Page 91 of Debts and Desires
36. A BITCH AND A BRAWL
October 22
Day Fifty-Six
198 Hours to Go
Iwas still in awe of Carter’s singing. He sounded so good and our voices blended perfectly, as if they were meant to harmonize forever.
Stop it, Emmy.
But it was hard not to. Carter had grown on me. And I guess not having anyone else around didn’t help that. I realized, too, that I had started to become dependent on him, which wasn’t overly bad. But I wanted to be independent. The whole reason for starting this journey.
After the set, Tyler pulled Carter aside to help him with some of the wires. Apparently, he had to do a lot of rearranging on stage for the three of us. I also learned that’s why Tyler made the trip to Savannah to post flyers around. He wanted to bring in some of the college kids and help “revive” the little town of Hudsonville.
“I still think it’s a dumb idea,” Carter scoffed.
“It broughtmehere, didn’t it?” I asked.
“She’s got a point,” Tyler chirped. “And I’m glad, otherwiseyou’d still be a grumpy douche. Well, you still are. But at least you have a girlfriend now, and that helps some.”
“We’re not together,” I said, a little sadder than I meant to. Carter’s eyes lingered on me for a long time, as if assessing. As if asking if I wanted more.
Yes!My thoughts screamed, as if he could hear them. A small smile tugged on his lips as if he could, then he looked away.
Did he...wantto be?
My heart fluttered at the thought of Carter wanting more with me. I decided it would be a conversation we’d have later. I had been thinking about staying already. And now, I started to imagine if I did.
In my thoughts, I imagined Carter and I wereofficiallytogether. I’d have won the contest and on my way to stardom when he’d propose using Mac, and I’d cry and say yes. We’d have a small wedding, dance all night, and sing. I’d be in a white sundress.
Mia would be there, and all would be okay. I’d mail my parents an announcement card after the fact, but that’s about all I’d do concerning them.
Even though we were together, Carter would still let me be independent like I needed, but also be there for when I needed to be dependent. He’d come with me on tours and play. And?—
“If you wanna go ahead and get your tips from Cassie, you can,” Tyler told the both of us, bringing me back from my daydream.
“You just want us to spend the money here,” Carter playfully accused.
“Yeah, and? I’m a businessman,” Tyler responded. I laughed.
“A very smart one,” I said.
“And this is why she’s my favorite.” Ty gave a nod my way. I grinned and winked. Tyler was becoming a good friend, too. I looked at him like an older brother.
“Suck up,” Carter grunted, but I could see the small sideways smile that flashed.
“I can go get them,” I offered.
“Cool. You do that, we’ll finish here, then I need a fuckin’ smoke,” Tyler said.
“Keep tellin’ you to quit that,” Carter said. Tyler rolled his eyes. Carter was different with Tyler, good different. Besides my company, I never saw Carter smile with anyone other than Ty. They reminded me of bickering boys most of the time.
“Yes, Ma, I know,” Tyler responded. Shaking my head, I left the two of them on the stage to finish up. I didn’t reallywantto deal with Cassie, but it beat helping the boys. Especially because they were as organized as a group of squirrels. I approached her with the warmest smile I could muster.
“Hey, Cassie,” I greeted, my tone as nice as I could get it. She looked over at me, smile fading.
“Hello, Emily.” I’m pretty sure my left eye twitched involuntarily. I’d been here multiple times by now and I knew she was doing it to get under my skin. The sad thing was, it was working again.
