Loving You (The Jade Series #3) (24 page)

“Yeah, a lot of people from that school ended up going here.”
 

“I heard some interesting stories about him.”

I pour the reactant into the beaker and start stirring our chemical mixture. “People shouldn’t talk about him when he’s not around. It’s rude. And just so you know, Sierra has a history of lying. She makes up stories that aren’t true.”

Carson checks the lab book. “We need to let this sit for 5 minutes. We’re not supposed to stir it.”

“Oh. Oops.” I take the stirrer out and set it on the counter.
 

“I’m sure Garret’s already told you everything anyway, so it’s not like you don’t already know that stuff, right?”

The way he says it, it sounds like he’s implying Garret has these deep dark secrets from high school that I don’t know about. He acts like I’m this naive little girl who has no idea what she’s gotten herself into by dating Garret, which totally pisses me off.
 

Talking about it will just cause us to fight so I change the subject. “What did you think of Sierra?”
 

“I don’t want to date her, if that’s what you mean. She’s not my type. She seems superficial. All about her looks and money.”

“That pretty much sums her up. Did you meet any other girls at the party?”

“Nobody I’d want to go out with. But I did meet a girl last week. We went out to dinner Saturday night. She’s on the tennis team. Kerry Mitchell. Do you know her?”

That explains the girl I’ve seen walking around campus with Carson. I only saw her from a distance so didn’t recognize her.

“Yeah, I know her. We’re friends. Or, I guess, more like acquaintances. I’m friends with this girl, Harper, who is also on the tennis team, so sometimes we have dinner with Kerry.”

“Maybe we could double date sometime. Unless Garret doesn’t do that type of thing.”

Another dig at Garret. What is with this guy? Why does he keep putting Garret down like this?
 

When lab is done, he walks back to the dorms with me and I confront him. “Listen, Carson. I don’t know what your problem is with Garret, but I need you to stop saying bad things about him. What happened at the party is not how he normally acts. He never gets into fights. He only got in one last Friday because he was trying to protect me. That’s it.”

“How well do you know him?”
 

“What type of question is that? You’re basically implying that I don’t know my own boyfriend or that he’s hiding stuff from me.” I walk faster.

Carson holds on to my jacket, forcing me to stop. “What do you know about his family?”

“I’m not dating his family, so it doesn’t matter.”

“That chemical company they own is always in trouble for stuff, but they never get charged with anything. It just goes away. Doesn’t that concern you?”
 

“No. It doesn’t. And why are you so interested in their company?”

“I’m into that type of stuff. Company cover-ups. Conspiracy theories. My uncle got me into it a couple years ago. He’s a reporter in Chicago. Anyway, he’s followed Kensington Chemical for the past few years and when I told him I was going to school with Garret Kensington, he sent me some stuff to check out online about the company and the Kensington family.”

“So you’re some conspiracy nut? You really believe that stuff? I have to tell you, Carson, I’m thinking less and less of you the more we talk.”

“You think less of me because I want to know the truth? So you think people should just go around believing whatever lies some company PR rep says? Lies the media tells us on the news? Kensington Chemical and companies like them pay people to spread their lies. To cover up stuff they don’t want people to know about. Or they get their rich, powerful friends to help them cover it up. Garret’s dad is already doing this. And soon Garret will be doing it, too, if he’s not already.”

“Garret has nothing to do with the company.” I rip my jacket from Carson’s grasp and start walking again. “I’m not talking to you about this. And I don’t want to hear anything else about Garret or his family. Just keep it to yourself.”

He steps in front of me. “Okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to piss you off. I just really like you and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“What do mean you really like me? Like me how? Like a friend? Like a girlfriend? Because I’m telling you right now that I’m not breaking up with Garret.”

“I told you before that I wasn’t trying to date you. I’m just looking out for you.” He pauses. “You just remind me of someone. That’s all.”

“Who? An ex-girlfriend?”

“My sister.” He says it quietly as he leads me over to a bench to sit down. “You remind me of my sister. You talk like her. You sound like her. You have similar mannerisms.”

I remind him of his dead sister? Wow. I wasn’t expecting that. How do I respond to that? I’m not sure, so I sit there not saying anything.

“You remind me of her so much that I’ve felt this urge to protect you ever since I met you. Just like I used to protect my sister. Now that I say it out loud, it sounds crazy.” He lets out a nervous laugh and stares down at the ground. “Maybe I need to see a therapist. I didn’t realize I was so fucked up.”

“Carson, don’t worry about it. It makes sense now.” I lightly kick the side of his foot. “And I don’t think you need a therapist. You’re just a good older brother who misses his sister. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Yeah, but now you want nothing to do with me.”

“That’s not true. I like you, but I don’t like it when you say bad things about Garret. You barely know him, so it’s not fair for you to judge him like that. And as for Friday night, Garret only reacted that way because of Blake.” I lean forward, wrapping my fingers around the bottom of the bench and swinging my legs back and forth. “I didn’t want you to know what happened with Blake, but now that you do I hope that doesn’t make things weird between us.”

“Why would it make things weird?”
 

I shrug. “I don’t know. It’s just that I feel like you look at me differently now. Like you wonder how I ended up in that situation. And then I feel like I have to explain what happened and I don’t want to explain. I just want to move past it.”
 

“You don’t have to explain anything, Jade. That guy should be in jail for what he did. When Garret told me what happened I wanted to go back inside and beat that guy up myself. I understand why Garret reacted like that. I would’ve done the same thing.”

“Then why do you keep picking on him?” I sit up and start to lean back but notice Carson’s arm is now behind me on the bench so I lean forward again.

“I’m just worried about you. It’s that protective instinct like I had with my sister. I don’t want someone like you getting involved with people like the Kensingtons.”

“You don’t know anything about them, Carson. You’re just believing stuff you read on the Internet.”

“I still think you should be careful around them.”

“Let’s just agree not to talk about Garret or his family again, okay?” I stand up, slinging my backpack over my shoulder. “And you need to stop trying to protect me. I can take care of myself.”

“So are we still friends?” He smiles and even though I’m still mad at him, that freaking dimple makes me soften up a bit.
 

“Yes, we’re still friends.”
 

We walk back to our dorms and go our separate ways. It was a good talk. At least I understand him a little better. But I’m worried about his obsession with Garret’s family and their company.
 

The Kensingtons, and people like them, do all they can to keep their dark secrets buried. I know Garret’s dad has at least one dark secret he wants to keep hidden because I witnessed it. I watched him kill Sinclair and cover it up. But I get the feeling he’s done other things he doesn’t want people to know about out.
 

If Carson keeps prying into the sins of the Kensington family, he’ll end up in trouble. Big trouble. He doesn’t realize this and I wish I could tell him. But I can’t. Besides, he wouldn’t believe me unless I told him what I know and what I’ve seen and I can’t do that. Those are secrets I’ll keep for the rest of my life.

When I see Garret later, I tell him about my conversation with Carson, but only parts of it. I leave out the part about Carson’s interest in Kensington Chemical. Garret doesn’t need to know that. It would just make him hate Carson even more.

“He’s trying to gain your trust, Jade,” Garret says. “That stuff about you reminding him of his sister is bullshit.”

“You don’t know that. And you should really be more respectful. The girl is dead.”

“Yes, and I’m sorry he lost his sister, but I’m not letting him use that to get my girlfriend.”

“I’m telling you. He doesn’t think of me that way. He’s dating Kerry Mitchell now. And he knows you’re my boyfriend. I remind him of that all the time.”

“Yeah, and he doesn’t care. You said yourself that Carson lied that day he told me you were going to show him around town. Why would he do that?”
 

“To make you jealous,” I say quietly. “Make you think I was cheating on you.”

“Yes. Exactly. That’s why you can’t trust that guy.”
 

It’s no use arguing with Garret. No matter what I say, his mind is made up. He doesn’t trust Carson and probably never will.
 

Several weeks pass and things start to get back to normal. Carson stops making rude comments about Garret and doesn’t act interested in me at all, at least in a romantic sense. He’s dating Kerry and the two of them are together all the time. Harper gives me updates on them, not that I need to know, but from what she says it sounds like they really like each other.

Garret and I haven’t had a single argument since Carson backed off. And we haven’t gone to any parties. Instead, we’ve been going to Sean’s place with Harper. The four of us get along great. Sean and Garret are becoming really good friends. Garret’s even starting to hang out with Sean’s friends, none of whom are rich. I like that he’s finally hanging out with regular guys instead of the elitist jerks his dad forced him to be friends with in the past.
 

I haven’t been back to Garret’s house since witnessing the fight between Katherine and his dad. Apparently, Katherine’s living in a different section of the estate now, somewhere on the first floor. That place is so big I haven’t even seen all of the rooms.
 

I feel bad that I haven’t been over to see Lilly, but I’ve talked to her on the phone a few times. She says she has all these pictures she made for me and that I have to come pick them up so I can hang them on my walls at school. She doesn’t sound as happy as she used to. Garret’s been home a couple times to see her and said she keeps asking if I’ll come over, but I don’t think I should. Doing so would just cause Katherine and Garret’s dad to fight even more.

It’s now almost the middle of February and for the past week, Garret’s been dropping hints about Valentine’s Day. The hints are not helpful at all. I’m starting to think they’re just meant to confuse me. When I try to guess what we’re doing, he won’t tell me anything. All this secrecy is making me nervous. I hope he isn’t planning something huge, like a proposal, because I am not at all ready for that. I think he knows that, but still, I worry about it after the ring discussion we had on our New Year’s trip.

Valentine’s Day is on a Sunday this year. Today is the Friday before, and I still have no clue what Garret has planned.
 

After my last class of the day I go back to my room and find a dozen red roses sitting in a vase on my desk. A light fluttery feeling tickles my insides and I catch myself smiling in the mirror.
It’s just flowers, Jade. Don’t get all girly.
I tell myself that, but I’m still smiling like an idiot because I’ve never received flowers before.
 

I smell each rose, then open the little card sitting next to the vase.
“Happy Valentine’s Day. I’m making the day into a weekend. Pack a bag. We’re leaving at 4. Garret”
 

Garret’s note implies we’re going out of town, but I have no idea
where
we’re going which means I have no idea what to pack. I grab my suitcase from the closet and start to put the basics in; underwear, socks, pajamas. Seeing everything laid out in my bag, it all looks wrong. This is Valentine’s Day. I can’t bring my boring pajamas and everyday underwear. I toss them back in my drawer and find the lingerie Garret gave me on New Year’s Eve. Then I pull out my sexiest panties and start picking out bras.

“You ready yet?” Garret is standing there, leaning against the door frame. I didn’t even hear him open the door. I probably forgot to close it after I saw the flowers.

“How long have you been standing there?” I ask, bras dangling from my hand.

“Not long.” He’s laughing. “You need some help with those?”

“No.” I look down at the five bras in my hand. “I mean, maybe. I couldn’t decide which one. Do you have a preference?”

“The black one with the lace.”

I yank him into my room and shut the door. “Would you please tell me where we’re going? Your clues have been completely useless.”