I wondered if Carly had a boyfriend. And how many men she had been with since her first time with me. My hands ached from being balled up in fists as I watched her sleep, but I shook it off. I had no right. I was the one who had left her. Unintentionally, but still, I knew I should have called.
Now here she was, all grown up and stunning. She was just as chaotic as she had been back then and I could see how this would work to my advantage. None of the women I played with back home would agree to this... but Carly might. She might just allow me to avoid an awkward holiday. It might even be fun, too…
The question was, would she do it? She was back in Maple Cove for a reason, probably drama if her family was the same as it had been. So, maybe she’d need some incentive. I needed her to wake up so we could talk and I could figure out what it was that made her tick.
I placed my hand on her shoulder gently so as not to startle her. “Carly?” She moaned as she stirred. Damn that was a sexy sound. I wonder what she’d sound like when…Shut the fuck up, Matt! I cursed myself. Focus!
“Carly? Car? Wake up, soups’ here and it’s hot.” I offered.
“Oh…yeah. Guess I dozed off there.” She rubbed her eyes as she sat up. “Thanks.”
“Want to stay in bed and eat there?” I asked. Mostly because I could already see her nipples poking through my shirt and I was pretty sure the rest of her was just as naked. Controlling myself around this girl was somehow getting harder. She needed to stay under those covers.
“Uh…yeah, sure, that’d be great.” She mumbled as she tried to adjust herself by wrapping the duvet up around her chest.
I picked up the soup tray, added the bread and a bottle of water, and slid it across her lap.
“Thanks, Matt.” She smiled and for a second it looked genuine. “I didn’t know you could be so…domestic.” She quipped.
Her sass nearly blew my cover of control.
“You seem to have developed quite the sarcastic side since I last saw you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Speaking of the last time.” She continued, not even fazed. “Let’s get back to the subject of prom. Just so you know, it turned out to be so much fun. You really missed out.”
“Yeah…” I faltered. “About that. You know it was never my intention to disappear like that. I don’t know if you heard the news, but at the time…”
“Yeah, I heard it was something about your dad. You know how town gossip goes. Well, I know it wasn’t your choice, but what I never could figure out was why you seemed unable to use a damn phone. Not to mention the fucking internet. It was like you disappeared on purpose. Even Chad never heard from you again.”
I drew a deep breath in and held it for a moment, trying to decide what the best course of action was. Tell her the truth? Did it even matter anymore? Would she still want to help me? Maybe it would make her help me more…I went with the latter.
“So, here’s the thing about back then. My mom called the shots. I had to follow. Remember when I told you that we moved around a lot?”
I watched as her beautiful face nodded with skepticism.
“Well, my dad had been convicted of dealing drugs and money laundering. He was sent to prison when I was very young. We kept moving because his name was synonymous with the scandal and my mom couldn’t keep a job. No one wanted her around. So, we moved from town to town and used her maiden name or other fake names. That year in Maple Cove was the best one. We lived with my grandfather, my mom’s dad, and life seemed, well, normal. But it was short lived. When news got out that my dad had been released, my mother panicked. I was a year away from being eighteen and she refused to lose everything she had worked so hard to keep. So, we had to move again.”
Carly looked up at me from beneath her eyelashes as she sat up, pulling her legs under her. She tore a piece of bread off the baguette and ripped into it like she hadn’t eaten in weeks. “Shit, that is brutal.”
I paused. I hated telling this story. It cheapened the character that I had worked so hard to create all these years. I watched for signs of disgust, fear, or even pity in Carly’s eyes, but there was only kindness.
“I really had no idea, Matt…” She said softly between bites.
“No one did. Even now…it’s not something that we tell anyone. I’m pretty sure it’s a town secret, so let’s keep it that way, okay?”
She nodded and I continued before I lost the courage. “Yeah, so she was afraid that my father would came back and terrorize her for taking me away. So we ran. From one town to another until I left for college. Finally, a couple of years later, he did a bad deal and was killed. One clean shot to the head, they said. My mom always said she couldn’t have done it better herself.”
Carly’s eyes were like saucers. “That’s intense.”
“Things were pretty fucked up for me back then. But please know that I never meant to hurt you, Carly.”
“You know, it’s funny…” She mused. “In some ways, you’re exactly the same guy I knew but in others…it’s like I’m meeting you for the first time.”
Chapter 9
CARLY
I honestly didn’t know what to make of this whole situation. Everything Matt had told me about why he left was awful. It explained a lot, yet still, not enough as to why he didn’t call. I wanted to believe him but something inside of me was still skeptical. It just felt like there was something more. And the tension between us didn’t help the situation. I could feel it rising and simmering just beneath the surface of every word we spoke. Every look, the smallest of touches. It was there.
Thank goodness this was only lasting another a few hours. By morning, I’d be at Christy’s house and in a couple more, I’d be back on the road to New York. I hadn’t wanted to come home but when your sister calls and says that all siblings have to be present for the reading of the will, well, you go. Not to mention that the guilt I had from missing the funeral was a driving force behind my decision. I needed to visit my dad’s grave. Make my peace.
There was a time when Christy and I had been close. If you could call me stealing her clothes and her boyfriends close. Maybe that last part was part of our issue. Whatever, it was all in the past. Here I was, back in Maple Cove after years of avoiding family gatherings, celebrations, barbeques, and more. Like funerals. Except that part hadn’t been my fault.
“Yeah, look, Matt.” I offered. “I appreciate you catching me up and honestly, that sounds like things were pretty shit for you back then. I’m glad it turned out okay in the end.” I smiled, hoping he’d see that I was sincere. I couldn’t read this new Matt very well. Back in the day, he was always moody and sullen, but at least he didn’t have that icy stare mixed with a heat burning beneath it with the way he did now.