TEASE ( A Stepbrother Romance ) By Caitlin Daire

12

Chapter Twelve

Cade

"Charlotte!"

No answer.

Shit. I was racing blindly into the darkness, searching for Charlotte, and I couldn't see her anywhere. She'd run off after my so-called friend Nicki had practically shamed her out of the cabin, and I had no idea where to even begin looking. There was no way she would've gone back to the cabin she'd been sleeping in-it was Nicki's cabin too, so there wasn't a chance she'd want to risk seeing her again.

The moon slipped out from behind a cloud, making it a lot easier for me to see, and up ahead of me, I could make out a silhouette of something vaguely Charlotte-shaped.

Thank fuck, I'd found her.

"Charlotte!" I called again. A burst of adrenaline made me run even faster, and although I almost slipped on a small snowdrift, I managed to catch up with her.

"Christ, you can run fast," I said, panting as I tried to grab her left shoulder.

She stopped and shrugged me off. "Please just leave me alone," she said, her voice choked with tears.

She turned to run again, and I shouted after her. "Hey! What happened to that girl who told me she wasn't a victim anymore, huh?"

Charlotte stopped in her tracks, then trudged back over to me. "Sorry," she mumbled. "You're right. I'm being stupid."

"Nah, you're just reacting. It's fine."

"I didn't mean to take it out on you or make you feel responsible for me," she said. "I just really don't want to go back in there right now. I'll be fine; you can go back inside."

"What, and let you get frostbite out here? Hell no!"

"I'm not going to get frostbite. I was going to go to the other resort further downhill and ask for a room there."

"Without any of your stuff?"

She mumbled out an answer that I couldn't even hear, and she rubbed her hands together, her teeth chattering with cold. I pulled off my coat and wrapped it around her. "Come on...just come back to the party."

She didn't answer, and I reached down and wiped a tear from her face. "Don't worry about a thing that bitch said, you hear?"

"Kinda hard not to. She said it in front of everyone."

"Yeah, and she completely humiliated herself," I said, remembering what everyone had been muttering as I'd dashed past them all when I headed out to pursue Charlotte. "They're all on your side."

She sniffed and looked up at me. "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said. They're all on your side. You know those girls you introduced me to? They were all glaring at Nicki just as you ran out, and one of them-the dark-haired one-even gave her a real mouthful. I'm guessing quite a few other people have by this stage too, and I wouldn't be surprised if they've all kicked her out."

Charlotte wiped the corners of her eyes. "Really?"

"Yep."

It was true. Nicki had been trying to shame me and Charlotte during her rant, but it had backfired on her, and instead she'd well and truly humiliated herself in front of everyone with all the nasty shit she'd said. I still couldn't believe she'd done it; we'd been friends for two years now, and I'd never had any clue that she could be such an evil, vindictive bitch. I'd also never had any idea that she wanted me, but that was beside the point. I'd never been interested in her in that way, and even if I had been at one point, there was no way I'd ever go near her now that I'd seen her true colors. In fact, I could quite happily live the rest of my life without seeing her again.

"I wasn't lying earlier, Charlotte. Everyone really likes you. So come back."

"I...I believe you, Cade. I just feel a bit antisocial now. Even if everyone else made Nicki leave, I still don't really feel up to partying."

I sighed. "Guess I can't blame you. But you need to get out of the cold. Why don't you come and hang out in my cabin? You can stay the night, and I'll grab your stuff from the other cabin. You can have my bed."

"I thought you were sharing your cabin with Ben."

"I am, but he's been getting cozy with some chick from the other resort. I talked to him earlier and he said he was gonna stay with her tonight. So I'll take his bed."

Charlotte chewed on her lower lip in that cute way she always did when she was considering something. "Okay. That'd be nice," she said quietly. "Thanks. And sorry for ruining the night."

"Nicki ruined it, not you."

We trudged through the snow, heading for the cabin I'd been sleeping in, and just as we reached the wooden steps that led up to the front door, Charlotte spoke up. "Cade...how did Nicki know about what my life was like back in Philly when I was younger?"

"You mean the whole 'no friends' comment?"

She nodded, her eyes shiny with tears again. "Yeah."

I sighed. "I asked for some girly advice from her last week, on how to talk to you and sort out all our crap from the past. So I told her that you thought I'd bullied you, and how you thought that had led to everyone else treating you like crap as well. You mentioned it the first time you ever yelled at me about it, back in the hotel room."

"I guess I can't say you never listened, then," she said with a watery smile.

"You're not mad at me?"

"Of course not. You told her for the right reasons, not just to be a dick," she said. "And by the way...thank you."

"For what?"

"For sticking up for me back there."

I ruffled her hair. "I told you I'd always stick up for you," I said. Charlotte finally cracked a smile, and I nodded to my cabin door. "Now go inside, I have an idea."

"An idea for what?"

I grinned. "It's a surprise."