Page 94 of Fatal Attraction

Someone clearing their throat had each of us snapping our attention to the door. Carter was there, in a wheelchair, grinning big at me.

“Are you fucking my daughter too?” Mom asked out of spite.

“You know what,” I said, losing the last bit of patience I had left, my body painfully shaking. “Get out. Getthe fuckout before I have security throw your ass out.”

“Charlotte,” Mom sneered.

I began shouting for security, which had Mom rushing to her feet in an instant, curling her nose at me. “I’ll be back later.”

“June,” Dad said, halting her movement. “I want a divorce.”

My mouth dropped as Mom bristled, her shoulders coiling. Instead of speaking or refusing to look back, she fetched her keys from her purse and left.

“Uhh, should I leave?” Carter asked a bit uncomfortably.

“No,” I demanded. “Stay.” To my father, I said, “Daddy, this is Carter. He was married to my friend, Blaire. She uh…passed away recently.”

“Oh my.” Dad rose to his feet, using both hands to grasp Carter’s, shaking them. “I am so sorry for your loss. Ar-are you okay? Do you need anything, anything at all?”

“I’m fine, Sir, but thank you. I just wanted to pop in on Charlotte.”

“How are you?” I asked as Dad returned to his seat.

“I’m okay,” he replied. “Still hurting, but I’m okay.”

“What about the PTSD?”

“Dr. Giles said he’s going to start me on meds for it. It never worked the last time, so I doubt it’ll work this time.”

“PTSD?” my father questioned.

“He’s in the military, Dad.”

“Which branch?”

“Army.”

“Thank you for your service, Son.”

Carter offered him a half smile. “You’re welcome. Unfortunately, after what happened to Blaire, I’m done. I can’t go back. I’d chosen my career over my wife, and now…she’s gone.”

“I understand, Son. Either way, I still thank you for your service.”

“Thank you, Sir. That truly means a lot.” Carter turned to me and said, “How long are they keeping you?”

“I don’t know yet. The doctor came in after I’d woken up to check my vitals and hasn’t been back since. If I have to take a wild guess, I’d say no longer than two, maybe three days.”

“Lucky you. Dr. Giles wants to keep me here another week or two.”

“I doubt it’ll be that long. Dr. Giles is a great doctor and had taken care of Karl when he’d had his car accident. He’s just trying to cover his ass. He’ll release you when he feels you’re ready.”

“Speaking of Karl,” Dad said, his brows furrowing as he faced me. “What happened with that? Last your mother and I heard, he was in jail.”

“Not anymore,” I muttered. “I know you may think very low of him, but he’s innocent, Dad. He never committed any of the crimes he was being charged with. He was framed by the man that kidnapped me.”

Three hard knocks resonated against the door, and the light in my eyes diminished in disappointment when a nurse walked in holding a small stack of papers in her hand, offering me a wobbly smile.

“Are you ready for your ultrasound?”

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