All I've Never Wanted (35 page)

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“I want to call it off.”

“What are you talking about?” Carlo kept his voice low as we stepped out of the open-air Jeep. “According to what you told me, you did well last night. Better than I expected, really.” He looked like he was trying not to laugh.

I frowned at him. “Thanks,” I said sarcastically. “Honestly, Carlo, this whole getting revenge thing isn’t me. I can’t handle another night like last night.”

“You don’t need to,” he said. “We finished phase one. We need to move on phase two.”

I was curious despite myself. “Which is?”

“Jealousy, of course,” he answered flippantly.

I shook my head frantically. “No, we can’t. It’s—“

“Shh.” Carlo shushed me as we stopped into a clearing. I gasped at the sight before me, all thoughts of the plan flying away for the moment.

Wow. We had given Zack his gifts earlier, and luckily, he had loved the photo canvas I’d given him, with a collage of his favorite photos that he’d taken (I had to thank Adriana for helping me out with that one).

Now, it was time for the real celebration for the twins: a giant carnival-style party.

As I took in the spectacle in front of me, I couldn’t help but wonder how much time and money went into planning this party. I also couldn’t believe how many famous people the twins were friends with, and how many of those famous people flew all the way to Hawaii to celebrate two high schoolers’ birthday.

Fortunately, I didn’t see any other Valescans, but I did spot several Victoria’s Secret supermodels, professional athletes, movie stars, and singers, including a certain high-profile rap star mogul and his equally high-profile R&B songstress wife. Everyone was standing in the clearing with big smiles on their faces, while Parker and Carlo untied the blindfolds covering Adriana’s and Zack’s eyes.

The blindfolds fell away, and for once, I saw shock cross Adriana’s face as she stared at the giant carnival grounds in front of her. There was a Ferris wheel, merry-go-rounds, the whole shebang, and above all that was a giant sign that spelled out HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZACK AND ADRI in blinking neon lights.

“Surprise!” all the guests shouted.

“What?” Adri exclaimed, clapping a hand over her mouth. “No way!”

As everyone went to say happy birthday to the twins, I lingered behind, grinning at the sight of their happiness. Carlo told me earlier that Adriana was had been a huge fan of carnivals as a child, but her parents never let her go because they thought carnivals were too “low class.”

“You guys are really good friends,” I murmured, too starstruck to even approach some of my favorite celebrities, who were milling around like regular people. I narrowed my eyes at Carlo. “But don’t think I’m changing my mind about the plan.”

He sighed. “Maya, when will you learn to trust me?”

“I do trust you, I just don’t like hurting people.”

“Hasn’t he hurt you enough?”

I fell into silence. It was true. Roman had hurt me a lot, but did I really want to stoop to his level?

“Come on,” Carlo said quickly. “We can talk about this later, ok? Let’s just go enjoy ourselves for the time being.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Ok,” I agreed happily.

For the next few hours, I forgot about all my worries as I ran around the carnival grounds like I was a child again. They even had popcorn and cotton candy and everything! After a while, it didn’t even seem all that strange to share the Ferris wheel with one of the stars from a hit vampire-themed TV series. Let me tell you, he is even hotter in person. 

In fact, there were so many people I managed to avoid Roman the entire night. Actually, even if I didn’t try to avoid him, he probably would’ve avoided me the way he had all day. Every time I came within five feet of him, he just moved away. Which was fine by me.

Really.

Soon, though, the rides stopped and the carnival grounds turned into a giant dance floor. The DJ from Iceland had been playing music all night long, but now he segued into a series of slow songs, and everyone paired up to sway to the music.

Well, everyone except Zack and Venice, who were doing some sort of strange interpretive dance mixed with the flamenco mixed with...hip-hop? I'm not sure, but needless to say, everyone was giving them a wide berth.

I sat down on one of the benches, watching the couples wistfully. The whole scene was so romantic, it actually made me wish I had a boyfriend.

Unwillingly, I felt my gaze slip to Roman, who was of course surrounded by a gaggle of young models and actresses near the merry-go-round. I blushed as we locked eyes for a second, and a weird look crossed his face before he turned away, totally ignoring me.

A moment later, he broke away from the group to lead a leggy blonde onto the makeshift dance floor.

I frowned. Well, he seemed to be having fun. Anger suddenly surged through me. Why did he get to have all the fun? I should be out there flirting too! I didn’t know why I was still feeling so bummed about last night. Surely I must’ve imagined the hurt look on his face.

Devils don’t have feelings.

“Excuse me, would you like to dance?” A smooth British accent cut into my thoughts.

I looked up, my breath catching when I saw the very handsome, very famous face of Oliver staring down at me. Known only by his first name, Oliver had recently been named as the “male model of the decade” by
Vogue.
Even in person, he looked photoshopped.

“You want a dance? With me?” I squeaked, pointing to myself.

He nodded, giving me a dazzling smile no girl could resist. “Only if you would like to, of course.”

Oh, would I look to!

I happily accepted, feeling better now that I wasn’t sitting by myself like some loser while Roman was flirting with everything in a skirt.

Oliver led me to the middle of the dance floor, near where Roman and the blonde were dancing. He gently grasped one of my hands in his while his other arm slipped around my waist.

Just then, Edwin McCain’s classic “I’ll Be” came on, and I sighed, wishing I was with someone I loved. It was the ultimate romantic song, and while Oliver was hot and all, it would’ve been so much better if I was dancing with my boyfriend. If I had one, that is.

“What’s wrong?” Oliver murmured, his intense blue eyes boring into mine and making me a bit weak in the knees.

Did the boy even know the effect his looks had on people? Seriously, he was almost as good-looking at the Scions. In fact, he might even be on par with them. It’s not fair.

“Nothing,” I lied, watching Roman and the blonde out of the corner of my eye. Gosh, they looked like they were glued together! Feeling disgruntled, I smiled at Oliver and pulled my hand out of his grasp to wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

He looked surprised but not displeased as he rested his hands on my hips. “Good. I don’t want any unhappiness to mar that beautiful face of yours,” he murmured.

Ok, so that was cheesy as hell, but he was hot and seemed nice enough, so I’ll give him a pass. “Thanks."

I rested my chin on his shoulder, and as we turned, I locked eyes with Roman again. He was glaring in my direction with a very angry look on his face.

What was his problem now?

Choosing to ignore him, I averted my gaze, then stiffened as I felt Oliver’s hands slip lower to a rather inappropriate part of my body. Hoping it was an accident, I moved it back up to my hips, where it stayed for about ten seconds. Then it moved back down.

“I don’t think I’m feeling well. I should go sit down,” I said, highly uncomfortable now.

He frowned down at me. “Why? We’re just getting started.”

I shook my head. “No, really, I should go,” I insisted, but Oliver wasn’t listening.

He was looking at something over my head, a rather wicked smile on his face. “Amazing. I believe he really minds this time.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Instead of answering me, Oliver grabbed my face and crushed his lips against mine. I let out a muffled squeal of surprise, too shocked to do anything for a moment. I was just about to push him off when I felt someone yank him away from me.

I stumbled back a bit, then gasped as Roman threw Oliver to the ground and punched him in the face. Blood spurted from the male model’s nose and dripped down onto his pristine white shirt.

“Roman! What the hell are you doing?” I screamed, while the people around me stopped what they were doing to stare at the spectacle in front of them.

Roman ignored me as he went to punch Oliver again.

Oliver managed to roll away at the last second and he stumbled to his feet, wiping some of the blood from his face. “Bloody hell, that hurt,” he muttered.

“Yeah, well, it’s going to hurt a lot more when I’m through with you,” Roman growled, a dangerous expression on his face.

“Oh yeah? Let’s see you try then,” Oliver taunted.

I groaned. Did he want to die?

I looked around frantically, hoping to spot Carlo, Parker, 
anyone,
but I couldn’t find my friends anywhere. Even Venice and Zack were gone. None of the other party guests seemed willing to help. In fact, some of them were recording the fight on their phones.
I guess celebrities weren’t much better than teenagers after all.

“Stop!” I shouted as Roman and Oliver continued to fight each other. I was nearly crying in frustration.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. Even though I knew it was a stupid move, I ran towards them and managed to yank them apart.

“Stop fighting! Do you guys know how stupid you’re acting right now?” I demanded angrily.

Roman glared at me, his eyes ablaze. “I can’t believe this,” he hissed, his face a mottled red as he trained his gaze on my hand, which was currently pressed against Oliver’s chest to hold him back. “You’re taking his side?”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side!” I cried exasperatedly. “I just don’t want you to fight anymore!”

“Yeah? How would Carlo feel about you messing around with another boy behind his back? Again?” Roman sneered, obviously referring to our little moment last night.

I flushed. I couldn’t believe he was bringing this up right now. “That’s our business,” I hissed.

“Yeah, mate, you need to calm down,” Oliver said. “It’s not my fault she’s more into me than you.”

That seemed to make Roman snap all over again. I swore I saw his blood pressure rise as he lunged towards us to take another swing at Oliver.

“Stop!” I screamed, trying to block him. I did, in a way.

The only problem was, the punch Roman intended for Oliver ended up hitting me instead, and let me tell you, he hadn’t been holding back at all.

I managed to see horror cross everyone’s faces before I blacked out.

CHAPTER 22

My head really, really hurt. 

I groaned, trying to shift positions to ease the stiffness in my lower back, but the minute I moved, a searing pain tore through my head and I instantly stilled.

My wasn’t the only thing that hurt. My jaw was throbbing, my throat was dry and scratchy, and I felt dizzy even though I was lying down.

“Water,” I croaked without opening my eyes. I didn’t even know if anyone was around me. With my luck, I was probably talking to myself right now. “I need water.”

“I have water!” a cacophony of voices shouted at once, making me wince.

I reluctantly cracked one eye open, then the other, until I saw Adriana, Zack, Parker, and Venice crowded around me with concerned looks on their faces.

“She’s awake!” Zack exclaimed. “Here!” He shoved a glass of water in my direction. 

“Thanks,” I murmured, taking a sip. I almost spit it right back out. “Zack, why is this spicy?”

“I put a dash of chili powder in it,” he explained, beaming. “I read online that it’s supposed to help.”

“You put chili powder in her drink?” Venice shouted. “Do you want to kill her?” She grabbed the glass from my hands and gave me another one. “Here, drink mine. It’s
normal.”

I nodded, immediately gulping down the refreshing liquid to soothe the burn from the chili-infused H2O.

“What? So you think my water is inferior to yours or something?” Zack huffed.

“Obviously. Didn’t you see her face turning red?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, it wasn’t
that
spicy. I just added a dash!”

“Do you even know how much a dash is?”

“Isn’t it the same as a tablespoon?”

“God, you’re so—so—“

“So what?”

“Zack, Venice, stop arguing,” Adriana said sharply. “Or if you are going to continue, don’t do it here.”

“Fine!” they shouted at the same time, then stomped out of the room together, bickering the whole time. Apparently it didn’t take much for them to forget about me.

Not that I was complaining. As much as I loved them, they were giving me a headache.

“Maya, are you ok?” Adriana asked gently, once Zack and Venice’s voices faded away.

I was about to nod, but then wisely settled for a “Uh-huh” instead. I looked around, immediately noting the absence of two certain males. “Where’s Carlo and Roman?”

Adriana and Parker exchanged glances. “They’re outside, honeybee,” Parker finally said. “Do you want them to come in?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” I rubbed my forehead. “What happened anyway?”

Adriana looked startled. “You don’t remember?”

I frowned. “I just remember being at the carnival, and I was dancing with that really hot British model, then—oh.” My mouth formed a perfect O as the events of tonight, or last night, or whenever they happened, came flooding back. Oliver had kissed me. Then Roman pulled him off and they got into a fight. And then…Roman punched me.

I immediately slumped back down on the pillows, a lump forming in my throat as I remembered how much that had hurt. Not the physical act itself—though that had been no day at the spa—but everything that led up to that point. I know Roman didn’t do it on purpose. I don’t blame him for the punch.

What I did blame him for, though, was everything else. What the hell had he been thinking, punching Oliver like that? Ok, so maybe the Brit shouldn’t have kissed me, but he didn’t deserve to get his nose broken. His face was literally his moneymaker.

I closed my eyes, tuning Adriana and Parker out. I wasn’t even sure if they were speaking to me. My thoughts were speeding through my head like a runaway train, leaving me even dizzier and a bit nauseous.

I knew Roman had a short temper, I just never expected him to be so violent. It did fit in neatly with his other vices, namely rudeness, arrogance, insensitivity, and downright unreasonableness.

And I liked him? There was something seriously wrong with me.

The door to the room opened, and I immediately tensed. I didn’t have to look to know who the newcomers were.

“Maya, how’re you feeling?”

I finally turned my head to Carlo sitting on the edge of the bed, his face wracked with worry. He brushed his fingers gently over my jaw, and I immediately flinched from the pain. 

He immediately dropped his hand. “I’m sorry! Does it hurt that bad?”

I smiled weakly. “Could be worse. How does it look?”

Carlo smiled back, a bit sadly. “Could be worse. It’s a little bruised, but that’ll fade.”

I sighed, and I saw Adriana and Parker quietly slip out in the background. Of course,
he
was still here, just hovering near the door. He had his hands in his pockets and an unreadable expression on his face.

I pointedly ignored him, but a moment later, he walked over to the bed, causing me to stiffen.

Carlo reached down to grab my hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

There was a heavy silence before Roman spoke up. “You know, I didn’t mean to hit you.”

No apology, no remorse. The statement was delivered in a flat, emotionless tone, like he was a robot or something. Actually, no, scratch that. Even a robot had more feelings than him.

I didn’t say anything. I just stared straight ahead, trying to suppress the anger and hurt coursing through me.

Carlo whispered something fiercely to him, and then Roman reluctantly added, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” My voice was clipped. “I don’t need your apology. Oliver needs it more than I do.”

“I’m not apologizing to that prick!” Roman’s voice rose.

My head snapped up and I glared at him. “Oh,
he’s
the prick?
He
wasn’t the one that punched someone for no reason!”

“He kissed you!"

“So? It’s not like he kissed you! Why do you care?”

Roman crossed his arms over his chest. “Because you’re dating Carlo and you’re going around kissing other guys!”

“Oh, we’re not dating,” Carlo said casually, brushing a strand of hair out of my eyes. “Drink some more water, Maya.”

I obeyed, secretly enjoying the stunned look on Roman’s face.

“But—she—other night—lingerie—“ He sputtered, pointing at me.

“I never said I was dating him,” I cut in. “In fact, we’re just friends.” I shrugged.

Roman scowled. “Oh, so why did you say you were going to wear that—that outfit for him later?”

“Uhh…” I racked my brain for a plausible explanation.

Luckily, Carlo came to the rescue. “It was a bet,” he explained. “She bet she could seduce any guy in that outfit, and I said she couldn’t. Which, of course, made her all the more determined.” He gently tapped my nose. “Not that we would’ve done anything. I wouldn’t want to ruin our friendship.”

This time I squeezed his hand out of gratefulness. “Neither would I. It was just a stupid bet,” I agreed, playing along.

“You’re serious?” Roman sounded faint.

His voice brought all my emotions to the surface again, and the smile dropped from my face. “Yes. So now that you know the whole story, I would appreciate it if you left the room. I don’t feel well.”

That was true, at least. My stomach churned nauseously and my jaw still throbbed painfully from the punch.

This time, a flicker of remorse passed through Roman’s eyes, and instead of leaving, he moved around to the other side of the bed, opposite Carlo. I stiffened again as he sat next to me.

“I’m going to go check on Venice and Zack,” Carlo said, releasing my hand. “They looked like they were about to kill each other earlier.”

“What? No, stay,” I blurted, grabbing his arm. He could
not
leave me here with Roman!

“I’ll be just outside, ok?” he said soothingly. He gently pried my fingers from his arm while shooting Roman a warning glance. “I’ll call up some room service too. You must be hungry. I’ll be back in a bit.”

He left the room, and I immediately tried to get out of bed, but my body was so sore my feet didn’t even manage to touch the ground before I brought my legs back up and slumped against the pillows.

Neither Roman nor I spoke for a good five minutes.

“You know, I really am sorry. About your jaw,” Roman finally said, reaching up to touch my bruise the way Carlo had earlier, only this time, I instinctively jerked away before he even made contact.

I saw that same hurt expression I’d seen last night, right before he went into the living room. At least, I thought it was hurt. Who knew? He could be faking it.

“It’s fine, it’s not like I’m going to die,” I said coolly. “And like I said, you should be apologizing to Oliver."

The frown came back. “Even if you and Carlo aren’t dating, he still kissed you against your will.”

“How did you know it was against my will?” I challenged.

Surprise flitted across Roman’s face as his eyes bore into mine. I swallowed, trying my best not to focus on those beautiful violet orbs. More than ever, I wished inner and outer beauty were directly correlated. It would certainly save a lot of people a lot of pain and heartache.

“Was it?” he asked quietly, but there was a dangerous undertone.

I sighed. I suddenly felt exhausted, even more than when I first woke up. I just didn’t have the energy to argue with him anymore.

“Are you going to apologize to him or not?” I asked flatly, evading his question.

A muscle ticked in his jaw but he didn’t reply.

“Guess I got my answer.” I turned over so my back was facing him. At least the soreness in my body had faded a bit. “Can you leave, please? I want to rest."

With that, I closed my eyes, keeping my body tense and taut until I felt his weight leave the bed. I didn’t open my eyes until I heard the soft “click” of the door closing.

I stared at the wall in front of me, tears blurring my vision. I don’t even know why I was crying. Maybe it was because the first, and only, guy I’ve ever really liked was such a huge jerk, who didn’t seem to care about anything other than money and having things go his way. Seriously, why did I even like Roman? He was the embodiment of everything I’ve ever abhorred, but I had foolishly believed he could change.

Apparently, I was wrong. He was still the same asshole he’s always been, and always will be.

My chest heaved with my efforts to contain my sobs, until I finally buried my face in the pillow, soaking the cotton with my tears as random images flashed through my mind.

The snake in my locker. The torn gym clothes. The students in school, laughing and jeering as they threw eggs and tomatoes and God knew what else at me. Roman kissing Solange at homecoming. Roman and Solange in the kitchen. Roman and Oliver fighting at the carnival, and finally, the look I’d seen on his face right before I blacked out.

There had been so much anger there, it actually scared me, more now than ever because I had feelings for him. How could I possibly like someone I was frightened of?

The answer? I couldn’t.