Fixing Love

9

I still can't believe how easy they all accepted me back. They made it seem like I never left.

Jenny and James were sitting on the couch with my father. Freddy was on the recliner next to me. Alastor and Val were seating across from me on the smaller couch. And I would not let Ethan off my lap. Even when he insisted he could sit on a chair, I wasn't letting him go.

"So Carter. Where the hell have you been this whole time?!" Leave it to Jenny to break the ice. I looked at Freddy, and he was trying not to laugh.

"Missed you too Jenny." I took a sip from my beer, and put it down on the night stand next to me. "Well, I've been living in a small town. I bought a small house there, and I've been working with Freddy."

"You? Working?" I gave my dad a look, and they all started cracking up. Even Ethan was trying not to laugh. I poked his side, and he jumped. "No but seriously. I'm proud. Where have you been working?"

"At a shop, I'm a mechanic."

"Really?" He actually seemed interested. I thought he would question my choice, but I guess I've never really realized that my dad isn't a closed minded kind of man. I mean hell, he married me off to a man!

"Yup! Taught him everything he knows." Freddy stuck his hand out, and we did a quick low five. I could see James staring at Freddy. "Dude, I know I'm cute and all, but you don't have to stare so hard."

"I wasn't!" The subtle hint of pink on his cheeks begs to differ.

"Whatever you say." He simply waved it off. "Look, I'm not stealing Carter from you. I was the one who told him to come back."

"You didn't want to come back?" Ethan looked at me with worried eyes. I pulled him closer to me, and buried my face in between his neck and shoulder. I missed how good he always smelled.

"No, no, let me rephrase that. Carter has wanted to come home for a while, but he was always too scared to do it."

"Why?" This time it was Val who asked. She was holding Alastor's hand, but looked like she was bouncing in her seat. I think she wanted to hug someone right now.

"He was worried you guys wouldn't want him back. That you wouldn't want anything to do with him. So he did everything in his power to erase who he was."

"Oh yeah." Uh oh. He said something that caught Jenny's attention. This is not gonna end well. "Carter, how did you manage to stay hidden this whole time? We had people searching all over the world, and even the tabloids were searching for you." I looked at my dad, and I was afraid that this would be the thing to make him snap. All of them actually. I changed my name, just so that they wouldn't find me.

I lifted up with Ethan in my arms, and sat him down where I was sitting. He gave me a confused look, and all I could do was look away. Why did Jenny have to open her big mouth? Guess I can't really blame her. It was bound to come out eventually.

"Son, talk to us." I couldn't bare to look at my father. I couldn't face him once he knows what I did. "Carter. What happened?"

"I'm sorry dad, everyone." Ethan must have stood up after me, because I felt his warm hand on my shoulder. But right now, he may as well have been burning me. I turned my back on him, on all of them. "Ethan, stop."

"Carter, tell us. You're starting to worry us." I could hear the fear in his voice, and it only made this harder.

"That's all I ever seem to do now." I still had my back to them. I took a deep breath, and slowly faced them. I saw all their worried and confused looks. Freddy was the only one who knew. He opened his hands that were resting on his legs, and he showed me the car keys. He knew if this goes bad, we could leave again. But I'm tired of running away. "The reason no one found me, is because I didn't want to be found. I did everything possible not to be. I emptied out my bank account before cancelling it. I cut the cards, sold my old car. I bought the one outside from a guy, so my name wouldn't be on a dealerships computer. When I bought the house, I bought it from an independent seller. No real estate company would have my name on file. I avoided the internet, cable, everything. When Freddy got me the job with Marty, he agreed to pay me cash. But only if he took some off for taxes. I didn't really care, I still had plenty of money stored away. I did everything to just stay out of the system." They were quiet for a moment. No one even seemed to be breathing.

"So you did all that, so you wouldn't be found?" Ethan didn't even look at me. He was looking at something in his hands. I took a deep breath before continuing.

"That wasn't all." Their heads snapped up at once. I looked at my dad and then Ethan, and I didn't know how they would take it. "Guys, I'm sorry."

"What is it Carter?" Dad stood up, and walked towards me. "Just tell me. Son it can't be something too bad can it?" He tried to reach for me, but I took a step back.

"I always had a feeling, that maybe you would search for me. At the time, I never wanted to come back. I felt that everything and everyone was better off with me gone. I felt my being gone from your lives was the best. I needed to do something to make sure no one ever find me. At the time I thought I was doing what was right." There was a sharp pain in my chest. And it was only getting bigger.

"Carter, tell us what you did." Alastor was now standing next to my father. Val was holding Ethan. This was only making it that much harder. But I have to, no, need to get it out.

"I. I am, no longer Carter McClain-Kingman." My voice started to shake.

"What are you talking about? Of coarse you are. Who else could you possibly be?" I looked at Freddy. He must have felt the same thing as me, because he was already leaning next to the door. I didn't even know he moved.

"A few months after I moved, I paid." I was shaking, and I had to take a few deep breaths. "I paid to, to have my named changed." I saw all of them just stare at me.

"What do you mean you changed your name? What the hell did you change it to?" I saw his fist clench. He was trying not to yell. But his face was turning red.

"I changed my last name. I am now Carter Breeze."

"Breeze?" I saw Ethan standing next to our fathers now. Jenny was standing with her mouth hanging opened, with James holding her hand. and Val standing next to them with confusion in her eyes.

"You changed your name to your mother's last name?" I simply nodded.

"So you really turned your back on it all." We all turned to look at Jenny.

"Jenny!" She was standing up. James was glaring at her, but she wouldn't back down.

"No! He's basically saying he never wanted to be found. Instead of being here and facing the bull shit with us, he tucked tail and ran. We all missed him like hell, and he was over here hiding his tracks. He changed his own name just so he wouldn't be found. Did you ever think about Ethan?! How he felt?! He cried everyday since you left! We all did! Did you even bother to figure out what  the hell even happened to the baby? You might have had a kid here too to deal with!" I couldn't help but flinch at her words. But they're true. I was scared, and ran away. Everything was becoming too much for me to handle.

"Jenny was it?" We turned and faced Freddy. He had his hands crossed over his chest, and his face was the most serious I have seen it in a long time. "You said you missed him, but right now you seem the most pissed off. You're jumping to conclusions before the whole story has even been told. You don't know how Carter felt, or what he went through. You're judging this based on what you've experienced. There are two sides to every story, not just one. So excuse me if I over step my boundaries, but I will only ever say this once to a woman. Sit your happy ass down, shut the hell up, and stop making shit worse. If he didn't care about any of you, he would still be gone. None of you would know shit about him, and you would still be searching for a man who didn't even want to be found!" We all stared at him with open mouths. Jenny sat down, and cried silent tears. Ethan sat back down, and our parents took their seats again. I just stared at Freddy. He was leaning on the door frame again, his arms crossed, and his eyes closed. He may be an idiot at times, but he is actually really freaking smart. "Now. How about we all cool down, and hear both sides."

"You good there man?" I placed my hands in my pockets, and leaned on the far wall. He ran a hand through his hair, and let out a sigh.

"Yeah. Just wrap this up. You know being serious is not my thing." I let out a small laugh, and nodded.

"Alright. Let's finish this."