Chelsey folds her arms over her chest and glares at me. “Your phone has been ringing. It annoyed me, so I answered it to make it stop.”
I jump up and nearly stumble into her. “What? You can’t do that!”
She tips her head to the side. “I wouldn’t have to if you weren’t such a lazy ass. I can’t believe the art department chose you for a nude model.” She slides her eyes over my rumpled body. “I mean, please. Why would they want to draw that when they could have this?” Barbie gestures to herself, then winks at me.
I want to punch her in the face. That laugh, the way she hits the perfect grating pitch, the tone that gets under my skin the most. “Yeah, you’re hot. Go sign up if you want to be a nude model. I don’t care. Who was on the phone?”
“Your mother.” She rolls her eyes and glances at her nails while jutting out a curvy hip. “It’s so crude, Kerry. I told her about your new job, and she didn’t approve. We talked for a while, and that poor dear woman is worried sick about you.” She smiles up at me from behind incredibly long lashes.
“It’s none of your business.” I shove past her and grab some clothes from my closet. I can’t miss my next class. I still need to shower and get the hell out of here.
“No, of course not, but when a daughter won’t speak to her own mother it makes me wonder.” She smiles and the expression makes my stomach dip. It’s like she’s a cat and has a mouse by the tail.
“Shit, what did you do?”
“Nothing,” she swats a hand at me. “Well, nothing a good daughter wouldn’t offer. I invited her to visit and said she could stay here. I said I wouldn’t mind clearing out for the weekend. My new boyfriend is taking me out anyway, so it’s no trouble at all. I even suggested she bring your father, but they’re not together anymore. So, well, you know. I’m an open-minded woman, Kerry. I told her that her significant other was welcome here. I don’t mind, and I’m sure you won’t either.”
I stand there with my mouth hanging open. She invited Mom and Matt to sleep here? In the dorm, with me? What the fuck?
Chelsey reaches out and presses a finger to the bottom of my chin and closes my mouth. “Better man up, Bacon. Oh, that’s right—you can’t hold onto a man—not when your mother is around. Good luck with that.” She saunters out the room, her heels clicking on the floor, and down the hallway.
I sit down hard on the bed and clasp my head between my hands.
I can’t do this. I have to cancel Mom’s visit. I sure as hell can’t see her with Matt, never mind them sleeping together in a bed across from me. Hell, no!
I jump up and frantically poke the phone until it starts ringing my mother. It goes to voicemail.
“Mom, my roommate invited you here this weekend, but it’s not a good time. Call me back.” I hang up and hope to God she hasn’t already left.
Chapter 6
I slide into my spot in Art History and stare straight ahead. Carter still isn’t speaking to me. Neither is Emily. I feel her glaring at me from the back of the room. I fold my arms across my chest and slink down in my chair, wishing we didn’t have assigned seating. I can’t avoid anything. It’s all right there, in my face twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week. I can’t stand it.
The class passes slowly as Carter and I avoid looking at each other. He doesn’t glance up from his notes except to watch the professor drone on about abstract expressionism. There’s about five minutes left when he steps away from the podium at the front of the dark room to flip on the lights. Normally this is the cue to leave, but the prof clears his throat and looks out at the small class.
“I realize this topic is somewhat tedious. Viewing artwork like this on slides does little to convey the evocative nature of the work, so I’m sending you out into the world. You’ll all attend the exhibit at the museum with the traveling works of the twentieth century abstract expressionists with a partner. You’ll discuss the paintings and come back next week ready to report. I surmise that half of you will gain an increased awe. The rest of you are a lost cause.” He smirks and adds. “The person seated next to you is your partner for this assignment.”
Shit. That means I’m with Carter. I glance at his hands. They’re stained with black ink around the nails like he’s been painting. I had no right saying what I said to him—it was a low blow—but I don’t understand why he got so mad. He notices me staring and glances over at me.
“New painting?” I ask.
He nods and rubs his hands together. “Yeah.” He looks away and starts gathering his things. Other students are heading to the aisles and vacating the room.
I stand and block the aisle so he can’t leave. I need to grow a pair and apologize. “Listen, I didn’t understand why you and Emily were mad at me, but I shouldn’t have said that to you.” The nasty words need no introduction. He remembers as well as I do that I said he was a loser and had no friends. I called him a dick in front of other people, in front of the teacher.
Carter doesn’t look at me. He’s wearing dark clothes that hang off his slim body. With his chin tucked, his hair falls into his eyes and hides his face. He sighs and shifts his weight from one foot to the other, waiting for me to move. He’s not going to forgive me.
I step aside. As he walks by, I say softly, “You were the only kind person I met when I first got here. If you ever need anything, I’ll be there for you.”
Carter doesn’t stop. He doesn’t look back or reply.
Emily, on the other hand, is ready to rip me a new one. She’s been glaring at me from behind black eye makeup and red lips. The dark leather choker around her neck makes her look badass. I’m pretty sure she could kick my ass if she wanted to, and no doubt she knows what I said to Carter. That entire group seems to know. She’s not the only one who was glaring at me in class.
Emily falls into step beside me and pretends to be perky. “So, did you crush any other men last night? Rip out a few hearts and toss them aside like worthless pieces of shit, or was that just Carter?”
“Emily.” I stop and turn to her. We’re in the hallway now, and a few people walk by, but most of the class is gone.
“No, don’t even try to explain why you said it because there is no motherfucking reason why you could be so cruel to him. Carter has been through hell, and it’s all because of his dipshit former best friend—you know, the guy you hang out with? The one who fucked Carter’s girlfriend behind his back? You do remember me telling you that?”