Priorities:
Thankfully the next day she actually arrived to work on time, she was even early which seemed to impress Lieutenant Tanner and Detective Holbrook who were in Tanner's office discussing Carly's first week of shifts regarding her performance and progress. She hoped it was going to all be good since she had been working her ass off since she had first got here. She had made sure all work was completed thoroughly and on time, made she was prepared for any tasks that could be thrown randomly at her and was even anticipating going along with the cops and detectives on assignments.
It had been a couple of hours into her shift when Holbrook remerged from Tanner's office with his usual charming smile on his face, he was carrying a folder in his hands and his cell phone in the other.
Carly looked up at him as he entered the office causing him to chuckle slightly at her observant eyes that morning. She had been watching him like a hawk all morning come in and out of Tanner's office waiting to hear of any form of information of how her review was going. She just wanted to know if they were happy with her so far and if she had a greater chance of staying at the station.
"I bet you're waiting to know what Linda and I were discussing." Holbrook smirked at her as he laid the folder on the table alongside his phone and closed the office door behind him.
"Of course I am." Carly stated like she was stating the obvious to him. Of course she wanted to know.
"Well good news is we can't see any problems with having you here. You've been a great member of the team, you're getting work done on time and to a good standard, you've haven't been slacking, you remained calm and didn't freak out when we've you took you to crime scenes." Holbrook explained walking over to her side of the desk where he leant up against the side of it and folded his arms. "You're determined, motivated and have the right attitude for the job."
"Why thank you." Carly smiled up at him from her seat. She was ecstatic to hear that and it finally felt like her hard work was paying off. It was such a confidence boost.
"The bad news is that it looks like you're going to be seeing a lot more of me then." He teased with his usual flirty tone.
She rolled her eyes playfully and scoffed at him "Unfortunately I am."
"You love being around me really." Holbrook joked as he laid his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly.
"Yeah of course." She said half sarcastically and half seriously as she brushed away his hand. She did enjoy having his company since he was easy to be around and she got on with him well. But she didn't know if she could hack his flirtatiousness all the time, was he ever going to stop?
"Also we discussed the option of having you come out on more investigations at crime scenes and questionings," Holbrook told her taking his hand away as her eyebrows raised excitedly. "We both agreed that it would be good for you to gain more experience so expect to be spending more time away from the station over the next few weeks."
"Really? That's great." Carly beamed with a massive grin. She was so happy she was getting the chance to get involved.
He returned the smile back at her, before standing back up from the table and going over to his side of the desk. He took a seat down on his chair and looked over at her after he noticed she was still looking at him.
"What are you looking at?" Holbrook asked with a slight frown as he opened up a file to read.
"What are you on about?" Carly laughed shaking her head amused "The one time I look at you properly and you're so quick to question me. What about all those times you've been staring at me and I've never said anything."
"I don't know what you're on about Miss Monroe…" He tried to ignore her attempts at making him admit to have been staring at her on more than one occasion but failed when he broke out into a smirk.
"Don't pretend with me." Carly spat back at him jokingly as she burst into another fit of laughter.
"I can't help it if stare at an attractive young women can I?" Holbrook said casually causing her to stop laughing instantly.
She never thought she would hear him tell her that he found her attractive let alone do it so confidently and coolly like nothing mattered. She had always thought his charismatic personality was in his nature and his look at her had been more of observations of her work. She had no idea he actually thought she was good looking and seemed slightly interested? He had to be kidding.
"Don't be silly." Carly replied shyly.
She hadn't felt this shy around him since her first day at the station but even then she had an ounce of confidence to her when she spoke. She wanted to impress him but now she just felt hopeless and unsure of how to react. She had never been good with guys who were interested in her apart from one.
"What you think I'm joking?" Holbrook questioned and she kept quiet. "Believe me; I have tried to stop myself from asking you out on a number of occasions because sometimes I'm not sure what you feel."
"You have?"
Detective Holbrook nodded back at her as she rolled her eyes to the floor and away from him, feeling somewhat awkward and embarrassed to be left in this situation. Why did this have to happen?
"Go out with me." Holbrook proposed filling the silence that had took over for the past few seconds causing her to look at him in confusion.
"What?"
"I said go out with me." Holbrook repeated causing Carly to shake her head slightly not liking where this was going. "I'm asking you out to go out for dinner with me tonight."
She really did not know how to respond to that. It wasn't like that she didn't want to go or that she didn't like him, because if she was some normal woman who had been in previous relationships and was looking for someone new, then she might have said yes and been ecstatic.
But she wasn't. She had never been in a serious relationship. She had been on dates, seen people and had a bumpy reckless emotional past with Jason. There was no part of her that was capable of being in a relationship. Sure she thought Holbrook was ridiculously good looking, he had a stable job, he had a charming personality, and he was always supportive and seemed caring. But Carly was just not ready for this whatsoever. She had only just moved back to town.
"I don't think that's such a good idea," Carly answered him with a hint of guilt in her voice. She really did hate disappointing people but that seemed to be one of the things she did the most. "I really don't want to mix work and relationships."
"It's not like I'm asking you to marry me, Miss Monroe," Holbrook teased as he leant his elbows against the table. "I just wanted to take you out to dinner."
"As I said I don't want to mix work with social activities." Carly reminded him.
Holbrook sighed in defeat before getting up from his spot and taking the file with him. She flashed him an apologetic smile as he looked over at her once again with a hurt expression.
Going over to the door, he pulled it open but turned his body slightly to face hers "The offers still there if you change your mind. You've got my number."
She nodded at him before he decided to leave and left here alone in the office to get on with the rest of the admin work she had to do for that day. She couldn't help but feel confusion as to how the hell she managed to get herself into these types of situations. She didn't quite plan on any of this happening when she came back to Rosewood. She thought she would keep herself to herself and live in constant routine. But there was always unpredicted mixes being thrown into her life.
Later on in the day after finishing work, Carly headed over to the local bakery to pick up her Dad some of his favourite pastries. She hadn't spoken to him since the incident after funeral; she had not even received a text message or phone call from him during that time, so it was a bit strange to not hear from him.
Carly still felt terrible about the way she acted towards her Dad and hated how she was always taking out her anger on him. She knew she shouldn't do it, that it was wrong when he was just trying to guide her in the right direction and stop her from falling back into old habits.
But she had every right to be angry with him at times. In order for her to move forward and be able to get over certain sensitive subjects, she needed her Dad to trust her and allow her to make bad choices, before she can realise the good, because everyone always does learn from their mistakes and she was no different to the rest.
She knew her Dad would not come to her and beg for her forgiveness because he was tough like that. He had to be when his daughter had been through the types of things she had. He had to be strong with her, he couldn't let her off easily, he had to set strict rules and if she didn't follow them then there would be consequences.
Carly understood this despite being her an independent adult now, but she knew if her Dad ever found out about the night she spent with Jason just recently, he would send her packing and get her on the next plane out of Rosewood. She didn't want to have to leave Rosewood again when she had just got back. So she had to promise herself to not let that one slip out and make sure that he never found out. Everything was done now with Jason anyway.
After picking up the pastries, Carly hopped back in her car and began the drive over to her Dad's house. The same house that use to be the house she grew up in and spend the whole of childhood up to her teen years living in. She was definitely feeling nervous about going back there since she hadn't been there since the morning she left town when she was eighteen years old.
She was now twenty one years old. She was a trainee detective. She had been to college. She had met new friends. She had gotten over the reckless damaged side of herself. Now she was left with a lot of guilt and anxiety about her old past, as well as her secrets coming out. But she was stronger now. She was a lot more mature, she was aware of her actions and she could cope a lot better. Plus she had to face her house someday. She couldn't hide away forever. And this would be a great chance for her to keep progressing.
Around twenty minutes later, Carly turned down her old street and pulled up outside the family home she used to live in. She slowly cut off the engine before pulling off her seat belt and looking up at the house through the window, the butterflies of nerves growing in the bottom of her stomach.
Everything about the house still looked the same. The house was still painted a pale blue colour; the white windows at the front of the house were closed with the same curtains draped round the inside, the white front door was still the same as well with two flower pots outside of it next to the door mat, the rose bushes that lined the outside yard were beginning to get over grown but the grass still remained neat. She knew her Dad liked to do some gardening when he had time off but she doubted he got a lot of that anymore. He was always so busy.
She was thankful that her Dad's car was parked in the drive way in the same spot like it always use to be, signalling that he was at home and that he wasn't at work. This meant that she would be able to try talk to him and apologise for what happened the other day. Then she would be back on good terms with him and could get rid of the bad feelings she felt between them.
Gradually Carly climbed out of her car bringing her bag and the pastry box with her. Before making her way up the garden path that led up to the front door, she locked up her car and took a deep breath. Once she reached the front door, she was debating whether or not to ring the bell or just come inside, since her Dad had given her a key if she ever needed to pop over or in case of an emergency. But she felt rude if she just wondered inside since it wasn't exactly her home anymore. She hadn't lived there in three whole years.
As she was about to ring the doorbell a voice calling her name pulled her away from the door and to the side of the house, where her Dad came from around the corner carrying a set of hedge sheers in his hand and a confused expression on his face to see his daughter outside his home.
"What are you doing here?" He asked as he came over to her more and it was then she noticed he was dressed in a casual pair of trousers and a loose shirt, as opposed to his usual attire of a suit or doctor scrubs.
She flashed him a shy smile as she wiggled the box of pastries up in the air "I thought I owed you an apology, so I bought over some of your favourites."
"You didn't have to do that Carls," John shook his head with a small smile as he wrapped his arm around his daughters back. "Come on let's head inside, I'll make you a cup of coffee."
She returned the smile as she let him lead him to the side entrance of the house which led through into the kitchen area. Just like the outside of the house, the kitchen still looked the same, the taupe coloured walls and the dark brown wooden flooring were the bases of the kitchen, alongside the white cabinets and grey marble surfaces, silver and red appliances, in the middle was an island and seats under so it could be used as a breakfast bar. Everything was just like what it was when she still lived there. It somehow was like she had never left.
Her Dad closed up the back door and went over to flick on the kettle to make them a drink. Carly found herself sighing as placed the box onto the work surface before she took in the kitchen space she once use eat all her main meals in and sometimes use to bake sugary treats in when she was kid. She couldn't believe how much she had changed but everything within the house hadn't, apart from one room in particular, one room that she was planning on avoiding.
"You didn't have to bring me these." John said catching her attention as he picked up the box of goods she got from the bakery.
"I know I didn't have to but I wanted to." She explained to him as she turned to face him more. "I really am sorry Dad. I should have never taken my anger out on you especially after all you've done for me, not just the last few years but my whole life."
John dropped his head slightly after hearing her apology, the corners of his mouth curled up into a small smile as an ounce of proudness came over him. Despite everything his daughter had been through, he was still insanely proud of her for everything she had achieved and was glad he raised such a wonderful person.
"Nonsense, Carls." John brushed off her comment and wondered over to one of the cabinets to retrieve two mugs as the kettle finished boiling. "I'm your father that's my job."
"But I can be so rude to you sometimes." Carly sighed.
"Just forget it," He told her as he poured the boiling water into the two mugs. "Now tell me all about what Tanner and Holbrook said about your performance so far."
"They were really impressed actually. They said I've been working really hard and I handle the job really well," Carly began to explain to him a massive grin appearing on her face as she thought back to Holbrook telling her the good news "Oh and they want to bring me along to more crime scenes and questionings."
"Wow that's Brilliant," Her father beamed excitedly before picking up their drinks and going over to her with them "I'm really proud of you."
"Thanks Dad." Carly grinned back at him as she took the mug from his grasp.
She blew on the liquid before taking a small sip out of the mug as a comfortable silence fell around them. Her eyes still training around the contents of her home where she could see through into the dining room and living space from one of the arch ways out of the kitchen.
"Have you heard much from Brooke since you've been back?" Her father asked breaking the silence.
"Uh yeah we've been emailing, texting and we had a phone call the other night." Carly answered before raising her eyes up at him and giving him a strange look. "On the topic of Brooke, why are you giving her life updates about me?"
"She told you about that?"
"Yes!" Carly exclaimed laying her mug down on the surface beside her. "You don't know how weird it is for to come to terms with that you two text each other on a daily basis."
"Brooke just wants to keep updated."
"Yeah and she can through me." Carly laughed as she rolled her eyes at how strange the situation was that her Dad and her best friend texted each other. "Also why did you tell her about Detective Holbrook?"
"I just told her that you're working with a very charming young detective who has seemed to take a liking to you." John tried to tell her but it wasn't working. Carly was way over dramatic about these times of things.
"Dad I don't even know how you know he has taken a liking to me?" Carly shook her head amused. "But I don't appreciate you trying to set me up with him either."
"Oh come on Carls." John sighed at his daughter. "When are you ever going to give a guy a chance?"
"God you sound like Brooke." Carly groaned running her fingers through her hair.
"Is it so bad that we just want you to find someone?"
"Yes it is when I don't want to be with anybody." She said a little too angrily.
She couldn't help it though. She hated how badly her Dad and her friends always seemed to push her towards guys she wasn't even interested in. She was always way too focused on her career to want to start a relationship.
"Apart from him though."
Carly felt her eyes widen slightly and her chest tighten when she realised who her father was bring up in to the conversation. All Carly could do was hide the nervousness she felt about talking about Jason again after their encounter the other night and replace it with annoyance that her Dad would even mention his name again.
"Don't Dad." Carly shook her head and glanced down at the floor below her. She couldn't believe he had brought up Jason and with so much ease. She thought he had hated him and had to convince him the past few years she did too.
"You know I'm right, being back here is obviously going to bring up a lot of memories and feelings. I understand if you've thought about him." John tried to reason with his daughter, despite his negative feelings about Jason and his involvement with his daughter all those years ago.
Carly choose to remain silent because she couldn't exactly tell her Dad about what happened between her and Jason a couple of days ago, she couldn't tell him that he had turned up at her apartment late at night and basically told her he wanted to have sex with her, in which she went along with and felt so horrible about the following morning. It wasn't exactly the right topic choice for a daughter and father to have.
"But this is a perfect opportunity to move on and find someone new, someone who will treat you right, who won't get you into bad behaviour and won't mess you around."
If this was three years ago, if Carly was still eighteen years old and her Dad was busting her for spending the night over at the DiLaurentis house, then coming home the following morning reeking of booze and with a horrible hangover then she may have actually defended Jason. But things were so much different now and she couldn't do that anymore.
"I get what you're saying Dad but I'm just not focused on relationships right now." Carly informed him taking a large sip out of her coffee as John finished his off.
"I understand especially when you say your career is number one priority."
"Good because Holbrook even asked me out to dinner tonight and I said no."
"What?" Her dad almost yelled at this news. He was being way over dramatic for her liking. Carly couldn't help but roll her eyes as she pulled her drink away from her mouth and went over to the basin to lay her mug inside of it. "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"
"As I mentioned before, it's not on my list of high priorities right now." She replied walking back over to him. "I told him no, he asked why, I told him that I don't want to mix work and relationships, which is true, end of story."
John went to object but Carly quickly held her hand up to stop him "Oh and don't you dare go tell Brooke about this." She added sternly.
"Fine I won't." John sighed and felt defeated about the fact his daughter was the one giving him orders, when he had been the one to give her instructions her whole life, not the other way round.
Carly flashed him a light smile before glancing around the house, unsure of whether or not she wanted to stay here much longer and explore the rest of her house to relive her old life, or to just head home and relax for the rest of the evening.
She honestly had no idea what to do because going back to one of the rooms was a huge step for her in her recovery, seeing all her old possessions and the space she grew up in mainly was going to be hard for her. But she wanted to get over this step.
"Dad." Carly said quietly before he glanced over at her to continue. "Are you working tonight?"
"Yeah the night shift as usual, why do you ask?" John answered with questionable eyes.
"Just wondering." Carly mumbled fiddling awkwardly with the leather on her jacket.
John could see how unsure Carly was about something and he guessed what the might have been. It was one of the subjects they had talked about when Carly had begun looking for jobs back in her old hometown. It was also one of the reasons why Carly had decided to buy her own apartment rather than moving back in with her Dad.
"If you want to go on up and look Carls. Nothing is stopping you apart from your doubts. I believe you can do it." John reassured his daughter as he grabbed her hand from across the surface and gave it a gentle squeeze.
She stared down at their hands for a moment, trying to take in everything that he was saying and tried to push back all the doubts she did have in the back of her mind. To others it probably seemed silly not wanting to go back to your old bedroom you grew up in. But for Carly it was like stepping back into her old life for a split second. It was something she found herself experiencing a lot more of recently and she was quite sure she could handle going back to her old bedroom, even if it was for just a few minutes.
"I'll let you go in your own time. I have a few things to sort out in the office before I start work. If you need me give me a shout." John told her before leaning over and planting a light kiss on her forehead.
She forced a smile onto her lips as she watched him unlink their hands and disappear off out of the kitchen to head to his study that was also downstairs. Exhaling loudly, she gradually made her way out of the kitchen just like her father had seconds before.
Once she was into the hall way of the house, her eyes rolled up to the wooden staircase that led up to the first floor of the house were her old bedroom was situated. Plucking up the courage, she began her journey up the stairs until she reached the landing.
A few steps onto the landing she came to her the bedroom door that she use to enter and exit a number of times throughout the day as a child till her teen years. It was a strange experience for her standing in front of the door because it felt like she had never left, but also it was like she was reliving her past all over again.
Her hand slowly came up take hold of the handle and after a few seconds of hesitation, Carly pushed it open before taking small steps into the room. Once she was inside she quietly closed the door behind herself and stood on the spot for a few minutes just taking in the sight she saw. Her eyes glanced around at the bright blue walls that used to have posters on of all the things she was obsessed with in her teen years, but were now bare and the paint work was chipping off.
The room was more spacious than what she had remembered of her last time there. It was pretty much empty now despite the double bed and mattress she used to sleep upon, a number of boxes were spread over the cream carpet packed up of old clothes, old shoes, school work and other objects her father couldn't bear to throw out yet without her permission.
The only piece of furniture that remained apart from her old bed was the set of draws on the right hand side of the room. Sitting on top of the surface of the draws was a few photo frames positioned neatly across the top, dust had fallen on the wood of the draws and on top of the frames. However it didn't matter to Carly, since what was inside those frames was more important to her.
She slowly wondered over to the photos before she picked up one of the frames and took a long hard look at it. The picture she was holding was an image of her and two of her friends from high school on the day of their graduation. She had been friends with these two girls, Annie and Katie since middle school through into high school.
They had been so close pretty every single year until Carly began to get involved with the wrong crowd. At first Carly tried to juggle the two side of her social life which involved meeting up with her two best friends for study sessions or to just simply hang out, as well as going out to parties at the weekend, hanging out with Melissa and getting involved with Jason.
It had worked the first few months until her friends began to notice a change in Carly, especially when she use to cancel her plans with her friends to go be with the older group of friends she had made. It had bothered them at first when they had found out the real reason why Carly was seeing them less and less. But towards the end of it, they knew that once high school was over, they would be going their separate ways anyway and would hardly see one another.
And for that reason they decided to remain civil with Carly and allow her to venture off if she wanted to. Because at the end of the day they couldn't stop her and once they were all at college, they had their careers to think about it. But for the final day of high school, the graduation ceremony they had come together again as friends for one last time.
Smiling slightly, she laid the photo back down onto the draws and her eyes scanned the other two pictures. One of them was a picture of her and her father at his fortieth birthday party, she had only been fourteen at the time, her light brown hair was hooked behind her ears and flicked out at the ends, she had a massive grin on her that shew off the braces on her teeth and she was hugging her father tightly. She missed how happy and innocent she looked there. It was the same on the other picture of her and her grandma who she sadly lost around five years ago. However on this picture she just a baby and her grandma was holding her in her arms. She wondered if her grandma would have been proud of the obstacles she had gotten over and where she was at right now.
Blinking back the tears that had formed in her eyes, she shook her head and with a small smile before she turned away. Almost instantly something caught her eye sticking out from under the side of her bed and she felt her heart speed up when she figured out what it was.
Moving over to the bed, she bent down onto the ground to pick up the box and bring it back up to the mattress. She laid it down on the mattress and took a seat down beside it. Her fingers quickly pulled open the two latches of the box to reveal an assortment of different items that had been from that year before she left to go to college. She knew she shouldn't have looked it in there but she couldn't help herself. If she had to get over her past and Jason, then this could be a good way of letting it go.
Reaching into the box, she pulled out a pile of photos that had an elastic band around them to keep them all together. Carefully she untied that elastic band and began to flick through the old photographs. Most of them were pictures she had took over the course of her senior year when she had hung out with Jason and his friends, as well as Melissa.
In pretty much every single one, someone in the picture had been drunk and the rest of the group of them tipsy. She found herself smiling a little as she reminded herself of some of the happier times when she had hung out with her older friends. The smiles on their faces could only mask the real issues that were going on between them at the time.
One image in particular made Carly's heart sink a little. It was taken at the beginning of the summer when they had hung one summer evening out in the woods that backed onto the DiLaurentis and Hastings properties. Jason was sat up against a tree trunk, dressed in a grey and navy blue coloured long sleeved t-shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of blue jeans, his hair was longer than it was now and perched in between the middle of his legs with his arms around her front was Carly.
She was dressed in a pair of dark blue denim shorts, a dark blue and grey plaid shirt and a tight fitted V-neck tank top, her light hair was plaited to the left side of her face and she was wearing a light covering of makeup. Both she and Jason were grinning up at the camera, that she could remember Ian was holding at the time, he always seemed to be carrying some form of recording equipment. They both looked happy together and probably were even a little buzzed. They looked like they didn't have a care in the world and Carly missed that.
It wasn't only how close and content they looked in an embrace like that what upset her; it was the fact that on her wrist was a burgundy coloured rubber bracelet. Her eyes widened a little when she saw it, it wasn't long before she put the photos down and was searching through the cardboard box again.
Her hands gradually came up out of the box moments later, her fingers hooked around the rubber material that was once Jason's bracelet and what he had given to her one day, it made her chest tighten and the tears from before to reappear in her eyes once again.
She had hated that day with a passion. It was the same day Jason had got back with his ex-girlfriend, Cece Drake. The two girls had never seen eye to eye simply because Cece thought of Carly as a threat and Carly saw her as someone who tried to ruin Jason at every given opportunity. She saw right past her fake sweet attitude and saw a cold hard bitch who couldn't take rejection or being in the wrong.
That bracelet seemed like another reminder to her of how messed up her life was back then. It was like another punch in the face of why she should have been getting rid of this part of her life for good. She had got over the major issues and next on her list was moving on from Jason.
And after seeing that bracelet, the memory of Jason and Cece was enough for Carly to throw the bracelet and including the pictures back into the box messily. She quickly closed the lid of the box and shoved it back under the bed out of sight, as well as hopefully out of mind.
She couldn't keep doing this to herself. It was time to get over him. Whatever the hell was holding her back needed to get lost. She had to do something fast before she broke and she couldn't do that because she had been acting so strong for so long now. She couldn't let her dad hear her break again.
Standing up off the bed, she fought off the urge to cry or take out her anger on something in the room. She pulled her phone out from the pocket of her blazer and scrolled through her contacts until she found one number in particular.
Pressing the call button, she brought the device up to her ear before waiting to hear the dialling tone end. Within a couple of seconds, the ringing stopped and a voice picked up on the other end of the call.
"Hey Gabe, it's me Carly." She breathed letting out all her negative emotions. "I would like to take you up on the offer of that date." The frown from before was replaced with a slight smile. "Great so I'll see you at Rive Gauche around eight."
After she heard the other person agree to meet her then and bided her goodbye, she took the phone away from her ear and hung up. A light sigh escape her lips as she spun around on her heels to exit her old bedroom room, as well as exit her past once and for all.
Tonight was exactly what she needed to move on. All she could do was try at least, even if it was going to be unfamiliar territory to her and perhaps a little awkward. But if she remained focused and forgot about her horrid past, then maybe just maybe it might actually work.
Tonight was the night she got over Jason once and for all.
Author note: I hope you enjoyed this part. As I keep saying, this is not the end for Carly and Jason. It someways it is only just the beginning.
I love hearing what you guys think and I really appreciate it if you take the time to review, favourite or follow so thank you to RHatch89, LiLuLo12, LittleLiar, 15ls, HOAfan8509, Nia253 and RosePetals41 for doing that.
If you wish to do so, then let me know your thoughts on this part and where you think this story is headed.
Many thanks for reading
xx
