Carter pulled her half wet hair into a ponytail at the nape of her neck and dove into the pool. The water rushed past her ears as she swam to the deep end. She stared up at the sky with her arms at her sides thinking about the night before.
"Hey." The muffled voice of her sister caused her to open her eyes.
"Hey." Carter half smiled at Melissa and continued to float on her back, wanting to ignore her.
"Can we talk?"
Carter gave her a surprised look and climbed out of the pool. She wrapped a towel around her waist and put her hands on her hips. "Yeah. What about? What outfit do you want to borrow?"
"I don't wanna borrow your clothes I wanna ask you for advice."
"Uhm. Ok." Carter shrugged and sat down on the chair next to the pool.
"How do I get a guy to like me?"
"You're asking me? This is you Meli. You don't ask me for advice, and when you do... it's definitely not about guys."
"Yeah but this isn't really a guy. This is..." Melissa looked over her shoulder and whispered. "Isaac."
"ISAAC?!" Carter laughed and clapped a hand over her mouth. "What about him?!
"Well, when you totally blew him off yesterday, I talked to him, and I think I like him."
"What do you mean? I didn't blow him off."
"Carter, the walkie talkies were on. We heard your whole conversation with Zac."
"Shit."
"Yeah. And thanks to moi, Isaac was comforted."
"I don't even wanna know what you did." Carter rolled her eyes.
"No I didn't do anything. We just talked. And I made him feel better."
"Modest much?"
"No. I seriously think I helped him. Nobody has ever listened to me before."
"There's a reason for that."
Melissa ignored her. "So how do I get him to like me?"
"You don't."
"Why not?"
"Cause he's way too old for you, Mel. That would be.. illegal and nasty."
"It's not nasty! I think it would be sweet."
"Then you can deal with it on your own. I'm not gonna get into it at all because I don't think it should happen. But then again, what do I know." Carter smiled sarcastically and went down the hill. Instead of going in her house, she slipped into the backdoor of the Hanson house.
She trudged up the stairs with her towel still around her waist, and her one piece bathing suit covering her bruised stomach, which ached with every step she took. She pushed open the door to Zac's bedroom and her face fell. "Nique?" She whispered to the girl who's head was on Zac's lap. She was curled into a tight bawl, crying, holding her face, as Zac ran his fingers through her dark curly hair. "Zac, what's wrong with Nique?"
Carter hadn't seen her since the night after she moved into the neighborhood, but she knew that Zac had been hanging out with her a little and calling her a lot. She knew that Zac thought of her as a great friend, but to find her crying on Zac's pant leg was a little too much for her.
Zac looked down at her and shrugged. Nique sat up. "I'm ok." She sniffled, blinking hard as she stared into space.
"Nique, what happened to your..." Carter gasped as she saw the purple bruise that covered Nique's neck and left shoulder.
"It was nothing. Really. My brother and I were wrestling..."
Zac laughed. "I know how that is."
"No, Zac. You don't. We were wrestling and my brother slammed me into the end table. It was an accident really. And I was crying because it hurt."
"Then why are you crying now?" Carter asked, sitting in front of her on the floor.
"Because my dad came in and screamed at my brother and threw him against the wall. I know he was just mad and worried because I was crying, but I really thought he was going to hurt him."
"Is your brother ok?" Zac asked, putting his arm around her.
Carter flinched.
"Yeah. It just scared him. He's older than me, and so much stronger. But... my dad just shoved him so hard. He's never done anything like that before. I don't know if I should be scared or not."
"I'm sure it wasn't anything." Carter smiled. "He was just afraid that you were hurt. That's all."
Zac shook his head. "No. It could have been serious, Nique, Your dad could have really hurt your brother."
"But he didn't mean it!" Carter put her hands on her hips and stood up. "Nique, if anything like that happens again than you should definitely do something. But for now, just watch what happens. Ok?"
Nique smiled. "Yeah. You're right."
Zac shook his head again. "No no no! I don't want you getting hurt by anybody Nique!"
"Zac I'm fine."
"But you might not be!"
"Zac, she's fine." Carter sighed. Was she really feeling jealous? No. It couldn't be.
"Shut up Carter!"
Carter glared at him once before turning around and leaving. She crossed the balcony and went into her bedroom. Zac heard the door slam when she got there.
"Shit."
"Zac you better go talk to her. You shouldn't have yelled at her."
"Shit. I know that. I'll see you later, ok? Call me if you need me." Zac kissed her forehead and left to go find Carter.
When he opened the door to her bedroom, Carter threw one of Melissa's stuffed animals at him. "GET OUT!"
Zac ducked and watched as the bear hit the door. "Damn, I'm sorry Carter! I'm just worried about her. That's all."
Carter stared at him. "I know you are. That's the problem."
"Huh?"
"I'm completely and utterly jealous." Carter chuckled a little and walked over to him. She put her head on his shoulder when he wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Jealous? Of what?"
"I dunno. I know I shouldn't be. But... Nique's so pretty. You know?"
"Yeah. She is pretty. But she is not nor will she ever be you." Zac kissed Carter's lips lightly.
"So... You don't like...like her?"
"She's a friend. She's somebody in the neighborhood to call when you're practicing singing and stuff. A friend. And I'm worried about her."
"I am too."
"Then we'll just have to watch out for her. Ok?"
"Ok."
"No more throwing things at me?"
Carter laughed. "No more throwing things at you."
"Good. Now that that's settled. Can I have a kiss?"
Carter grinned and shoved Zac down on her bed. "Uh huh."