"I'm sorry. It's my entire fault. I should have called you when Freddie came by. I should have driven faster." Spencer apologized.
"No Spencer. It was mine. I messed up. I was so stupid not to realize it earlier." She said in-between sobs. She was tired from all the running and she was hurt real bad.
"Shhh. Come on. Let's go home."
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Carly didn't talk during their ride home. She didn't know what to say or what to do now that Freddie's gone. She just looked outside the window with tears continuously flowing from her eyes praying that Freddie would come back for her.
"Carls…" Spencer whispered as he touched her hand. Carly looked at him but didn't respond. She couldn't because the damn tears just won't stop.
"Everything will be okay. Sam and I are still here." He continued.
This made Carly smile though. She believed him. She knew she could get through this but she also knew she would have to endure so much pain to live her life normally like she used to. After all, nothing would ever be the same without Freddie.
Carly's thoughts were cut-off by her iphone. She immediately reached for her bag and grabbed her phone to see who was calling. She wished it to be Freddie but that was impossible since he was on a plane. She somehow felt relieved when she saw Sam's name appear on the screen.
"Sam…" she whispered.
"Carls. What happened?" Sam asked her. She knew something was wrong judging from Carly's voice and the sobs Carly thought she couldn't hear.
"We didn't make it… He's gone… I'll talk to you later. We're almost home now." As Carly recited each word, she began to cry again. She immediately ended the call not even hearing what Sam had to say.
----
Carly opened the knob of their apartment door. Spencer just dropped her off and went to the mall to buy some art supplies.
She spotted Sam sitting on their couch and watching some TV. When Sam noticed her, she immediately turned it off and run towards Carly who seemed out of the real world at the moment.
Sam led Carly to the couch and made her sit. She was hurt seeing her best friend suffer like this. She seemed so lifeless. Her eyes were red and she looked pale. It was as if she'd been crying the whole ride home.
She hugged her. Carly started crying again. Sam didn't say anything until Carly calmed down.
"Carly…" Sam whispered as she broke the hug. She looked at her best friend.
"He's gone Sam. Please don't tell me everything's gonna be fine because I know it isn't. Please…" Carly begged. She didn't want anyone to give her false hopes. It would just hurt her more.
"Man! You really love him don't you?" Sam asked her. She knew Carly liked Freddie but she had no idea until now how much Carly was hurt.
"Yes… I… I love him. But it's too late now. I'm stupid Sam. I should have realized it earlier. If I did, Freddie would still be here… I messed up! I'm so stupid! I'm in love with him! I'm in love with Freddie!" Carly yelled as she lost control. She wanted everything out of her chest.
"Carly…" Sam whispered again hoping that Carly would stop crying. "Carls… Please stop crying."
"It hurts Sam… It hurts a lot." Carly answered as she wiped her tears with her fingers.
"I know Carls. Listen…" before Sam could continue, Carly spoke again.
"I don't know what to do. I'll just be a burden to you and to my brother. I don't know if I could be me again. Freddie's gone… I…" she was now being paranoid. Sam understood her but she had enough. She had to tell her.
"Carlotta!!! Freddie's here!" She yelled at her.
"I know Sam. He's go—Whaaaaaaaaat?" Carly looked at her. She wasn't sure if she heard it right. Sam had told her that Freddie was there and she was shocked. She didn't want to believe her but Sam would never play games with her. She knew she was hurt.
"He's here…" Sam answered and before Carly could speak again, Freddie came out from the kitchen. The girls both looked at him with different reactions. Sam was smiling at him as if she was encouraging him and Carly was just staring with her jaw dropped and eyes open wide.
Carly could not believe her eyes. He could see Freddie staring at her with passion in his eyes. She could tell that there were fresh tears on his cheek. He was crying too.
"You two talk. I'll be in the studio." Sam broke the silence as she stood up from the couch and ran towards the elevator to push its button. She looked at Carly and smiled at her best friend who was still shocked. She looked at Freddie then and gave him a smile before going inside.
"Carly…" Freddie spoke first as he made his way towards her who was still sitting on the couch. She wasn't moving but her eyes were following him.
Carly stood up and hugged him when he stood near her. He didn't expect it but he hugged her back. He could hear her sobs again.
"You're crying again." He whispered to her as he kissed her hair. She buried her face in his shoulder. She didn't respond. She just wanted to hold him. If this was just another dream, she'd make the most out of it.
They just stood there swaying with no music as they hugged each other. Carly eventually stopped crying and when she did, she let go.
"I thought you were gone Freddie. I thought I lost you." She told him.
"Yeah. About that…" Freddie started to explain what really happened.
FLASHBACK:
Sam couldn't go back to sleep so she went down the living room and just started watching TV. It had been 20 minutes since the siblings left.
She was flipping through the channels when she heard a knock on the door.
"Great. Another disturbance!" she exclaimed as she lazily stood up and opened the door ready to yell at the person in front of her but when she finally saw who it was, she was more shocked than aggravated..
"Hi!" he greeted her with a shy smile.
"What are you doing here Fredward? You're supposed to be at the airport!" she told him as she let him in.
Freddie sat down on the couch and started explaining things to Sam.
"I… I came back for Carly. Is she here?" he asked her as he looked around to see if Carly was there but she was nowhere to be found.
"Carly and Spencer are at the airport catching your flight!" she yelled at him.
"What? Why?" Freddie was shocked but he kept himself calm.
"Carly wanted to tell you something before you leave. Apparently, you promised her last night that you would see each other again before you head to the airport but we overslept so there…" she explained as she took the sit beside him.
Freddie absorbed Sam's words and he nodded. There was no reason for him to be said. He was happy in fact, happy and excited. He couldn't wait to see Carly. He wanted to tell her that he's staying for good.
"I better call Carly." Sam whispered as she grabbed her phone on the coffee table and started dialing her best friend's number.
"Sam…" she whispered.
"Carls. What happened?" Sam asked her. She knew something was wrong judging from the Carly's voice and the sobs Carly thought she couldn't hear.
"We didn't make it… He's gone… I'll talk to you later. We're almost home now." As Carly recited each word, she began to cry again. She immediately ended the call not even hearing what Sam had to say.
"Why didn't you tell her I was here?" Freddie asked Sam.
"Ugh. She won't even let me talk. Gee Fredward, what did you do to her? She seemed so upset. No doubt she was crying. Anyway, they'll be here soon." Sam replied as she stood up and grabbed Freddie's arms and pulled him towards the kitchen.
"Sam! What are you doing?" he yelled at her as he was forced to follow Sam.
"I can't take this anymore. I want this to be over. Stay there in the kitchen and don't come out until I tell you to!" she warned him.
"But I have to see Carly!" Freddie tried to reason out but he saw Sam glare at him.
"Shut up and be quiet! You'll thank me for this. You'll see." Sam said as she went back to the living room. "Oh, and if you try to come out as soon as Carly's here, I'm gonna punch you real hard Freddie! Real hard…" she yelled at him.
END OF FLASHBACK
"We owe Sam one." Carly smiled after hearing Freddie's story. She was now happy
Freddie stepped closer to her and wiped the remaining tears on cheeks.
"Carly…" he whispered.
"Freddie… I can't take it anymore. I wanted to tell you something." Carly said as she grabbed his hand from her face and held it tight.
"What is it?" Freddie asked her.
"I love you Freddie. No, I'm in love with you." She confessed as she looked at him straight in the eyes.
Freddie's lips started to form a smile. "You don't know how long I've waited for you to say that Carly."
"I'm sorry it took me this long to realize and finally say it." She replied looking down at the floor. Freddie let go of her hand and lifted her chin. He leaned forward and closed his eyes as he brushed his lips with hers.
Carly was nervous as Freddie leaned forward to kiss her. She knew he waited for this for a long time so she put aside her feelings and she found herself kissing him back.
"So…" she giggled as they broke apart. She led him to the couch and both sat down still holding each other's hand. "Are you here for good?"
"Yup. It took all my courage to tell my mom I wanted to stay when we arrived at the airport. She was furious at first but I guess she realized it was time to let me be on my own. " He explained while tracing circles on the back of her hand as Carly listened to what he was saying.
"Wow. That's a first." she smiled at him.
"Yeah. I told her my reasons of course."
"What did you tell her?"
"I told her that I'd rather wait for you than be away from you." He replied as he looked at her and smiled. "I realized that I loved loving you. It's true that it hurts to be just your best friend but I'd take it. The thought of being away from you almost killed me Carls. I couldn't stand it." He added seriously.
Carly smiled at him and gave him a nose kiss which made him lose his seriousness. He remembered the time when she first gave him one during their web show. He almost melted that time.
"I thought you wanted to be away from me. What made you realize you want to wait?" she asked curiously.
"You may not believe this but… I had a dream last night." Freddie answered.
"Really?" She remembered her own dream. The dream that made her realize her feelings for him. "What was it about?" she asked curiously.
"In my dream, I flew to Paris and came back after five years. I was miserable Carls so I came back for you to tell you that I wasn't able to move on and that I was still in love with you. When I arrived here to surprise you, you were shocked but happy to see me. I thought I still had a chance but when you let me in, I saw him and you introduced us to each other." He told her sadly. That dream was more than a nightmare to him. It wasn't pleasant at all but he was thankful for it.
"Him? Who?" Carly asked eagerly though she was confused. She wanted to know what his dream was about. She was amused.
"Your fiancé." He continued.
Carly smiled at him. It was just like her dream.
"I love you Carly." He whispered when he saw her lost in her thoughts.
"I love you too." she answered.
Freddie and Carly leaned in for another kiss but they pulled away when they heard the elevator.
"What's taking you guys so long??" Sam yelled as she got out of the elevator. Before Freddie and Carly could answer…
"Whoa! What did I miss?" Spencer exclaimed as soon as he got inside the apartment holding his bag of art supplies from the mall.
Freddie and Carly just looked at each other and started laughing.
They're in love all right and they both knew it now that reality was finally better than their dreams.
THE END.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Sorry if this isn't that good. I had a hard time writing this chapter. Glad I was able to finish it. Sorry for the errors though.
I'm gonna miss writing Creddie stories but I have to focus on my studies FOR NOW. I'm definitely coming back. ^_^
Thanks for everyone who read this story and my other two stories. Thanks also to those who reviewed.
Until next time! ^_^