“Megan,” he says nodding his head. At least he uses her name. That makes me jealous too. I shouldn’t let it worry me, but it does. “If you want a lift home, meet me in the car park,” he adds turning his attention to me. I choose to ignore him. After the way he acted this morning, he’s delusional if he thinks I’ll get in the car with him again.

“He doesn’t seem as bad as you’re making out,” Meg says on the way to our next class.

“Don’t let him fool you. He’s a monster.” She laughs at my observation.

“He was nice enough to offer you a lift home. That’s got to count for something.”

“Yeah, and he gave me a lift to school as well. Trouble is, he stopped at the end of the street and told me to get out of the car. He was worried if people saw us together it would ruin his reputation.”

“He said that?” she asks, shock clearly evident in her voice.

“Yep.”

“What a bastard,” she says pursing her lips.

“I know right. Now do you see where I’m coming from?”

••••

I steer clear of the car park after school and opt for the bus instead. Sure it will take me a longer to get home, but it’s worth not having to put up with Carter’s rudeness and insults. I’m surprised he even offered. It was probably a ruse to fool Meg into thinking he’s actually a nice guy, which he’s not.

CHAPTER FOUR

Carter

I waited ten minutes, but when she didn’t show I made my way home. I kind of figured after the way I treated her this morning she wouldn’t show up. Her loss. Even though I’ll admit I’m disappointed, I’m not going to dwell on it.

When I pull into the driveway at home, I reach over and stow my cigarettes in the glove compartment. My mum hates it when I smoke. I don’t do it often. I only started back up when I found out she was marrying Fuckwit. Smoking calms me, and lord knows I need it when I’m around him.

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to living here, in this house, or this neighbourhood. It’s too fucking perfect. I hate perfect. People like me will never belong in a place like this. I’m flawed. The families that live in these kinds of areas are usually showy, pretentious and fake. Too good to be fucking true. Just like my stepfather. Fuck I hate him.

I exit the car just as someone pulls into the driveway next door. My first thought is it’s probably pretty boy dropping Indi off, but I’m surprised when an older man gets out.

“Afternoon,” he says making his way towards me.

“Hey,” I reply, flicking my head in his direction. I wonder if this is her father. He may want to kick my arse if she’s told him how I’ve been treating her.

“You must be Elizabeth’s boy. She told me you were moving in over the weekend.”

“Yes. Carter. Carter Reynolds¸” I say as I offer my hand to him.

“Nice to meet you, son. I’m Ross. Ross Montgomery.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Sir.” I’m surprised that him calling me son doesn’t piss me off. I hate it when my stepfather says it. I suppose he only does it to antagonise me. Arsehole.

“Nice set of wheels. A 1975 Holden HJ GTS Monaro.”

“It is. You know your cars,” I say in a surprised tone.

“I’m a petrol-head from way back,” he chuckles. “My old man used to have one of these. Are you doing it up yourself?”

“Yeah. I’ve done a bit to it. Some of the parts are hard to find, and a little pricy for a seventeen year old,” I laugh. “I’ll get it finished one day.”

“I used to spend hours helping my dad work on his car when I was a teenager. If you ever need a hand with anything, I’d love to help out.” His offer makes me smile. Why couldn’t my mum have married someone like Ross Montgomery?

“I’d like that,” I tell him honestly, because I would. With my track record, I usually have my guard up around strangers, especially older males, but for some reason with him I don’t. After all, my father never wanted me, my grandfather rejected me, and my stepfather hates me with a passion. Ross seems like a genuine guy though.

I like him already.

“Can I have a look under the hood?” he asks.

“Sure.” I reach inside and pull the lever and follow him around to the front of the car.

“Do you know much about the mechanics of the car?” he asks as he waits for me to open the hood. I watch as he runs his hand over the paintwork. A small smile plays on his lips. I love that he appreciates this car as much as I do.

“I was lucky the guy I bought the car off still had the manual, but no, not much. I’m learning fast though.”

“Well, when you’ve got some spare time, I’d be happy to show you what I know.”

“I’m free now,” I say way too eagerly. The thought of working on the car with him excites me for some reason. Not sure why. Maybe it’s because no one has ever taken time out to help me in the past. Except my mum of course, but she knows shit about cars.

“Okay. I’m working the night shift later, but I can spare an hour or so. Give me a few minutes to change and we can get started.”

Stepping away from the car, I reach for his hand again. “Thank you, Mr. Montgomery. I really appreciate your offer.”

“Don’t sweat it, son. I’m happy to help. And please, call me Ross. I’m going to enjoy this,” he says smoothing his hand over the hood when I close it. “I haven’t worked on a car for years. These days they’re all computerised.”

As we stand there chatting, Indi walks across the front lawn. She must have caught the bus home. “Pumpkin,” her father says when she wraps her tiny arms around his waist. He leans down and kisses the top of her head. “How was school, baby girl?”

“School was okay.” She looks my way and narrows her eyes. I feel the smile on my face grow. I may not think much of her, but I like her spunk. I love that my antics get under her skin. I also admire the fact she gives as good as she gets. Most girls in her position would cry.

“Have you met Carter yet?” her father asks.

“Yes, we’ve met,” she replies dryly. “I’m gonna go and do my homework. Did you get the meat out of the freezer?”

“I sure did,” he says.

“Okay, I’ll get started on dinner soon.” When she walks away we both stare after her. My eyes are glued to her arse. I’m pretty sure her father’s aren’t.

“She’s such a good kid,” he says. “I’m lucky to have her.” I don’t reply. How can I? My feelings for her are all over the place. I hate and lust over her all at the same time. It’s totally fucking with my head.

••••

After I’ve changed I head back to the car where Ross is already waiting. He’s laid out some tools on the ground. Apparently they belonged to his father. He seems really keen to help me. I can already tell I’m going to enjoy spending time with him. I hope he will feel the same about me too.

He reminisces while we work and has some funny stories. Time goes by pretty fast. I’m really enjoying hanging with him. He’s not only a nice guy, but he’s taught me a lot already.

“What do you think about your daughter dating?” I ask out of the blue.

“Why?” he answers frowning at me. “Do you want to date her?”

“Me? Fu … Ummm no.” I can’t believe I almost drop the F bomb in front of him.

Cocking his head he asks, “Why wouldn’t you want to date her?” He says it like he’s offended I don’t want to. Jesus. Why did I even bring this up?

“I just heard something today at school.” I know that it’s low of me to tell her father what Brad said, but there’s no way I’m letting her go to that cocksucker’s place on the weekend. Especially now I know what his intentions are. I’m not jealous or anything. Well that’s what I’m telling myself. It just doesn’t sit well with me.

“What did you hear?” he asks turning his head in my direction while we’re both bent over the hood of the car. I see his grip tighten around the wrench in his hand. His knuckles have turned white. Maybe pissing him off while he’s holding that bludgeoning tool in his hand wasn’t my smartest move.