He didn’t say another word as we made it to my dark-blue car, and part of me wondered if he’d even be able to fit inside it. There had only ever been me that got inside it, and my mom at a push if she needed to, and we were both firmly under five foot four. Whereas Carter was easily six foot two.
Part of me expected him to comment on my tiny car, but all he did was open up the passenger door and slide inside. He’d gone quiet, and even though it was in my nature to make small talk and possibly put my foot in it, I decided to keep silent too and got into the car.
The drive took just over an hour, but the farther we got from the airport, the more my shoulders relaxed. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. Jenifer said it was for a few months, so all I had to do was provide him with a safe space to stay until then.
I turned into my street, and my lips lifted up into a smile. I loved my house more than anything else. I’d saved up for the one-story, small cottage-style home, and I’d fixed it up little by little. It still had a way to go until the whole house was done, but it was my own little slice of heaven.
Pulling into the driveway, I then switched the engine off and turned to face Carter. His gaze was fixated on my front door, and I wondered if he was tracing the numbers five, six, and eight. “This is my home.” He didn’t move to acknowledge me at first, but when I placed my hand on his arm, he jumped a little. “Sorry.”
“No worries,” he gritted out, a muscle in his jaw ticking. He flung open the passenger door and pushed out of my car then strolled to my fr
ont door. He waited, his attention on anything but me as I moved toward him.
I pushed my key into the lock and the wooden door creaked open. “I’ll get you a key made,” I told him and stepped inside. The small entryway consisted of my collection of shoes on a shoe rack, and a circle mirror attached to the wall. It only took a couple of steps to enter the living room, and from here you could see the kitchen and the start of a small hallway which led to a bathroom and two bedrooms. “This is the living room,” I told Carter. “Kitchen.” I pointed toward the kitchen and then to the glass sliding doors. “They lead to the backyard.” I flicked my gaze up to him, wondering what he thought of my house. Or if he even cared.
Carter pushed his hand through his dark-brown hair and huffed out a breath. “And my room? Or do I gotta sleep on the sofa?”
“Oh no, I have a spare room.” I waved my arm at him and headed toward the hallway. There were three doors, one right ahead which was the bathroom, and two opposite each other. The left was my room, and the right was the spare room. I pushed the door open and swallowed. “I know it’s small…”
I waited as he strolled past me, his arm whispering against mine as he stepped into the room. “Bigger than the one I have at home.” He threw his bag down on the bed I’d made right after Jenifer had called me last night.
I shuffled on the spot, not really sure how I felt having someone else in my space. I was used to living on my own and not worrying about anyone, but now I had a man—no, he was still a teenager—in my house, and I wasn’t sure how this would work, the one thing I was sure about was: “We need rules.”
“Rules?” Carter asked, turning around to face me. He’d been taking everything in the room in. The single bed pushed against one wall and the chest of drawers opposite. It was the definition of a box room, but he didn’t seem fazed by it one bit.
“Yeah.” I cleared my throat and clasped my hands in front of me. My sweaty palms told me I was nervous, as if I hadn’t already known that. “I’m not sure what rules your mom has—”
“She ain’t got any,” Carter interrupted, his brows lowering as he stared at me.
I glanced away from him, not able to keep eye contact. His deep voice and the atmosphere swirling around him was knocking me off-kilter. “Well…” I cleared my throat and begged my feet not to move away from him. This was my house, and while he was staying here, he’d follow my rules. “Your curfew is midnight.” He opened his mouth but I didn’t give him the chance to talk. “And you attend school every day.” I pulled in a breath. “I’ll know if you’re not there as I’m an English teacher.”
“You’re a teacher?” he asked, his gaze trailing over the workout leggings I was wearing and the oversized sweater hanging off one of my shoulders.
“I am.” I took one last look into his eyes, wishing I hadn’t when his stare connected. There was so much swirling inside them, and I had no idea how to understand any of it. I had some idea of how it had been for him growing up, but I didn’t really know. I could sense what he’d been through, and could listen to my sister as she told me stories of him skipping school so he could pay the rent that month. It shouldn’t have been his responsibility to do that, and I was even more determined to make sure he didn’t have to do it here.
“I’m meeting my mother for lunch,” I finally said, looking away from him. “Will you be okay here on your own?”
“Yeah. I’m gonna crash for a bit.”
I nodded, stepped back, and my hand collided with the door handle. With one last look at him, I closed the door behind me, and took what felt like the first breath since I’d met him in the airport.
Chapter 2
My alarm beeped out in the otherwise quiet room, but I didn’t have to open my eyes to turn it off because I’d already been awake for an hour. Carter’s soft snores had me more than aware he was in my house. I hadn’t seen him since I left for lunch with my mom yesterday. It had been on the tip of my tongue to tell her that Carter was staying at my house, but for some reason.
I knew what she would think. She’d tell me I was stupid for helping Jenifer out. She’d tell me I was being a fool. She’d talk down to me, just like she always did, and I just...I didn’t need her opinion.
I huffed out a breath, fed up of my own thoughts, and pushed myself up into a sitting position. My glasses sat on my bedside table, but I didn’t reach for them. Instead, I headed right into the bathroom and washed my hands to put my contacts in.
I went about my usual routine, taking a shower, washing and drying my hair, brushing my teeth. And nearly an hour later, Carter’s snores were still ringing out. It took me several minutes standing in front of his bedroom door for me to pluck up the courage and knock on it. We only had thirty minutes until we had to leave for school, and then we had to enroll him too.
“Carter?” I asked, leaning closer to the door and waiting for him to answer, when nearly a minute went by and he hadn’t replied, I repeated, “Carter?” and knocked harder. I’d told him the rules, and now he was ignoring me. I’d taken a chance on him and told Jenifer I’d help, but if he wasn’t going to—I pushed my shoulders back and opened the door. This was my house, and I had every right to go inside there. “Carter!”
He jumped up in bed, his feet seeming to land on the floor out of nowhere, as he lunged for the small bedside table, but halted when his eyes opened and he saw me. “Fuck, Skylar. You don’t sneak up on a guy like that!”
My heart hammered in my chest and I tried to keep my gaze focused on his face and not on his naked body. Who the hell slept naked in someone else’s house? “I...erm...you…” I could feel the burn of my cheeks and I couldn’t stop my attention zoning in on his groin. “Ah!” I slapped my hand over my eyes and held my other hand out. “You weren’t answering me.”
“Because I was asleep,” he said, and from the tone of his voice, I could just imagine he was smirking. “What the hell you waking me up so early for anyway?”