Taylor ran over the events of the night before in his head, he felt horrible for what had happened. All he could think about was Carter's face when she slowly pressed the talk button on the phone, handed it back to Taylor, and walked out of his bedroom.
He'd urged her to call Mike Daily, he even dialed for her. But when he heard her end of the conversation, he knew right away that something was wrong. Her hand was shaking as she held the phone, she was more nervous than she'd ever been. "Hello, I was told I could reach Mike Daily here...." She paused and looked at Taylor. "Mike Daily? Carter Porter. He gave me his card yesterday. No... He just said that... Of course. I'm sorry. Thank you."
That was the last he'd seen of Carter. Until Zac came into his room, with a worried look on his face. "Mel's in my room with Carter. Why did you make her call that guy?"
Taylor sat up. "I don't even know what the hell happened. She didn't say anything to me."
"There was no Mike Daily. They thought she was whacko. The place she called was some grocery store. They pretty much just laughed at her."
"But... I don't get it."
"Obviously the guy was an asshole, and now she's crushed. You got her hopes up, Tay."
Taylor stood up and walked across the hall with Zac at his heels. He found Carter in Zac's room, laying on the bed, facing the wall, with her head on Melissa's thigh. Melissa was pushing her hair back out of her face. She looked up at Taylor and shook her head. "I don't know what to do anymore."
Taylor sat climbed onto the bed and laid down in front of Carter so that he was facing her. He put his head down on the bed and looked into her eyes. He expected them to be filled with tears, but they weren't. Carter wasn't a crier and she probably never would be, no matter how much pain she was in.
Carter looked at him and touched his face with her hand. "I really wanted to do it. I wanted to do it so bad. But it wasn't real."
Taylor reached out and held her hand. "I'm so sorry, Car. I just wanted you to be happy and I thought it was such a great oppourtunity."
Carter sat up and hugged him as tightly as she could. Melissa looked over at Zac and smiled, she pushed him away from them. "Let's go downstairs and raid your fridge."
"Dude but it's my room!"
Melissa laughed and pushed him again. "Don't make me hurt you."
"Dude and it's MY best friend!"
She slapped him on the arm. "GO DOWNSTAIRS AND GIVE THEM PRIVACY!"
Zac mumbled and sulked all the way downstairs. "Can't they just cuddle in his room?"
"You have got to be kidding me." Gabi threw her backpack onto her bed and kicked her large wooden endtable. "OUCH! FREAKIN DAMMIT!" She screamed.
"What the hell is your problem?" Justine looked up from her homework and glared at her sister.
"Stupid DUMBASS idea." She plopped onto her bed and threw her pillow across the room towards Justine.
"What are you talking about?"
"Taylor and his stupid little girlfriend. My plan just got them closer together."
"What plan?"
"Oh I got some guy to pretend to be a record exec and give Carter his card. It was supposed to make her pissed off at Taylor."
Justine rolled her eyes. "I thought you were over him." She paused. "Wait... you mean that guy at the club... was..."
Gabi grinned. "Yeah. Too bad it didn't work. And I don't like the fact that you're getting all chummy chummy with Carter's other boyfriend."
Justine grumbled. "Ew god, don't call him that."
"Huh?"
"It's not like I adore Carter like everybody else does. I don't see what's so great about her." She rolled her eyes. "I don't think anybody knows that we're sisters though. Come to think of it, I don't think Melissa knows either."
"She's that dense?"
"Yeah. And I wanna keep it a secret too. I really like Zac and I don't want him hating me just because you're my sister."
"Don't they know your last name?"
"Luckily, no. That's never come up. And when it does, I'll tell him the truth."
"That your last name is Bubka and you're a Saudi Arabian foreign exchange student?"
Justine glared at her sister. Gabi had used the last month or so as a playground of insults. Justine had lived with their dad for a few years but he was fed up with her lies. She had what she liked to call, an active imagination that got her in trouble a lot. Now she was back living with her mom, and her sister. "No, I mean, I'll tell him the truth truth. That you're my sister, but we're nothing alike. And that I just moved back in with you a month ago. I know nothing about your insanity and the fact that you have names picked out for you and Taylor's 27 children. Or that you have 14 voodoo dolls of Carter."
"Hey don't mock the dolls. You may want to borrow one of them sometime."
"Doubtful." She sighed. "Besides, Zac and I aren't even together yet."
"Yet. Oooh. You're starting to sound like me. Makin plans are we?" Gabi smiled.
"No. And besides, Mom and Dad have no idea which one of us is the bad one. As of now, they think it's me."
"And I'm just sweet old innocent virgin Gabi who's never had a boyfriend or a bed buddy and never ever thinks about sex or drugs."
"My ass."
Gabi grinned.
"One of these days you're going to get caught. And don't think I don't know who it was that was chucking rocks up at the balcony the other night. I'm not that stupid. And Taylor isn't either. He's going to catch on to you. And Carter already knows you have the hots for him. She just thinks you're taking a break from your insanity. And she's never going to go for Todd. He's cute, and sweet, and charming, but he's not half the man Taylor is. And you don't deserve that. So don't come to me when you dig yourself so deep that you can't get your big fat ass out of your god damned hole." Justine threw the pillow back at Gabi and slammed out of their bedroom.
Gabi rolled her eyes. "Pms."
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