Living With The Emerson Girls

Chapter 13

~Zachary's Point of View~ 

Monday morning.

I had avoided Ariel the whole weekend, scared that bloody death was upon me. The vicious look in her fiery, yet beautiful, eyes as she had  threatened me had not left my memory. 

"I'm not done with you Zachary Oliver. You'll be sorry." 

And Athena. What would Callum, Athena's boyfriend, do if he ever found out I had kissed Athena? In my defense, it was an accident. 

I now shuddered as I slid into my seat behind Carolynn.

I had almost forgotten about the party on Friday night. But her tempting half smile reminded me very clearly. I couldn't even look at Maddie, who was in front of me, considering I hadn't talked to her since last week, when I er... um... "Befriended" Carolynn Hills. 

"Zachy," Carolynn purred, turning around and pouting, "I'm so sorry about what happened Friday night. I was incredibly drunk, and that was wrong of me. So thank you for saving me. I told Daddy and he's very grateful for that." She smiled, biting her lip.

"Carolynn I didn't really-" 

"Shhh, shh. I know you're tired, Zachy. After all someone jabbed a knife into you just last week. But you should be proud of yourself! You were protecting me-"

"Carolynn no I wasn-" She cut me off bluntly.

"And Daddy is now more than happy to help you out with a lacrosse scholarship at ones of those smart people schools you're interested in. Any friend of mine, is a friend of Daddy's." She finished,  kissing me on the cheek. 

"Um Carolynn, I'm kind of not..." I stuttered pulling on the collar of my shirt, Carolynn still staring at me intently with her bright blue cat like eyes, "You know that we're not... together right?" I said, laughing nervously, passing a hand through my hair.  At this, Maddie spun around and tested me with her eyes. 

"Of course, Zachary. Like I said, we're friends," she placed a hand on my shoulder as if to reassure me, but the connotation that accompanied the word friends, did not suggest platonic love between the two of us. 

*****

"Maddie I can explain," I said, stopping her outside of class.  

I looked around, then back at Maddie. Carolynn was nowhere within earshot. But just in case.

She looked at me strangely. "I know you probably don't want to talk because of the whole Ariel thing but-" 

"Zac, I do think that you were kind of an asshole, but I'm not really mad at you. Go ahead and tell me whatever it is you want to say." 

So I told her what really happened at the party. Ella and her skyscraper heels, Carolynn and I... Jake and his little friends- 

"Wait a second- Jake was there? Well, of course, he's the one who stabbed you," Maddie said, her eyes narrowing at the mention of her violent ex boyfriend. 

"Yeah. I went out to give Ariel the keys to my car after she ran away with Ella, and he was there, I don't know trying to hurt them or something." 

I paused.

"Continue." 

"And I think I have it figured out. Carolynn must've told her dad that I was protecting her. I mean, I kind of was, but not really. She was the drunk idiot who ran out into the night." 

Maddie giggled at this. "So she's manipulating this so that if you'll be her little bed buddy, her dad will pull some strings and get you a scholarship?"