Claimed For Christmas

Chapter 10-The Ex

Brooklyn

I pulled away from Carter. This bubble we seemed to have been in suddenly popped, making my head turn towards the door just as Tyler came walking in.

“Why didn’t you call me?” He rushed.

“Tyler, what are you doing here?” Who told him I was here?

Carter pushed his chair back before standing. “You can’t be in here,” he snapped, making Tyler stop halfway through the room.

“Like hell I can’t, I’m her–wait.” Tyler blinked his eyes rapidly, seeming focused more on Carter now than me. “Why the f**k are you here?” He spat.

Wait, did he know Carter? Tyler’s eyes darted between us, causing me to shift on the bed awkwardly.

“What’s going on, babe? Why the hell is he here?” Tyler asked suspiciously.

I swallowed hard, unsure on how to even answer that question because truthfully, I had no clue what was happening right now either. I swear for a second, Carter was about to kiss me…but that would be crazy, right?

“Brooklyn, why the f**k is he here?” Tyler snapped again, this time much more aggressively. Why was he acting like this?

Before I could say anything, Carter stepped around the bed and put himself between us.

“First off, don’t ever talk to her like that again.” He stated coldly, and goosebumps pebbled across my flesh. “And my reason for being here doesn’t concern you. That’s between me and her. If anyone shouldn’t be in this room right now, it’s you.”

The room filled with a thick silence. There was so much tension between them that I could feel the hairs standing up on the back of my neck. I looked down towards Carter, noting the way his muscular back tensed. God, was he huge…like really huge. He looked like one of those olympic swimmers or something.

Seeing him standing there, defending me without even knowing me, made my chest tighten. I didn’t want him to be in the middle of this, especially after the amazing day he just gave me. As touching as it is to see him stand up for me like this, I also felt embarrassed that he was even witnessing this. Tyler has no right to come in here and act like a total d**k to Carter.

“Carter, it’s okay.” I whispered, wanting to handle this like an adult and not cause anymore drama. “Let me just talk to him for a second.”

Carter turned his head to look back at me. The brown of his eyes seemed so much darker than they had before.

“I don’t want you to be alone with him.” He said, making my heart skip a beat. I tried not to read too much into his words considering he was a volunteer here. He probably had to be cautious when it came to situations like this.

“I’ll be fine. I promise.” I encouraged, giving him the best smile I could muster.

Carter just stood there, seeming like he wanted to say something else but before he could, Tyler spoke up.

“She said you can go.”

Carter’s head snapped back towards him, and that’s when I heard this low growling sound. Just as it started to rumble from somewhere in the room, the door flew open, surprising me.

“Hey dude, can I get your help with something?” The Santa from earlier said, making Carter lift his hand before brushing his brown hair away from his face.

Ignoring Santa, he turned to face me. “Just say my name, and I’ll be right back in here.” He said, making me let out a relieved breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding. “Okay?” He asked, and I nodded my head yes.

“Okay.” He repeated again before taking a step closer and reaching down, fixing my blanket. Carter pulled it over my lap, covering me up a little more.

“You have five minutes.” He stated once he was done, and I don’t think that one was for me. He turned, looking towards Tyler and went to walk past him. “That’s if she doesn’t tell you to leave before that.” He added, and walked out the door, giving me one last look before he left.

The moment that door clicked, and he was no longer in here, it was almost like all the warmth had been sucked out of here. I felt a shiver tremble through me, making me pull the blanket up even higher.

Tyler’s footsteps began to approach the bed, and I just stared down at my hands, unsure of what to even say right now.

“Brooklyn, if I had known, I would’ve been here sooner.” He began, talking much more softly this time. I pulled away, not wanting him to touch me. “Baby, don’t be like this”

“Don’t be like what? You cheated on me Tyler. We’re not together anymore Tyler. How did you even find me?” I asked, peering over at him. That’s when I realized he had a black eye.

When did that happen?

“Jillian called. She said she hadn’t heard from you. I guess she reached out to the hospital.” He explained, and my heart sank. Of course he only knew because of Jillian. Not like he would actually get the idea to call himself. “She’s on her way here. I told her I would bring you home, but she insisted.”

Oh god, she was on her way here?! Jillian’s going to flip the hell out.

“Baby, about what happened at the party. It wasn’t what you thought.” Tyler reached for my hand but I pulled it away.

“S-stop calling me that.” I rushed, getting frustrated already. “You cheated on me Tyler. I saw it with my own eyes.” Does he really think I’m that stupid? Even if I only saw him kiss one girl, he was covered in lipstick marks. Clearly he had been doing it all night.

“I was drunk. It was a stupid mistake. The guys convinced me to play the game.” He began to defend himself and I dropped my head forward, feeling those emotions start to come back. Surprisingly, I wasn’t as hurt as I’d been last night. I felt more angry than anything.

“That doesn’t make it okay. Clearly you’ve moved on.”

Tyler pulled up the chair and sat down, getting as close to me as possible. “No I haven’t, baby. Last night didn’t mean anything. I wasn’t even attracted to those girls.”

I scoffed. Didn’t seem like that to me when he was sucking that girl’s face off.

He reached out again, grabbing my hand this time, not letting me pull away. “I can see how a kiss would seem like such a big deal to you.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused by where he was going with this.

“Well, since you’re still a virgin, a kiss seems like a big thing.” Tyler began, and brow furrowed in confusion.

“Kissing is still cheating Tyler.”

“Is it though? I mean, I was drunk. Everyone was doing it.” He began and that really pissed me off.

“Okay so if I went around kissing random guys at parties, you would be okay with that?” I asked, trying to understand his logic.

Tyler’s grip on me tightened. “Wait…have you?” He blurted, clearly not expecting me to ask that.

“No Tyler! Because I’m not a cheater!”

“But I didn’t though! Kissing doesn’t mean s**t. Baby, what we have goes beyond everything else. You know that. Our connection is real.” He began and I shook my head back and forth. I couldn’t believe he was trying to play off like what he didn’t wasn’t cheating. “Brooklyn, Jillian explained everything to me.” He added while stroking the back of my hand with his thumb. Before, his touch would’ve caused some type of nervous butterflies, but right now…all I felt was gross. Like I wanted him as far away from me as possible.

“What do you mean?” I asked, wondering what Jullian said to him.

Excitement filled Tyler’s eyes, causing my lips to tilt down into a frown.

“You wanted to give me your virginity. That’s why you were here. You were ready to go all the way.” He said happily, and my stomach dropped.

Oh god, she told him?! Why did she tell him?

“Hey, it’s okay. I know how shy you are, and maybe it’s been frustrating at times, but I’ve been pretty damn patient Brooklyn. Most guys would’ve left within the first month, but I stayed. So I can see why watching me kiss someone else for some silly game would really upset you, but that’s all it was, a game. So if you just stay for a few more days, we can some much needed time together and–”

“No.” I rushed, prying my hand out of his grip. “We’re done Tyler.”

Tyler stared down at me, his green eyes darkening by the second as he clenched his jaw, making it tick. “You don’t mean that.” He gritted out, clearly angry about my rejection.

“I do. I’m breaking up with you.”

Tyler leaned into me, those once bright green eyes now dark, and vicious. “Do you really think anyone else is going to want you? You’ve got baggage, babe. Not just that usual s**t most girls do. Real f*****g baggage. You’re damaged goods.” Tyler spat, and I knew exactly what he was talking about…becuase I did have baggage. My mom…

The door came swinging open, and Tyler pulled away from me.

“Five minutes are up, time for you to leave.” Carter’s deep voice filled the room, making my eyes dart towards the door.

It looked like Tyler was about to protest when Carter stepped to the side, revealing a security guard behind him.

Carter stared across the room, his eyes burning into me but I couldn’t look at him, not after what Tyler said.

“This isn’t over.” Tyler’s voice drifted towards me, the threat behind his tone not going unnoticed. I could see him slowly stand from the corner of my eye before he walked across the room.

I wasn’t sure if Tyler would start something, but before he could even reach the door, Carter pushed past him, heading straight for me.

“Are you okay?” He asked, the worry in his voice making me look up at him.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I whispered, feeling Tyler's eyes boring into me from across the room.

I wasn’t sure how long he stood there, looking at us, but eventually that feeling went away.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Carter asked, and I shook my head no.

“I think I might try to get some sleep.” I whispered, knowing I was about to break down any second.

I knew he was looking at me, but I couldn’t look back. Tyler’s attempt to break me down had worked…but not in the way he hoped.

“I’ll be right outside if you need me.” Carter added, and I nodded my head before laying down and turning away from him.

Tyler’s words played over and over again in my head. The realization that he was right hit me harder than ever.

Who would ever want someone like me?