Chapter Three - A Perfect Disaster

The next day I slept late. When I woke up I heard to T.V on in the living room. It was one o'clock in the afternoon. Dad would be home in a few hours.

"Good afternoon," I said to Lana. I was surprised to see she was still here.

"Hey," she said, smiling slightly.

"Have a headache?" I asked, sitting down beside her.

"Yeah, I got some aspirin," she said.

"Hey, where's Jesse?" I asked.

"He went to meet someone named Kristen," she answered.

I had forgotten all about Jesse's big date. It must have gone well it he was seeing her again so soon.

"What happened to you last night?" I asked.

Lana glanced at me quickly. She didn't answer for a moment and then she spoke, "I hung out with Nathan," she mumbled.

"Nathan Beck?" I asked incredulously.

She just nodded.

Carter told me she had found someone else more to her liking. Nathan Beck was more to her liking? She had officially lost her mind.

"What were you doing with him?" I asked, turning to face her.

"We drank, smoked a little weed, I don't know," she said.

"You are crazy," I said shaking my head, "Do you know where I found you?"

She stared at me, she didn't remember.

"You were naked in a little kids room," I told her.

Her eyes widened and she groaned, "Ohhh, what have I done?"

"Nothing good," I said.

"I better just go home," she said standing up. She was still wearing her outfit form the night before.

"Call me later," I told her as she left.

I wasn't too surprised about Lana's party adventure. She got herself into the worst situations and she really had no one to blame but herself.

Jesse came home a little while later.

"Sooo," I said nudging him, "How was it?"

"Kristen is amazing," he said falling ontot he couch.

I smiled. Seeing him happy made me happy.

Dad was home for dinner. I made his favourite dinner to welcome him. Spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread.

"How was your trip?" I asked him.

He hesitated for a minute and then answered, "Fine. Great."

"Great? Really, I didn't think you liked those conferences," I said.

"Oh, it wasn't so bad," he said, his eyes on his plate.

I frowned. He was acting strangely. He wasn't his usual talkative self.

"Did you guys have a good time this weekend?" he asked.

I glanced at Jesse. I hadn't discussed it with him but I hoped he wouldn't tell Dad about the party.

"Yeah, it was nice and quiet," Jesse said.

I didn't like keeping things from my father but nothing had happened to be at the party. It was no big deal. I didn't want Dad to think he couldn't trust me when he was away.

"Good," he said, "Great dinner Lucky,"

"Thanks," I said, grateful for the change in topic.

Dad seemed to work a lot less in the next couple months. He stayed home a lot and didn't have a single weekend conference. We hung out together more often. We went to the movies, out to dinner and just spent more quality time together.

Christmas came and went with the usual present from my grandparents. I got a watch from Jesse and CD's and clothes from my Dad.

The best part of Christmas holidays was hanging out with Carter. We had spoken on the phone a fair bit before but with time off school we had more time to spend together.

He was taking a couple high school classes still so he could get his marks high enough to get into college. He also had to work part time to save money. He wasn't any wealthier than my family. Carter came to be one of my best friends. We talked about everything. Whenever his parents were fighting and he needed to get out of the house, he called me. I almost wondered if he was neglecting his other friends. I asked him about Tony once in awhile and he would just say he was fine and change the subject.

Lana and I didn't drift apart after the party. We stayed as close as ever. She hardly even noticed how close Carter and I had become though. She was too busy being Nathan Beck's girlfriend.

I thought she was crazy to go out with him. He was a druggie. Not exactly a good influence. I worried about Lana all the time even though I knew I shouldn't try to be her mother.

She had changed a little though. She stopped getting into bed with guys on the second date. After Tony's party she couldn't remember if she had sex with anyone or not. Then she didn't get her period for a month. She did end up getting it but it scared her into changing her behaviour.

Jesse finally told Dad about Kristen and we had her over for dinner. I thought she was very beautiful with her dark brown hair and blue eyes and also very friendly. Perfect for Jesse. Dad really seemed to like her too.

On New Year's Eve, Carter asked me to go to his house. He said he didn't want to go to a party; he just wanted a quiet night. I accepted of course. It would be my first time at his house. I wondered if I would meet his parents.

I got my answer when Jesse dropped me off at Carter's house on his way to pick up Kristen. Carter's house was near Tony's' across town from my apartment. It was the same style bungalow. The front yard was a little nicer looking.

There was a white pick up truck in the driveway. There was a light on in the living room and as I walked towards the front door I saw a woman in a black evening gown walk past it. I was about to knock on the door when it was yanked open by a man in his late forties. I could see Carter in him. He had the same cleft chin and light brown hair. He didn't see me standing there and he yelled, "Melissa if you don't get your ass down here right now, I'm leaving without you!"

He whipped his head around and jerked in surprise when he saw me.

"Who are you?" he asked abruptly.

"I'm Lucky, a friend of Carter's," I said, trying not to look as embarrassed as I felt.

"Carter? Oh, hello, I'm his father, Jeffrey," he said and held out his hand for me to shake.

"I'm ready," a woman's voice said. Mrs. Malone peered out form behind her husband. I noticed right away that she had Carter's striking blue eyes. Her hair was blond and wavy. She had a lot of makeup on, probably to make herself look younger. Lana's mother had tones of anti-aging creams and powders.

"Melissa, this is Lucky, a friend of Carter's," Jeffrey said smiling just a little.

"Oh, how nice," she said, "Carter is in the basement," she smiled but I got the feeling she just wanted to leave.

"Thank you, it was nice to meet both of you," I said. I entered the house after they left.

"Took you long enough" Jeffrey said walking towards the white pick up truck.

"I don't need this right now, so just save it," Melissa snapped. I closed the front door. Carter was right about their fighting.

"Hello?" I called. I didn't know where the basement was. The house was all dark except for a lamp in the living room. I found a light switch and flicked on a hall light.

"Lucky!" Carter said. He had just come around the corner.

"Hey," I said. I followed Carter to the basement. It consisted of one small room with one couch. The couch was beige but it had a few stains on it. There was a small T.V and an even smaller stereo.

"So, this is my place," he said.

"It's nice," I said. It really wasn't that nice but I didn't care. I wasn't superficial.

We spent the night talking and watching the New Years' specials on television.

I wondered once what Lana was doing. We had spent all our New Year's Eves together for as long as I could remember. She had told me she had a date with Nathan but she didn't know where they were going. I hoped for her sake Nathan would lay off the weed for one night and take her somewhere nice.

Finally it was time for the countdown. I watched the ball drop on TV and then I turned towards Carter to find he was already staring at me.

"You are really beautiful," he murmured. He leaned closer and kissed me softly on the lips. Up until now Carter and I had just been friends. I had been fine with that but this wasn't so bad either.

"Lucky," Carter said ending the kiss.

"Yes?" I asked smiling.

"I.I think I'm falling in love with you," he said. He looked up at me; he had a vulnerable look in his eyes.

My smile faded. He was in love with me? We had only just kissed for the first time. This was going way too fast for me.

"Carter. I don't know what to say," I stumbled over my words.

"I feel so close to you, I just want to be with you," he didn't seem to notice my surprise and hesitation at his revelation.

He kissed me again, harder this time. He was leaning against me hard, pushing me back onto the couch. I pulled away from the kiss, pushing my hands against his chest.

"Carter, don't, I'm not ready for this," I squirmed out form under him and stood up.

"What's wrong, don't you feel the way I do?" he asked.

"I really like you, but I'm.I'm not in love with you," I stuttered carefully.

He looked down and when he looked at me again, his eyes were hardened and cold, "I think you should leave," he said.

"What?" I said in shock.

"Please, I'll call you later," he said although I got the feeling he wouldn't do that. I didn't say anything. I just turned around and stormed up the stairs.

I really thought Carter was different. Turns out he wanted what every other guys wanted.

In less than ten minutes, perfection had turned into disaster.