Attention

5

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I stood in front of him, fiddling my fingers. "I, uh, came to see if you're okay. I hope that's not wierd. The last time I saw you you weren't in the greatest state so, I just wanted to see how you were doing.." I felt like I was ranting.

His face becomes soft and a small smile forms before he opens the door wider. "You can come in."

I let out a breathe that I didn't know I was holding in. "Okay, thank you." I say, walking in.

Immediately, I noticed all the family pictures on the wall and the warm and homely vibe it gave off. I turn around towards him and give him a soft smile. "You have a nice house."

He nods slightly, giving me a clouded over look. It seemed like a far off nod, like he was lost in his thoughts. He blinks back into reality. "Yeah...yeah, it's nice."

I walk up to a photo of a little boy in a polo shirt and khaki pants and a woman in a dark blue dress. They both had big smiles on their faces and it's like you could feel the happiness through the picture. And for some reason, it made my breath hitch in my throat.

I feel a presence behind me. "That's my mom and I." Carter whispers and I could hear the emotional pain in his voice.

I slowly turn around towards him, looking up into his conflicted eyes. "What happened to her?"

He lets out a deep sigh and turns around to go sit down on his couch. I follow him and sit next to him. He leans his elbows on his knees before he says, "My mom has manic disorder."

My eyebrows raise in shock and I made sure I was intently listening to what he was saying because he was actually telling and trusting me. "Carter..."

"Yeah, it sounds...rough. My mom and I were really close. She was the person I went to when I needed someone and she loved me unconditionally. She was always super excited to do everything with me and sometimes my dad would give her a worried look and I was confused because she was happy. Or at least I thought she was happy.

"After we had our fun days, later at night, I would hear her cry in her room and I just assumed it was because she got done watching a sad movie." he chuckled to himself but then let it die out. "What I know now is that on those super fun days she was on a manic high. And then the next morning she would just stay in her room asleep all day and I thought it was because she was tired from our fun day the day before. But she wasn't tired, she was...depressed."

He sighs, running his hand through his hair. "Three years ago, I came home from football practice and I had to get a ride home from one of my friends mom because my dad was at work and it was an hour since practice was over and my mom still hadn't come. So, I got home and she was in the kitchen just cleaning everything and I asked her why didn't she come pick me up from practice and she ignored me so, I asked again. This time I tapped her and she pushed my hand away and started to yell at me, saying that the kitchen was a mess and she had to do everything, she was just really mad and exploding at me.

"While she was yelling, she had a knife in her hand that she was washing and didn't put down. I was trying to get her attention to tell her that she had a knife in her hand but everytime I spoke it made her more mad. Well, she moved closer and she...she threw her hands up and since she was so close to me she grazed my neck with the knife." he reached his hand up, feeling the scar on the side of his neck that I didn't notice before.

I gasped at the sight of it and his story.

At this point, he looked lost in his thoughts. His eyes were glossed over with memories. "It wasn't deep but it did draw blood. I had a look of horror on my face while clutching my neck and I was...scared of her. She looked shocked at what she'd done. She tried to help me but I told her to get away from me, to not touch me. And that's when she left. She ran out and hasn't come back for three years. And this letter I got," he pulled the letter from his pocket, "is the first I've heard from her since then."

I felt something wet roll down my cheek and I didn't realize my eyes started to water. I sniff and wipe the tear away quickly. I couldn't even imagine that happening to me. I know he's already had so much sympathy from people that do know about it but I couldn't help but feel it. It was bizarre.

He looks over at me when he hears me sniff. His eyes become soft. "Are you crying for me?"

I nod without hesitation, not even trying to hide it. "I see why you were so hostile when you saw I had it. And I thought it was just because you were mean."

He chuckles and out of nowhere, pulls me closer. "I'm the least mean guy you'll ever meet."

I chuckle with him, still very shocked at his arm around me. "Good." I frown at the realization of something. "At the park...you said something about her not coming back? Is she...she not coming back?"

He gives me a sad smile. "Yeah. In the letter she said she wasn't coming back. And the sad thing is, my dad and my little sister still have hope that she'll come back. I haven't told them about the letter."

An idea suddenly struck my mind, causing me to sit up, making Carter's arm fall from my shoulder. It was so crazy I didn't know if I should say it.

Carter gives me a cautious look. "What?"

"What if...what if we found her?" I say, slowly.

His eyebrows raise. "Like us...go out and find my mom?"

I nod. "Yes, exactly that."

He shakes his head. "But that's the thing, I don't think she wants me to find her."

I look deep into his eyes, making sure he understands my next words. "She's your mom, Carter. It doesn't matter if she wants to be found or not. She will be found because you love her and you'll take her back here and show her the love that she has here. Because that's what you deserve."

He stares deep into my eyes and nods slowly while a small smile starts to form on his lips. "You really think we can find her?"

"I do." I whisper with confidence.

He breathes in. "Then, we'll find her."

A/N:

THEY'RE GOING TO FIND HER, AWWW XD