Author's Notes: Hey! Okay so I know it's 1:15 in the morning. So what? I'm updating aren't I? I'm sorry I've got a load of work to do, and then this situation with a guy... "Things can't just break for your happiness..." It's a long story and I won't bore everyone with it... Although my life is like a soap opera... Or better yet, ER... Haha... Its the whole Carby thing during season eight in a way.... Nevermind... Well thank you so much to everyone for reviews, although you didn't have to... It made me smile... And enjoy this chapter... I know Abby seems a little insensitive... But keep reading... I promise.. She gets better... Enjoy! And please review...
I straighten my hair in the mirror. I look like a disaster. I haven't been home in over two days, and now I have to take Carter home before I can even think of taking a shower. My hair's greasy, the natural oils suddenly making it shine more and more. I take the rubber band from my pocket and quickly pull it into a messy bun. I feel like a slob, but there's nothing I can do about it. I want to get out of this hospital as soon as humanly possible. I see Carter's reflection in the mirror, he look about ready to go. I turn toward the door and lean against it, giving myself a heavy sigh. Why did I decide to do this? I should have let Amy take him home instead. But I didn't, she's getting home and packing. I booked her flight while she was talking to Carter. She's still frustrated and hateful toward me, but whatever. She'll thank me in a few years.
"If you hate me so much that you can't stand to be in a room with me for longer than fifteen minutes, just go. I can catch a cab if this is such a big inconvenience to you."
I turn around to face him, he looks a little ashamed. Am I really acting that horribly? But then again, how does he expect me to act? We are ex's after all, and not just after a break up, after a marriage. I dig my hands into my pockets, I'm at a loss for words. What do I owe him? An apology? The man doesn't even know who I am, I'm a stranger to him, everyone's a stranger to him, and I'm not making the situation any better.
"I'm sorry."
He gives me a small shrug and starts toward me and the door. Amy took his bags and everything, she was dropping them off at the mansion before going to my condo to gather her own things. We had nothing to carry, which is actually a good thing. I don't even have my house keys with me, Amy took them. I pull my purse onto my shoulder and start toward the elevator, Carter a few feet behind me. He looks a lot better than before, although he's still really pale. That's probably due to the lack of sunlight. He doesn't look that bad for his age at all, he could probably walk out onto the street and have a woman walk up to him and ask him out. Well, that would be great for him. He deserves it. As long as I'm kept out of the equation. As we wait for the elevator, I hear my stomach rumble, and this painful cramp passes through my body. When's the last time I ate anything? Last week? That wouldn't be unlikely. I'm starving. I'm not going to make it home with him in this condition. But if I want to get something to eat, he's going to have to come along. Well at least we can figure out what's going to happen with the kids, and how his recover is coming along. And if I have lunch with him, we can cover those topics over food, and I won't have to see him for another week or so. This is a good idea.
"Do you want to get something to eat? I'm starving, and I doubt the hospital food is any good..."
He nods his head silently, and the elevator dings and we step out. I would take him through the ER, but that would be pushing everything too quickly. Instead I take him out the side entrance, over to the parking lot to find my car. Hopefully its still there. And its in one piece. That wouldn't be below the security to ignore the whole parking lot, and watch TV instead. I see my car in the distance and I start walking quicker toward it. I open the doors with my keypad and make my way calmly toward it. I look back at Carter, and he gives me a suspicious look. He looks at me and then at the car, then back at me. I think everyone failed to mention to him that he's loaded. And not just a few millions, a few billions would be more appropriate. Of course I'm worth nothing, but that's just a little side note. My condo is the most expensive thing I own. I didn't even keep the jewelry I had gotten from Carter. They were pieces that had been in his family for centuries. They were meant to stay in his family, he'll probably divide them between Amy and Millie in the end. I get into the driver's side and he slides into the passenger side in the front.
"I guess everyone failed to mention, you've got a bit of money."
He looks at me a little shocked, he didn't know about this end of the deal. Well hopefully Jack will be home by the weekend, and he will explain it better than I can. I have no clue where the Carter fortune came from. I didn't really care. I wasn't interested in the money, I never was. I can't stress that fact enough. I was only interested in John, but nothing ever works out how you plan it.
"What's your definition of 'a bit'?"
I shrug my shoulders as I pull out onto the street. I have no clue where I'm going. I'm thinking of going to eat at the café down at the pier. They have really good food, and you can sit outside. The weather's great, and I think Carter wants to be outside more than in some stuffy building anyway.
"A few billion."
He looks at me in disbelief. Yes. I would probably react the same way. Hell, I did react the same way when he told me. I see a little smirk forming on his lips as I pull into the parking lot at the Pier. I find a spot near the door, and we head out. We walk past the Shakespeare Theater, and walk outside on the concrete. Some cruise ships are lining up, and the wind is actually pretty slow today. It makes for a pleasant experience. We see little kids running around on field trips, and with parents. Some actors are dressed up as clowns and characters from books, entertaining the masses. We walk up the stairs and pass the mini-golf courts and the Ferris wheel. The merry-go-round is packed with giggling little kids, and we can hear screams from the old-fashioned swing attraction. I lead him toward the wooden gate to the outdoor patio, and we're seated within a few minutes. I see him gazing around at the Pier, the city, the lake. It's nothing to me since I've seen in over and over again, but it seems to be something completely new to him. I wish I could experience that feeling sometimes. We have some memories here, I don't know if I'm trying to get him to remember. We used to come here all the time in the summer at the beginning of our relationship. We would leave the kids with the nanny and we'd go out to lunch. We'd walk around some of the stores. It seemed like the ideal way to pass a Sunday afternoon, but I knew he hated walking around with me and would rather be somewhere else. After a while, I didn't like going because he hated it so much. So we stopped going. He spent his afternoons reading a book in the study or out riding with the boys. I would usually work on Sundays. I got my schedule flipped around. I think Amy was only about 11 years old at that point. We didn't have a moment where we realize it was all over. We kept on dragging the dead weight around for years and years. We thought it was supposed to be like that. We didn't want to admit to ourselves that we would have been better off if we had never met.
"I think I've got the kids down. Amy's the oldest. The twins are Jack and Rob. Jack's the wild, cocky one. Rob's the quiet, level-headed one. Ethan's the perfectionist, and Millie's the baby of the family, right?"
I nod my head. Not bad for four days. Although I've been with all of them for most of their lives, and so has he. I haven't had much of a time to ask the kids how their handling this. I have a different perception, since I've spent the last few years watching him change and forgetting him. But the kids have only grown closer to the both of us. They must be handling this pretty hard. I have to talk to them, I think I'll call the twins and Ethan tonight. Jack's living it up somewhere in Mexico, he's on vacation. Ethan moved in with Rob, since their attending the same university. Millie's staying with me, she's got a permanent room. I'll just wait for Amy to call me, I don't want to push her away anymore. So much to do, and so little time. I'm off for the next two days, so I might be able to fit in a few minutes to myself.
"How long have we lived in Chicago?"
"You've lived here your whole life. I grew up in Minnesota, and moved to the city to go to college."
A ship blowing its horn catches my attention, and I look over toward the water. It's calm and quiet, a perfect day to spend outside. Of course I'm not the only one with that idea, since the Pier keeps on growing with people. Our waiter comes, and I order my usual dish. I let Carter order and we both fall into a stressed silence. There's probably questions he wants to ask, the same questions I don't want to answer. My wine comes, and I take a sip of the sweet liquid. It's chilled, and exactly how I love it. one glass of wine will never do anything to me, it just starts when I'm alone at home, and I've got a bottle of wine in front of me. I haven't had anything to drink in a while, I don't drink in front of my children.
"How did we meet?"
Oh yeah, what do I tell him? I saved his life by telling his boss that I saw him shoot up? That he was in love with me for 3 years until he got the nerve to kiss me? That I spent the same amount of time with feeling for him, except that we were too afraid to do anything about it? And I bet the whole part about me ditching him to take care of my brother, and Eric crashing his grandmother's funeral will go down well. I don't even want to think about him running away to Africa, the break up letter, Kem, his first child . . . Oh we were doomed, doomed from the beginning and forever. Misery and pain just followed us around, well actually me. I think I sort of rubbed it off on him, so we both sort of hated life. I think he came to resent me for putting him in that position. I don't know. It doesn't matter anymore.
"We were doomed from the beginning. I was a drunk. You were a drug addict. We ended up supporting each other."
He stares off at the water, contemplating the words that came out of my mouth. That's the general story. He looks back at me, then at the glass I'm holding in my hand. He shoots me a guilty glare, and I instantly put it down and push it away. Damn it. Here we go again. He has no control over me anymore. I am not letting him get under my skin again. I am not going through all this again.