Lahat ng Kabanata ng IN LOVE WITH DAVE: MY HOT STEPBROTHER: Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

CARMEN“I don’t think we should be doing this, Jasper,” I suggested, pulling the shot of vodka which he held firmly in his hand and refused to let go of until I gave up and took my hand away. “I just don’t think we should be getting drunk. You drove us here, remember?”“Oh, that doesn’t matter much. We can always get a taxi. I can make a call for someone to come over and pick us up if we’re ever too drunk. Besides, I trust that Dave won’t be getting drunk, we can ask him for a lift home. Right, Kate?!” He yelled as he looked at Kate, who barely heard a word that he said.“What? Yes! Oh, absolutely.” She nodded, going back to the cocktail she was having and taking large gulps of it.“Come on, Carmen. It’s your birthday. If you’re sceptical that I’m going to do anything…” He paused as if to read the expression on my face and figure out if that was it. “You don’t trust me.”“Let’s not start this conversation once again, Jasper,” I pleaded.“I’m not going to lay a hand on you, Carmen.” He

CARMEN“Save me,” Jasper’s mother told me before sighing and sinking back into the bed as if nothing had happened. It suddenly felt as if the room had turned fifty times colder, making me completely uneasy.“Mariah?” I called, taking her hand and raising it to my cheeks. “Please just…tell me what exactly it is. I don’t know what exactly I’m supposed to be saving you from. Is it Jasper? Maybe Terri? Is it the drugs you’re taking that make you move once in a while?”There was no reply from her, save for her squeezing my hand to let me know that she was still there and listening to me. I knew it took almost all the energy she had to speak, but I really wished there was more I could work with.I tucked her in properly and walked out of the room, where I found Jasper standing with his back leaned against the wall and his hands folded.“Jasper!” I gasped when my eyes landed on him

CARMEN“I really think it would be much safer if I just drove you and dropped you off. You’re making this harder than it ought to be,” Jasper argued with me that morning after I had just lied to him about why I was leaving for the countryside.“You just said you had a lot of work to do. I don’t understand why you would want to drive all the way there,” I argued, placing my bag over my shoulder and walking out of the house as he trailed behind me to the garden, where Terri and Mariah sat.“Don’t make a scene in front of them, Carmen. I’m going to drive you out of the state, and that’s final,” he said into my ear. “Maybe this time, I’ll find out what this aviation company is that you have been telling me about and I’ll hold someone accountable if something happens to you all the way in India.”“You know what? Suit yourself.” I raised my hands in surrender. “If you want to drive me, no problem.”I figured that I would find a way to lose him when we reached the stop that Dave had told me

CARMEN“I love you, Carmen.”My eyes widened at that announcement, and I could feel my heart rip to shreds at his words. It felt too different hearing it from him than it did when Jasper told me that he loved me, and that was the one confirmation that I needed – I loved him just as much as he loved me, if not more.“This is not me pressuring you to say it back or feel the same way, by the way. I just wanted to get it off my chest,” he reminded, but it was too late for that since I already felt enough and more to match what he had for me.“Shut up,” I laughed, shaking my head as he stared at me in confusion. I could tell that he didn’t know whether to laugh or not, and it only made me laugh even more.“You’re such an idiot if you really think I don’t love you as much as you love me, Dave.” I walked over to him, and he stood up to meet my eyes with a look that took my breath away. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he pulled me closer to him. “I love you, Dave. I love you so much.”

CARMEN“Mom, is Jasper there with you?” I asked, glancing at Dave to let him know that something had gone wrong. He stood upright, setting his plate of pie aside and staring at me as I waited for my mother’s reply.“He’s not, but he did call earlier. He asked me about this aviation company that you said you were working with, and how come you never told me you were going to India?” I placed my hand on my face and rubbed hard with a tired sigh.“What did you tell him?” I inquired, knowing what the truth was without even having her answer.“I told him the truth, of course,” she answered, and I groaned and walked out of the kitchen as Dave followed me with his hand over his waist.“Come on, Carmen. You know better than lying with my name without telling me about it first. If you wanted to hide something from him, you should have told me about it. I would have helped you, but I was just as confused as you were,” she defended herself.I stayed silent for a moment, not sure what to tell her