Playing With Fire (Guarded Hearts) (18 page)

Madison

Why was I in the hospital? My body hurt all over. It kind of felt like the morning after when I'd gotten really drunk. However, that didn't make sense because I only had two drinks. My ribs and my head hurt really bad too. "Carter, why am I here?"

He told me everything he knew. I was in shock. I was drugged? Who was the guy I left with? I started to cry. I hated that I couldn't remember any of this. The nurse said they were going to discharge me today and I couldn't wait to go home.

"Mr. James, these are your wife's discharge instructions." His wife? The nurse left and Carter turned to me.

"I had to say I was your husband, or they would have never let me stay with you."

I was a little freaked out. We'd only known each other for four months. Although, a little part of me couldn't wait to be Mrs. James.

*  *  *

It was the first day of the spring semester and I was more excited than I was last semester. Carter and I were happier than we'd ever been. For a little while, it was hard after what happened on New Year's, especially since the police have no idea who I was with that night.

I was having nightmares about that night
,
and what would have happened if Jason hadn't come to get me. It was so scary having a piece of your memory missing and not being able to do anything to get it back. At this point, though, I was going to do what I did best-suck it up and move on.

I had five classes this semester and Carter was in two of them. Chris was in one. I was dreading that class more than anything else.

My first three classes of the day were easy and when I walked out of the third one, Carter was there waiting for me. "Ready to go to lunch, Mrs. James?"

I laughed. Carter had been calling me that every once in a while since the hospital. I'd told him how, eventually, I wouldn't mind becoming Mrs. James and, ever since, he'd gotten a kick out of calling me it. "Yes I am, Mr. James."

We met Shawn and Jason for lunch. Nicole was supposed to come, but she wasn't feeling that great. When I said that, though, Jason had looked relieved. Apparently, he and Nicole had hooked up on New Year's. He said they were both upset about what happened with me. I knew that it meant more to Nicole, though, and I had a feeling it meant more to Jason too.

I'd never had a family before, but I felt like this was what it would be like. I'd do anything for these three boys and I knew they felt the same. Carter was rubbing my back up and down in the way he did when he wanted to calm me down. I looked over at him confused because I was perfectly fine right now.

He leaned down to my ear. "I know you're worried about our next class."

I smiled because he was always so attentive. "Right now, I'm not worried about anything. You make everything else disappear. I love hanging out with you and the guys."

He leaned in and kissed me. I heard a loud groan as I pulled back. Jason was laughing at us. "Do you guys really need to do that? I just ate."

Carter threw a napkin at him. "Don't worry. Your lunch is safe. We need to get to class anyway." He threw out our trash and put the trays away, while I gave out hugs and said goodbye to the guys. As we walked to class, I started to get more anxious. Carter seemed to sense it, too, because he gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

When we got to class, it was pretty empty. Carter and I sat next to each other in the middle of the room. We were talking about how we were happy we could just share the book because of how damn expensive it was.

I looked up and my stomach dropped. Chris was standing there, just looking at me. Carter tensed but, thankfully, didn't make a move...although I knew he wanted to. All I could think was please don't sit next to me. Thank God, Chris decided to sit a couple rows over, but I could feel his eyes on me all throughout class.

I breathed a sigh of relief as we were walking to the next class. Doing that three times a week was going to kill me. When I walked into my last class of the day, I stopped dead in my tracks.
Are you fucking kidding me?!

The bitch whore, Alyssa, was sitting there with a fake smile on her face. I looked up at Carter, and he looked just as shocked as I did. We went to sit down and he made sure we weren't near her. That didn't stop her from talking over people just to get to him, though.

I thought the universe hated me, and I now hated both of my afternoon classes.

Carter

Classes had been crazy, especially with the pain in the ass afternoon Maddy and I had. We were getting through it, though.

Alyssa had been relentless between sitting next to me, constantly texting me and showing up at Rebellion. It had been irritating Maddy, and we'd been fighting over little things because of it.

It also didn't help that Chris was in our literature class and just stared at her the whole time. I'd had enough of him these last few months, though. Today, Shawn, Jason, and I were going to "talk" to him.

Jason said, "Shawn, I don't know why you wanted to come today, kid. What are you going to do? Hit him with your anatomy book?" Jason was cracking up, but I could see it was really starting to get to Shawn.

J and I were always more athletic, and he liked to rag on Shawn about it. "Anyway…" I needed to diffuse the situation between them. "What are you guys planning on doing for summer? Maddy and I are gonna spend most of it here, but I think we'll go home for about a month."

Shawn looked confused. "Why are you staying here instead of at your dad's?"

"Because the girl I love refuses to have sex in my dad's house. While I appreciate that she respects him, I'm not going to spend the whole summer celibate. I think we'll go home for July and when we come back, Holly and her friend, Christen, are gonna be coming with us."

We pulled up to Chris' house and went up to his door. Jason banged on the door so loud I thought it might buckle. When Chris answered it, he smirked at us.

"If it isn't the fucking cavalry. What do you want?"

I hadn't even been here a minute and I was ready to pound his face in. Shawn and Jason didn't look like they were doing much better. I knew Jason wouldn't hesitate to throw a punch but, lately, Shawn seemed extra confrontational too. "I want you to stay away from Maddy. You're done trying to run into her, staring at her in class, and being a crazy asshole in general."

He laughed as if this was all a big game which, truthfully, to him it might have been. "Aw, what's wrong, Carter? She bored already? I warned you before, you know. You can't turn a whore into a housewife."

That was it. I pulled back and buried my fist into his face. I heard a crack and he went down. The boys grabbed me to hold me back, even though I knew that they were fighting the urge to go after him too. This was why they were here, though...to make sure I didn't kill him. "You'll stay away from her, motherfucker, or I'll be back."

"Okay, I'll stay away. Just know, eventually, she'll come back to me. She's mine and always will be. After all, I was her first."

I started to charge toward him again, but Jason pulled me back toward the car. "Carter, he isn't worth it. He wants this. He wants you to lose control. Don't let him win."

As we were walking back to the car, I saw Shawn walking back to Chris. He bent down and, after a minute, started walking back to the car. "What did you say to him?"

"I told him his daddy can't save him if he disappears." We all started laughing as I pulled away.

Tomorrow was Valentine's Day and I needed to set things up. I dropped the guys off and then went to work. I wanted Maddy to always remember tomorrow.

When she came home that night, I was drowning in math homework. I swear, one of the evil gods created math as a way to punish humans. This was like Latin to me, and I'd been sitting in the class for two months now.

"Well, you look like you're having fun, babe." Maddy came over and sat down next to me. I threw myself against the back of the couch and wrapped my arms around her. "You want some help?"

"If by help you mean that you'll dress up as me and take this test tomorrow, then yes, I do." She looked at me and we both started laughing.

"C'mon, Einstein, let's get this done." After about two hours, I downgraded my hatred of algebra to a strong dislike. We went to bed and I smiled to myself, thinking about what was going to happen tomorrow.

Madison

I woke up to the smell of something that made my stomach growl in appreciation. I started to make the bed, when I noticed a heart-shaped lollipop on Carter's pillow. It was a big pink heart with the words ‘
I love you'
in white. I smiled to myself. He was so cute.

When I walked into the kitchen and saw Carter flipping pancakes, I smiled so big that my cheeks hurt.

I didn't know what I did in this life to deserve someone like him, but I was so grateful for it. He made all of my demons go away, and gave me a sense of peace I didn't ever remember feeling. He was standing in front of the stove without a shirt on and with his sleep pants hanging low on his hips. It was such a tease when they were like that, I just wanted to pull them down.

Carter made me feel free to be sexual and not see it as a bad thing. Chris used sex as a weapon, but Carter used it to show me how much he loved me.

He turned around and smiled when he saw me. When he started to walk over to me doing his sexy strut and wrapped his arms around me, I was ready to drag him into the bedroom.

"Some amazing man left me a cute surprise on your pillow."

He smirked. "He better not still be here, because I made you breakfast."

I laughed and leaned up to kiss him. Moments like this were the best. Just being able to relax and enjoy being happy together. "Happy Valentine's Day, baby!" He pulled back and frowned at me. "What?"

"You stole my line!" I laughed and he kissed me again. "Happy Valentine's Day, baby! C'mon, let's eat."

We ate breakfast and I couldn't stop smiling, even during the ride to school. I wished we could have stayed home all day, but I actually had a lot going on in my classes. These professors should realize that Valentine's Day was not an ideal test day.

I just took my seat in history when a guy I didn't know came up to me. "Madison Stevens?"

How did he know my name? I was usually good with faces, but I didn't know him. "Yes." He handed me a big red teddy bear and then walked away. It was so adorable and so soft! I pulled out my phone to text Carter.

Some wonderful man just had a teddy bear brought to me <3

Is it the same jerk that left the lollipop on your bed? Who do I need to kill?

I love you, Carter James!

I bet you say that to your other boyfriend too…

I laughed out loud and the whole class turned to look at me. My face turned red and I felt my phone vibrate again.

Love you, too! Happy Valentine's Day!

I put my phone away and tried to focus on class. Carter's gifts kept coming, though. In Philosophy, a chocolate rose got delivered. In Sociology, it was a candy-filled heart. I'd never felt so cared for in my life.

Carter made me feel like being myself was more than enough, and that was new to me. People always wanted me to change or improve for them, but he loved me for who I was.

I practically ran out of the class when it was over so I could see Carter. He was standing there, holding another bear, just like the one I already had. I ran to him and threw my arms around him. Usually, I was shy about "PDA," but I didn't care who was watching.

I crushed my lips to Carter's and drank him in, like I needed him to breathe. The truth was, sometimes I felt like I did. He was surprised, but quickly recovered. He kissed me back with so much love and lifted me into the air.

"I think I'll start doing this every day!"

I laughed as he lowered me back down to the ground. He held out the bear to me, but I was confused because I already had one identical to it.

"No, I'm not senile. I know they look the same, but watch." He took mine and held them facing each other. They were pulled together and now joined at the nose. "Their noses are magnets, so they are drawn together. This is me and you, Maddy. Separate from you, I look normal, but I'm only complete when we're together. I need you with me, by my side, and in my life because you're my other half."

I could feel the tears coming. Damn, I was such a crybaby! "Carter, that was the sweetest thing I'd ever heard. I love you with all my heart…" I leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "And I cannot wait to give you your surprise tonight. If I delivered it in class, you might have had a heart attack."

When I pulled back, I could see the fire and desire in Carter's eyes. I winked at him and started to walk toward the cafeteria. A minute later, I was being picked up and thrown over his shoulder. He started walking toward the parking lot with me. I took advantage, though, and reached down to smack his butt. He returned the favor to me and laughed to himself.