Chapter 14

I’ve been fucking pissed off all day. Fucking Tony Andrews. How dare he ask her out? I made it clear to everyone that Kate and Emilia are off-limits. He sure has some goddamn balls. And Emilia. I can’t believe she’s going on a date after the moment we had yesterday. Was it just me that thought her sitting in my lap the way she did was, I don’t know, something. I slam my locker closed and make my way to the exit. I managed to take Kate home and get some extra weight lifting in while waiting for Emilia, but she should be done with detention any time now.

I’m even more pissed off when I see Tony standing by the door. He’s obviously waiting for her. His eyes widen when he sees me and he straightens. What she sees in him is beyond me. He’s stick thin and dorky as hell. Is that her type?

I walk up to him and pause right in front of him, getting all into his space. “I heard you asked Emilia out,” I say, my voice soft and low. Tony gulps and then nods. How brave. “Pretty sure I made it clear to everyone that my sister and Emilia are off-limits. You have a hearing problem, bud?”

He shakes his head and opens his lips, only to close them again. “She — she isn’t, Emilia isn’t… she isn’t your sister,” he stammers. “If she wants to go out with me, she… she can.”

I laugh. “I fucking know she isn’t my sister, Andrews. Thank fuck she isn’t. Still doesn’t mean you get to ask her out. What should I do with you, huh?”

The door opens, and Emilia comes rushing out. She looks fucking stunning. Her blonde hair is pin straight, as though she flat ironed it, and her top looks far tighter and far lower than it looked this morning. Guess that explains her absence at lunch. I stare at her cleavage and then glare at her. All this is for Tony? She walks up to me and pushes me away, getting between me and Tony. My opinion of Tony sinks even deeper when he lets her. Why the hell is he hiding behind Emilia?

“Tony can take me home later,” she says. “You didn’t need to wait for me.”

She grabs Tony’s hand and drags him away, pushing past me. He follows her eagerly. I huff and trail behind her, glaring at their joint hands the entire time. It’s obvious that they’re walking towards the shopping center a few blocks down. Movie theatre it is, then.

Emilia keeps glancing back and obviously knows I’m following her, but she ignores me. Fine by me. I stand behind them in line when we reach the movie theatre and buy myself a ticket for the same movie they’re watching. I watch Emilia’s agitation rise and grin to myself. I’m sure at some point she’s going to snap and cuss me out. Let’s see how Tony likes her then.

I wait for them to enter the theatre and follow them in. Once they’re seated, I take the seat to Emilia’s left while Tony is on her right. She’s stuck right between us. If it were up to me, I’d have gotten between her and Tony, but I’m sure she’d throw a fit if I tried.

Emilia tenses and glares at me, but I keep my eyes on the screen as I munch on my popcorn. I have no idea what movie we’re even watching. I just asked the girl at the ticket office for one ticket for whatever Emilia was watching, but it’ll probably be a chick flick.

Eventually Emilia acknowledges me and elbows me, hard. “Get lost,” she murmurs. I turn towards her and take in her face. She’s fucking wearing mascara or some shit. She dressed up for this fucker, huh? Like she needs it.

“Nope,” I say, popping the p just to piss her off. She turns away from me and grabs Tony’s hand. It’s clear that they want to move seats, but the room is packed. I watch them whisper to each other, and eventually they settle down in their seats, obviously having realized that they have no other choice.

Tony keeps her hand in his and I lean over her to glare at him, getting right in his puny little face. “You better keep your hands to yourself if you want to keep them,” I tell him, my voice soft and low. I smile at him and he shudders. He looks at me with wide eyes and lets go of Emilia’s hand. She glares at me and I hate that she actually looks distraught. Surely she doesn’t really care about this weasel?

Emilia leans into me and grabs my bicep, her grip tight. “Don’t do this to me, Carter. Please. I’ve never been on a date before, not even once. I’ve never even walked around holding hands with a boy. I’ll be sixteen soon and I still haven’t even been kissed. All because you scare everyone away.”

I look into her eyes and smile. “Good,” I whisper, intensely pleased with her words.

She shakes her head and looks up at me pleadingly. “Please don’t do this to me, Carter. It’s so unfair,” she says, her voice breaking. My heart fucking shatters. She wraps her arms around herself and stares up at the screen, looking lost as hell. I hate that I did this to her. Am I being too harsh? Realistically, I shouldn’t be so strict with her. I know Kate has managed to sneak a couple of dates in that she thinks I don’t know about, and I let that go. So why can’t I let it go when it’s Emilia?

Emilia looks crestfallen as we walk out of the movie theatre. Tony looks at her awkwardly and then comes up with an excuse to leave. She nods at him in understanding and sighs, a small insincere smile on her lips.

She stares at him as he walks off and I hate it. She looks like she’s freaking pining after him. Tony, of all guys. Eventually she inhales deeply and starts walking back to school. I follow her silently. She doesn’t look up at me until she reaches my car. I unlock the doors and she gets in. When I sit down, she turns towards me, her eyes blazing.

“You went too far, Carter. It’s one thing to pull pranks on me, but this was downright unacceptable. I never interfere with your private life that way. I don’t cock block you when you’re flirting with girls. Don’t think I didn’t notice how you were all over Gabby the other day. Did I act the way you just did? No. I just let you be. Why can’t you do the same?”

I stare at her wide eyed. “When the fuck was I all over Gabby?” I ask her, outraged. Hell will freeze over before I’m ever all over that viper.

Emilia rolls her eyes. “That’s not the point, asshole. I’ve never interfered with your flirting and whatever, but you’ve done it twice now. Once with Zach and now with Tony. It’s not okay.”

I lean back in my seat and start the car. I’m not even sure what to say to that. She seems genuinely hurt. I wasn’t really thinking today at all. All I knew was that I didn’t want her going out with Tony. Was I being too mean to her?

“I’m going to make you pay for this,” she says when I fail to respond.

“Yeah, I know, Minx,” I murmur. I’m relieved she’s speaking to me at all. When Emilia gets really mad, she gives me the silent treatment. I can’t stand it when she does that. I’d rather she fight with me and cuss me out than treat me like I’m thin air.

She stares at her phone the entire way home, and it isn’t until much later that I find out why. My little Minx texted everyone we know saying I have fucking chlamydia.