The Persistence of Memory - Chapter 4
sorry for the long delay. i hope you like, it's not that great but the next chapter will be better, i promise.
Carter's POV
"It's all right," I told her, grabbing her hand and placing it gently on my knee.
"Did you ever blame yourself?" she asked.
I turned so that I was no longer facing her; he just stared blankly at the wall looking pensive. "I think that I did," I started, but then trailed off.
"But not anymore?" I looked back at her, and I felt like she could just see all my emotions coming to the surface.
"Sometimes I wished it was me," I said "Bobby and I, we used to pretend that we were the only people on earth. We used to pretend that we were invincible, and that we'd live forever." I swallowed hard and continued. "I thought maybe if I was nicer to him, or if I was a better brother, he would get better."
"But he didn't."
"No," I stated simply.
She gave me a lighthearted smile and rested her head on my shoulder.
"I couldn't take the disease away from him," I said. Somehow, I thought that she might know the feeling. "So I guess I do blame myself for not being able to help him. But I think I also blame my mother a little bit. For not being there… ever." She put her hand on my cheek and told me withher eyes that she understood. I put on a brave face and pulled her into my lap, where we just sat and relaxed.
It was the first time that I had really talked to her about Bobby. Although it was a sad memory, I was glad that I had the opportunity to explain. "You and me… We're a lot more alike than we seem," she told me.
"Hmm," I said. "How's Eric?" It seemed like there was something she needed to tell me.
"What? Where did that come from?" she asked.
"I'm not the only one with a sick brother, Abby."
She managed a smile, but I could tell that it was fake. "He's fine."
"Then where did this come from?" I asked, getting a little annoyed.
She glared at me. "I just wanted to talk. It's not that big of a deal; most normal people talk all the time. Sex doesn't make a relationship, you know." Ouch.
"I never said it did. And anyway, he haven't done it in a real long time." I raised my voice and stood up. I could feel myself getting agitated.
"Long time? John, it's only been two days!" She was having a hard time holding back a smile.
"Well, I can't help it that you're so hot, I just want to do it all night long." She laughed then, and got up on her tiptoes to give me a small kiss.
"Sorry, I guess I'm a bit edgy." She pulled my arms around her body and leaned into me. "We can do it tonight if you like," she added quietly.
I laughed hard and told her, "Sounds good to me."
Abby's POV
We sat back on the couch, munching softly on leftover pizza and watching old reruns of Will and Grace. One thing was still bothering him. I could tell.
Carter put down his slice and said casually, "How is he?"
"Who?" I decided to play dumb.
He flashed one of those, 'Don't act stupid, you know we can read each other like open books' looks.
"Your brother. Eric. The one we just had a fight about," he said.
I let out a sigh. "Missing." He immediately stiffened, then got up and started pacing the room.
"Missing? Where is he? Have you talked to Maggie? Why didn't you tell me earlier, before our little walk down memory lane?"
"Carter-"
"Okay, we should call Maggie, call all his friends, I think my dad knows a good private investigator, maybe we should call the police or something…" He interrupted me, and then trailed off.
"Listen, it's okay." He gave me a look plainly stating that things were not okay.
"Well don't you want to find him?"
I stood up from the couch and walked slowly over to him. "John." I placed my hands in his and laced our fingers together. "We're not going to find him, and we're not going to look for him."
He nodded, calmed down, and pulled me close for a hug. "But can you do just one little thing for me?" I asked as I buried my face in his warm sweater.
"Anything."
"Tell me that we're gonna be okay," I whispered into his chest.
There you have it, Chapter 4! Sorry it's short. Thanks a million to my kind reviewers- TruLuv, sara, englishpetal, paau carter, DeedMarie007, and smok.
I decided to wait a bit before bringing someone back, so here are the readers' choices for now:
1) Who, if anyone, should be brought back? (Doug, Carol Benton, or some other former cast member)
2) Surprise me with a strange suggestion about anything, and I'll use the weirdest one.
I hope to get another chapter out in the next week, so look for it! Thanks for reading, and please review!
