Fixing Love

6

Ethan

"I don't wanna go back." I laughed at Jenny, because she reminded me of Carter after our honeymoon. Just like James, I had to pry Carter off the pillar too.

"Jenny let go! The jet is leaving in a few minutes, and mom and dad will kill me if I left you." He had his arms wrapped around her slender waist. She has a strong grip for such a small girl. Her light brown hair hitting James in the face every time she shooher head. "Dam it Jennifer! It got in my mouth!" I turned and saw my mother laughing, and my fathers looking at them with amusement on their faces. I checked the time, and saw that our boarding time was almost up.

"Guys, we have to go now. We may have a private shuttle, but we still need to board on time." Jenny finally let go, and we boarded the plane. It was gonna be an over night flight, even with the jet. Mother wanted to prolong the return, she loves traveling. When I lived in Japan, she extended her stay for almost three months. She may not seem like it, but mother is a over grown little girl. She is more mischievous than people think.

"Hey Ethan?" I looked from the window, to Jenny. She had sat next to me, and I didn't even realize it.

"Hey Jenny." She laid her head on my shoulder, and I heard her sigh. "What's wrong?"

"I could ask you the same thing." She lifted her head, and smiled at me. "I've known Carter since I was a baby. I had a crush on him too, but now I see him as another brother. So trust me when I say I know my brother. He's an idiot, but he's no chicken. I know he will come back eventually. And when he does, I'll make sure to smack some proper sense into that man." I couldn't help but laugh as she flexed. Jenny is a slender, curvy and beautify young woman. But she has no muscle on her body.

"Thank you Jenny, but that won't be necessary." I couldn't help but pat her head, making her pout before smiling. 

"I got you to laugh, so I did my job." She kissed my cheek and got up. Her phone started ringing, so I knew it was Marcus. "Hola amor!" I really admire Jenny. Recently she learned that Marcus was hiding a secret from her for so many years. It turns out that Marcus was actually born a girl. He had a sex change back when they were in school, after he told her. When she found out she was hurt, but she didn't leave him. She said her heart was his whether he was a girl or a guy. You would never be able to tell with how deep his voice is, and how muscular his body became

"Hey man." James was trying to take a nap on the reclining chair, but couldn't seem to fall asleep.

"Can't sleep?" We've been on the jet for a few hours now, the sky was starting to go dark.

"No. I guess I've just been thinking too much." We staid quiet for a while. I pulled out my sketch book, and flipped through the many sketches I did of Carter. All where from memory, but none could compare to the real him. The only one that comes out close, is the one from that night. I managed to catch the hurt and betrayal he felt that night. I didn't even know I was crying again, until one of my tears hit the sketch. It ironically hit his eyes, making the picture smear, and making it seem like he was crying.

"No!" I covered my face as the tears kept coming without any sign of stopping. I hated this. Before I met Carter I had never cried like this. But then again, I never knew what loving and losing someone felt like either. I have learned so much because of him, and I want to continue learning with him at my side.

"Ethan, sweety. What's wrong?" I felt my mother place her hand on my shoulder. She pulled me into a hug, and that only made me break even more.

"I'm sick of crying! Everyone k-keeps saying h-he will come b-back, and I truly h-hope he does. But, it's been a year!" I was sobbing into my mother's shoulder. I haven't changed at all.

"Son." I looked up and saw Charles kneeling in front of me. He had tears runnings down cheeks. In the time I have known him, I have never seen him shed so much as one tear. "I know how you feel. I may not show it, but I miss my son too. I lost Serena, and then I lost the only person that connected me to her. I wasn't always the best father, but I did love him. I wanted what was best for him, but I never showed it in the best way. If you feel you backed him into the corner, then I was the one who put him there to begin with."

"Charles, nonsense." I saw my mother and father with teary eyes. "If anyone pushed him it was us. The poor boy was struggling with his own problems, and never told anyone. Then here we come, and force a marriage down his throat. While it may have ended with him falling for our Ethan, he didn't show him how happy with him we were." My father said as he placed a hand on Charles' shoulder.

"He's right." My mother wiped under her eyes. Her gray eyes standing out more because of the tears. "He was wonderful to our Ethan. He showed him so much love and carrying. He even stayed by his side when he was in the hospital. But what do we do on his time of need. We give him cold shoulders, and unforgivable dirty looks. He didn't deserve that, he was hurting too." She started breaking down with me. Her own tears hitting my shoulder.

"I'm to blame too. He was already confused, and I didn't make it any better. I'm his best friend. It's my job to help him figure stuff like this out. Not add on to it by almost doing something we would both regret." By now we all heard about him and Carter. He came out and told us the truth.

"I'm to blame too. I threatened to cut his nuts off." We all started laughing thanks to Jenny. We all sat down and just started sharing stories about him. We know he's not dead, it was just a way to give each of us hope. A year may not seem like much to most, but for us, he may as well have been gone for fifty. That's how much Carter means to us. And that how much we all want him back.