Page 42 of Whatever Happens

He must have felt it as well because when I finally made my way back to his parents, he wasn’t there. In fact, he never returned before I went to bed.

My fingers itched to text him, wanting to reach out and make sure he was okay. I already knew the answer to that, though, and admittedly, I’m the reason he’s very much not okay.

As I finish dressing my stomach emits a loud grumble. Having spent the better part of the day in my room working—at least that’s the excuse I gave Rebecca every time she tried to cajole me out—I never bothered to eat dinner.

I exit my room and head down to the kitchen. The house is quiet, the driveway empty. From what I can gather, I’m alone. On the stove is a covered plate with a note from Rebecca, letting me know that it’s mine. Like a vulture, I take the plate to the kitchen table and begin to devour it.

“You must be Lexie.” The voice behind me startles me.

Dropping my fork on my plate, I turn to see a young woman entering the kitchen. She heads directly to the coffee pot and pours herself a cup, then leans against the counter, looking at me expectantly.

“That’s me, and you are?”

“I’m Char, Carter’s older sister.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Char.”

“Likewise.”

She joins me at the table, holding her cup of coffee as she studies me.

“You don’t by any chance happen to know where your brother is, do you?”

She nods as she sips her coffee. “Sure do. He’s hiding out at my place.”

“Any idea why?” I ask the question fearing I’m the reason.

“My guess… you.”

“I know he’s still angry with me…”

“I don’t think it’s anger he’s feeling.” She leans in closer, her voice a whisper. “I know who you are.”

I hang my head, unable to meet her gaze. She knows who I am, but what does she know exactly? That I’m the girl from the tape? That I’m the coach’s daughter? That I lied to and tricked her brother?

“Nothing to be ashamed of,” she continues. “Unless…”

“Unless what?” I ask, glutton for punishment that I am.

“Unless you don’t care about my brother like I think you do.”

“I barely know him.” While it’s the truth, what she said is also true. I care about Carter, more than what I would assume possible in such a short amount of time.

Char cocks her head to the side, her ability to see through me uncanny.

“Okay, yes. I care about him, but—”

“No buts,” she says as she shakes her head. She sets her cup down and rises from the table. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Go? Where?”

“To get that pain in the ass brother of mine.”

Char is a chatty Cathy and a wealth of knowledge about Carter. I learn more about him in the short drive to her house than I did in the weeks Carter and I spent together.

She tells me about his relationship with Cody, how much Carter looked up to him, wanted to be like him. So much that he even followed Cody to college and joined the football team, all in the name of impressing Cody. Carter began to surpass Cody on the field, and the better Carter did, the worse Cody got. By the time Cody was graduating, he had sunken so far down into drugs and alcohol, no team wanted him, while Carter was getting offers left and right before he was even a senior.

Carter had been a first-round draft pick for the Knights, a fact I already knew as the head coach’s daughter. What I didn’t know was the reason he was so eager to take the spot despite the several other teams who were interested in him was because it was close to home. Something that was very important to Carter.

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