I opened my wardrobe and stared at my clothes, scanning it from left to right and groaned loudly. I had nothing to wear, I had a date with Carter in a few hours and had absolutely nothing to wear. I grabbed a green sweater and thought I really needed to go shopping. That reminded me of Ally, we haven't gone shopping together in a long time, I wonder how long before she starts talking to me again and things go back to normal, I didn't want to think we might never talk to each other again. She made a point to ignore me completely today, not even an eye contact.
I shook my head, trying to get rid of the thoughts. It's just a stupid fight we'll get over it soon and laugh about it but the thing is me and Ally rarely ever fought and when we did we made sure to talk it out, apologizing for where we were wrong and being inseparable the next day. This, however, was different we didn't want to talk to each other, this is something that has never happened before.
My thoughts came to an abrupt halt when my phone vibrated in my jeans pocket, I placed the sweater back in the closet and took out my phone.
"Hey mom," I said as I walked towards the bed.
"Hi, How are you?" came her calm voice.
"I'm good, you?"
"I'm fine, you haven't come by for days now."
"I know. I'm sorry. I'll come soon, promise" I said as I laid back on the bed.
"Me and Henry were thinking of going for a holiday somewhere, to spend some time together and all."
"Its called a honeymoon you know?" I replied.
"Aren't we too old for that?"
"No, your not and I think its a great idea, you can relax after what happened and have a good time"
I sat up on the bed, staring at my closet again. My eyes roaming on my clothes, waiting for a beautiful dress to magically appear.
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Came my mom's voice.
I smiled and got up moving towards the closet.
"Gee, was I that obvious?"
I heard a small laugh and felt myself relax, I do miss her.
"Okay but this isn't what I actually called for," She said her voice suddenly serious.
"What is it?" I asked my brows furrowed.
"Your father told me about his new job offer"
I stopped everything I was doing, my eyes staring at the wall but not really seeing it.
"He told you?"
I didn't think dad would have told mom, I mean he said he wasn't going to take the job so why did he tell her?
"I called him earlier that day to ask how he was doing, he had just gotten off the call from the owner of the restaurant. I was the first one to know"
She took in a long breath as if trying to make herself ready for what she was going to say next.
"Eva this has been your father's dream since he was in high school, when we used to talk about our dreams together this was the first one he used to say out loud, he has worked so hard and waited so patiently for this, I think it would be so wrong if he just gives it up."
I walked back to my bed and sat down, the weight of her words too heavy for me to stand.
"Eva I know how hard this decision is, believe me, it's even harder for me. My life entirely consists of you four, I can't ever imagine being away from you all. I understand you don't want to leave and so does your father, maybe that's why he is not taking this offer. I know you don't want to leave Carter and Ally and Mason, I know you hate change but we all always think of ourselves. I think its time we think of your father for once"
"Mom-" I say trying to form some words, to say anything at all but I couldn't, cause I knew deep down that she was right. Dad did deserve this, after everything he has been through he deserved this more than anyone else.
All his life my father has thought about us, he was broken when mom left but remained strong for the sake of us. He was there every time we looked back, smiling.
"I.....Mom-"
"You can stay with me if you want"
"What?" I ask surprised.
"If you don't want to leave then you can stay with me. Eva, I want you to let your father live his dream, we all have been holding him back for too long"
"Mom I...I can't leave him all alone and stay with you. He is...he is too dependent on me and so are the twins and Millie, wait- your not trying to take us away from him again are you? Mom, are you saying to let dad go to Canada alone? while the four of us stay here with you?"
"No Eva that's not what I meant, I'm not taking you away from him. The twins and Millie would be going with him I won't stop them. Its hard it really is but I know they need him more than they need me now and I don't want him to be all alone in a new country"
"And I want you to go to Eva, Canada has great universities you can study in, your high school is about to finish you need to think of your future. I think Canada would be great for you."
"But mom I...I can't just leave, there is so much here-"
"Eva I know Carter is important to you but some decisions need to be made beside it's not like you will be gone forever. You will keep visiting here, I mean you have to your mom would be here. And it will be a few years till your dad is settled and the twins and Millie are grown up. The time will pass."
I stayed silent, my eyes lifted again to the clothes in my closet. I imagine folding them and placing them neatly in a suitcase. Tears came out of my eyes slowly, taking their time as they traveled down and dropped on my shirt.
"But mom I love him" I cried closing my eyes.
"I know darling, I know"
.................................................
I was sitting outside the house, wearing a white buttoned coat with a black top underneath and brown boots, a beanie on my head. The wind was cold as it traveled in all directions, the sun slowly setting, orange color painted everywhere. I stared at the leaves dancing on the street, hearing an engine roar in the distance. I counted the seconds as the car came down the lane and stopped in front of my house.
Four seconds. A total of four seconds.
The car door opened and Carter stepped out, he was wearing a black coat but more stylish than mine. I got up from the stairs and smiled at him. A lump starting to form in my throat. He smiled back and me and closed the car door behind him. I counted the steps he took to reach in front of me.
A total of twelve.
"Hey, you look beautiful," He said.
"Thank you" I replied in a voice that wasn't mine.
He tilted his head, his expression changing, a confused look on his face. He was trying to read my mind I could tell, trying to find what was wrong with me. I grabbed his hand and held it tightly.
"Let's go," I said, my heart beating fast.
He stared a little longer and then nodded.
The ride to his house was quiet, we didn't talk and I wondered why? I always had so much to talk to him about. So many things I wanted to tell, to ask.
"You seem awfully quiet today," He said to me as he round the corner to his house. "Is it because of Ally?"
"A part of it, yes" I replied.
He pulled his car in the driveway and turned it off. We sat there in silence for I don't know how long.
"Why do I feel scared?" He said looking straight ahead.
I turned to look at him, his hair the same mess they always are. I reached out and ran my hands through them, trying to smoother them down.
"You're not the only one"
We stepped out of his car and hurried inside, the rain had gotten worse now, heavy droplets falling down. I stepped inside shivering, taking in the warmth of the house. Carter locked the door and grabbed my hand, leading me upstairs to his room.
"I cooked dinner for you," He said as I sat on his bed.
"You know I have really good taste buds right? My dad is an amazing cook" I replied smiling.
But he didn't smile back, he observed me carefully for a few seconds and then said slowly:
"Are you breaking up with me?"
My breath got caught in my throat at his words, I stood up slowly and faced him.
"No" I replied my voice low but full of force. "God no"
I saw him sigh in relief, his tense muscles relaxing.
"Thank God, that was the worst I could come up with"
I watched him, the lump forming in my throat raising to my eyes and soon a drop fell.
"Ar...are you sure that's the worst?"
He walked towards me slowly, placing his hands on my shoulders that were shaking.
"What is wrong Eva? You need to tell me so I can make it better"
I took in a deep breath and stepped away from him. I needed space, his closeness effected me, hypnotized me, made me want to change my mind that I had so much trouble making.
"My dad got a job offer from a restaurant in Canada, they offered to make him the head chef at one of the branches," I said, my voice breaking with every word.
"Canada?" Said Carter slowly. No expression on his face.
"This has been his dream since forever, the pay is really good-"
"You...you're leaving?" He said coming closer to me.
"I....." I didn't know what to say, how to say it.
"I want my father to take the job Carter"
He stared at me for a few seconds, fear becoming visible on his face bit by bit.
"You're going to leave? Me?"
"No, I....I'm not leaving you, I don't want to go-"
"Then don't"
His voice came out sharp this time, stopping me from continuing. He took a deep breath and walked towards me, holding me by the waist.
"I get it, its your dad's dream and you want him to live it, you don't want to be a reason that stops him but it doesn't mean you have to go. You...you can stay here, with your mom..."
"I can't leave him alone, he needs me"
"And I don't?" He asked his voice raising now.
'No- Carter that's not what I meant"
"You think its okay to leave me?" He asked stepping away from me, anger visible on his face now.
He closed his eyes, rubbing them with his hands. I wanted to step forward and touch him, tell him that I was as scared as he was, that I loved him and wanted to stay here with him. What was I thinking? How else did I expect him to react? Of course, he was going to be angry, I was angry myself when I first heard of it.
"High school is ending, we need to think about the future, what we're going to do after we graduate-"
"Stop making excuses" came Carter's sharp voice. A voice I wasn't used to.
"I'm not making excuses Carter, soon we will leave high school. We will go off to universities, study something we have always dreamed of. Even if I stay we don't know if we will end up together in a university. We don't know how far away we will be from each other. It would be the same."
I waited for him to say anything but he didn't. He stood at the same spot facing away from me.
"Its not like I'm going forever" I said walking towards him.
I grabbed him from behind and turned him around.
"We can make it work, my mom is here I will come visit, and...and you can come visit me. And its not like its forever, just a few years and I'll be back"
"You don't know that" He said.
His face the same expressionless as it was when we didn't know each other. This was a bad sign, a really bad one. He was shutting away his emotions from me, pushing them back so they don't show. Or maybe he was pushing me away.
"We'll make it work, I promise" I said trying to make my voice strong.
"You know I don't believe in long distance relationships."
He didn't say it with anger or as a warning. He just said it. A statement. A shiver ran through my body, my heartbeat slowing down and then moving too fast for me to keep on. My body became numb, just the thought of it making it hard to breath. Fear grasped me tightly in its hands and I couldn't find a way to get out.
I have never had such a strong feeling of fear before, and it scared me so much how just a few words of Carter could effect me so much. I didn't want to think more about what he said, I didn't want to think of what could possible happen.
A few tears went down my face, I tried to gulp them down and looked up at Carter. He was staring at me but I couldn't translate his look. There was no emotion on his face but he was waiting for me to say something.
I opened my mouth but before any words could come out the lights went out. We were surrounded by complete darkness. I felt Carter go still under my hands. Outside the rain poured like an army fighting with swords, I jumped slightly as the clouds growled outside.
"The rain" I said feeling Carter still rigid infront of me. "The rain must have messed up the electricity.
"Its not the rain" replied Carter and in one swift movement he was gone.
I watched him open his closet and after a few seconds pull out a gun.
"Carter? What are you doing?"
He walked towards me and grabbed me by the shoulders bringing me close to him.
"Listen to me carefully. I'm going to go out and you're going to lock this door. Do not open it for anyone except me."
He stared intently in my eyes. What was going on? What does he mean? I couldn't grasp my head around everything that was happening.
"Carter-"
"Do you understand Eva? Do not open the door for anyone except me."
I looked into his eyes and nodded.
"I love you" he said and kissed my forehead.
He walked towards the door and out quitely, I stared at him one last time before shutting the door and locking it.
What was going on? Was there someone inside the house? Why did Carter looked so paranoid? And why did he take his gun with him? Its just electricity, its raining hard outside it can happen.
I paced the floor back and forth, all these questions running through my mind. I walked towards the bed and sat down waiting for Carter to come back, to tell me it was nothing.
Suddenly there was a loud noise from downstairs and a shiver ran through my body.
Gun shots.
They were followed by more. Two, three, four.
I stood up straight, fear vibrating through me.
"Carter..." I whispered and rushed towards the door.
But before I could open it and rush out there was loud banging on the door from the other side. I stopped in my track staring at it.
"Eva?"
Kaiden?
What is he doing here? He banged a little more.
"Eva its me Kaiden, open up. Carter send me"
I didn't say anything remembering Carter told me not to open the door if its not him. I stepped a little away from the door. What was Kaiden doing here?
"Carter is hurt. They're here to get the drugs, they don't know you're here. Abel told me about their plan that's why I came. I knew you would be here."
The only thing I could register was Carter is hurt. I stepped closer to the door again. My heart racing so fast I thought it would race out of me. Carter was hurt, I felt a peircing pain in my heart just thinking about it.
"The gun hit him in the arm, Abel is fighting them right now. Carter send me to take you to a safe place, if they get you they will use you against him. After I get you somewhere safe, I'll go help him."
I touched the handle of the door, tears blurring my vision why does the worst always happen to me? Why can't I just live happily?
"Eva we don't have time. I won't hurt you trust me." Said Kaiden in a desperate voice.
I opened the door, wanting to run to Carter as more gun shots were fired. Kaiden stood in front of me, his face blank.
"Where is Carter is he okay?" I said rubbing my eyes to get rid of the tears.
Kaiden didn't say anything, just raise his hand that I now noticed was holding a gun. I watched him point it at me.
"You're going to do as I say or otherwise its not going to be pretty for you and Carter"
.................................
Hello my friends its me. I hope you all remember. I am extremely sorry for such a long delay, if you are reading this I am so thankful that you are still here and giving my book a chance. It means the world to me.
Last year has been hard and exhausting. Even if I had time I didn't have it and I admit I have been lazy. But I hope I can continue and finish this off. You guys are not ready for the end believe me.
Update on my life: I got in a uni and am studying ENG LITERATURE now hopefully I will write better for all of you.
Anyways please tell me what you think of this chapter.
COMMENT AND VOTE.