~Carter~
I didn’t really know where to go. I haven’t been out much since we moved back. I had avoided going to school for the past month, and I had lost contact with my last friends. Not that they were my friends, I am pretty sure they were only my friends because of my money. It didn’t matter now, I probably wasn’t going to talk to them ever again. I think that might have been the reason I didn’t tell Vi right away. I didn’t want her to treat me like everyone else did. I used to like it, the attention. But after the accident, I couldn’t stand the fake apologies and the obvious pity. I needed to avoid it, and that’s what I did.
I followed Vi up her stairs, glancing around curiously. She didn’t talk a lot about her home. It was a lot smaller than mine, but I knew my house was huge. There were pictures running alongside the staircase, revealing small shining faces of Vi’s youth. My heart twisted inside of me, jealous of the happy family smiling at me through the pictures, mocking me. I had never felt anything like what I saw in those pictures for my own family, except for Jean, but she was gone now.
“Your lucky you’ve got such great parents.”
Vi turned to look at me, raising her eyebrows and continuing up the stairs.
“Yeah, right.”
I made no comment at her obvious disbelief. If she chose to ignore the fact that she was incredibly lucky, fine by me. I wasn’t going to spoil that.
We reached the top of the stairs, opening up to a wide hall. The lavender painted walls met three doorways, two bedrooms to the right and a small bathroom to the left. I followed Vi past a neat bedroom and shining bathroom to a closed door. A sign hung from a hook warning any trespassers.
Vi glanced at me, blushing at the naivety of her sign. I smiled at her, letting her know I didn’t care. I thought it was slightly cute. Vi wasn’t as mature as she acted I guess.
Vi took a deep breath, bringing up the courage to push open her doorway. I walked in behind her, looking around curiously. Jean was notorious for keeping anyone out of her room, I had only ever walked in it briefly before being kicked out right away.
The little of the wall that was shown was a light blue almost disappearing behind the numerous posters of cute animals. Boy band posters colorfully contrasted the smiling photos of Vi and her parents. The bed was messily made, covered in fluffy stuffed animals and littered with pillows. The dresser across from the bed was overflowing with clothes, spilling out over the floor. There was a window seat at the other end of the room and a glowing laptop sat on the cushion. The room was very girly, but incredibly comfortable at the same time.
I looked at Vi, smiling. She obviously wasn’t used to having anyone in her room, especially a boy, and she didn’t know what to do.
“So I guess this is my room. You will probably sleep on the couch in the living room. That’s if my parents let you sleep here... “
She trailed off there, uncertainty exaggerating her voice. I was nervous for that part too myself. I didn’t know how Vi’s parents were going to react when they saw me.
Vi saw my expression on my face after she brought up her parents and quickly jumped to fix the hesitation she had created.
“Oh, don’t worry. My parents wouldn’t just kick you out. They won’t mind.”
I nodded enthusiastically, wanting to believe her words, but I could hear a hint of uneasiness in her voice. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
~
We were sitting on her bed in silence when her parents finally came home. We heard the door creak as it was pushed open, and a warm voice called up to Vi, announcing their presence. Vi jumped up, startled and gave me a look. I followed her out of her room and onto the stairs.
Her mother stopped in her tracks when she saw us, a confused expression on her face.
Vi took a deep breath and began to talk.
“Hi mom. This is my friend Carter. He needs a place to crash for the night and I was thinking he could sleep here?”
Vi’s mom was still in slight shock, waiting a few seconds to reply. She looked at me, scrutinizing. We waited in suspense, hoping for a positive response. Vi’s father had gone in the kitchen ahead of his wife, and wasn’t bearing witness to this question. I felt slightly relieved at this, not sure if I would be able to face both of Vi’s parents at the same time.
Eventually Vi’s mom sighed, looking around wearily as if searching for guidance. I doubt they had to make decisions like these often, and they weren’t used to the decision. I could tell they trusted their daughter very much, and they couldn’t say no to her very easily.
“Yeah, he can stay. He has to sleep on the couch though. And he’s just your friend right?”
Vi nodded, relief causing her to relax. I smiled at her mom, assuring her that I wasn’t bad news. Vi’s mom looked at me, and hesitantly smiled back, holding out her hand for mine.
“My name is Betsy, assuming of course Vi hasn’t told you that.” She gave Vi a questioning look, and Vi just shrugged back, giving her a weak smile.
“Ah well. Vi doesn’t tend to talk about us much to people. Not that she talks to people very often... “
Betsy lost herself for a second in her thoughts before coming back to the moment and smiling at me. I knew Vi was shy, but I thought she would at least have some friends. But her whole family acted like this was the first time she had ever brought people home.
Vi excused us and brought me back upstairs to her room, sighing with relief. She smiled up at me, proud of our accomplishment.
“Do you have any friends?”
I hadn’t meant to be rude or anything, I was just curious, but that question came out a little mean. I quickly corrected myself, trying to fix the hurt I saw in Vi’s eyes.
“I mean like have you ever had like a sleepover before or something?”
Vi blushed lightly, shrugging nonchalantly. I took that as a no and my eyes widened. She saw my expression and immediately started to defend herself.
“It’s not like I have no friends, but I don’t ever invite them to my house. I don’t like mixing my social life with my personal life. I only let you in because you came here uninvited and in need of a place to stay.”
I nodded sheepishly. I didn’t know where else to go and her house was the only house I knew the address of. I had dropped her off a few times in the past weeks when it had gotten to late for her to walk home and I knew the route.
We sat in silence for a minute, staring at each other.
“So... What do we do now?”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey guys!
So I decided to have a sort of relaxed and non-dancy chapter. I know you are probably wondering what Carter is going to do about his leg, but you are just going to have to wait to hear about that! =)
Yeah so I guess this is the first time you have seen or heard a little bit about Vi's personal life. I said she had a boring normal life not a bad life, so don't be surprised if it seems really normal. I kind of wanted her to have like really nice parents and her not even realize how lucky she is. I think that is kind of obvious. So let me know what you think of her parents!
Also, vote and comment! Thanks!