Page 44 of Finding Carly
Surprisingly, Carly was feeling all right about the outing. Kenna had called after lunch and asked if she wanted to go to the store with her. And while Carly had been hesitant at first, she’d straightened her spine and agreed. She needed to start getting out on her own. And being with Kenna seemed like a good compromise to start.
She’d had a small moment of panic when they’d arrived at the store, but she’d gotten control over her emotions and carried on, which she was extremely proud of. Some people might not think going to the grocery store, with a friend at that, was very impressive, but after spending months in her apartment, too scared to even go outside to check her mail, going to the grocery store seemed like a major victory.
“So…how’re things between you and Jag going?” Kenna asked as they strolled down the aisles.
“Good. He’s different than I thought he’d be,” Carly said.
“In what way?”
“It’s hard to explain. I guess when you first started going out with Aleck, I figured his friends would be kind of conceited hard-asses. But even from that first dinner at Duke’s, they seemed pretty down-to-earth. You know I wasn’t ready for any kind of relationship, not after Shawn, but Jag kind of snuck up on me.”
Kenna chuckled. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Do you think this’ll be a long-term thing?”
“I have no idea,” she said with a shrug. “I mean, I’m not counting on him getting down on one knee anytime soon. And honestly? I think he’s got a savior-complex thing going on. We didn’t really get a chance to know each other very well before everything with Shawn happened. And since then, he’s been more of a caretaker for me than anything else.”
“Do you seriously think that?” Kenna asked, stopping in the middle of the aisle.
“Well, yeah,” Carly admitted.
“You’re wrong,” her friend replied, somewhat forcefully. “Jag isn’t the sort of man to spend so much time making sure you’re all right simply out of the kindness of his heart. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good man. But he wouldn’t have done what he did in the months after Shawn lost his fucking mind if he wasn’t interested in having more than a friendship with you.”
Carly swallowed hard. She knew that. Somehow, deep down, she’d always known that Jag wasn’t just checking up on her because his friend was dating Kenna. She’d felt a connection to him from the first moment they’d met at Duke’s. She just didn’t want to admit it at the time.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done without him,” Carly said softly. “How do I know my attraction toward him isn’t just because of some damsel-in-distress syndrome?”
“I know a lot of people poo-poo the damsel-in-distress thing, and it pisses me off,” Kenna said. She didn’t seem concerned in the least that they were completely blocking the grocery aisle to have this intense conversation next to the pickles and condiments. “But here’s the thing—there’s nothing wrong with needing a helping hand sometimes. When, exactly, society decided that was a bad thing, I have no idea. But whatever. And even though our men are badasses, they need us just as much as we need them. That’s how relationships work, Carly. No, we probably won’t be hanging out of helicopters and swooping in to save our men from red-hot lava like Pid did for Monica, but that doesn’t mean we don’t make their lives better, more complete. So what if you leaned on Jag recently? You shouldn’t be ashamed of that. It’s what couples do.”
This was one of the reasons Carly loved Kenna so much. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, and it was usually what Carly needed to hear. “Thanks,” she whispered.
“Giving pep talks is what friends are for,” Kenna said with a smile. “And for the record, I love having you back at work. Don’t get me wrong, I like Vera, Justin, Charlotte, and the others, but having you there makes the time go by so much faster.”
“I’m actually surprised by how much I missed it. I didn’t think I would, and it’s a little scary being out in public, but I definitely like spending time with you again.”
The two friends smiled at each other, then started back down the aisle. They were in the middle of a conversation about pickles—if sweet or dill were better—when someone came around the corner and almost ran into them.
Carly froze, gaping at Luke and his girlfriend in shock.
For what seemed like a full minute, the four of them stared at each other without a word. Carly could feel her heart beating a million miles an hour. She felt paralyzed with fear. This was pretty much her worst nightmare come true. The reason she’d hidden out in her apartment for so long. She never wanted to see Shawn’s son again—and now here they were, face-to-face in the damn grocery store.
Both Luke and Rebecca glared at her.
“Move,” Kenna said in a low, determined tone.
Carly wanted to tell her to hush, to not make Luke angry, but her voice wouldn’t work.
“Youmove,” Rebecca replied in a pissy voice.
“I didn’t have anything to do with what happened,” Luke blurted out of the blue.
Carly was surprised he’d brought it up. She could only stare at him.
“My life’s been a living hell for the last few months. I had to hire a fucking lawyer to get the cops off my back, but even still, they’re following me around and digging through my trash and shit. You need to talk to them, tell them to back the fuck off,” Luke said.
“If you didn’t do anything wrong, then you don’t have anything to worry about,” Kenna retorted, taking a small step sideways so she was partially standing in front of her. “And Carly has no control over what the cops do anyway.”
“You ruined my dad’s life!” he seethed. His gaze was glued to Carly’s, and the venom she saw there made her tremble.
But then she remembered something Elizabeth had said in their self-defense lesson. She’d said that acting as if you aren’t afraid can many times throw off an attacker. They don’t like confident victims. They want the people they’re beating up, mugging, or intimidating to cower in fear. It gives the attacker power.
