Chapter 16~

A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading faithfully! Don't forget to post a review and let me know what couple(s) you're shipping right now :) I love hearing what you guys think. Thanks again. Enjoy!

The sun is starting to set, coloring the island in shades of purple, pink and orange. But I barely even notice the beautiful night. I tip up the tiny screen in my hand instead to see a familiar smiling face. I can see the faded sign for "Joe's Bait Shop" in the background and can't help but feel a pang of homesickness.

"Hey Dad."

"Hey Pal. How have you been?"

"Pretty good. You?"

"Pretty good. I heard about your big mission. Director Rogan couldn't stop raving about how you and Rosie handled the whole thing like professionals. You might want to scale back on the sarcasm, though." He cracks a knowing grin.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry." I blush.

"I'm proud of you, Pal."

"Thanks, Dad." That means a lot coming from him. "How is…everything?" I finish lamely, not sure how to ask what I want to know.

"Everything is good," he answers. "I had a short mission in Mongolia, but I'm back in Louisiana now."

"Cool." I force a smile. Sounds like life without Carter is going just fine.

"Thought about what you want for your birthday?" Dad asks.

"You," I reply honestly.

Dad looks sad. "You know I wish I could, Pal. But everything's fine with Rosie and her mom?"

"Yeah, Dad, everything's good."

"Glad to hear it."

"Hey Carter." Armando joins me outside. "You're gonna miss the Molten Lava Cake."

"Who's that?" Dad asks.

My face turns bright red. "Just a friend."

"Well, it sounds like you have to go," Dad says. "Wouldn't want to keep that cake waiting." He winks. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

I don't wanna say okay, because it's not. I don't want to let him go because I may never get him back. Still I smile and through the lump in my throat say, "Sounds good. Talk to you soon."

"Love you, Carter."

"Love you too, Dad."

And then his face fades from the screen and I try my hardest not to cry.

"Hey." Armando comes up and slips his arm around me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I nod.

Armando pulls me in for a side hug and I lean my head on his shoulder. He leans down a lays a lingering kiss on my lips, then says, "Your dad will be fine. It's gonna be okay."

"I know," I lie, then pull away from the hug, grab his hand loosely and pull him towards the Dining Hall. "Let's go eat that cake."

Rosie tries to arrange a card game in the Game Room after dinner, but we're all too tried to keep playing for much longer than an hour. Ed tries to keep things lively by cracking jokes while he shuffles the cards and deals them, but the rules of the special Costa Luna game are sort of complicated. By the end of Rosie's second explanation of the game rules, everyone's confused but Rosie and Armando, who already knew how to play anyway.

We attempt a game anyway, but eventually Armando heads off to bed and Megrin says she's tired too, so I grab a DVD from Rosie's collection and offer to walk Megrin to her room so the others can keep playing.

As soon as we're out of sight of the Game Room, Megrin pulls a silver flask from her pocket and unscrews the cap. She tips it back, then offers me some.

"What is it?" I eye the flask skeptically.

"Vodka." She makes a face. "I prefer wine or champagne, but I needed something a little stronger tonight. When your parents are dead and your last living relatives try to kill you, get drunk."

"That's one way to deal with it," I consent.

She takes another long drink. "You sure you don't want some?"

"No thanks. I don't drink."

She shrugs and downs more vodka. "What movie did you grab from the Game Room?"

"'Mean Girls.'" I show her the hot pink DVD case. "You wanna watch it with me? It's this really funny movie about an American high school and this group of popular girls."

"Yeah, sounds great." Megrin yawns. "But I think I'm gonna stay in tonight. Me, myself and I."

"If that's what you want…"

We've reached the twins' suite. Megrin pulls out the key and lets herself in. "Thanks again, Carter for walking me to my room."

"Yeah, no problem," I mumble.

"Can I ask you one more teeny tiny favor?" she frowns.

"Anything."

"Don't tell anyone about…you know…" She holds up the flask. "I don't think the palace staff would be too thrilled to learn that their liquor cabinet isn't quite as hard to break into as they thought." She giggles, which seems extremely inappropriate considering the circumstances.

"Yeah okay." I don't know what else to say. I've already committed to following through on the favor.

"Thanks." Her face lights up. "You know when I first met you, I thought you were a total baldracca, but you're actually pretty cool."

"Thanks….?" I frown.

"See you tomorrow." The door slams in my face.

I shake my head and continue up the hall to my room. Once I get inside, I realize I'm not really in the mood for a movie anymore. I toss "Mean Girls" on the dresser and pull out my pajamas instead. I pull them on and then slip under the covers. The clock reads 11:30 pm.

I try to sleep for a while and just toss back and forth restlessly. I try turning on the fan, but I get too cold, so I bury myself under the covers, but then I'm too hot. I have a feeling it's going to be a very long night. Maybe I shouldn't have taken that nap today…