Sleeping with the Enemy (An Enemies to Lovers Collection)

The phone lit up with a few more messages from Hayley. Message about Carla and my situation. It was a natural human instinct to want to see what was being said about you. So, I picked up her phone and did something I rationally knew was a huge no-no—I read Hayley’s and Carla’s messages.

I was so engrossed in the conversation stream that I had not put gas in, gone into the store, or noticed Carla coming back to the car until it was too late. The passenger door swung open and I got caught red-handed. Carla frowned at me as she eyed the phone in my hand before her eyes fell to the seat. A red stain spread across her cheeks and her eyes went dark with anger.

“Is that my phone?” Carla’s voice was like ice. I could see by her shaking, balled fists how she was trying to keep control over the anger that was flaming her cheeks.

“Yes.” I looked at her with hooded eyes. The cat was out of the bag now. In fact, the cat had fallen out of the bag into a pool of icy cold water and was spitting hissing mad. “This is a very interesting conversation stream you have going with Hayley.”

My shock, confusion, and anger had been bottled up for days and all three were fighting to push their way out at the moment.

“It is also none of your business and a gross invasion of my privacy.” Carla didn’t hiss at me outright; she roared. I thought I actually felt flames pour out of her mouth. “Give me back my phone.”

She was as fast as a viper and dived into the car, grabbing for her phone, which started a slap and grab war between me and Carla as she tried to snatch her phone back.

“Do you have something to tell me?” I snapped at her.

I fended her off as best as I could while trying to sustain as little injury as possible. Images of when we were around seven flooded back to me when I took her favorite bow from her. By bow, I mean bow and arrow. Carla wanted to be Robin Hood when she was younger and had an impressive collection of toy bows and arrows. I took her favorite one from her and she’d gone wild, running at me like a baby bull charging down a predator. I’d landed on the ground but had hung on to the bow as she’d kicked, slapped, and scratched me. Until she’d… Holy shit!

“Ow,” I shouted at and shook my hand. “What the hell, Carla!” She’d bitten me. Just like when we were younger. “You bit me.”

“Give me back my phone, you overgrown baby, or I swear I’ll punch you in the eye,” Carla yelled at me.

Oh, yes, it was the bow incident all over again.

“Is everything alright in here?” A kindly old man looked into the car. “I don’t mean to intrude but I saw you two from the store window.” The man looked at me with narrowed eyes before saying to Carla. “Are you okay, miss? Do you need me to call someone?” His eyes slid toward me.

Yup, it was the bow incident all over again!

“My friend here won’t give me back my phone and thinks it’s okay to read someone’s private messages.” Carla sat back in her seat and tried to straighten her disheveled hair.

“Oh, no,” the man shook his head and gave me a dirty look. “You can’t be going round reading other peoples’ messages, son. That’s like opening mail not addressed to you.”

“Exactly!” Carla folded her arm across her chest and glared at me.

I pictured her seven-year-old face pulling a tongue at me. Like she’d done when my father made me apologize to her even though I was the one who was scratched, bitten, and bruised.

“Well, sir.” I was not letting her shove all the blame onto me this time. Oh no, Princess, not this time! The three emotions that were battling each other to break free first burst out of me like someone being exorcised of their demons. “This young lady had been keeping secrets from me! And in typical Princess fashion thinks that she is the one who gets to make all the decisions around her with total disregard to how those who are affected by her decisions feel about the situation.”

“Oh…” Carla started to talk but I interrupted her firmly.

“Not this time, Princess,” I was too far gone, and my inner demons were streaming all out of me. “You always do this, Carla!” I glared at her. “Something happens that is a little out of your perfect palatial comfort zone and you run away to hide behind your palace doors, shutting everyone else out.”

I suddenly realized I was still holding her phone up out of my window. The red hazy rage cleared and was replaced by a numbing calmness mingled with despair. I looked up and saw the old man staring at me intently while Carla sat glaring at me with a shut off look on her face. That’s when I knew. Since I’d known her, I had been trying to get her to notice me and see me like I saw her. Nothing I said or did would make her change her mind about anything. Carla never compromised or let anyone get close enough to her unless she’d hand-picked them. I wasn’t one of her hand-picked inner circles. I never had been and never would be.