Chapter... something

Melissa held on to her sister's arm as they made their way through the living room and up the stairs to their bedroom. "Damn, I'm glad to be home." She grinned as Carter tossed Melissa's duffle bag on the floor and led her to her bed. "One more hospital meal and I might have puked all over the nurses." She let out a long yawn and laid back on her bed. It took all of her energy to make it from the car to her bedroom.

"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?" Carter sat down on the bed next to her.

"Nah. I'm really just tired. When did Dad say he'd be home?"

Carter checked her watch. She laughed slightly to herself. She realized that whenever anybody asked her a question like, "What time are you leaving?", or "What time will Dad be home?", she looked at her watch. As if that would help her remember what time he would be home. "Six."

"Six. So that's like 3 hours." Melissa sighed. Her dad was working a lot more lately and she hardly ever got to see him. He tried very hard to spend a few hours a day with her in the hospital but it was Carter who was there the whole time. "Hey I wonder where Zac is? He really only came to the hospital once or twice. Has he been sick?"

Carter shrugged, avoiding the question. "I dunno. Hey there's mail on the dresser for you. Everybody was sending you cards and Dad just kind of piled them up. He figured you were too much in pain to read or something."

Melissa laughed. "Throw them to me."

Carter reached over to the dresser and handed her sister a huge stack of cards and letters. Sometimes she wondered if anybody would ever send her get well wishes if she was in the hospital. Then she frowned when she realized that she had been in the hospital and the only mail she got was from the Publisher's Clearing House. "Wow. That's depressing."

"What is?" Melissa asked, flipping through the mail before she picked one to read.

Carter grabbed a letter from her. "The fact that Gabi still signs her name with a heart over the I." She coughed.

"Hey, this one isn't for me." Melissa dropped a card onto Carter's lap. The envelope was black and it was addressed with a light blue gel pen. She made a face and flipped it over.

"That's weird. It must have gotten mixed up with your stuff. There's no return address."

"Maybe it wasn't mailed?"

Carter shrugged and tore it open. Inside was a small white card with a picture of a kitten on the front. She laughed and rolled her eyes. Flipping it open, her breath caught in her throat. She read silently as Melissa tore into her own mail.

"Dear Carter,

I thought this card was funny because it's exactly the opposite of what you would expect from me. Then I realized that anything you would get in the mail from me would be unexpected.

I just wanted to thank you for finding a way to look past this accident and to not blame my sister. She's had a hard time and your forgiveness really helped her through.

I have watched you over the past few years and I never cease to be amazed by your grace, your intellegence, and your beauty. I know I was never good enough for you and I will never find a way to be good enough. I stopped trying a long time ago. The truth is, I love you. I have loved you since the first day we met. I know it didn't seem that way. I have always been a sarcastic, patronizing, know-it-all and it will be my downfall one day. I never thought it would keep me from finding true happiness though.

I just want you to know that I will forever be thinking about you. The next time you play your guitar at my father's club, I will be watching. If I ever see you on the street, I will smile at you. And no matter what happens in my life, you will forever be on my mind.

Yours, Todd.

Carter swallowed hard and closed the card. Melissa was still sorting through her mail. "What was that?"

Carter folded up the card and shoved it into her back pocket. "I just won a million dollars."

"Oh. Cool." Melissa knew that it was a personal card and didn't press her any further. "Buy me a pony."

"I will." Carter smiled and stood up. "Hey, I have to go make a phone call. I'll be back. Rest for a while." She closed the door behind her and turned around to go downstairs. Zac was sitting in the hallway staring at her. "Whoa. Hey." Carter jumped a little and stared at him.

"Hey. I figured you guys were having sister talk so I decided to wait here."

"Oh."

"So hey, wanna order pizza or something? I haven't eaten all day."

"If you want." She shrugged and examined a spot on the wall above his head.

Zac stood up and gave her a look of confusion. "Hey, are you mad at me or something? You sound weird."

"I don't know. Do you think I'm mad at you?"

Zac shrugged. "I really don't know. I've never seen you look like this before."

"Look like what?"

"Like you hate me."

Carter sighed and continued down the hallway. Zac jumped and grabbed her shoulder. He stared at her. "Hey. You have to tell me. What is wrong?"

"Where have you been?" Carter asked, staring at his shoes, trying desperately to avoid his eyes. Zac's eyes made it possible for her to ever be mad at him.

"Huh? Like today?"

"No, Zac. For the past 3 freaking months. Where have you been?"

He didn't answer, he was now staring at his shoes too.

"I've spent 3 months, nonstop, in a hospital that I dread more than anything else in this world. I've spent so many nights scared to death that I was going to lose my sister. And I've spent every single one of those nights without you by my side. You were supposed to be there. You were supposed to be my best friend when I actually needed you."

Zac pouted. "You had Taylor."

"Don't give me that shit, Zac. You know it's different. Yes, I love Taylor. Yes, he's been amazing to me these past months getting me through this. He was there. I needed you. Why the hell weren't you there with me?"

Zac finally looked back into her eyes. "I was scared."

"Of what? The hospital? I know you hate hospitals too but..."

"No, not of the hospital. I was afraid you were going to lose Meli and that I wouldn't know how to pick you up and put the pieces back together. I kind of... realized that I can't deal with that stuff. Taylor is the sensitive one. He's the one that ... I don't know. I'm good at making a fart joke to break the ice."

Carter laughed. "Dammit, you're not allowed to make me laugh when I'm mad at you. And besides, you've always been able to make me feel better. And not just with fart jokes. Although, those are funny too. You might not think you're good at the serious stuff, but you are."

"I just didn't think I could help you with this. I had no idea how I would fix you if she..."

She shivered slightly. "I don't think anybody would be able to fix me if I lost her. I didn't realize that until recently. I've kind of lost touch with how much she means to me. The past few years have been hard. I'm glad we're close again."

"And me? Are we ok? I mean, you and me?" He forcefully frowned and blinked his eyes hard.

Carter laughed. "Damn you. Yeah, we're ok. But please don't leave me alone ever again. I can't survive shit like this without you."

"I'm sorry."

She grabbed him hard and pulled him into a hug. "I love ya, kid."

"Ditto."

Carter let go and sighed. "And now... I have to make the weirdest phone call I've ever made in my whole life." She pulled the crumbled card out of her back pocket and waved it in his face.

"Ok, let me know how it goes." He said, trying to make it sound like he knew what she was talking about.

Carter
Home
Stories

Email: piperhalliwell17@hotmail.com