The Unification

Chapter Thirteen

I gawked at Bar. How dare he say something like that? What would make him accuse Carson of being a killer?

Carson laughed, “Of course, you’d bring that up, Remsen. You must really want Tessa not to like me, right? You’re afraid she’ll like me better then you.”

“Are you saying I’m jealous of you?” Bar barked, “Not even. I just want Tess to know what exactly the guy she’s about to marry did. Your past haunts you, Carson.”

“What did you do?” The girl asked. I turned to Carson. His smile twitched downward.

He sighed and stared dead in my eyes, “Six of my siblings died.”

“And he was found with each dead one, every time. What a coincidence,”

“I had nothing to do with deaths,”

Bar snorted, “Yea right! You killed them, Carson. Everyone knows that. Every single one.”

“If I killed them, why ain’t I in jail?” Carson hissed.

“They had no evidence. No marks on the neck if choked. Anything. The autopsy showed nothing. It was like they just died in their sleep.”

“Exactly, I didn’t do anything.” Carson motioned the girl to move and she did. He glanced at me, “If you don’t want to see me anymore, I understand.” Then he left.

“Let me out,” I nudged Bar.

He shook his head, “Nah, now let’s talk about us.”

“THERE IS NO US!” I shouted and the whole Café went quiet. Everyone gawked at us. Bar’s mouth dropped. As he tried to regain himself, I pushed past him and ran after Carson. There was no evidence that he did it and maybe I liked him a little. Just a little. I wouldn’t let Bar stop me from having a life.

I saw Carson walking down the street, hands in his pockets and shoulders hunched. I rushed after him, “Carson!”

He turned around, eyes a little wide and stopped, “Tessa, what are you doing?”

“We didn’t finish our date. C’mon, I know the perfect place to go where Bar won’t bother us.”

***

I took Carson to the Chill Spot, the only place Bar wouldn’t dare come to. Jason greeted us and we took a seat at a booth.

“You don’t have to do this, you know.” Carson murmured.

“Am I really that ugly?” I smiled.

Carson shook his head, “No, you’re beautiful. It’s just…. Aren’t you afraid of me? Aren’t you shocked to hear about my past?”

I breathed out an uneven breath, “Uh… to tell you the truth, I don’t believe you killed them. It was unnatural causes and you shouldn’t be blaming yourself. Bar is just… so nosy.”

“He must really like you,” Carson retorted.

“No, he doesn’t. He cheated on me,” I whispered, hurt to say it.

Carson sulked, “I’m sorry.”

“It was with Cassie,” I added, my chest enlightening.

He grimaced at the name, “Please don’t lie to me.”

“I wish I was lying,”

“She wouldn’t do that…. She wouldn’t just sleep with some guy_”

“Well, she did.” I interrupted him.

“Hey, guys.” Kaye grinned at us. She was holding hands with Garret. She took a seat next to me and Garret with Carson. What was with people and this constant interruptions?

“What’s up?” Garret asked.

“Nothing much. Just on a date where we were having a great time.” Kaye didn’t get the hit to leave.

“How nice.” Kaye smiled, “I’m Kaye by the way and this is my boyfriend Garret.”

Boyfriend? Since when? My eyebrows puckered at Kaye. She gave me a small gesture, implying that she’ll tell me it later. She better explain herself. Dating a pack mate from Reid’s side wasn’t good. I didn’t want to do anything with Reid anymore. Not now or ever.

“I’m Carson,” He muttered, “I’m Tessa’s new mate.”

“What?” Kaye glanced at me, confused, “I thought Reid…”

I frowned, “It’s a long story,”

***

Three hours past and Carson seemed to have lightened up. He laughed at every joke Garret cracked. We shared an ice cream sundae. I was having so much fun and I hadn’t had this much fun in so long.

“I remember I dressed in all red one Halloween and went out at 4pm_” Garret began, a big smirk on his face.

“Why so early?” I asked.

“I’ll explain. So, anyway, I went to a house and a lady opened the door. She asked me what I was. I said ‘I’m your period and I came early.’” We erupted with laughter and Kaye playfully punched him in the shoulder.

“You did not!” Kaye squealed.

He grinned, “Ask Reid if you want. I did.”

“What did the lady do?” Carson asked, a tear escaping his eye from laughter.

“She called me disgusting and chucked candy at me,” Garret chuckled.

“Hey, we’re closing soon kids.” Jason came to our table.

I smiled, “Alright,”

“We should hang out another time man,” Garret suggested and I nodded. Kaye stood up and locked hands with Garret who quickly gave her a peck on the lips. She blushed and I smiled at them.

“You guys are so cute,”

Kaye shook her hand at me, “Pssh, you two outshine us any day.”

“No,” I stated.

Carson patted Garret’s back, “It was nice meeting you guys.” He kissed Kaye’s cheek, “Hope you have a good night.”

“Oh, we will.” Garret grinned.

Carson chuckled and turned to me, “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

***

Awhile later, we arrived at my door step. I turned to Carson and smiled, “I had a nice time, Carson. You’re something else.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” He smirked.

“Good,”

His face suddenly turned serious. He touched my arm and leaned in. I breath hitched as his lips met mine. It was gentle. Not animalistic as Bar’s or heart pumping as Reid’s. It was sweet just like him. I was the one to pull back.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to force myself.” He muttered. The last time Bar kissed me was forced. This wasn’t force at all.

“No, um… it was nice, Carson.”

He smiled shyly, shoving his hands into his pockets, “I’m still sorry for not asking you.”

“You don’t have to ask me,” I said, “Just uh… give me a hint.”

I pecked him on his lips and opened the front door, “See you later, Carson.”

“Bye, Tessa.”

****

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Hey, I have a question for EVERYONE! Who do you think should play the cast for this story? If you have any suggestions please tell. And also, who would be better to play Carson? Channing Tatum or Sean Faris?

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