Kit: Carson Brothers #1

by Dyble, S R

  I smiled and looked through my stuff again.

  “So...”

  I glanced up, I knew that sound...

  “You gonna tell me what’s been going on?”

  I rolled my eyes, sighed and reluctantly started telling her everything.

  Once I’d managed to blurt the full thing out Lilly was raging and started pacing my bedroom carpet.

  “That dick!”

  I nodded in agreement and slouched back into my pillow.

  “I go away and you start having a life whilst I’m gone!?”

  “Thanks, Lill’,” I chuckled.

  “Sorry, no offence babe, but you never do anything, you just live like a statue. Never moving forward…” Her words hurt, but they were true.

  I nodded again.

  “So, what you gonna do?”

  “I donno… I’ll start by staying in and avoiding my problems. I’m ill.”

  “Oh no you don’t, you never miss college. Tomorrow you’re going in and meeting that dick face to face.”

  I snorted.

  “Metaphorically...”

  “Tonight, you can come out with me. I promised my mum I’d do some shopping whilst she’s with my grandma.”

  I nodded and got up to get ready.

  A shower and scrub later I threw on some jeans, a hoodie and converse.

  Lilly looked at me as if to say ‘couldn’t you have put more of an effort in?’

  “What? I’m ill, remember?”

  She rolled her eyes, “Don’t bullshit me, Eves.”

  “I brushed my hair and put on some makeup. What else do you want?”

  “This guy has really gotten to you, hasn’t he?” she asked, chewing on her lip.

  “No. He’s an idiot, I really just don’t feel great... I drank my body weight in alcohol on Saturday night, give a girl a break.”

  “Uhuh, I believe you,” she said before following me out of my bedroom.

  * * *

  In Lilly’s car, I took my shoes off and lounged with my feet up on the dashboard.

  “Mate, get your sweaty feet off my car,” Lilly said, swatting my feet down.

  I huffed and propped my head up onto my elbow, looking out of the window and she laughed. “You’re like a spoilt child, but if you’re good, I’ll buy you some sweets.”

  I looked at her, pretending to be offended.

  “I am not! And it best be the good kind, not that shitty home branded crap. I need quality!”

  She laughed again, “What the hell are you on about? Why don’t you just sleep with him? Get it over with and you’ll feel better...”

  “Sleep with who?”

  “Don’t play dumb, Eves.”

  “Why on earth would I sleep with him? He’s an asshole.”

  “Sounds like you nearly did already,” she chuckled.

  “According to him. As far as I’m aware, I just kind of passed out after crawling into his arms...”

  I remembered how safe and cosy I felt in his arms and I mentally capped that thought and got back to hating him.

  At the shops, I grabbed a trolley. Heading inside, I lifted my feet up and rode it like a kid, grinning as Lilly shook her head and threw some stuff into it.

  “Tonight, I want pizza takeaway, a movie with Zac Efron in and a bottle of coke the size of my head,” she said strolling down an aisle.

  “Or Ryan Gosling,” I smiled.

  “Wanna go grab some chocolate- the decent stuff?” She winked at me and I left the trolley with her in search of the confectionary aisle.

  “Where the heck is this frikkin’ chocolate?” I asked myself quietly as I scouted down the aisle.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be ill?”

  I spun around the speed of lighting with only one thought in my head.

  No. Fucking. Way!

  I must have been dreaming, or more like plummeting into a nightmare... I was only deciding what chocolate to get when I heard his cocky Australian accent. I ignored him at first in the hopes that he’d piss off, but instead, he followed me down the aisle.

  “Come on Eve, you can’t be ignoring me.”

  That’s exactly what I was doing, I walked away and mentally dared him to follow me. What the hell was he doing here? Of all the places he could have been that evening and he was down the confectionary aisle in frikkin’ ASDA. When I felt his arms snaking around my waist, I considered screaming, instead, I opted for digging my nails into his hands and he hissed until he let go. I swung around to glare at him.

  “How dare you touch me!”

  “Jesus Eve, you’re not a fucking cat!”

  Thankfully this aisle was empty apart from us so no one was here to witness our confrontation, but other people must have wondered what the hell was going on.

  “I’ll be a frikkin’ ninja if you touch me again!” I turned fast on my heels and left the aisle before he could say anything more but as I rounded the corner I saw Lilly heading this way and I quickly grabbed her arm and urged her to turn around.

  “Not that way!” I said high pitched as I turned her and walked her the other way.

  “Why?” She looked at me.

  I gave her one look, and as if that was enough her face changed.

  “No!?”

  “Yes!” I answered and now she knew why we needed to leave.

  Only, Lilly did the absolute opposite and instead of walking away with me she turned back around just as Kit said, “You left your chocolate.”

  The cocky little shit, but wait, what was Lilly doing?

  I watched in astonishment as Lilly squared up to Kit and jabbed him in the chest.

  Passers-by slowed down to watch and all I could say was, “He stole her chocolate.”

  “Look here, you cocky little shit. I’ve been back home merely a few hours and already you’re getting on my last nerve. Leave my best friend alone or I’ll give you a story to tell your brothers about!”

  Wow...

  Kit laughed, “Well hello, hell-cat. What’s your name?”

  “Don’t you try your charm on me, you big twat. Leave her alone, got it?”

  “This story you’re gonna give me to tell my brothers about, are you gonna be in it?” he winked.

  What the frig? I found myself moving forward before I’d even thought about it and I stood between him and Lilly and moved him back with the palm of my hand.

  “Don’t flirt with my best friend, okay?”

  “Yes, baby,” he smiled.“So, she’s your best friend? I figured she was your bodyguard. I didn’t know you needed someone to stick up for you."

  “I don’t. I can hold my own or does your face or hands need a reminder in my self-defence?”

  Just as I said that Nick rounded the corner and Kit rubbed his face as if he could still feel my slap to his face.

  “You’re vicious,” Kit said.

  “Don’t piss me off then."

  With that, I turned around and walked away with Lilly and as I did, I heard Nick ask-

  “Woah, who is that?”

  “Man, I could have murdered him. No wonder he riles you up so much!” Lilly said as we reached the tills.

  I just nodded and hung over the bar of the trolley, hoping the queue would hurry up.

  “You need to cover that ass up, babe. There are old people here.”

  I was legit about to scream.

  I threw myself around and glared at him once more, “Out of all of the tills, you had to choose this one?”

  “Someone has to stand behind your ass. You’re gonna give someone a heart attack... Plus, that nice lady with a sign saying, ‘space here’ brought us here,” he grinned and I wanted to smack it clean off of his pretty face.

  Instead, I turned back around and ignored him, I was so paranoid about my arse as it was, I hated him standing behind me.

  “What the hell is he doing here now?” Lilly came back from retrieving chocolate and placed it on the till with everything else.

  “Hello,” Nick smiled at her as she sque
ezed past him in the queue. I had to admit, even I swooned a little at the sight of his smile. I could tell Lilly was because I had to practically pull her towards me and as we started packing the shopping, I could feel Kit watching my every move.

  “Don’t squash the bread, honey,” he said.

  He looked at the cashier and smiled casually.

  “She always squashes the bread,” he told her.

  “It’s normally the wife telling the husband,” she chuckled.

  “He’s not my partner,” I told her glaring back at him.

  “Oh.”

  “Playing hard to get,” Kit pulled a face to the lady at the counter, I felt my face heat with embarrassment and Lilly had gone all quiet, surely she couldn’t have been intimidated by him.

  “Can't imagine why," she said after looking at me.

  What the hell was that supposed to mean?

  "You don't know him like I do," I said casually whilst continuing to bag the shopping.

  "You're right, she doesn't," kit said cockily before winking at my mortified face.

  We grabbed our bags and I couldn’t get away quick enough. I wanted to cry, I was so embarrassed. Most of the bags fitted inside the trolley but I carried the crate of Coke that Lilly insisted on us buying.

  How she thought two women were going to finish a full bloody crate of coke, I had no idea.

  As we reached the doors, I jumped when I felt someone take it from my hands.

  “What are you doing?” I stared at Kit as he continued walking outside.

  “Carrying this for you,” he said as if it was obvious.

  “Where are you parked?”

  I pointed in the direction Lilly was walking in and he followed her to her car.

  “Don’t worry, he drives most people insane,” Nick commented as he fell in sync beside me.

  “Yeah, well just because he carried our shopping doesn’t mean I suddenly like him and he’s forgiven.”

  He chuckled, “That would be far too easy for him. Listen, is your friend single?”

  I looked at him as he was eyeing Lilly up in front.

  “Yes, but I have to warn you. She’s high maintenance, she needs a man.”

  He bit his lip and smirked, “I know what she needs.”

  I just laughed and as I did I saw Kit looking around at me. I found myself staring back at him until the intensity of his stare made me look away. I’d have walked into a pole otherwise. He had helped Lilly with the shopping and I heard her say, “Thanks, but this doesn’t mean I like you.”

  “I’ll have to earn that, sweetie,” he winked at her and walked away.

  “Chris missed you today, you best not leave him hanging tomorrow. Who else is he gonna use as a model to flick through his slideshow?” he said to me as he passed.

  “He could always use you, you think you’re model material, right?”

  I caught him smiling at me and as he winked my chest clutched a little and I had to look away.

  I got in Lilly’s car quickly and stared in the reverse mirror as they walked away, what the hell was that?

  “That was fucking brutal,” Lilly said.

  “Tell me about it.”

  * * *

  “Can’t believe you’re making me do this,” I said as Lilly drove me to college the next day.

  “Eve, you haven’t missed a day at college. Then some twat comes along and ruins your career options? I don’t think so... Plus, you can’t let him bother you. Stand up to the prick.”

  “I have been, just, when someone claims you’ve tried to have sex with them and they restrained themselves- kinda puts a downer on the whole defensive thing...”

  “He didn’t have sex with you because you were drunk, let’s just get that straight.”

  “If you’re so sure...”

  “Wait, so you wanted him to have sex with you?”

  “No!” God no...

  “Then why are you so bothered?”

  “I’m not, it doesn’t matter.”

  “You should just admit it, you like him and you hate it.”

  “I hate him, there’s a difference.”

  “Probably- doesn’t mean you don’t like him too.”

  “That makes no sense.”

  Lilly pulled up beside college and tapped my leg a few times.

  “Now, be a big girl, and I’ll meet you for dinner,” she smiled.

  “Cow,” I said.

  “I love you too, have a nice day!”

  “Seriously- you should just have kids now.”

  “Find me a donor...”

  I smiled, shook my head and got out of the car.

  “Ah! Eve, you’re here. We can do show and tell now,” Chris grinned and I held back my scowl, why was everyone so frikkin' smart-arse about everything?

  I sat down, being the only one here so far and looked up at him.

  “What did I miss?”

  “Nothing much, just research and catching up on old work. You got your photos ready?”

  I nodded, I’d edited them the week before. I made a separate folder because I knew Chris would want us to show them, and I made sure to decrease the number of photos I’d taken of Kit.

  People started wandering in and as the class quickly filled I was starting to wonder if Kit was coming at all, especially when Nick walked in without him. When Chris started the lesson I was a little relieved that Kit wasn’t here, even if I was racking my brains wondering where he was. I glanced over to Maddison who was sitting next to me and was doodling on her notebook as the first person put their USB stick into Chris’s computer and started showing us their work. I tried to listen the best I could but by the fifth person, I was just looking at each photo and not listening.

  Just as Chris called my name and I made my way over to the computer, Kit walked in and I stopped dead in my tracks to notice his black eye. He threw a smile at me as he stopped in front of me and without even thinking, I reached up and attempted to touch his face when realisation set in. I pulled my arm back just as quick, then I looked away feeling the familiar heat of embarrassment on my face.

  “You get into a fight with a pole on the way here, Kit?” Chris asked as I placed my USB in the computer. I felt like such an idiot, why on earth had I gone to touch him and in front of the whole class?

  Still. What had caused such a mark on his face? Had he been in a boxing fight?

  “Right, now Kit is here, let's continue, shall we?” Chris said before looking at me.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before turning around to face the class and started talking about the first photo, it was the one of the man jogging with the gym in the background.

  I explained each photo the best I could but regretted taking so many. The next photo was of Kit alone. I originally removed a lot of the photos of Kit but I wished I’d removed more. I could physically feel his eyes staring a hole in my face.

  “Was Kit the only male working out at the gym that day?” Chris said as I continued to flick through and I wanted the ground the swallow me whole and I closed my eyes before looking at him to reply.

  “Funnily enough he was...”

  “She just couldn’t resist,” Kit cut me off and I glared at him as the girls in the class giggled.

  “Sometimes you have to start small,” I replied quickly.

  Kit laughed, “Don’t get me started on small again, baby.”

  Fuming and ready to bite back I took a stance and forgot everyone was here when I heard Chris - “Kit, let’s see your photos."

  I took out my USB and took a deep breath before turning and landing practically at Kit’s feet. He grinned at me so I shoved him out of the way before sitting down where Maddison gave me a side look before continuing with her doodling. I sat ablaze with hatred as pretty boy owned the room with his performance.

  I sat forward uncomfortably and watched as Kit started explaining the photos taken at my auntie’s wedding. He explained that he’d had no time to edit any of them, so these were literally the or
iginals and I couldn’t help but smile to see photos of my auntie, despite my anger towards Kit. The next was a photo of me walking down the aisle, in the photo, I was smiling at someone and I felt every pair of eyes in the room focus on me as I lowered further into my seat.

  “Wow, you look beautiful,” a girl said from behind me.

  I smiled and thanked her without turning around and was thankful that the next few photos were of my auntie and uncle. I looked at Kit as another photo of me came on the screen, Kit didn’t look at me and I stared at the photo. I was holding my flowers to my side and talking with a huge smile on my face. The next photo was also of me but laughing and I felt my face burn more. I didn’t dare look around at the class because I could already feel each of their eyes digging into my head and I tried to relax as more photos of my auntie’s dress blowing in the breeze came next, followed by people laughing and having drinks. I blinked a few times in shock as another photo of me came next. The photographer had just left and I was thankful to rest my aching jaw but Kit must have captured me just after, looking at the flowers whilst my dress was lifting in the breeze.

  “These shots are amazing,” Chris said before looking over at me.

  Kit carried on and the photos had moved onto the speeches and people dancing. His final photos were of me again and in them I was under the willow tree. He’d taken the photos through the draping branches and I was looking up at the light beams through the branches. I would have never believed the photo was of me because, with the flowers in my hair and my floaty dress around my legs, I looked mythical.

  “Wow.” I heard Maddison say beside me.

  “This is model material, you know that right?” she whispered to me.

  I lowered my head into my hands and prayed Kit would just end his show so I could go back to being invisible.

  “Were there other bridesmaids, or just Eve?” Chris chuckled but Kit took a while and didn’t answer. I looked up at him through my fingers and he looked numb after looking at the photos. He sat down and I took a deep breath before gathering myself.

  “Don’t edit those photos. They’re perfect as originals,” Chris told him.

  I couldn’t fight the urge to at least glance at Kit. He nodded at what Chris had requested and I watched as Nick whispered something close to Kit’s ears and like a sixth sense, he looked up at me. I looked away so fast I could have gotten whiplash and I didn’t look his way again.