10 - Punishment Part 1

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Anything and everything that I had ever thought about Carly was completely twisted. I know she didn't do this just to specifically hurt me, but it sure as well felt like it. Either way, she didn't give a shit about how I felt. But that was the thing. My feelings towards her had turned into hate. I was disgusted with her. I didn't even want to look at her, much less think about her.

Carly had put me in a compromising situation that could've only been handled one way.

 "I'm putting in my two weeks notice."

Eliza's wide green eyes stared at me in shock as I plopped the necessary forms onto the kitchen counter. At that point, I didn't care what she had to say. I'd thought about it all night long and knew this was the right thing for me to do. I couldn't face Carly again after what she did. I couldn't put myself through all the stress anymore.

"Are you sure about this, Sam?" She said it like she expected me to burst out with laughter and tell her that it was all a joke.

"Yes," I answered with no hesitation.

"Can you tell me what brought this on?"

I tried to force a genuine smile, unknowing if she bought it or not. "It's my own personal matters, ma'am."

She slid the white paper from the counter and took a glance at it, trying to see if she could find answers there. "Irreconcilable differences? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to divorce me," she lightly chuckled, only to realize it hadn't lightened the mood. She'd only reminded herself of her ex-husband.

"I just jotted most of that stuff down," I shrugged. "I need to move on. Maybe settle for a career that suits my age."

She pressed her lips into a hard line and nodded her head. "Well, I guess I can understand that. Will you still be attending the ball with Charlotte?"

"I really can't..."

"No, no," she said, waving her hands in front of her. "Don't worry about it. Mr. Slade and that girlfriend of his kept me out the other night practically begging me to let his son be her date again. Now that I can make that happen, I don't have to listen to the bitching while drinking their cheap booze."

"That doesn't surprise me," I chuckled, relieved that she wasn't the least bit angry with me. But if I'd learned anything about that persistent little prick by the name of Cody Slade, I knew good and well that he got his conniving ways from his parents.

"I guess Carly won't take any of this very well," she sighed.

"I'll tell her," I said, already having made the decision beforehand.

Eliza gazed at me for the longest time with a sad smile lingering on her red lips. "Now I'm going to have to hire some shit driver."

"I'm sure you'll find someone much better than me to do the job, Mrs. Jenkins."

"Nonsense," she said, patting my shoulder. "I couldn't trust anyone else with my daughter as much as I do with you, Sam."

Her words only made me feel worse. I didn't trust anyone else with Carly, either. But I had to remind myself that none of it mattered. She wasn't my problem anymore, despite the fact that I still had two whole weeks to drag her around.

"Well, I better go take her to camp before she's late."

Eliza reached into one of the cabinets and dug out some whiskey. Without bothering to use a glass, she took a swig from the bottle and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "You'd better get to it, then."

Worried that I was rudely staring, I turned around and left the kitchen without a word. When I stepped through the foyer, I heard thumping footsteps behind me that didn't sound like Eliza's heels.

"So what? You're just going to quit and that's it?"

I paused in my tracks and closed my eyes in annoyance. I should've known Carly would be eavesdropping, and yet I still gave her the benefit of the doubt. It made me that much angrier with her, but I held my tongue from lashing out.

"Come on," I said, ignoring her question. "Time to get you to Irving."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Her voice quivered as she quickly stomped upstairs.

Eliza came through the kitchen door with the bottle of whiskey in her hand, giving me a sympathetic look. "Maybe you should try to talk to her?"

Holding back an annoyed grunt, I lightly nodded my head and went up to Carly's bedroom. As I slowly opened her door, I noticed she lay on the bed, face down, with a pillow covering her head.

"Look, we can talk about this on the way to camp," I sighed, leaning against the trim of the doorway.

She didn't answer, and gave no indication that she heard me.

I walked over to the side of her bed and pulled the pillow away. She had her headphones in on full blast volume. She sat up and angrily glared at me as I jerked them out of her ears.

"I was listening to that."

"No shit," I said, grabbing her by the arm. "Let's go."

She wriggled free and stumbled back. "No."

"I don't have time for your childish games, Carly. Now please, get outside to the car. We need to talk."

"We can talk right here."

"You know that's not possible," I mumbled under my breath, afraid that Eliza was still in the foyer where she could easily hear us.

"You of all people. YOU!" She started pacing back and forth across the room like a lunatic. "You're supposed to be my friend! Friends don't fucking judge! They don't turn their backs!"

Clenching my teeth, I stomped over to the door and shut it quietly, even though I wanted to slam it as hard as I could. I turned back to face her and noticed she stopped walking back and forth.

 "Friend?" I asked in a low, angry tone. "How could we be friends when you completely broke your promise to me? You are still a kid, and you're making decisions that will haunt you for the rest of your life. I'm your driver and I shouldn't even have a say in what you choose to do, but it was your choice to let me into your personal life and I think it's about time for me to let myself out."

"You can't just run away like this."

"And you can't go around paying random guys for sex, but you do it anyway," I responded calmly, but angrily.

"It was once, Sam."

"One too many, Carly."

"You don't understand."

"You're right. I'll never understand. Maybe you were bored and horny, but either way, there's no good excuse."

She shook her head as a tear ran down her cheek, only to quickly wipe it away with the pad of her thumb. "Why didn't you tell me how you feel about me?"

I wasn't sure how she found out, but it was too late for her to play that card.

"Felt," I snarled, turning away from her, but before I shut the door behind me, I added one last thing.

"I feel nothing for you now." 

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A/N: Wattpad has made the next chapter private. You will have to be a fan to be able to read it. Sorry guys :(

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