Fixing You

33. Still Want

Mia didn't show up to his private party where his friends and family gathered. Carter wanted to be unbothered by her absence, but he couldn't let go of his high hopes for her to give him another chance. After cleaning up and making sure everything returned to where they came from including the guests, Carter sat down in his reading room. None of the books he had on the shelves piqued his interest. He ended up sitting on the chair and staring at the wall while wondering if Mia's date ended well.

He hoped not, because he would hate to imagine her going home with another guy. He would rather not know that she was going on a date, but apparently Mia knew how to drive him up the wall.

"That wouldn't be nice," Carter murmured to himself after considering visiting her dorm. She shared a room with Hazel and Carter could pretend that he came over to talk to Hazel if Mia found him.

He sighed and checked his phone. He wanted to make sure Mia still got time to change her mind. She could come over at midnight and he would still want to be with her. She could be a couple of minutes late. Maybe before dawn. Mia is always welcome to come over.

While Carter was staring at his phone, it rang and an unknown number was on the screen. Carter didn't answer at first, but obviously it was urgent as it rang again and the same number popped up. He picked it up and hummed, "Hello?"

"Hi, it's Grace speaking. Is this Carter?"

"Carter Wilde, yes. I'm sorry, but which Grace am I talking to?"

"Uh... Mia's mom's friend, remember? The one who took her home last semester?"

Carter jolted up and sat straight, "Oh, Grace. Of course I remember. I'm sorry, I didn't have your number with me."

"It's okay. I'm sorry for calling instead of texting first. Mia gave me your number in case of emergency," Grace explained. "Are you in campus?"

"Oh, I graduated as of today, but I don't live far away if you need anything."

"Oh, I see... Well, can you give me any of her friends' number?" Grace asked, "Mia said she had stomach flu earlier this morning. I've been keeping in touch to make sure she's okay, but I haven't heard from her since 4pm. I'm worried something bad might have happened."

"4pm?" Carter frowned. He immediately grabbed his stuff and left the room, "I'll check on her and ask her roommate, too. Don't worry, I'll update you as soon as I get in touch with her."

"Thank you, Carter. I'll be expecting your updates in a few."

"Sure." Carter ended the call and stepped into his car. As he sat down and switched the car on, Carter hesitated because he was reminded of the times he rushed to get Amber when she's unwell or sulking. He would hate reliving those histories of him being desperate to please somebody.

But in this case, Mia didn't ask for him to come. In fact, she probably had no idea how worried Carter was about her. Carter tried calling her and the call didn't go through as he was directed to voicemail.

"Okay, just this once," Carter convinced himself. "Just once, Carter. Don't you dare do this ever again."

But it's Mia. It's not just anybody. It's Damian Faye.

"Damn it," Carter murmured as he drove into the freeway, knowing he had to drive for an hour to check on her. He tried calling Hazel but it got into voicemail after she failed to pick it up in time. He figured that maybe she's at a party and Mia was alone in the room - probably in misery, too, because of the stomach flu.

He also realized that Mia was probably not feeling good when she came to see him at the ceremony earlier. The lengths she went to 'rub it in his face' truly deserve a hardcover edition of her favorite book.