by Alina Jacobs
Trent let go of Allie and pulled out his gun to help his brother. He tried to grab Carter to pull him away from Bryce so he could shoot him.
It was two against one, and Allie didn't think Carter was going to win. She forcefully pulled her hands back against her, the strength of the motion splitting the duct tape. Then she ran to Trent and grabbed the gun. His attention diverted from Carter, Trent wrestled her for the weapon. She felt her wrist bruise where he tried to break it, but Allie didn't release her hold on the gun. The gun fired into one of the French doors, shattering it, and the force of the motion released Allie's hold on the gun enough that Trent could control it.
Smiling, Trent took aim and fired at Carter. The bullet grazed his head.
"No!" Allie screamed as she saw the blood running down Carter's face.
Trent fired at him again, and Allie heard Carter grunt as he was shot in the back. He didn't seem concerned and lunged at Trent, who pulled the trigger again, but the gun jammed. Allie's ears were ringing as she tried to wrestle the gun from Trent, but he hit her in the side of the head with it instead. Then he threw the gun down, and he and Bryce jumped on Carter, kicking and beating him.
"Don't hurt him!" Stacy shrieked, running out onto the balcony. "That's my baby's father!"
"No, he isn’t!" Bryce yelled, standing up as Stacy ran at him, her nails out. "I am so tired of hearing you go on about Carter Holbrook. You want him so much? You can join him in death." Then Bryce wrapped his arms around Stacy's waist and threw her over the balcony.
Allie sobbed as she heard Stacy scream on the way down.
Trent laughed and started hauling Carter back to the balcony. "Perfect. We're going to have a nice murder-suicide done by Carter against the mother of his child. You need to call Vance and tell him to have the reporters over here to cover it," he said.
He struggled with Carter as he tried to pull him over the edge, and Bryce turned to help his brother.
"Don't!" Allie pleaded as she tried to fight off Bryce.
As the four of them struggled, Margot ran over and bit Bryce hard enough that he lost concentration, and Allie managed to flip him over the edge from the momentum of the struggle. He hung onto the railing.
"You don't have to do this!" Carter said as Trent let go of him to try to pull his brother back up. "Let us pull you up."
He strained to rescue Bryce, but Bryce latched onto Carter's arm and tried to pull Carter over after him. Instead of trying to save his brother, Trent struggled to push Carter over the railing.
Allie took a fistful of Carter's shirt, with Margot pulling at his pants leg, and struggled desperately to keep him from being tossed over the edge.
As they fought, Allie heard a creaking, tearing noise, then the balcony railing broke out of the concrete due to all of the weight.
Allie lunged backward and hung onto Carter for dear life as the two brothers tumbled down. She didn't want to look, and she tried to ignore the sounds of sirens as she dragged Carter back from the ledge.
"My God," he said, blinking rapidly.
"Are you okay?" she asked him.
Carter nodded slowly. Blood streamed out of his nose.
"I have your laptop," he said.
"That's okay," Allie said soothingly.
"It was broken. I think my head's broken," Carter said, his voice nasally from the swelling on his face.
"You saved me," she told him, crying.
Margot licked at the wounds on his face.
They heard banging on the door to the condo.
"Police," they yelled. "Put your hand up!"
Allie held up her arms as the officers hurried into the master bedroom. Carter slumped against her.
"I don't feel so good," he murmured. "I think this is it for me."
The officers barked orders, but Allie could barely hear them over the ringing in her ears and the ache in her heart.
70
Carter
Carter drifted in and out of consciousness on the way to the hospital.
He was in so much pain. He didn't know you could bleed so much.
A few hours or days later, he wasn't sure, he woke up feeling more alert. His torso and head were tightly bandaged, and he was lying in a hospital bed.
His mother and Allie were talking.
"…notify her family," Nancy said.
"She doesn't really have family," Allie replied.
He didn't like Stacy, but he didn't want her to die. He felt sick about the whole business, and he drifted back to sleep, hoping to just forget.
"It wasn't your fault," the police detective said the next day when she came to talk to Carter. "Those men were there to kill someone. We have been able to recover her phone, and she was clearly colluding with them." The detective turned to the lawyers who were in the room as well.
"We aren't pressing any charges against your client."
When the lawyers left, Jack looked around, furious. His ire landed on Allie.
"This is your fault!" Jack snapped at her. "Carter could have died because you brought that horrible woman into our lives."
Harris looked sad. "Don't blame her. This tragedy is my fault. I take full responsibility."
Jack had a sour look on his face. "She takes part of the blame." Carter was too exhausted to argue with his father.
"Don't," Harris warned Jack. "Allie has been nothing but high-class. More so than some people in this room."
"I hope you aren't implying me," Jack spat.
"You have been inhospitable and just plain rude!" Harris yelled at his oldest son.
"If you two are going to fight, go outside," Nancy said. "You're upsetting Carter."
Carter dozed on and off. He had a few meetings with physical therapists. The doctors wanted to make sure nothing was permanently damaged in his back before they would release him.
The high points of his hospital stay were when Allie snuck Margot into the room to see him.
"She's fine," Allie said as the little dog gingerly licked Carter's hand and curled up in his lap. "The vet gave her the all clear—just a few scrapes and bruises." She smoothed his hair. "Are you in a lot of pain?" she asked.
"Yes," he said with a grunt. "It's not like the movies, where you jump up and run a marathon after being shot. I feel like garbage."
He didn't feel much better when he was released from the hospital a few days later.
On the long car ride back to New Cardiff, he dozed fitfully. His head lay on Allie's shoulder, and she had a cool rag that she pressed against his forehead.
"This sucks," he mumbled.
Carter spent the next few weeks recuperating at the Holbrook estate. Allie stayed in his room, typing on her laptop, and stepping out periodically to take conference calls.
One time, he heard her and his mother talking about the upcoming funeral.
"Don't worry about it," Nancy said when he asked.
"Tell me," he snapped, and his mother sighed.
"The officials want to release Bryce and his brother to the Holbrooks," Allie said.
"Absolutely not. Find their families," Nancy stated.
The Holbrooks did end up taking Stacy's remains. Carter felt strong enough to attend the funeral, thought it was fairly small. She didn't have many friends or a family, according to Allie.
"I can't believe she's gone," Allie said, blowing her nose.
She seemed upset, and Carter wondered if she blamed him for not saving her friend.
"It's not your fault," Liz said to Allie, hugging her.
"I should have… I don't know."
Stacy was buried in the Holbrook plot next to Danielle and the children.
Along with her remains, the Holbrooks had received a copy of the medical examiner's report. Inside, it said that the baby was neither Carter's nor Harris's.
If he had had the energy, Carter would have yelled at his father over it, but he didn't, and his father didn't apologize.
Carter was feeling physically better the week after the funeral. He
even rode with his grandfather to the airport.
"I'm going to a retreat in India. Going vegan, getting in touch with my spiritual side." Harris gave him a big hug. "Hang in there," he said then boarded the plane.
Carter was going a little stir-crazy at the estate by himself.
"I'm going back to work," he said stubbornly one evening over dinner.
"Don't overdo it!" Nancy exclaimed.
"Don't worry," Grant said. "I'll keep an eye on him."
It was strange being back at the office. Carter felt disassociated from everything around him.
The whole incident was burned in his brain. The screams as Stacy and the two brothers fell over the edge. Why did it have to happen like that?
After Allie told him to leave early and go home and rest, Carter went to a bar to drink. He just wanted to be numb, and he didn't want to be in the penthouse by himself, nor did he want to be with Allie.
The upscale bar was dark, and the manager hurried over to greet him when he walked in.
"Mr. Holbrook! Have you recovered from your injuries?"
"Well enough," Carter said. "Just need some alcohol. They won't let me have any pain meds."
"You've come to the right place," the manager said as he led him to a booth. A waitress came by with a line of shots. Carter sat by himself and started to drink. Across the sea of tables, he saw a man making his way toward him.
Digby.
"Vance is in jail because of you," Digby said in a low voice.
Ignoring him, Carter downed a shot then picked up another one. "Vance tried to have me killed," he replied.
"No, he didn't," Digby told him. He looked as if he were about to cry. "Vance was just angry. He didn't want to hurt anyone!"
"That’s too bad. He's going to be charged as an accessory to kidnapping and attempted murder, I would assume. They might even put the blame on him for the three deaths," Carter replied as he took another shot.
"Hey, baby." A dark-haired girl cuddled up next to him.
As Digby left, the woman grabbed Carter's jaw and kissed him, snapping a selfie. "You look like you could use some cheering up," she said. "Want me to show you a good time?"
Carter pushed the girl off of him, paid his bill, and left to go to the bar across the street.
71
Allie
When she saw Carter back at work, Allie she didn't think he should be back so soon. He clearly needed more rest.
"Just go home," she finally told him. "You look terrible."
He nodded and left, not even bothering to pack his things.
Making a mental note to check on him when she was off work, she went upstairs for a meeting with Grant. As she was leaving his office, she saw Jack coming out of a conference room. He cornered her, an angry look on his face.
"Can I help you?" she asked tersely.
"I don't want you with my son. Do you understand? It's your fault those people died, and it's your fault Carter was injured. You're trash, just like that girl Stacy. You make terrible decisions, and you're going to drag Carter down into the muck with you."
"I never put Carter in any danger."
"Yes, you did—the car crash, now the murderous friends of yours."
Allie pursed her mouth. She didn't want to give away Carter's secret that he had actually been the one to crash the car. It was just one more reminder that their relationship, if she could even call it that, was built on lies and deception.
"You know," she said finally, "Carter is an adult, and he can make his own decisions."
"I'm just trying to protect him. You don't understand what it means to love someone the way I love my son, because you have nothing—no family and no friends," Jack said.
"Why do you hate me?" she hissed at Jack. "I’m employed, I have a college degree—two college degrees, in fact—and I even helped plan a whole wedding marathon extravaganza for one of your upper-class family friends."
His gaze narrowed.
"You act like I'm the one damaging Carter, but in my opinion, you've done far worse to him."
"If I did, then it was because I had to keep him safe, and if you actually cared about Carter, like you claim to, you would leave him alone," Jack said flatly.
Looking into Jack's eyes, Allie had a realization that if she tried to make whatever it was with Carter work, then Jack would be there every step of the way, trying to sabotage their relationship and force Allie out of the family. She was suddenly horribly exhausted just thinking about that.
"Fine. Whatever," Allie said. "I care about your son, but I don't know if I have the energy to keep fighting your classism. You never liked me, and that's understandable. I didn't make a good first impression. But if you and your whole town are going to continuously work against any relationship I have with Carter, then I don't know if I can do it."
After working late to try to keep her mind off of Carter, Allie arrived back at her apartment later that night. The landlord still hadn't fixed the damage that Trent and Bryce had caused. The detritus of the police department scouring her apartment for clues was also still there. They had left fingerprint dust, food wrappers, and dirty boot prints.
She knew she should clean it up, but she didn't have the energy.
"Jack is right," she said to herself, slumping onto her bed. "Stacy died and it was your fault. You should have figured out what Bryce and Trent were up to. You should have reported it, at the very least. You should have done something. Carter was almost killed because of you."
Her new phone beeped, and she jumped before realizing that Bryce would never bother her again. She checked the screen and saw a news notification about Carter Holbrook. She clicked on it and saw a picture of him with a girl grabbing his face and making out with him.
"I guess he didn't go home and rest," she said with a frown.
She heard a thump against the door. Then the wood creaked, and the broken lock, which she had tried to fix herself since the landlord was ignoring her maintenance requests, gave way, and Carter stumbled into the room.
"Are you hurt?" she asked, hurrying to grab him and guide him to the bed.
"Just drunk," he slurred. She frowned and poured him a glass of water.
"Seriously," she exploded, "you need to take better care of yourself! You can't just drink yourself into oblivion every time something doesn't go the way you want. Especially if you're still recovering from a major injury."
"But I know you'll take care of me," he said, ignoring the glass that she held up to his lips.
"You can't just show up drunk on a work night," she said.
His eyes glazed over.
"What happened to being better?" she yelled and threw the glass at the wall. What was one more broken thing in this apartment?
"I will. I am," Carter said, struggling to sit up. "But don't forget I'm the one who saved your life. Not just in the condo, but I gave you money. I helped you ingratiate yourself into my family and my world. You wouldn't have had that job if it weren't for me."
His eyes looked as if they went out of focus for a minute, then he doubled over and threw up what looked like several hundred dollars' worth of expensive liquor. Allie's breath hissed out from between her teeth.
"I don't even know why I bother," she said, her face burning from what Carter had insinuated about her capabilities as a professional. Well, he hadn't actually implied—he'd been very clear about how he felt about her.
"Get out," Allie said, pointing to the door. "I can't keep wasting my time, money, and energy on you and your family, and I just can't do this anymore. You and I aren't supposed to be together."
Suddenly appearing much more sober, Carter slowly stood up.
She thought he was going to plead or throw something, but Carter didn't say anything. He just walked past her and closed the broken door behind him.
"He'll be back," she assured herself as she tried to muster up the energy to clean up the worst of the mess.
Allie knew she should call him or text him. She almost did,
but Jack's words, and even Brandy's words, flew around in her head, telling her she wasn't good enough for Carter and she didn't belong in his world. She wasn't the type of girl he wanted, deep down, or his family wanted. Some obstacles were too much to overcome.
Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. The whole thing with Carter—the nice cars, the beautiful houses, the money, the fancy parties—it didn't seem real, had never seemed real. Being with Carter had always felt a little too easy. And Allie knew her life wasn't supposed to be easy.
72
Carter
As he walked back to the penthouse in the chilly evening, Carter felt more and more alarmed as he sobered up. Had he really said those hurtful things to Allie?
"What were you thinking?" he yelled out to himself.
"Woman troubles?" an old man who was smoking on his front stoop said to him.
"Of course," Carter said.
"People think flowers are good, but pizza and wine are the way to go," the man offered.
"Thanks," Carter said weakly. "I'll keep that in mind."
He didn't think pizza and alcohol were going to cut it. He couldn't face Allie the next day, plus he felt sick from his binge drinking.
Grant didn't want to babysit him, so he packed him in a car back to New Cardiff.
"What's the matter?" Nancy said to him when he arrived, leading him to the table, where a steaming bowl of soup waited for him.
"Allie," he said after a moment.
Nancy gave him a sympathetic look as Walter and Jack walked into the sunroom.
"Sometimes when two people experience a traumatic event together, it can either bring them closer together or push them way apart," Walter told him, patting him on the shoulder.
"Allie doesn't strike me as the type of person to get too shook up about a kidnapping," Nancy said. "Something else must have happened."
Carter stirred his soup around.
"I'm sure she'll come around," Jack said blandly.
Walter looked at Jack. "What did you do?"
"Nothing," he said, holding up his hands.