She's Broken

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

                Carter put his cup down on the counter with a sigh, shaking his head in disappointment.

                “You’re all wrong,” he said dramatically, flailing his arms around. “Tetley Tea rules all,” he announced and then sat down on one of the stools with a smug smile. I raised an eyebrow, Eli, Jenna and Lisa mirroring my expression.

                “You can’t possibly be suggesting that tea overrules coffee?” Lisa asked. Carter shrugged nonchalantly, taking a sip of his drink. Despite what he was saying, whenever he came over, all he drank was the coke that he wasn’t allowed at home. Jenna stepped forward, pushing the bottom of his cup.

                A surprised choking sound came from him when he pulled the cup away, glaring. The bubbling, brown liquid spilled down his chin and all over his shirt. He cursed as I passed him a tea towel, trying to stifle my laugh.

                Lisa and Jenna weren’t quite so polite, they were giggling as they emptied the food into the bowls. Eli smiled, shaking his head with a chuckle.

                “Oi, what are you doing? You’re meant to be on my side,” Carter whined, swatting Eli’s arm.

                “Take my advice, don’t disagree with a girl or pay the consequences,” Eli said and Carter grinned, shaking his head like a dog.

                “At least some of the male species are well informed, nice catch,” Lisa replied with a wink, grabbing two of the bowls and retreating into the living room.

                When Lisa had rung up to ask me to meet with her, Carter, Eli and Jenna were already over and starting to pick films to watch for the afternoon. When I told Lisa, she invited herself and arrived on the doorstep soaking wet with some snacks.

                Due to the rain, our earlier plans of visiting the carnival had turned to dust, leaving us to relocate into my living room. It wasn’t too bad, with Mum away, there weren’t any rules on noise or films on an over 18 age certificate.

                Jenna chuckled, following behind Lisa as Carter retreated towards the bathroom, mumbling something about his hair. He was more a girl than I was, sometimes.

                “Nice catch, huh?” Eli teased. I felt my face heat up when I threw the tea towel at him, grabbing the large bottle of coke and five cups.

                “Shut up.” He laughed, picking up some plates and turning off the light when he followed behind me. All of my friends seemed to have accepted Eli without a problem, which was strange, considering that whenever we’d tried to bring anyone in before, it had always failed because our group was so close knit. Jenna hadn’t been able to keep a boyfriend because of Carter’s protectiveness and vice versa. But Eli wasn’t really a boyfriend, more of a friend. When Jenna had asked me if we were actually together, I was unable to answer because I didn’t know and I was too chicken to ask him about it.

                “Get your arse on the floor before I pull you down on your face,” Jenna threatened when Carter walked in, fluffing his hair with our hand towel. He scowled at her but took his place on the floor next to the food bowl, unsurprisingly.

                “Keep your hair on, woman, I’m getting there,” he mumbled, dunking his hand into the bowl. Carter was best described as a late comer. If you wanted him over at ten O’clock, you’d have to tell him quarter to, just so that he’d show up on time. Starting films and parties were no exception, he’d either be distracted or doing something completely irrelevant, leaving you waiting for a good ten minutes. Jenna, luckily, had nipped that in the bud before we turned the TV on.