A/N: Yea, yea, I know. "Nobody, you took so long to update!" You say. Well, I'm sorry. Seriously, I am. My excuse? Writing is hard, work is long, life goes by too fast. Ya happy?

If you haven't been to De Soto park in Alabama, I highly suggest you go there. It's a very pleasant place, and the scenere is breathtaking. And they have free wifi! :D

Happy Valentines Day! Love you guys!

Ps: THIS CHAPTER IS IN LENNY'S POINT OF VIEW!

I hated Carrie, but I also loved her. She left the band and me on short notice, not even saying goodbye to me, and then she tried to come back and just fix everything. She wanted to 'fix' me, to make me the man I was before she broke my heart. But I pushed her away.

During the event I now call, well, The Event, I asked myself questions. Was it not clear that it hurt me to talk with her? Was it not obvious that every time I looked at her, my heart broke all over again? I remember describing it as a dream and a nightmare coming true.

The worst part was I felt like it was my fault. It had went to the point where I would stay up at least five hours a night trying to figure out where I went wrong, why Carrie didn't stay, until one day I realized I was being ridiculous. I did not do anything wrong. She just upped and left us because she wanted to follow her dream.

I could understand that, I had many dreams I wanted to pursue, but a large part of me knew I could not abandon my family and friends. Carrie could.

From that moment of realization, my coldness for her only grew. I started drinking to drown the lonely feeling. Four years of unintended, ice-cold hate lashed out when she came back home. I did not mean to say those things in the bar. I was hurting and drunk.

Then The Blind Date came. In a word, it was bad. Allow me to elaborate.

First off, I want to say Dylan was one of the only things that made me smile. My baby pictures could have easily been mistaken for photos of him. Laney said that he would babble about me, but I couldn't understand any sounds he made. Sometimes he made sounds like a motorboat, and sometimes he sounded remarkably like a cat, but mostly it was just a lot of drool and throw up. Let me tell you, that stuff is not pleasant.

Dylan seemed to enjoy it when I visited. I was the cool uncle with all the great gifts. It was one of the best feelings in the world when he would smile at me. I thought maybe one day I would find another girl that I would love and maybe we would have kids.

That particular day, Laney asked me to watch him while the party for Carrie went on. I was not ready to face my heartbreaker so I said I would. We had a great time, playing peek-a-boo and stuff. He started to get grumpy around noon. I went to put him down for his nap, absently rocking him while I searched for his bottle in the bag Laney gave me. After a minute of looking, I realized my sometimes-forgetful sister packed everything except his bottle.

With great reluctance, I walked a block to her house. I knew Carrie was going to be there. I even saw her car in the driveway. Yet it still thunderstruck me when she was right there.

Carrie, the girl I hated/loved, was mere feet away. It hurt. It hurt like that time Corey dared me to walk on hot coals, except for the burn was in my chest not the souls of my feet. However, I did not know exactly why I was in pain. I should have been overjoyed that my friend was home. It was the strange knowing how you are suppose to feel but feeling completely the opposite.

"Hey, I thought you weren't coming," my sister said, smiling but looking confused. I passed Dylan to Corey, briefly watching him talk to his son. Sure, Corey had matured, but he seemed to become a child again around Dylan.

"I wasn't," I admitted. "But Dilly here was getting cranky and I didn't have his bottle."
I was well aware of Carrie watching me. Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced cautiously at her. She was as still and pale as a marble statue. I wanted to turn back to my sister when I heard her say something to me, but it was as if she was glue for my eyes. I could not shake myself out of the trance even if I tried. Every fiber of my being was in complete panic.

I did not know what to do, how to act, or even how to speak. It sounds girly, but there were so many emotions coursing through my head that I just shut down for a second.

"Hi," Carrie breathed, regaining control of her body. I suddenly felt a wave of cold hit me. All I could do was nod silently.

"How are you?" She continued trying to start a conversation.

I just shrugged. Honestly, I was not sure how I was. I wasn't fine, but I was not about to say I was broken into a million tiny pieces.

"Can't you talk?" Carrie growled. I ignored her.

"Say something!" Before I answered, Laney came back with a bottle in hand. It might have been for the best that Carrie abruptly ended our half-conversation. I might have done something I would regret deeply. Maybe there was no might needed in that sentence. My annoyance was building quickly, and I couldn't stop it.

I took the bottle from Laney and Dylan from Corey and started feeding my nephew immediately. Laney smiled softly at the sight, momentarily suppressing my growing annoyance for Carrie.

"Thanks, Laney. I'll keep him until the party ends, he just wouldn't go to sleep without being feed," I said. Corey nodded a little in agreement.

"I totally understand how he feels," He said seriously. Laney giggled into her hand, trying not to disturb Dylan, which was pretty pointless with the party going on around us. The little guy seemed oddly undeterred by it.

"I better get him to bed. Bye," I said, feeling the eyes on my back. If the twins caught wind of me, I would never be able to leave. Laney and Corey said their goodbyes to Dylan and me respectively, and I turned to the door.

Not ten steps later Carrie blocked my path. She had an odd sparkle in her eye, almost like a tear being held back. I kept my face a blank slate.

"Say something, Lenny. Please." I really did want to speak. Everything felt wrong, though. Carrie left me for fame and riches. She never called, never wrote, the only way I knew she was alive was from the reports on television and the letters Kim and Konnie relayed to me. Why should I talk to her? Why should I even acknowledge her, if all she was going to treat me like last week's trash? In addition, it pained me to hear her talk like that, as if she cared about me.

I blinked back tears. I did not know when they started forming, sometime during my thoughts I suppose, but I was not about to cry. Brushing past her hurriedly, I lingered only to whisper to her.

"You shouldn't talk to me anymore." Then I left.

After Dylan went down for his nap, I threw myself onto the couch and sighed. I thought about what disaster I had thrown myself into that evening. If she cared, Carrie would be broken hearted. If she didn't…well, maybe she would leave me alone. The thing was, I didn't want her to leave me alone, but at the same time, I was thoroughly annoyed with hurting.

Everything was so messed up, as it always was. Anything with Carrie was either an adventure or utter chaos. This fell into the category, 'utter chaos'.

It was as if the world around me had been slowly crumbling, and now it was shattering faster than I could imagine.

It was a big cliché. I almost understood how people in movies felt.

Unlike those people in the movies, I was not going to mope on my misfortune any longer. I had had enough sadness. I did not plan on making friends with Carrie again, or even speaking to her. However, it was obviously a waste of my time to mope around, and I only wished I had recognized this sooner.

I got up and phoned Laney.
"Hello?" She answered almost instantly. It took me a second to find my words again.

"Um, I don't know how to say this exactly but, could you get me a blind date?" I asked awkwardly. Laney knew a ton of people in town, I was sure she could get me a date, but you try asked your sister to set you up on a date. It's somewhat unnerving.

"Okay, why the sudden need to go out? Does it have anything to do with Carrie getting back in town?" Laney sounded slightly concerned and mostly mischievous.

"No, I just…want to get out there. When Dylan grows up, I don't want to be known as the creepy, single uncle who can't get a date to save his life," I said. It was partly true; I did not want to be alone.

My sister laughed. "I never thought of it that way. I could find a girl interested in you, but Core has picked matchmaking as his newest hobby. Mind if I let him pick your date?"

I thought wisely that a man might be able to pick a beautiful woman better than another female, but I said yes because Corey was my friend and brother in-law. I had to humor him. Also, I was kind of desperate.

"What's up?" Corey said casually. I fidgeted nervously.

"I need you to get me a blind date, possibly by tonight."

He chuckled into the receiver. "Whoa, dude, slow down. Getting back out on the market takes time. However…I think I know a girl. It just so happens that I know she's free tomorrow around lunch and would love some company."

"Really? Thanks, Corey!" I said excitedly. After a few moments of talking about the latest musician we enjoyed, Dylan's cries came from my bedroom.

"Your son is awake," I told Corey. "I'll bring him over soon, okay?"

"Yes! Meet you halfway," he cheered and hung up. I grinned to myself as I picked up Dylan and soothed him.

While my actions were focused on Dylan, my mind was thinking about tomorrow. I could not help but wonder whom Corey had in mind for the date.