1
Tell Me
(Part 3)
Lost in her daydreams of handcuffs and possibility, Abby didn't notice when someone crept up behind her.
"Excuse me, you're in my way," the familiar voice said gruffly. She jumped to attention and already felt the smirk reach her face from ear to ear. Tongue in cheek she said,
"I was just thinking about you." Carter did not look amused. She noted that he in fact looked quite irritated with her. She felt the quick shower of doubt cover her heart. The doubt was trying to force the previous moments heart swelling down to a slow, steady, normal beat. She could tell it wasn't working as she looked up at him hopefully and heard the pounding of it in her ears. She hoped he couldn't hear it too, and felt a blush rush over her entire body. Even she could see how much her eyes at that moment must resemble those of a helpless puppy. "Well if you're still thinking I'm going to help you hold up that liquor store around the corner from your house, you've got another thing coming" He answered her gaze curtly.
"Carter..,"
"Abby..,"
"Listen Carter, I'd like to talk to you about that when.."
She was interrupted by Dr. Weaver, "Carter, Abby, get to work, you're not getting paid to sit around discussing the weather!"
"Actually we were discussing the amazing Chicago Bulls," Carter quipped, rolling his eyes and starting to walk away from Abby.
"Later?" she called after him. He continued to walk down the hallway and she remained still, standing there, staring at his back. She saw him take a deep breath and square his shoulders. He stopped walking then and turned around slowly to face her.
"Yeah. Later, Abby,… As always."
His words leapt out at her and they struck just as if she had been hit, hard. No, she thought, no. I'm not going to let this situation with Carter affect all the good things that I've created for myself over these past weeks. He's going to listen to what I have to say whether he likes it or not. The game stops here.
Carter went about the rest of his shift in an irritated haze. He felt his agitation creep up on him again and again. Over and over he dealt with patients who came in with minimal injuries, but huge complaints. He was having trouble controlling his temper. He certainly had something to complain about. She was supposed to be his goddamned sponsor! Why was she drinking again? This had been festering for weeks within his mind and in the past few days he could feel it directly affecting his soul. She had been avoiding him for weeks after he had initially found out about it. What was worse, she acted as if she didn't owe him any explanation at all and went about her business at work assisting him in trauma as if he were anybody else. The woman puzzled him. He had tried to speak up to her numerous times, at first he was confrontational and then he took a lighter approach. She remained calm each time he approached her, but he took this calm as indifference to him, to his support, his friendship. She didn't tell him to back off, but she didn't pretend that she was listening to him either. She simply stood before him as he talked at her, and stared at the ground, at his feet, at the sky, at the people passing in the halls. He felt mounting frustration each time he finished his "lecture" of sorts, and the small smile crept to the corners of her mouth as she walked away from him, released from school and released from him, the teacher. How could she pretend that this was not a big deal? And how did she expect him to remain unaffected and calm, not caring about what happened to her, or how far she had come in being sober for 6 years. Well now suddenly, after these long weeks had gone by, after he had been tormented with worry each night, only to be relieved the next day to see her come strolling into work in one piece, (and much to his dismay, with a most devastating glow about her) after she had ignored him, and made it clear she didn't want him in her life, she was behaving playfully? Carelessly? Oh yeah, they'd talk later, and he would definitely find words this time to tell her what he thought of her and she was going to listen to him whether she liked it or not. The game stops here.
Tell Me
(Part 3)
Lost in her daydreams of handcuffs and possibility, Abby didn't notice when someone crept up behind her.
"Excuse me, you're in my way," the familiar voice said gruffly. She jumped to attention and already felt the smirk reach her face from ear to ear. Tongue in cheek she said,
"I was just thinking about you." Carter did not look amused. She noted that he in fact looked quite irritated with her. She felt the quick shower of doubt cover her heart. The doubt was trying to force the previous moments heart swelling down to a slow, steady, normal beat. She could tell it wasn't working as she looked up at him hopefully and heard the pounding of it in her ears. She hoped he couldn't hear it too, and felt a blush rush over her entire body. Even she could see how much her eyes at that moment must resemble those of a helpless puppy. "Well if you're still thinking I'm going to help you hold up that liquor store around the corner from your house, you've got another thing coming" He answered her gaze curtly.
"Carter..,"
"Abby..,"
"Listen Carter, I'd like to talk to you about that when.."
She was interrupted by Dr. Weaver, "Carter, Abby, get to work, you're not getting paid to sit around discussing the weather!"
"Actually we were discussing the amazing Chicago Bulls," Carter quipped, rolling his eyes and starting to walk away from Abby.
"Later?" she called after him. He continued to walk down the hallway and she remained still, standing there, staring at his back. She saw him take a deep breath and square his shoulders. He stopped walking then and turned around slowly to face her.
"Yeah. Later, Abby,… As always."
His words leapt out at her and they struck just as if she had been hit, hard. No, she thought, no. I'm not going to let this situation with Carter affect all the good things that I've created for myself over these past weeks. He's going to listen to what I have to say whether he likes it or not. The game stops here.
Carter went about the rest of his shift in an irritated haze. He felt his agitation creep up on him again and again. Over and over he dealt with patients who came in with minimal injuries, but huge complaints. He was having trouble controlling his temper. He certainly had something to complain about. She was supposed to be his goddamned sponsor! Why was she drinking again? This had been festering for weeks within his mind and in the past few days he could feel it directly affecting his soul. She had been avoiding him for weeks after he had initially found out about it. What was worse, she acted as if she didn't owe him any explanation at all and went about her business at work assisting him in trauma as if he were anybody else. The woman puzzled him. He had tried to speak up to her numerous times, at first he was confrontational and then he took a lighter approach. She remained calm each time he approached her, but he took this calm as indifference to him, to his support, his friendship. She didn't tell him to back off, but she didn't pretend that she was listening to him either. She simply stood before him as he talked at her, and stared at the ground, at his feet, at the sky, at the people passing in the halls. He felt mounting frustration each time he finished his "lecture" of sorts, and the small smile crept to the corners of her mouth as she walked away from him, released from school and released from him, the teacher. How could she pretend that this was not a big deal? And how did she expect him to remain unaffected and calm, not caring about what happened to her, or how far she had come in being sober for 6 years. Well now suddenly, after these long weeks had gone by, after he had been tormented with worry each night, only to be relieved the next day to see her come strolling into work in one piece, (and much to his dismay, with a most devastating glow about her) after she had ignored him, and made it clear she didn't want him in her life, she was behaving playfully? Carelessly? Oh yeah, they'd talk later, and he would definitely find words this time to tell her what he thought of her and she was going to listen to him whether she liked it or not. The game stops here.