Page 54 of The Carnage We Keep

I take a deep breath before I force myself to look at her again.

“I’m fine,” I say with an easy smile. “It’s…it’s just this guy I’ve been talking to.”

Talk about the most boiled-down version possible. But I don’t really know what else to tell her right now.

Arianna smiles and slowly nods. “Well, that’s awesome. I’m happy for you!”

“Thanks.” I quirk up a single brow. “And are you…?”

“Hah,” she says dryly.

I grin. “So that’s a no?”

“That’s a big ol’ no.”

I groan as my phone dings again.

Unknown

You have five more minutes to reply or this conversation happens with much less civility and privacy.

God, what a fucking dork.

I try to go back to chatting with Ari. But at this point she’s convinced I’m blowing off literally Prince Charming to be with her, and she insists on not being “any part of that foolishness”.

So, grudgingly, after I give her another hug at the door and promise that we’ll have a rematch of the hang soon, I glower at my phone and stab at his number.

“For the record, fuck-face,” I snap when he picks up. “Don’t ever tell me to behave again.”

“I don’t really think you’re in any position to make demands after the shit you pulled,” he growls. “You little psycho.”

Hot knives clash in my head. My eyes narrow dangerously as my teeth grind.

“Do not. Fucking. Call me⁠—”

“You crossed a fucking line,” he snarls.

My lips curl viciously. “Oh, you mean making your dumb car look so pretty?”

“You’re fucking deranged.”

“Yeah?” I spit. “Suck my dick.”

“Hard pass,” he growls. “But we’re going to meet tonight at the old cemetery past the stables, and you and I are fucking settling this once and for all.”

I roll my eyes. “What is this, dueling pistols at twenty paces?”

“No,” he snaps. “We're two rational adults who are going to discuss this out in the open.”

“And your grand plan to accomplish this is to meet a nineteen-year-old girl alone at night in a fucking graveyard?” I scoff. “Yeah, that’s definitely happening.”

Damiano chuckles flatly. “Don’t play innocent with me, little nightmare. And yes, that’s the fucking plan. We meet. We talk. Then we go our separate ways and stay the fuck away from each other.”

“Aww,” I pout. “Does this mean you don’t wanna be friends?”

“Bella…” he hisses, like it’s a final warning

“Damiano…” I mumble back in a Neanderthal grunt.