Page 129 of Lured By Shadows

I just nodded, letting the warmth of the sun settle into my skin as we crossed the parking lot. My body felt looser than it had in days, the tension worked out through broken glass, bruised muscles, and the violent satisfaction of smashing things apart. There was relief in that. Room to breathe again.

I was just about to make some sarcastic comment, probably something about complicated families becoming my new favorite genre, when a voice cut through the air to my right.

“Ira.”

I turned toward the voice.

Standing there with a half-smirk curling at his mouth and the permanently disheveled aura hanging off him like a wrinkled hoodie he refused to wash was Carter.

A strange tightness twisted low in my gut that wasn’t quite nerves so much as a sharp blend of annoyance and surprise, locking my shoulders up.

“What’re you doing here?” I asked, my gaze flicking past him toward the building we’d just stepped out of like I might’ve somehow hallucinated him into existence.

“That’s where I work on the side,” he said, jerking his chin toward the rage room facility like he’d just revealed some huge secret. The corners of his mouth lifted with smug satisfaction.

“Seriously?” I blinked once, then again. “That’s pretty cool, I guess.”

“Innit?” He grinned, but it didn’t fully settle on his face. His attention drifted past me instead, eyes raking downward before slowly climbing back up again with a flash of recognition that made something sour twist in my chest.

Because his gaze didn’t land on me.

It landed squarely on my mother.

For half a second, my brain stalled trying to process the sight of Carter very obviously checking out my ma like she was some woman his age and not the person who’d literally raised me. Heat rushed into my face, disbelief snapping behind my eyes.

Was he serious right now?

“Uh… this is my ma,” I cut in quickly, tucking my hair behind my ear with an awkward twitch like maybe I could physically reset the moment.

“Oh—um—nice ta meetcha!” he blurted, lifting one hand in a stiff, uncertain wave that looked nothing like his usual cocky ease.

My ma gave him a polite, clipped nod, her expression calm and unreadable.

“Nice to meet you as well.” Then her gaze shifted toward me, something unspoken flickering there. “Ira, I’ll leave you to finish this discussion.”

And just like that, she turned and headed toward the car, her stride composed and unhurried, not even glancing back as she opened the door.

I stood there a moment longer, my pulse beating harder than it should’ve for reasons I couldn’t fully untangle. Then I stepped closer to Carter, keeping my posture casual even while I stayed guarded underneath. I took a hit of my vape, washing away the uncertainty.

“Anyway, what’s up?” I asked, watching him shift his weight like he suddenly didn’t know where to put himself.

He avoided my eyes completely. His gaze dropped to the pavement before flicking toward the edge of the building, like looking directly at me had somehow become harder than he expected.

“Ya never messaged,” he mumbled. “I was expectin’ you.”

My head tilted slightly, confusion knitting my brows together.

“I’ve been busy,” I answered honestly, folding my arms loosely as I studied him.

Carter genuinely didn’t understand the rhythm of girls at all. Everything about him felt reactive, clumsy, and slightly off-beat. He didn’t lead well and didn’t follow through smoothly either.

And yet, there was still effort there. Awkward, imperfect effort.

“Fancy hangin’ out sometime?” he asked, uncertainty threading through his voice beneath the hope, like he was already bracing himself for rejection before I even answered.

I resisted the urge to sigh.

“Like when?” I asked instead, pushing for something concrete.