The Carrero Heart - Beginning (Friends to Lovers)

“Sophie?” Arrick’s voice comes up behind me and his arms slide around my waist. I try to push him off, but he doesn’t let me, he turns me instead and I turn my face away impulsively. I don’t want him to touch me or look at me, still majorly upset and pissed at him and the last thing I want is him giving me shit over my jealousy. I feel like I can never believe anything he ever tells me again. I spent an hour on my cell to Christian in a drunken mess, sobbing down the phone while he calmed my hysterics, and he only agreed with me on every front.

Arrick is the fucking dick head in this.

“You’re drunk and I’m taking you home.” His tone has completely changed, but he’s still blatantly pissed; manhandling me out of a duty of care, but no real affection in how he’s pulling me. It feels like those nights when he showed up out of obligation to rescue me and I shove him away. Abhorring the touch that is not doing anything for me right now. “Stop acting like this and come on. I’m done with this bullshit and I’m leaving. You can come or stay.” He tries to bring my face to him, holding my chin as more tears sting my eyes and I wriggle my arms free to get him off me. Fighting him in every way.

“Leave me alone.” I start to cry, but he sighs and clenches his jaw. Gritted teeth and no love in that expression at all, his body bristling against mine.

“Fine. I’ll tell Nathan to bring you home later. I’m out.” He lets me go, turns to leave me here, and it hurts, like my insides get wrenched free. Crumbling from angry wall of stubborn, to wounded broken child in need of his presence.

“You’re just going to leave me here?” I start sobbing and follow him, anger dissipating and desperately pathetic, suddenly scared that he really is going to walk off and leave me alone here. I don’t want to be left alone. I can’t breathe at the thought that he will walk off and leave me here.

“Right now, yes! Because I’m drunk and being the asshole, you hate, and this is only going to kick off if we stay together. We don’t do well like this and I can’t handle anymore shit tonight.” Arrick turns and sees me crying openly. I can feel the tears dripping off my face, broken in so many stupid ways, not knowing why I even need him to stay with me, and he falters. Coming back to me he lifts his hands and starts wiping my face, still closed off but softening a little, losing the edgy ice from his eyes.

“Don’t. Look, let’s just go… We’ll go to bed and deal with the fall out when we’re sober. Neither of us work when we’re like this, Sophie. This is turning into the shittiest night ever, and I want it to end.” He pulls me into his body and slides his arm around me protectively; even being an asshole, he is still trying to be my good guy and I waiver a little, even if I am still so heart achingly mad at him.

I sway in his arms trying to fight him still, wanting his presence but not his touch, exhausted and done. So many emotions ripping through me and I want to go home. Tears slipping freely, so that when he starts guiding me to the quiet hall, I don’t fight him anymore. I want him to make this feel better, to take away the gut-wrenching pain he has caused in my heart, for it to go away. I want so badly to cuddle him, yet I also don’t. I’m too drunk, too emotional, and being stupid about this. I need to go home and sleep.

“Let me go, I can walk. I don’t need you touching me. I don’t want you touching me.” I try for one more attempt to get loose from him, but he turns me into him more, as I try to get free. He says nothing just keeps me walking until we get out to the corridor, to the cloakroom to get our jackets. He lets me go as he fishes for our tickets and goes off to collect them, leaves me standing there. It’s almost empty out here as it’s still early and not many people are leaving. I stay rooted to the spot, wiping my eyes and breathing myself back to calm.

“Toddling off home for some incestual sex to keep your man, are we? Never took him for the perverted type.” The bitchy voice makes me glance up, to see Miranda carrying coats too, heading towards the little frail drunken mess slumped in a corner, that I realize is Natasha. She straightens up when she sees me, and wanders over to her friend, eyes glued on me viciously. Wiping her make up smeared face, her eyes passing me to Arrick in the background and starts to try and right herself. She is so obvious it’s pathetic.

“Look, just go away okay. I don’t know you and I don’t need this. What does it solve? You’re not going to make him change his mind. He is with me and that’s how it’s going to stay.” I snap; drunkenly swaying on my shoes and wishing he would hurry back and deal with this foul-mouthed bitch. I can only hold my temper so long and now the way I’m feeling, I might stab her in the face with my shoe. I glare at both, brimming hostility.

“I trusted you.” Natasha sobs at me, giving me an evil look and grabbing her coat from her friend to hold in her arms; squeezing the life out of it, still acting like the poor innocent victim, except, unlike the night in the bathroom, I no longer care. She followed him to Miami, to do God knows what and she can go fuck herself for all I care. I have zero remorse where she is concerned anymore and see this as a war between two women now. Not about to lay down and let some bitch try and take him from me.

“I’m sorry… What else can I say. We both love him…but he chose me. I’m who he’s happy with and you need to accept it.” I lift my hands in defeat, cornered and defensive, so not able to deal with this and already a mess from fighting with him. My skins prickling, and my anger is barely holding it together. I am trying to be mature, trying to do what he would want me to even if I currently hate him.

Be a grown up, turn the other cheek, be mature, show everyone you’re not a little spoiled kid anymore.

“Did he? Pretty sure he stayed with me…. Then when I couldn’t forgive him, he went looking for his second option.” Natasha spits cruelly and I don’t know if it’s what she says, or the sudden change in her that makes me screw up my face in disbelief. Reminding me of her behavior in the bowling alley bathroom. Like a sucker punch of realization that it was not a one off.

bristles as both girls sneer at me. Miranda looks about ready to spit at me with an expression of utter disgust on

an adult and get into a grown-up argument. Go find your play pen, button. Leave the big people

and eyes me up sleazily. His slimy slow crawl up my body makes me instantly hate him.

you have

do the right thing for once and lift my chin up high, and come face to face with Arrick coming in behind me. Eyes

you say to her?” He snaps at Miranda; the Carrero glare on full force and he slides my jacket around me and moves me aside robotically, putting himself between us, and stares her down aggressively. Even I know that sober Arrick would have dismissed this and walked off,

Arry, Love… Is she even potty trained?” Miranda laughs coldly, flicking her hair in a sassy way and throws her eyes at Natasha, who seems to have reverted to coy and feeble in his presence. The little victim doe eyed act that

Manipulative little cow.

on the tears, whimpering pathetically and I

sobs and pushes in against him, placing a hand on his arm that gets me riled up and I grab

emotional blackmail. How many guys stay in touch with their ex to make sure their okay? How many would keep dealing with stuff for you and help you out with your dad’s hospital bills huh? I’m trying to care, Natasha, but I’m also trying to live my life with Sophie.” He stands his ground, removes

to see you?” She cries, sobs broken by gasps and a great little act of having an emotional breakdown. I eyes roll and push down the one hundred

instantly regretting the outburst when I get a cold glare from Arry, still trying to be commander and chief in this little drama. I glare right

it. Go over there.” He points of to one corner bossily and riles my temper, stubborn side connecting, sadness replaced with that side of me that he knows better than to activate. He should know better than to be an asshole to me and then think he can tell me what to

eyes locked on one another in a fierce battle and neither will back down. I’m losing the tearful

need you to walk away, so everyone can stop being assholes, and we can all go the fuck home.” He grinds through clenched teeth and

and seduce him the minute your backs turned. Oh wait. That was you?” Natasha spits at me from her standpoint. Losing the act while his back is turned and forgetting herself for

clearly wasn’t all that in love with you if he ended up with me.” I snap right back, pushing past him to face her, but his arm blocks me and wraps his other around my waist, hauling me in front of him and keeping me tight by the shoulders in a bid to control me. Natasha walks sideways to face me still, putting herself back in my face, dismissing his presence entirely and I guess it’s because she is either really riled, or she realizes that he isn’t all that enamored with pathetic and soft doe-eyed brunettes, after all. He is choosing to

sees one.” She sneers at me, up and down like I’m some sort of tramp, yet she’s the one dressed in a cheap hooker dress and stripper

by how close that sneering bitches is to mine, when she leans in

you bitch?” The stranger has appeared behind her, holding her with one arm and my wrist

head around what happens, just that I am let loose and he’s on the other side of me in the blink of an eye. My hand released and has the guy by the throat pushing him backwards into a pillar at speed and looking pretty much like he’s going to rip his head off. He is in fight mode, body poised to take on an opponent and has the death

her.” He snarls, terrifyingly cold, sinister even. He looks scarily dangerous, and even I don’t know how to react to this version of him; the guy doesn’t know how to react either and seems to

face as he recoils from the terrifying, crazy guy with an insanely strong arm. My temper explodes in my chest as she starts hauling him towards her, trying to get him to cuddle her, pulling his arms and body to her in a bid to get him away from the other male, and

behave.” Miranda throws his way, hauling the man off to one side to get away, still staring over and muttering viciously. She ushers his shell-shocked face to one side and gives

you blind to it; come back to me. I still love you and I can forgive all of this if you come back to me. We can make this work again. I know you still love me too.” Natasha is wrapping herself around him, riling me to fever pitch rage that my jealous insane side cannot handle. I can’t take it anymore. What was numb shock at

resort to shoving her away hard. Arry grabs hold