A Rising Star

Chapter 32 - Carter's Story

It started two years ago.

Carter was only seven. He was once on a household with two abusive parents and a younger brother, who was just five.

Carter and his brother lived under harsh rules and impossible-to-follow restrictions, like not walking home from school if they missed the bus, but not calling their parents either. They were beaten when they disobeyed a rule, no matter how small the mistake.

Their parents expected perfection, and anything less than was considered a crime. Second place in a contest? How dare they! Ninety-nine percent on homework? Terrible! Stay up a minute past ten? Horrific! Breathe a word of complaint? Intolerable.

The two brothers, at last, couldn't take it anymore. Carter suggested they conspire to run away. When his younger brother was caught making plans to ride the subway to New York and to never come back, he was beaten nearly to death. He refused to utter a word that suggested it was Carter's idea and took full blame. As his brother's life slowly faded out of him, Carter came to his side and heard him utter his final word. 

"Go."

***

So Carter went. He tried to escape by telling his mom that he was going on a walk, but she was now suspicious and went with him everywhere with a blade hidden in her pocket in case he tried to run ahead. Carter soon realized the best time to leave was at night, though the doors would be locked and hidden cameras used to make sure no one broke the rules would be on. He spent a week trying to find out where his parents hid the key, packing his backpack full of whatever cash he managed to steal (he got no allowance), and crying silent tears for his brother at night.

Finally, he staged that he was sleepwalking for the cameras, pulled the key from under the fridge, and unlocked the front door.

The minute he was out the door, he hit the ground running. He didn't stop until he made it to the subway, where he paid for a ticket and rode to New York.

He took a bus to his friend's sister's house, Rebekah, who he had contacted once to tell her he was coming one of these days. She welcomed him in, asking where his brother was but excited that he made it okay. Carter finally allowed himself to release his tears, and so he did. Since then, he lived with her.

Life for Carter improved. He missed his brother to the moon and back, but Rebekah let him cry sometimes, unlike his parents would have. He finally had someone who loved him. 

He got into theatre after the sleepwalking act, because he found it exciting to be performing. As soon as he told Rebekah this, she signed him up for lessons and drove him to auditions. It seemed he was naturally talented. He got larger and larger roles until he played the title roles of Oliver and Charlie. He then discovered open auditions for Broadway and, with much begging and promising involved, auditioned. 

When Carter saw Hailey at the callbacks, he knew she had been through a lot too, only without the loving sister of a friend to take her in. He knew that he would probably look just as emaciated as she did if it weren't for Rebekah. He made a point of becoming her friend. 

Hailey was a nice girl, and he had never had a crush on anyone before. He didn't understand the feeling. He told Rebekah, whom he trusted, which was when she smiled at him and told him that he was in love.