Melissa stood in front of Carter with her hands on her hips. She had on her usual preppy clothes, jean shorts with blue stripes up the sides and a tight blue v-neck sweater. "I found this."
"Where?" Carter snapped, grabbing it out of her hand.
"In your jeans pocket. In the laundry."
"Why were you snooping in my stuff?"
"I was looking for your chapstick. I was gonna borrow it. You always leave it in your pockets."
Carter glared at her sister. "Thanks." She shoved the picture into her pocket and sat back down on the couch.
"I don't even know why you carry that thing around."
"What? How could you say that? It's mom!"
Melissa shook her head. "No it's not. Mom's gone. She's been gone and she didn't say goodbye. That's just a dumb old picture."
Carter jumped up from the couch and grabbed her sister by the arm. "YOU THINK MOM HAD A CHANCE TO SAY GOODBYE!? YOU THINK SHE COULD HAVE JUST DODGED THAT CAR!?" She quieted down a little bit when she heard her father moving around in the kitchen. "You are a little stuck up bitch and you have no idea what family is. Mom was our family. Sometimes I wish you would have gotten hit instead of her." Carter gave her a dirty look and stormed out the front door.
She went out back and climbed the hill to the swimming pool. She climbed the ladder to the diving bored and sat on the edge, swinging her legs back and forth.
"Going for a swim in your clothes?" Zac asked as he climbed up the ladder after her a few minutes later.
Carter smiled and turned around so that she was sitting sideways. "Just sitting here I guess."
"I could hear you yelling at Melissa all the way in my living room. Those walls are thin, you know."
"Yeah. I can't stand her anymore. Seriously, Zac. She's a whiny little whore."
Zac laughed. "She's your sister."
"She made fun of my mom."
"Oh." He looked at the ground. "Wanna talk about it?"
"Not really. I just kind of wanna be alone for a little while. You don't mind do you?"
"Of course not. I'll knock tonight."
Carter smiled. "Ok. I'll be listening."
Later that night, when everything was quiet and dark, Carter grabbed her walkie talkie. "Zac. You there?"
There was static for a minute before Zac answered. "Yo. I was just gonna knock."
"Why didn't you?"
"Cause you usually don't get into bed until about midnight. Are you sleeping in your room?"
"Yeah it's kind of cold to sleep outside."
Carter stretched out on her bed and smiled. "So, what are you wearing sexy?"
Zac laughed into his walkie talkie. "Ok, the phone sex joke is getting kind of old."
"Sorry." She smiled. "Hey, I'm gonna go get a bath. I have a headache. I'll knock when I'm back. You better be awake."
"Cool. See ya."
Carter took her walkie talkie into the bathroom with her and left it on the edge of the sink. They always left their walkie talkies running all night in case they got lonely or couldn't sleep. The battery bills were high, but they didn't care.
She turned on the water and let it fill the tub for about ten minutes until she finally got in. She held her arm up into the air and watched the steam rise from it. She laughed. "Cool."
There was a knock on the wall next to her. "You playing with the steam again?"
Carter jumped and grabbed her walkie talkie. "You freakin pervert. All listening to me take a bath."
Zac laughed. "So. I'm getting a bath too. Well, not really, there's no water in the tub. I'm just kind of sitting here."
"Naked?"
Zac laughed. "You wish."
"Oh yeah." She rolled her eyes as she talked into the walkie talkie. "My whole dream in life is to talk to you while you're naked."
"WHOA!"
"What?"
"I just thought of something?"
"Huh?"
"You're naked."
"Very good."
"No like, you're naked."
"No freakin duh." Carter laughed.
Zac clicked the button on and off.
"Knock it off!"
He laughed and did it some more.
"I'm serious Zac. Don't make me come over there."
"WOO HOO!" Zac shrieked.
"No wait. That would be bad. Ok. I'm getting dressed now. I'll knock when I'm back in my room."
"Cool."
When Carter finally made it back into her room she knocked on his wall.
"Yo. I was listening the whole time."
"Great. You turned on?"
"Oh yeah." He laughed. "My dream is exactly like yours."
"What's that?"
"To see you naked."
"I don't wanna see you naked. Chubby butt." She laughed.
"I do not have a Chubby butt! I have a nice ass."
"Ok Zac. I've seen you naked. You have a chubby butt."
"I do not!"
"Do too."
"Shut up."
"Whatever." She laughed.
"I was kidding by the way."
"About what?" She yawned and put her head down on the pillow.
"I don't wanna see you naked."
"Well I didn't wanna see you naked either but you gave me no choice."
"You didn't have to look."
Carter laughed. "Oh yeah sure. You say, 'Look Carter, I'm not wearing any clothes!' And I'm not supposed to look?"
"No."
"No what?"
"I dunno."
"Are you gonna sleep now?"
"Yeah. Nite."
"Nite." Carter stayed silent for about a half hour before she started to laugh. "Chubby butt."
"I do not have a chubby butt."
"Do too." She giggled. She had a feeling that she wasn't going to sleep much tonight.