanted to fight.
“Babe? Are you coming to bed?” That was his latest girlfriend, Aria. She was the sister of his ex, and the aunty of his dead daughter.
Yikes, he thought miserably. That was a mistake.
De didn’t want her, but he needed some company of the female variety.
He shook his head. An hour ago, Aria had gone to bed, but he’d stayed in the lounge, cracking open bottle after bottle of beer, rum, vodka, whatever he could find, basically. He was well on his way to being smashed.
“Why not?” Aria was at a loss of what to do. She didn’t know how to handle De in this state.
De burped, loudly. “Shut the fuck up, Aria.”
She bit her lip and decided to go back to bed. It was obviously for the best. She couldn’t handle him.
De heard her walk away. He was angry. Angry at the world, angry at himself, and angry at Kaitlyn Johnson. If she hadn’t spun that web of lies, he would still be with his mates, drinking, partying, having fun and carrying on.
He wanted revenge.
He wanted to hurt her.
He belched again, and crushed the can in his hand. He launched it across the room with a yell.
“Screw you Kaitlyn!” he yelled. “You ruined my life!”
He got up, adrenaline coursing through his veins, and faced the wall. He drew back his hand and slammed it into the wall.
“I hate you!” he cried.
Slam. His hand broke through the wall.
He continued to punch, yelling obscenities about Kaitlyn, Carter, T-Man, and anyone else he thought of. He wanted to hurt them.
“De?” That was Aria. He felt her light touch on his back. “De, baby, come back to bed.”
He pivoted on the spot and backhanded her across the face. She fell to the ground, and looked up at him with fear in her eyes. It was real fear, the kind he hadn’t seen since he’d killed his parents.
“Don’t touch me,” he spat, and hauled her back to her feet. He threw her back onto the couch and stood over her. “You’re all the same,” he hissed. “All of you, wanting to change me. Leave me alone, I DON’T WANT YOUR HELP!”
He picked her up, one arm under her shoulders, another under her knees. He carried her to the bedroom, where he proceeded to screw her.
He ignored the tears and her cries. He was Deangelo Carboni, and he took what he wanted, when he wanted. No one could stop him. He was his own man.
Chapter 17
A little over a week later, Carter and Kaitlyn had moved into Carter’s house, and now it was Bekah’s turn. Just in time, too, because Marcus was bringing his brother, Brady, home tomorrow.
Bekah gasped when she saw Carter’s house. “My god, Carter, how’d you manage to afford a place like this?”
Carter laughed. This house was definitely his dream come true. A greyish, beige carpet spread throughout the house, with Navajo White paint on the living area walls. Carter had taken Kaitlyn furniture shopping and she’d bought a charcoal sofa, with green pillows. She’d also bought an off-white, loosely knotted blanket to throw over the back of the sofa. It was possibly his favourite furniture set-up in the whole house. Kaitlyn really had a great eye for interior design.
“Katie’s mum helped out a lot,” he confessed.
Bekah looked up and towards the kitchen area. Kaitlyn’s mum had turned the three separate dining, kitchen and lounge areas into one large, open-plan area. Kaitlyn was in the kitchen, making lunch.
“Nice, Katie,” Bekah commented. “Did you help too?”
Katie nodded. “Yeah, I picked out all the furniture. Carter, take’s Bekah’s bags for her and show her where she’s staying. Don’t be so rude.”
He laughed and did as he was told. It was nice to have his two favourite girls living with him. Bekah was more like a sister than a cousin, and Kaitlyn was the love of his life.
He grabbed Bekah’s bags off her and led her towards one of the spare rooms. The one he led her to, had been specially decorated for her. Kaitlyn had gone all out, having fun with this room.
“Oh, wow!” Bekah cried, opening the white oak door. “This is amazing!”
It really was. After hounding Carter for Bekah’s favourite colours, she’d really gone to town. She’d bought a black frame double bed, with a padded headboard and matching grey sheets. There were black end tables with mirrored tops, with deep red and black Victorian style wall lamps hanging over them.
Behind the bed, there were no windows, but Kaitlyn had hung a curtain rail up, to hang some deep red curtains. It was a feature wall, but a removable one, so that when Bekah moved out, they could take it down.
On the floor, a plush, deep purple rug. Bekah quickly kicked off her boots and walked over it. She loved the soft fabric between her toes.
“Wow, she must have put so much effort into the room,” Bekah complimented.
Carter laughed. “Yeah, Katie was really excited. She hopes you like it.”
“Are you kidding? I love it!” She laughed, and Carter hugged her.
“Do you need a hand unpacking?”
Bekah shook her head. “I’m ok. What’s Katie up to?”
“Oh, she’s making lunch.”
Bekah smiled and Carter left her to unpack. He walked into the main room and sat down at the dining room table.
“How’s Bekah?” Kaitlyn asked. “Is she settling in?”
Carter nodded. “Yeah, she seems ok.”
“Does she need help unpacking?
He smirked and got up from his chair. He walked over to stand behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I already asked her that, Katie. She assured me she was fine.”
He kissed her shoulder and gave her a smouldering smile.
“Good, Kaitlyn replied. Now, do me a favour, and go and set the table.”
Carter eyed the spread Kaitlyn had prepared. Potato salad, rice salad, bread rolls – she’d bought those – coleslaw, and a fruit salad. It looked delicious.
“What’s with the health kick?” he joked.
Katie spun around and grinned at him. “It’s not a health kick, Carter. I just think, with the way we keep messing with our sleeping patterns by going out to all these races, we need to be more careful with our health.”
He grinned right back. “Like I said, health kick.”
She groaned and pushed him away. “Just set the table.”
He laughed and stole a kiss. “Love you Katie.”
She rolled her eyes and moved away. “Love you too. Now set the damn table!”
He began setting the table like she ordered, and admired her from afar. The way she moved around the kitchen was like she was right at home. She was stunning.
Kaitlyn was just pouring the drinks when Bekah walked out of her room.
“Hey,” Katie greeted. “Do you like your room?”
Bekah smiled at her. “Yeah, I love it,” she enthused. “Real cool. It’s totally me.”
Kaitlyn was happy to hear that.
“Carter,” she ordered, “help me bring the food over.”
Bekah jumped up to help, but Kaitlyn waved her down.
“Nonsense,” Kaitlyn said. “It’s your first day here, you sit and relax, me and Carter will bring everything over.”
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Bekah sighed and sat down at the table. Carter carried over the salads, and Kaitlyn carried over the bread rolls and drinks.
They sat down to eat, Kaitlyn secretly elated that life could be so normal. This was the kind of life she wanted, now and forever.
Carter loved this. The past week, Kaitlyn’s nightmares had been becoming less and less. She’d calmed down around him, and was almost back to her usual, fun-loving self. Moving into the house was certainly helping.
“So,” Bekah said conversationally, towards the end of lunch. “Did you hear about De?”
Kaitlyn froze. Carter clenched his fists.
“What about De?” he asked, outwardly calm, but silently seething.
Bekah took a bite of her bread roll, chewed, and swallowed. “He’s been arrested.”
Kaitlyn paled. Carter began choking.
“He what?” he yelled. “What the hell for?”
Bekah looked at him like he was crazy. “Jeez Carter, it’s not a big deal. He just got into a fight, that’s all. He’ll be out later today. I know he’s your mate and all, but chill.”
Carter’s face twisted in fury. “Deangelo Carboni is no mate of mine.” He pushed his chair away from the table and stormed off.
Bekah watched him walk away. “God, what crawled up his ass and died?” She turned back to Kaitlyn and saw tears in her eyes. She felt guilty.
“I…I’m sorry,” Kaitlyn choked. She, too, stood up and ran away.
Bekah watched her run and wondered what the hell was going on. Something was up, and she wanted to find out what.
Kaitlyn found Carter on the garden bench out back.
“You ok?” she asked him sadly.
He looked up at her. “I should be asking you the same thing.”
She shrugged and sat down next to him. They sat, not touching, in a comfortable silence.
“So, how are you really, Katie?” Carter asked quietly.
She sighed. “I’m fine. I just wish that I’d told the cops about De now.”
He leaned forward, gripping the seat tightly, and looked back at her. “Do you really?”
She shrugged. “I guess. Just knowing that he’s out there, continuing to hurt people…I don’t want to enable him to do that. I want to bring him down, lock him up and throw away the key.”
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