Carly, surprisingly, did not back away when I sprang to my feet, putting only a couple inches between us. She glared evenly at me; her sharp green eyes fixated on me, prepared to shoot daggers through my chest if necessary. To say the least, she was pissed.
But, then, so was I. Things could become ugly. Things could become bloody. And I wasn't afraid one bit of either situation.
"Well, well, well," she said with poisonous sarcasm. "Looks like Zack's not so strong after all." She smirked, then turned and left the bathroom, heading out into the living room. Stupidly, I followed after her, ready for a confrontation.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Figure it out…'wonder boy'," she answered, sprawling herself out on the cushioned chair, as she ran her tongue over the tips of her teeth.
In a flash, I was standing over her, my arms fastened into two iron bars on the edge of her chair. I glared at her. "You bitch," I hissed through clenched teeth.
"Takes two for an argument," she replied, letting her eerily placid eyes meet mine…unlike every other person I've ever met.
Since I had escaped from Manticore, I had met many new people, not to mention regrouping with my "siblings". But none of them had ever dared to challenge me when I was angry. Sure, Maxie had thrown some rather harsh comments in my face, but it was nothing like what Carly had said to me.
"Why do you even give a damn about what happens to me?" I asked her.
Pushing me aside, she walked into the kitchen.
"Because I care about you."
"What?" I snapped.
"I care about you, Zack-ok? And is it really all that wrong to let someone know you care?"
I nearly burst into psychotically, hysterical laughs at that point, as I thought of Lydecker. Though of all the times he had told us that everything he did for us was out of care. Care for our future. Care for the world. Care for our lives. Care for us. But, that, of course, was all a bunch of bullshit that ended the night of the escape.
"Depends on the person," I wryly responded.
She laughed faintly, brushing her hair out of her eyes as she stared at the counter top, letting her fingers hook sharply over the edge. And, even though she laughed, we both knew it was all in cynicism. "And what does that mean to you?"
"I'm not the caring type of guy-ok? So, if you want me to beg for your forgiveness, screw it, 'cause it's not happening."
"Like I didn't see that coming," she muttered.
I was beside her, glaring fiercely, before she had really realized that I had moved. Grabbing her by the shirt collar, I hissed, "You wanna settle this? Then let's settle it."
Carly was not an X-5 female. Not Max who, by this point, would've attempted to punch my lights out and then flip me to the ground. Not Tinga who could use some pretty harsh words when it came to her family, and I got in the way. Not Syl, who even though she would never sass me to my face, always showed it in her body language. No, Carly was just a regular female. And like most females in the modern day world reacted sharply to being attacked; she slapped me across the face.
I screamed a certain four-letter word that I saved for serious situations as she backed away while the warm flush spread over my cheek and a low, animalistic growl formed in my throat. The girl was going to die.