Faded Memories

Chapter 5

I felt like screaming in frustration as I held the phone to my ear, the call lasting longer than I had hoped it would as Carter would be here any moment. I could hear her breathing on the other end, thinking about how she could let me down gently.

"I just don't think it's the right time, not yet anyway." She answered down the phone to me, causing me to sigh in defeat. Just as I was about to respond, Carter knocked on the door ready for our trip to the supermarket together. I unlocked the door, holding the phone between my ear and shoulder.

"Please," I begged, while opening the door and whispering one minute to Carter. "Please, just give me a chance."

I patiently waited for her response, as Carter entered the house wearing a light blue denim jacket and a pair of jeans. He looked good, but I definitely shouldn't be thinking like that. He is Georgia's cousin.

"No, honey, I'm sorry." She whispered, before hanging up the phone. I stared at my screen for a moment, before pushing all my thoughts and my phone back into my pocket. I can't let this hang over my head, not today - I need to make a good impression on these people, I don't need to show my weaknesses yet.

"Everything okay?" Carter asked, just as I noticed somebody step out from behind him.

"Yeah, yeah," I sighed, putting my shoes on. "And who might you be?" I smiled up at the boy, who didn't look older than 10. My heart melted at the adorable vibes that the younger version of Carter was giving off, not ready for a cute encounter like this this morning.

"Leo." The little boy responded, stepping out from behind Carter with slightly more confidence.

"He's my brother - sorry, I'm in charge of him for the day and I only found out this morning." Carter stepped in, holding the door open for me as we headed out to his car. I had already been across to Ellen and Trevor's this morning, having picked up their long list of shopping that they required.

"Hey, it's no bother - he's adorable." I said, noticing that Leo had tuned out of our conversation and was looking back at their car now as if he was ready to go. I don't blame him, I hate waiting around for adults too.

"On the outside maybe, on the inside I swear he's the devil." Carter added, watching as Leo climbed into the back of the car.

The journey was peaceful, Carter asking me standard questions about my life such as where I'm from and what I want to do after school. I had mentally prepared all the answers, the types of questions being asked are the ones that I always get asked. They're the type of questions you ask every new person you meet.

The supermarket wasn't far away - and it was much quicker in the car compared to when I normally have to walk here. It was a very strange place to hang out with somebody you've only just met and his younger brother, but here we are. There's no going back now.

As we arrived at the supermarket, Carter bumped into some people that he knew outside almost immediately. I guess that's the issue with living in such a small town, everybody always knows your business. Noticing that Leo was already bored of the further small talk that his brother was making, I decided to head towards the entrance with him and telling Carter that we would meet him inside.

"I hate shopping." Leo sulked as we headed inside, his pace slowing down. "It's so boring."

"Oh, yeah? I used to hate it too, bud." I ruffled his hair as we entered the fruit section, smiling as he stuck his bottom lip out. He reminded me so much of my own brother, it was almost uncanny.

"Well," He picked up an orange, fiddling with it absently with a few looks of disgust from the adults nearby. "What made you like it?"

"Hmm, now that's a secret - do you think you can keep a secret?" I bent down to his level so that we were equal.