'Of all people…' Carly thought as she leaned against the stone wall, the teenager sat under the pier itself with her eyes closed and tears trailing down her face, Carly brushing them away and grimacing as they hit the cuts on her hands that resulted from the vase.
She felt a gust of wind in her face and cracked her eyes open, seeing Ethan.
"How'd you know where to find me?" Carly asks, having reconnected with her cousin and uncle three years ago.
"Cause Dad told me to find you." Ethan simply said.
"This whole fucking night has been a disaster… or shit storm as my dad would say." Carly says as Ethan sat down next to the slightly damp brunette, seeing the cuts on her hands and wrists… and a thorn lodged in one.
"I know how you feel, Carly…" Ethan said, yanking the thorn out.
"It was personal this time… your dad and my mom. They once said that she and Aunt Macey were friends at one point but things fell apart. Things being that Macey and my dad fucked each other." Carly says, Ethan spitting out his beer because he didn't know that.
"What the fuck?! When was that? And where was I?" Ethan asked.
"Some time before I was born… you would've only been four. As for how I found out… well Tracey can't keep her fucking mouth shut." Carly says, Ethan placing the beer in her hand and Carly sipping it. "Fuck, it's cold out here…" She says as they stood up, Ethan putting his jacket on her and Carly putting her arms in the sleeves.
"Well, somehow I don't believe it's true." Ethan said.
"Yeah, me either… Tracey hasn't said too many honest things as of late." Carly says as the two left.
The condo wasn't far away, thankfully. Carly and Ethan walked in and Carly finished off the beer, tossing it as Ethan got her to sit down before disappearing and reappearing with an oversized flannel shirt.
Carly stood up, carefully pulling the wet clothes off and pulling the shirt on as Ethan lightly rubbed his hand up and down her back.
"How am I gonna explain it to my dad, Ethan? Yeah, he and my mom haven't been faithful in a long time but this wasn't some random guy she used to get back at him this time." Carly says, adjusting her ponytail.
"Well, my dad doesn't know about Macey and your dad, why don't we tell him?" Ethan suggested. "No, that's a horrible idea…"
"Well, better than any idea I had because I don't have any…" Carly says, chuckling slightly as she wringed her hair dry with a towel and the storm picked up outside. "Damn, what a wicked storm. This place isn't always warm and sunny…"
"Yeah, like our dads promised…" Ethan said.
"Yeah… I kinda miss those days sometimes, our little faces red from the winter cold and you trying to turn Jade into a snow woman." Carly says, the two laughing.
"And also the time we ambushed our dads and even Trevor to get them out of the house, throwing snowballs at them." Ethan said, Carly laughed.
"I've never heard Trevor repeatedly shout "Motherfuckers!" more times than that night." Carly says as the two headed to Ethan's room and stretched out on the bed, turning the Tv on and to Miami Vice, the episode being Little Miss Dangerous. "Few episodes of this have me feeling bad for the suspect… but Jackie had been kicked down a lot in her young life."
"Yeah, sometimes I feel bad about it too." Ethan said, an arm around Carly's shoulders.
The two settled into the comfort of the familiar show… but when Ethan turned the Tv off after Carly hadn't said much else, he turned and saw her asleep, her head on his right shoulder like she used to when they were kids.
"It has been a fucked up night, kiddo…" Ethan whispered, pulling the covers over her and himself before closing his own eyes.
When it was morning, Ethan let Carly sleep and headed to the bathroom, washing his face before drying it and heading to the kitchen.
The thoughts returned to him as he set up the coffee… what were he and Carly gonna say? How would they tell Michael? And if they would, how would they tell Carter about Michael and Macey's past indiscretion?
The door opened and Ethan turned, seeing Carter.
"Rough night, son?" Carter asks.
"I can't believe you Dad!" Ethan said, not shouting. "You and Carly's mom? What about Norah?"
"How did you…" Carter starts to ask… before realising it. "That was Carly that Amanda chucked the vase at. I barely remember last night, I was drinking after a long day… but the last beer handed to me tasted weird."
Ethan's eyes widened and his mouth pursed into a thin line for a few seconds, him realising that Carter was drugged.
"Amanda… damn it!" Ethan growled, him and Carter hearing sleepy groans from Ethan's room.
"Did you and Chloe get back together?" Carter asked.
"No, I'm done with her, she's crazy and I think she's trying to stalk us all…" Ethan said.
"She needs to chill, then." Carter says, seeing Carly's white flowy cami and realising it was damp. "You found her then… how's she holding up after…"
Both looked in the hallway, seeing Carly.
"Not all that great… but calmer now. She drugged you, that's a damn low move." Carly says, her and Carter hugging.
"Yeah... I'm not a fan of it, Violet, like when Macey was taking her Lithium or when Blake was taking pills as well." Carter said, him and Carly letting go.
"Blake caught onto it quickly too." Carly says, stretching and hearing a 'crick' echo from her spine, the jarred back the result of a drunk idiot recently running her and Johnny off the road.
Carly jumped as the phone rang, Ethan answering it.
"Maxie, hey." Ethan says.
"Hey, Ethan. You've seen Jadey, we can't find her." Max says, Lunch yelling incoherently in the background. "Lunchables, snap out of it!"
A sharp smack followed, then another.
"You snap outta it, our friend could be halfway to San Fierro right now!" Lunch yelled.
"Actually, I'd hide out in Angel Pine or Bone County… out of the way of the city, discreet." Carly says, Ethan handing her the phone. "Lunch, I'm okay… aside from some cuts on my skin."
Carter noticed that Carly's hands and fingers were bandaged and realised that the one on her right palm was from the thorns.
And he knew that thorns cut deep.