You Couldn't Handle Me Ch. 04

Both girls spoke quickly, voices panicked and slurring as they tried to tell me what happened. Listening to their drunken ramblings and using my deductive skills, I figured out what happened quickly.

Both girls had gotten drunk and were racing down the hall. One of them didn't realize that she actually had to, you know, stop, so she had slammed into the waist-high window, her arms and head going through it.

I studied her injuries. She had cuts on her forehead, blood leaking down her face. Her right arm was now covered in blood, and it was now I noticed a large shard of glass sticking out of her forearm. I winced as I looked at this. Thinking fast, I grabbed a discarded t-shirt from inside my room and got on my knees next to the girl.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!" the girl said, babbling as her other hand shakily approached her injured arm.

"I know. I know." I replied. I used the wadded up shirt I had grabbed and began to lightly rub off the bits of glass on her forehead and her arm, avoiding the big shard of glass sticking out of her.

"Take it out! We need to take it out!" the injured girl said, a girl I recognized as Janie, who lived down the hall. She reached towards her bloody arm, both hands shaking.

"No!" I said, grabbing her wrist. "Don't take it out! Leave it in! Taking it out will make it worse!" I said, having watched enough medical shows to know that. "Okay, Janie, I need you to focus. I'm gonna tie my shirt around your arm. I think that might help... maybe. And then, I want you to lift your arm over your heart. Okay? Janie! Listen to me. It'll be okay." I said calmly. Staying focused, I tied my shirt around her arm, hoping that putting pressure above the wound would help. I guided her to lift her arm up, and helped her hold it up.

I looked up at the other girl. Her name was Jodi, and she also lived on this floor. She looked terrified.

"Jodi." I said calmly. "Go get Carmen. Go wake her up."

"No, but, uh, I think she's okay. I mean, we've been, uh, drinking, and... we could get in trouble." she babbled. I rolled my eyes and turned my head and looked into my open dorm.

"Hey Luke!" I called out. A few moments later, he emerged into the light, groggy.

"What's going on, ahhhh holy shit!" he said, realizing what was happening.

"Go wake up Carmen!" I told him. He nodded and sprinted down the hall. I gave Jodi the evil eye as she took her beer can and Janie's and tossed it into the stairwell. I looked at Janie.

"It hurts, Tom. A lot!" she cried out, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I know, I know." I said calmly. "Carmen will be here soon. She'll help out."

"Please, can we take the glass out?" she begged.

"It's okay, Janie. Listen to me. You have to leave it in, okay. And you need to stay calm. I know it hurts a lot." I said. "Let me tell you a story, Janie. Okay? I knew this girl in high school. Her name was Kelly. We were at this track meet, she ran the, um, the relay. She was the last runner, the anchor."

I looked to my side and saw Carmen and Luke running towards us. Carmen got on her knees next to us.

"Let me see." she said to Janie. She turned Janie's arm, which caused a jolt of pain to surge through her. Seeing this, I continued talking, trying to grab her attention.

"So, Janie, this girl Kelly, she started running. The problem was, it had rained that morning. So, she was making the turn and she collapsed to the ground." I said. Carmen held Janie's arm and studied the wound.

"Don't take the glass out." she warned us both.

"I know." I replied quickly, returning my focus to the injured girl. "So, Kelly fell to the track, and didn't move."

"What happened?" Janie asked.

"She shattered her ankle. I mean, it was pretty gnarly. So, they all finished the race, but she was still on the track. All her teammates ran to check on her, and so did her boyfriend. He came out of the stands." I said.

"Keep your arm up." Carmen said. "Luke, can you call 911?"

"Yeah, no problem." he said, jumping into our room.

"Jodi, go wake up Chantal. They've known each other for years." Carmen told the panicked girl. She was unsure at first. "Go!" Carmen ordered firmly." Finally she padded down the hall to Janie's room.

"So, what happened?" Janie asked.

"So, yeah, she was on the track for like ten minutes, talking to her friends and the paramedics. And finally, her boyfriend pulled her up. She leaned on him, and he supported her. She wanted to finish the race." I said.

"Really?" Janie replied as Carmen cleaned up the blood.

"Yeah, it was crazy. She got up on her good foot, and she hopped along the track. She ignored the pain. She pushed through it. Sure, it looked bad, hopping along, and she was screaming in pain. But she did it! She fucking finished! And the whole crowd was on their feet, applauding! It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen." I said.

"Really?" she asked again.

"Yeah." I said with a smile. "She did. She finished the race, and she vowed that she would race again."

"Did she?" Janie asked.

"What do you think?" I asked with a smile. She smiled slightly. "So, I know this hurts, Janie, but you can be strong. You can push through this. Ignore the pain. Right?"

"Yeah." Janie said, nodding softly. I glanced at Carmen, and she smiled slightly.

"Okay, Janie, I'm gonna want you to stand up, okay. Tom, be next to her, she might be a bit wobbly." Carmen said. I nodded. Putting my arm around Janie, we stood up together. I held Janie tight as she swayed slightly.

Her roommate Chantal approached with Jodi, and they talked with the shaken Janie for a bit as I supported her. Finally, the elevator opened, and paramedics made their way down the hall towards us. They took over and they stuck her on a gurnee, despite her protests, and they rolled her down the hall, Chantal following, as she was going to accompany her friend to the hospital.

Jodi tried to sneak away, but Carmen caught her before she could leave, and spent the next few minutes putting the fear of God into her, telling her she has to grow up, be an adult, don't drink in the dorms, that she would be written up, etc. Eventually, Carmen let her go, and she sprinted off in fear. Me and Luke were talking through this whole thing and Luke eventually stepped back into our room, exhausted. I waited for Carmen to finish reaming out Jodi. Once Jodi was gone, Carmen noted my presence and walked towards me, as I leaned near the broken window.

"What a mess." Carmen noted, looking at the carpet, soaked with blood and beer, and covered with glass.

"I'm sure this carpet has seen far worse." I replied. "Need help cleaning this up?" I asked.

"Would you mind?" she asked.

"No problem." I replied.

"I mean, normally, I would call in maintenance, but they wouldn't be able to get here till the morning." Carmen said.

"It's fine." I said, stepping into my room, grabbing a broom.

She went to her room and grabbed a garbage bag and duct tape. When she returned, she saw me sweeping up the broken glass.

"Put on some shoes, McGee! Broken glass." she pointed out. I just smirked at her and continued sweeping up while barefoot. I was a man. I don't fear broken glass. She stepped over the glass and began taping the garbage bag over the broken window. I finished sweeping and helped her attach the garbage back over the window.

"Well," she said, backing up. "I think that's everything." she said, looking up at me.

"I think so." I replied, stepping between her and the window and leaning against the wall there. As I did, my face scrunched up in a pained expression. She looked up at me, confused, before she put the pieces together.

"You just stepped on some glass, didn't you?" she asked, smiling smugly.

"Yeah." I relented, lifting my foot up to see blood dripping from the sole of my foot.

"Hold on." she said, rolling her eyes. She grabbed a first-aid kit, which she had brought over to help with Janie. She removed some tweezers, some alcohol, some wipes, and a band aid. "Lift your foot up, idiot."

Smiling lightly, I complied. She kneeled and looked at the underside of my foot.

"I will tell you, McGee." she began, reaching forward with her tweezers. "You did really good with Janie. I appreciate the help. At least someone stepped up."

"What kind of trouble they gonna get into?" I asked, wincing as she pulled out the bit of glass.

"They'll be written up." she said, setting the glass down.

"Anything worse than that?" I asked.

"I'm still thinking about it." she replied. She wiped down my foot with the alcohol, soaking up the blood and cleaning up the wound. A few seconds later, she bandaged up the small wound and I took a tentative, pained step.

"Well..." she began. "Other than being too cool to wear shoes around broken glass, you did really well tonight. You were kind of a natural. You might have a future in it."

"I don't know about that. I'm just a big, dumb jock, right?" I said.

"What are you going into, anyway?" she asked.

"I don't know yet." I replied.

"Well, it's something to think about. Keep an open mind. You were really good at it." she said. I smiled coyly. "Alright, it's late and I need sleep. And I need to clean up too, as do you."

"Yeah." I said simply. We just stood there, facing each other, neither of us moving. She shook her head.

"Yeah, okay. Good night." she said, turning to walk away. As I stepped into my room, she stopped and turned around. "So, uh, what happened to that girl? The track girl?"

"Oh," I said, smiling. "I don't know. I made the whole thing up."

"Seriously?" she asked, her eyes flashing, clearly kind of impressed. I smiled proudly.

"Good night, Carmen." I called out.

"Night, McGee." she replied.

************

I was making some progress with Carmen. After the window incident, she was more friendly and talkative with me, actually being willing to stop me and talk for a bit. And I loved it, cause I couldn't stop thinking about her.

With Mom, my obsession was a raw animal lust. But with Carmen, it was something less primal. It was something far deeper than that.

At first, with Carmen, it was as if she was playing on a different level than me, a level above me, and it was unthinkable that she would ever be interested in a mere freshman. But, she had warmed to me. I was chipping away at her defenses.

I made even more progress a few weeks later. Me and a bunch of friends were going to the movies. As we were chatting in the lobby, I looked over as I heard a couple fighting.

I looked over and saw a girl with her back to me, and a tall, handsome, studly looking guy arguing with her.

"I swear, Carmen, you make a big deal over everything!" the guy said.

"I'm not making a big deal." she said firmly.

"You complain about everything." The guy said. "Why can't you just relax and enjoy a movie."

"Cause it looks awful. I don't want to see it. Why do you keep dragging me to these crappy movies?" she asked.

"You know what? I'm done with this. You go see the movie you want to see. Okay?" he said, storming off and angrily walking out of the theater. I studied the girl, and watched her huff and puff in anger. She grabbed her phone and began texting furiously.

Curious, I sauntered over and approached. Confirming my suspicion, I spoke up.

"Well, Carmen..." I began, grabbing her attention. My RA turned to face me, and she rolled her eyes slightly as she saw me, as if saying that I was the last person she wanted to deal with. "Now that guy... that guy looked like a real douchebag buttfucker."

Her lips curled up in a smile.

"Trust me, I'm calling him far worse things in my head." she replied.

"You okay?" I asked. She exhaled.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's been almost over for a while now." she said. I let that hang for a bit, and she continued. "You know, it sucks when you have a type, and you know deep down that it's bad for you, and you just can't stop yourself." I nodded in agreement.

"I know exactly what you mean." I told her firmly.

"Guys suck." she said, shaking her head.

"Yeah." I agreed, causing her to smile again slightly. "But you can't resist them, can you?"

"No." she said softly, shaking her head. I laughed.

"So, did he ditch you?" I asked.

"Yeah." she said. "'I'll probably just call a taxi or something."

"Carmen..." I began. "Carmen... Carmen..." I repeated.

"What?" she asked, annoyed.

"There's a very obvious solution here." I began. "Come see the movie with us. Then, afterword, I'll give you a ride back."

"Tom, I don't think that's a good idea." Carmen replied.

"Carmen, c'mon. This is nothing more than what it is. A friend helping a friend." I said.

"Friend?" she questioned.

"Ouch." I said, grabbing my heart. She smiled again. "Carmen, let's go. C'mon."

"Uhhhh, fine." she relented. "It's not the car movie, is it? Cause that's what me and 'douchebag' were fighting over."

"No, no no no no no." I replied. "Do you really think a guy like me, with such impeccable taste in the finest of cinema would go see such a simple movie about racing cars? No... our movie's the one with the big robots."

"Oh, boy." she said, her voice monotone. "You'd better not make me regret this, McGee." she added, following me.

We sat next to each other in the theatre, my group of friends on my other side. We watched the action on screen, the crowd oo-ing and ahhhing as the explosions boomed on-screen. My friends were pumped to watch this stuff, but I don't think Carmen was enjoying this nearly as much. I tried to focus on the movie, but I couldn't stop letting my eyes drift to her. Just watching her, seeing her outside the dorms, in a casual setting... it was nice. I could get used to it.

Carmen was as quiet as me and my friends discussed the movie, recalling the best scenes. After a few minutes of this, I led Carmen to my car and let her in. As we got settled and I started the car, I spoke up.

"Yeah, that movie sucked."

"I KNOW!" Carmen said, ready to burst. "Thank you! I mean, I can enjoy an action... robot... sci-fi movie as much as any other girl, which is to say, not at all, but that was crap."

"Yeah. I mean, I expected more. I thought, you know... there would be more story to it." I replied.

"You expected the robot, guns, action movie to be Shakespeare?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not necessarily that, but sci-fi movies can have a good story." I replied.

"I guess." she said. "I might have to take your word for it."

"Well, come down to my dorm sometime, and I'll show you." I replied.

"I bet..." she said, smiling. "I bet you'll show me something."

"C'mon." I said with a laugh. "Why can't I be genuine? Why do you always think I'm up to something?"

"Cause you are up to something. I know boys like you. Douchebag back there... he reminds me of you." she said.

"So, you date guys like me?" I asked. She rolled her eyes and smiled.

"I didn't say that." Carmen said.

"Yeah, sure." I said. "I've known girls like you. You like to tease... to taunt."

"Is that right?" she replied.

"Yeah." I began. "You say you don't like me, but you can't stop yourself from dating guys like me. You have a weakness for them. So, either you were lying before, or you are lying now. Maybe you are barely stopping yourself from leaping into my arms."

"Keep dreaming, McGee." Carmen said, amused. "You will always be a 'douchebag buttfucker' to me." I laughed at this, as did she. "But at least I know you are one from the start. That's the advantage I have with you."

"Fair enough." I replied. "If you want to think you're in control here, that's fine."

"McGee, I'm always in control." she said confidently.

"Well," I said, turning at an intersection, "We'll see about that." I didn't look at her, but I could feel her smile.

We made our way back into the dorms. I walked her to her door, and she opened it up. She stood in the doorway and faced me.

"So..." I began.

"So..." she repeated.

"Well, Carmen... you up for some buttfuckin'?" I asked. She burst into laughter at this, and I smiled in response. She composed herself and smiled warmly.

"Good night, McGee." she said, closing the door.

"Good night, Tanucci." I replied, walking away.

I was definitely making progress with her. With most guys, she was relatively sarcastic and unamused by their antics. And me, I could make her giggle. She liked me. I was sure of it. And I definitely liked her. I couldn't take my mind off of her. It wasn't just the challenge or the chase. I liked her, and I wanted her. Not just cause she was hot, but cause I actually liked her. And sure, the competitive side of me wanted to defeat her in our little game, but that alone wasn't enough for me to want her. There was something else at play here. Something I had never encountered before. I couldn't put my finger on it.

Nevertheless, I had a plan. The homecoming game was coming up, and our entire floor was going as a group to the football game. She had warmed to me, and going to the game, with her again in a casual setting, maybe with a few drinks in her, progress could be made. This was my chance. My opportunity. I had big plans, and I knew I had a good chance of making something happen.

Little did I know, someone else had big plans for me.

*************

Things had been going pretty well between me and Carmen. We had been talking causally, being friendly. If she saw me in the cafeteria, she would join me and we would talk about random crap. It was great. She was definitely warmer to me than anyone else on my floor. So, yeah, I was making progress.

On the day of the homecoming game, as a group, we walked towards the stadium. I walked next to Carmen as we sort of led the group forward. She looked very cute, wearing a tight T-shirt with the team name and logo on them, and some tight, short denim shorts. I was already craving her before we even said to a word to each other, but our conversation on the way to the school confirmed my desire for her.

"So..." she began, "I thought I heard a rumor you were gonna try out for the team? Or you did try out, or something?"

I had planned to try out for football when I initially decided to come here for school. But, seeing that competitive side, and what that brought out in me, I thought it might be best to just step aside and leave that part of me behind. That's not to mention, this was a top 5 in the nation football school, and I had a nearly zero percent chance of actually ever making the team. The football player side of me had to be left behind.

"You know, I thought about it." I began. "But, I kinda thought, you know, I'm almost... too good. I should probably give everyone else a chance."

She laughed.

"Yeah, that's typically a huge problem. Players being too good at football." Carmen said. She got my humor. She saw through my bravado and took my arrogance with the humor in which it was intended. Some people saw my faux bravado and took it as actual arrogance, when I like to think that was not the case. "I think you realized that all your success was based on pure luck and happenstance and not on any appreciable skill."

"Hey, it wasn't luck that I kicked the shit out of Central. It was raw talent. Pure McGee." I boasted. She laughed some more at this.

"And how many state championships did that get you, huh? Cause Central won it twice when I was there, and I seem to remember us buttfucking you all on the field every year I was there." Carmen said. Oh yeah, it came out at some point that Carmen went to Central, my school's hated cross-town rival. So, we grew up not too far from each other. Small world, huh?

"Well, I wouldn't go that far..." I began, "I mean, Central wasn't exactly, uh, literally sodomizing us on the field. And besides, that changed when I got there. I became the, uh, supreme 'buttfucker'."