Whatever Happens

by Lyla Grace

  “Thought she was just your therapist?” Cody laughs.

  “You recording this too?” Carter retorts.

  Suddenly Carter’s abrupt change in mood makes sense. He must have talked to Cody, must have figured out the truth. Cody, he leaked the video, not Green.

  My heart breaks for Carter. I can see the pain and hurt etched on his face. Cody isn't just bad news; he's evil. Who would do that to their brother?

  “Don’t have too, I’m sure someone is doing it for me, again.”

  “I fucking hate you,” Carter replies.

  “Back at ya little brother,” Cody says. He has this evil smirk on his face like he’s enjoying this.

  Carter begins to shove Cody, but Scott steps between them. “Enough.”

  “I’m done. I’m done protecting you. You’re on your own,” Carter says. His voice is calm and even, but the rage he feels is visible in his eyes. Taking my hand, he pulls me to him. His lips press to mine. “And stay away from Lexie. She’s mine.”

  I'm in too much of a shock after everything that transpired tonight. I don't know what to say or do, or how to react when Carter kisses me. There was so much emotion in that kiss that it damn near floored me. Tugging on my hand, Carter tries to move me, but I can't seem to move.

  “Come with me, please,” Carter pleads.

  "I am so sorry; I didn't know," I tell him.

  “Just come with me,” he repeats. I nod my head. As if I would say no. I would follow him anywhere.

  Ten minutes later we are parked in front of a park. He gets out of the truck without a word. By the time I follow suit, he is almost to the swings. I'm not sure what he's doing here, or what exactly his intentions are, but I take a seat next to him anyway.

  He breaks the silence first, “I don’t even know where to start. Christ, there is so much I want to say to you.”

  I reach for his hand and take it in mine. “You don’t have to say anything at all.”

  "I know. I want to. Hell, I need to tell someone." He lets out a heavy sigh. "Cody, he's uh, he's a drug addict. He came to the city to visit me the weekend he got his sixty-day sobriety chip. So I took him to dinner to celebrate, and while we were out, I got a call from Green. He started going on and on about this club and all the hot women there. Cody wanted to go, and while it probably wasn't a smart move on my part, I agreed. I don't know I just wanted him to have a little fun, hook-up with some chick, give him a little taste of what he missed out on." Carter gets up from the swing and rubs his shoulder. "We were going to stop by, say hi. One thing led to another, and we ended up staying there most of the night. Cody met some girl, they were having fun, and I didn't want to take that away from him. It was the happiest I had seen him in a long time. Anyway, eventually, the night ended, and I had a few drinks in me, so sober Cody offered to drive. Little did I know that he wasn't actually sober thanks to the chick he had been with getting him high as a kite."

  His cheeks flush, and he begins to pace. "So, we got in the car, and I was on my damn phone checking stupid social media bullshit that I hadn't even noticed how fucked up he was. When I did, I told him to pull over, he refused, we argued, and then he lost control, and we hit that fucking tree." He shakes his head. "He never even hit the brake. We're lucky we're not fucking dead."

  This explains his anger towards Cody and why he was so adamant about me staying away from him. "You weren't the one driving?" He shakes his head. "So, you covered for him?"

  “Yeah, I covered for him. I made him switch seats with me before the cops got there.” He stops directly in front of me. “I knew I wouldn’t blow over the legal limit. But he would end up in jail again. And, at the time, I didn’t want that for him. I still don’t want it for my parents.”

  "So you risked yourself to save him." He shrugs as though the notion is nothing. "Do your parents know? Charlotte?" He shakes his head. "But why? Maybe they could get him help."

  He turns from me and laughs. "Been there, done that Lex. He doesn't want help. We can't make him. That's not how it works."

  “Protecting him isn’t going to help either.”

  “You don’t think I know that?” He’s facing me again. Eyes welled with tears that I know he will never let spillover, at least not in front of me. “I don’t know what else to do. I figured that if I can’t help him, I can at least spare my parents the pain.”

  I jump off my swing and stand in front of him, my face angled up toward him. “You’re a good man Carter Wallace. A little too good.”

  “You’re not so bad yourself, Princess,” he says as he wraps his arm around me and pulls me close against him, resting his chin on my head.

  We take solace in each other, standing there, holding onto each other as though if we let go, we'll both falter. And, maybe we will. Maybe, just maybe, that's where all this is coming from, this connection, this desire. Perhaps we need each other more than we realize. And, maybe, Charlotte was right. Where there is a will, there's a way. I just have to find it. Because letting go of Carter Wallace, isn't an option anymore.

  Chapter 13 – Carter

  “Do you like animals?” I ask Lexie.

  “Way to change the subject,” she says. “The answer is yes, but I’m not much of a pet person. I’m rarely home enough to care for one the way they should be, but I love animals.”

  “Good to know,” I reply with a nod of my head.

  “That’s it? No, follow up? You just wanted to know if I like animals?”

  “Yep,” I lie.

  Opening up to Lexie tonight, I feel like a huge weight has lifted off me. It was as though carrying around that secret was weighing on me more profoundly than my anger at Cody was. I need time to think, decide what I should do about Cody. He's out of control, and I'm the one suffering his consequences. Between needing to think and needing to thank Lexie, I came up with what I think might be the perfect idea for us to do both.

  She sighs exasperated.

  “Okay, fine. What’s your favorite?” I ask.

  “Wild Stallions,” she deadpans. When I cock my head to look at her, she bursts out laughing. “I’m kidding. Actually, it’s giraffes.”

  “Really?” It’s my turn to laugh.

  “Why is that so funny?”

  “They’re my favorite, too.”

  Every time we talk, I learn a little bit more about her. That leads to me liking her a little more. I'm on the verge of not being able to stick to my guns about this whole let's be friends thing. At this point, I don't even know if I want to. Everything this woman does – she makes my life better. Hell, even my arm is stronger than I ever thought it would be again. Sure, I still have a long way to go, but the progress we've made in three weeks despite all the craziness that's been going on is impressive. Coach, he would be proud – of both of us.

  When we get back to the house, everything is quiet. Hopefully, that means that Cody is either not there or passed out. Either way, with the way things went down tonight I don’t want to let Lexie out of my sight. I stop at the top of the stairs.

  “Lex?”

  She turns to me.

  “Stay with me tonight.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she replies.

  I move closer to her; my hand is caressing her cheek. "Probably not, but I don't want to let you go yet."

  “Carter…”

  “Please, Lex? Stay with me.”

  She nods slowly.

  “I just want to hold you, is that okay?” I ask.

  “Of course it’s okay,” she says.

  She follows me into my room, into my bed, and finally into my arms. It feels like a lifetime since I’ve held her. My mind may be at war on what the right thing to do is but my heart sure as hell isn’t. My heart is sure. Sure about her, sure about us.

  ∆ ∆ ∆

  “Rise and shine, Princess,” I whisper into her ear. “I have a surprise for you.”

  “That sounds dirty,” she says. Her voice is sleepy, but I can hear a hint of laughter in it.


  "Under normal circumstances, that is what I would be referring too," I concede. "But today…"

  She rolls over and faces me, and when I look at her, I feel like a ton of bricks hit me. It floors me. God, I've missed this. Being with her gives me this feeling of completeness. Hell, with her around, I don't even give a damn about my arm or the accident. Being with her is enough.

  Is it really, though? Enough for me to have to give up everything, possibly?

  “You okay?” she asks.

  I shake the thoughts out of my head. I am in no place to be making life-altering decisions. Not after last night. No. I need to get my head back on straight. Last night was my first step in that direction; opening up to her, letting that secret go. Now, to take a step forward, get back to me and my life.

  “I’m great,” I smile. “Now, get dressed. We have places to go to.”

  “Like the gym, I hope. We need to do…”

  I silence her with a kiss. Partially because I want to kiss her and partly because I know it's the only way to get her to shut up.

  She lets out a content sigh when I pull away. “That just gets better every time you do it.” Then she holds her hands up as though she is surrendering. “Sorry, just friends, I know.”

  “I don’t like this any more than you do,” I tell her.

  I don't. I hate it. I need to get my life back together and figure out how Lexie fits into it. She has to fit into it in some way.

  “Anyway, what’s this surprise?”

  I give her a wink. “You’ll see.”

  The weather is perfect. The sun is shining, and we are cruising to our destination with the windows down and the music up. She's singing, and it's awful, but the happiness in it is music to my ears. The whole crazy situation has been so stressful. I need this; we need this. A day like today, just the two of us relaxing and having fun is precisely what the doctor would order.

  “The zoo?” she laughs as I pull into the parking space. “Is that why you asked me about animals yesterday?”

  “Is this okay?” I ask. “We can do something else if you want. I just thought…”

  We get out of the truck, and she runs to me. "No, it's perfect." Her arms wrap around my neck. "Thank you."

  I hold onto her a little tighter. Seeing her so happy makes me happy, and it makes the world look a little brighter. Not to mention that I like to touch her. Every time I do, though, it's never enough. I crave more. Well, that's not fucking good. I let her go because if I don't, there's a good chance I never will.

  “Let’s go,” I tell her as I head off toward the entrance.

  The minute we walk into the zoo, she beelines for the lemonade stand. She orders two and pulls out her wallet. I push my way in front of her and hand the woman a fifty and grab the drinks.

  “Hey,” she says.

  “I brought you here to make up for all the crap that’s been going on; you’re not paying for anything.”

  There’s a flash of something that crosses her face. I can’t quite tell what it is. She nods and begins to walk. Shit, what the hell did I do?

  “Lexie, what is it?” I ask. I hate that I’ve upset her. I hate even more that I don’t know what or how I did it.

  “Nothing. I just—”

  “Just what?” My hand takes her elbow, stopping her from continuing to walk away from me. “Tell me.”

  "I guess I didn't realize you were doing this to make up for something. It just felt like; I don't know that we were hanging out."

  I step into her, my hand touching her face, tilting her chin up to me, making her look at me because this usually confident woman seems to want to shy away. "We are. I want to be here with you." I pause for a second, wondering if I should admit what I've been feeling or not. The sadness in her eyes, it's all the incentive I need. "I love being with you, Lexie. So, please understand that I am here with you because I want to be. Because there is no one else that I would rather spend the day with."

  With a nod of her head, she smiles. Thank God. Then I move, my head dipping down toward her. Her mouth opens slightly in what I assume is anticipation. We're not supposed to be doing this. So, I settle for pressing my lips to her forehead. To my surprise, she doesn't seem disappointed or confused by it. She looks happy. And that is all that matters. She takes my hand, "Come on, let's go see those giraffes."

  She seems ecstatic watching them walk around, their long necks moving with each step. “Aren’t they amazing?” she says. Complete and utter awe is in her voice.

  I notice off to the side that there's a sign. Not only can we look at the giraffe's we can feed and pet them too. "Lex, come on." I grab her hand and pull her behind me.

  “Are you serious?” she laughs.

  “Hell yeah, I am,” I say as I pull some money from my wallet. “We are so doing this.”

  We stand on the deck, carrots in our hands. Upon sight of us, one begins to move in our direction.

  "Oooh, here he comes," Lexie says excitedly. "Come on, Fred."

  “Fred?” I say with a laugh.

  “Yeah, Fred. Don’t you think he looks like a Fred?” The look on her face is priceless. She is completely giddy, being silly, and having the time of her life.

  “He sure does,” I reply playing along. The woman could get me to agree to anything.

  Fred makes his way over to us, taking the carrot from Lexie's eager hand first. Lexie's smiling and having the time of her life. Seeing her so happy after these past few weeks, I am too. It makes me want it and her. It makes the question do I put it all on the line for this woman so much easier to answer – yes, yes you do because she is worth it. So fucking worth it.

  Fred and Lexie must be kindred spirits because they have certainly taken a liking to each other. So much that Fred moves in closer, wrapping his long neck around us. Unsure what the hell is going on, I'm a little started to say the least.

  "Don't worry; I'll protect you," Lexie teases. She might be joking, but I'm starting to think this giraffe sees me as competition. He would be right. Lexie's mine buddy.

  Am I seriously contemplating fighting a giraffe?

  Fred licks Lexie’s face. Yep, I am totally fighting a giraffe.

  "Back off, buddy," I tell him. "She's taken."

  Lexie's head snaps in my direction. She doesn't say anything; she just smiles. I smile back because that's what looking at her does to me. Jesus, I don't have a clue what I'm doing or how the hell this could work, but I'm going to have to figure something out.

  We continue to feed Fred and a couple of his friends until they’ve had their fill.

  The staff was very kind to supply us with several photos of us feeding the giraffes. One of the employees asked if she could take a picture with me. After the kindness they showed Lexie and me, how could I say no.

  “I’m so sorry, but is it okay if I take a few quick pictures with the staff?” I say.

  “Okay? Are you kidding me?” she replies. She takes the phone from one of the employees and starts to snap the photos. She also manages to get ahold of a marker so I can do some autographs.

  I don’t know how much of our day we spent doing this, but never once did she complain. She just took it in stride, smiled, chatted with everyone, and even gave away a few of my secrets I’m sure.

  Perfect. That's precisely what she is. At least, to me.

  When we finish, we head to a nearby snack shop and begin to flip through the photos. The one of Fred licking her face is my favorite; the look on her face is priceless. I notice one out of the corner of my eye, and I yank it from her hand. She protests, but I don't care. It's a picture of us, just smiling. We look good together, damn good. And happy.

  "I love that picture." She's pointing at the picture that has captured my attention.

  "Me too," I admit. And her. I can't admit that, though. Not yet.

  We stare at each other for a beat. I can feel the pull, this magnetism between us that pulls us in and won’t let go. We’re moving in for the kiss, one that I’m af
raid once it starts, won’t stop.

  At the last second, she turns her head and stands from the bench, her back to me.

  “Lex…”

  “What’s next?” she asks as she turns around.

  "Penguins," I tell her. At least it's cold in there, and I could use some time to cool off.

  We see a few more animals and head out just before the zoo closes. I'm not ready to go home yet, though. I've decided I need to approach my parents, tell them about Cody. The question is, how? So, rather than head home, I detour to a beach.

  “You are full of surprises today,” Lexie comments. She has no idea. The one that I have brewing in my head is a doozy.

  “I’m glad you’re enjoying them.”

  “It’s mostly the company.” She pauses as she sets the blanket down.

  I smile back at her. “I’m glad we’re okay. I hated that things were awkward.”

  “Still kind of are.”

  “What do you mean?”

  "I still want more than this, more than you can give me." She shakes her head as though by doing so, she can somehow shake her feelings for me out.

  “I do, too, Lex. I do, too.”

  "So, have you figured out what you want to do about Cody?" she asks, changing the subject.

  Aside from wanting some alone time with Lexie, that right there is one of the reasons I needed today so much. I need to figure my shit out – Cody and Lexie. Even after a day like today, I'm stumped, on both counts.

  "I'm going to tell my parents, try to get him into rehab. I don't know what to say or how to say it."

  "There's no easy way to break that kind of news to someone. I mean, their son has a problem. It's going to be hard to hear no matter what the words are."

  She's right. I wish I could find a way to soften the blow, make this easier on them. My parents are amazing people; they don't deserve to have to deal with this. Or what I put them through.

  “I just wish I knew why… nevermind.”

  “No, say it. You wish you knew why what?”

  “Why he hates me so much? I spent most of my life looking up to him, yet somehow he hates me.”