Twist Of Fate

A Preposterous Idea

That was Harry's cough. God, I sound like such a creep right now. However, I know him inside and out and that was definitely him. It sounded pretty clear. Was I on speaker mode? I definitely need to ask Kate about this later. There's a knock at my room door, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Come in," I call out. The door opens and Carter's head appears in the doorway.
"Your Dad's calling you downstairs." Carter says, entering my room.
"Hello to you, too. Aren't you hanging around here too often nowadays?" I question, getting off the bed. I embrace Carter and then grab my sling bag.
"Well, Mus, you should blame your father for my frequent appearances. He's the one that keeps inviting me over for lunch, dinner - even breakfast! Apparently, he thinks you'll get bored alone, so I'm your play-date."
"Play-date?" I question, confused.
"Yeah, my brother uses that term all the time for when his friends come to visit. He's eight," Carter explains. "And clearly quite influential."
"I didn't know you had a brother."
"I didn't know you were sad." I raise an eyebrow at Carter. "When I entered, your eyes were glossy, as if you were on the verge of tears." I shake my head, chuckling.
"You're mistaken," I say. "I just wore my contacts, so it was probably that."
"Your father and the rest of this family can buy that, but not me. You're easy to read, and my amazing reading skills tell me that you're unhappy." Before I can protest, Amaan walks into my room.
"Dad says this is the last time he's sending Carter to call you." Amaan says, smiling at the two of us.
"Oh, right!" I exclaim. "Let's go." I loop my arm into Amaan's, as we exit my room. Carter follows close on our heels, but doesn't say anything. I'm happy he doesn't. I didn't know Carter was noticing so much, but apparently, he's far more observant than I gave him credit for. The minute we descend the stairs, Dad comes into the hall and opens the main door.
"Let's go, guys!" Dad says, gesturing for us to leave. I roll my eyes.
"Being five minutes late to a lunch that we didn't even plan in advance, won't harm anyone." I say, as Amaan and I exit the house. Today, while eating breakfast, Dad announced that we're all going out for lunch. Heck, we haven't even decided the place yet. However, my time abiding father just cannot bear the thought of being even one minute late.
"Everyone's hungry!" Dad exclaims, locking the door behind him. "Mus, your aunt and uncle are joining us for lunch as well, so you'll have to go with Carter." I nod my head.
"Okay," I say.
"My car's parked outside. Let's go, Senorita." Carter says, and then winks at me. He has a problem of calling me the weirdest names. Chuckling at the number of idiotic people I've surrounded myself with, I follow Carter out of the gate, and towards his Mercedes.
"Wait, do you know where we're going?" I ask Carter, the minute we're both settled into the car.
"Yeah, buckle up because it's a long ride." Carter says, turning on the engine.
"Where are we going?" I question, my curiosity getting the better of me.
"You'll see." Carter always has some surprise or another up his sleeve. One thing I've learnt about him in the past week: he loves to surprise people. It's actually kind of nice. Plus, it keeps things interesting. However, I have always had mixed feelings toward surprises. They make me feel a certain level of excitement and a certain level of irritation, as I don't know what's going to happen next and that irritates the hell out of me. All my life I've fought for control over the things that revolve around and concern me. Hence, the love-hate relationship toward surprises.
"So, are you going to tell me or not?" Carter asks, as he stops at a traffic light. Sighing, I turn my head to face him.
"You're not going to give up, are you?" I question, smiling at him. He shakes his head. "Fine, then. The cause for my sadness is a guy. We met, engaged in a relationship for a few months and then it ended. The end." Carter turns his head and smiles at me.
"The sadness in your eyes ran much deeper than a short-term fling." I bite my lip.
"But that's all it was," I whisper. "A fling."
"Mus, I've had my fair share of short-term flings, not that I'm all too proud of them, and trust me, flings like those don't leave marks on one's heart." Carter sighs. "The mark that's on your heart isn't one that has been left by a short term fling. You're such a strong woman, trust me, I can tell. I can also tell that you won't sit crying over some random guy. He must've really broken your heart for your eyes to reflect so much sadness." I lean my head against the window.
"How do you know I didn't break his?" I ask, shutting my eyes.
"Because you still miss him, and no one - no matter how stupid - wouldn't leave a person they love as much as you love that guy." Carter's smile holds a tinge of sadness. "He's a very lucky guy."
"Mm," I murmur. I'm still not comfortable talking about Harry; it's a forbidden subject for me.
"I'm sorry, if I've made this awkward and comfortable." Carter says, as he stops at another traffic light. He takes my hand, which is placed on my thigh, and caresses it with his thumb. I turn my head and gaze into his eyes.
"It's okay," I say and this time, I slightly mean it. Carter makes me feel good and I'm okay with talking about such subjects with him. "Now, let's focus on the present and not the past."
*********
The surprise location for today's lunch was Dad's friend's farmhouse. It's so beautiful and it covers acres and acres of land. They have a waterfall that leads into a swimming pool, and alongside the pool is a duck pond. Towards the back of the farmhouse is a stable, which holds about ten horses. This farmhouse is a home to a bunch of chickens, dogs, sheep and cows. Honestly, it's my dream destination. The house, itself, is surrounded by orchards, vegetable and fruit gardens. Right now, Dad and I have mounted two black Stallions and are galloping on the track made for the horses.
"Mus, let's slow down now, shall we?" Dad asks me, as we circle the track for the fifth time. I nod my head, and bring my horse to a trot. Dad does the same with his and soon we're riding alongside each other.
"Today was fun, thank you." I say earnestly. The sun's setting in the horizon right now and the whole sky looks like an artist's canvas. It's a mixture of orange, yellow and pink shades. This place would make for such a good retreat.
"Anytime, Mus." Dad says, smiling at me affectionately. "I wanted to talk to you about something." I nod my head.
"Yeah, go ahead." Dad sighs, and turns his gaze toward the setting sun.
"You and Carter seem to be getting along well," Dad begins. I nod my head, smiling.
"Yeah, he's a real nice guy to hang out with. I think we've established a pretty good friendship," I comment. Dad nods his head, his eyes satisfied.
"That's good. In fact, that's great!" Dad moistens his lips, a nervous habit of his. "I've known Carter's family for years, and they're great people, doing great business." I furrow my brows, wondering where Dad's going with this? "I talked to his dad and Carter seems to like you a lot as well. He enjoys your company immensely."
"That's good to hear," I murmur.
"The other day, his dad and I were just...discussing about expanding our businesses and I just thought of an idea - just like that - and I spoke to Carter's dad about it and he seems to like it a lot." Dad looks at me, as if to see if I'm following.
"Okay," I say, unsure of where we're going with this conversation.
"I think you and Carter should get engaged." Dad blurts out. My eyes widen, and my horse comes to a halt.
"What!?" I practically yell.
"Yeah, I mean, you guys are so great together and you both are clearly compatible."
"Just because I'm compatible with someone, doesn't mean that I should marry him!" I'm yelling now.
"Mus, we're just talking. Calm down," Dad says.
"Calm down?! Dad, I'm not even twenty yet, and you're wanting me to get engaged?"
"It's just an engagement. We'll have a small function and then you and Carter can get married after however long you like."
"This is why I don't meet you too often!" I urge my horse to break into a fast gallop.
"Mus!" Dad yells from behind me.
"Don't!"