Hearing her little whimpers and feeling her come against my hand almost had me caving. I wanted inside her so bad, but I held strong. As soon as she’s well again, I’m gonna tie her to my bed and fuck her until we both pass out. That she can be certain of.
I couldn’t stop smiling by the time we headed back to the apartment, neither could she. It was exactly what we both needed. My heart felt so much lighter.
Now we’re back to where we started. I hate what this fucking radiation is doing to her. On our way back to Ross’ house, I had to pull over to the side of the road twice so she could vomit. After I carried her into the house and placed her in bed, I laid down with her until she fell asleep before getting up and heading over to my mum’s. I needed a little time out. Sadly though, what I found when I got there had me wishing I’d stayed in bed with Indiana.
As soon as I entered the house, I found my mum with her face buried in her hands, sobbing. Christ. I thought she was improving. I drop my keys onto the table by the entry, immediately making my way to her. “Mum,” I say concerned, sitting beside her and draping my arm around her shoulder. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Oh, Carter,” she cries burying her face into my chest.
“What’s going on?” I can’t stand to see her like this.
“I just got off the phone with a private investigator. My father died.” What the fuck? Her father died and she’s crying? Why that pisses me off, I can’t say. Yes I can. After the way he treated her, treated me …
“And that upsets you? Why?” I ask a little angrier than anticipated.
“Despite everything, he was my father, Carter.” Father my arse. That’s the biggest crock of shit I’ve ever heard. Not only did he kick his daughter out of her home when she was nineteen, pregnant, and had nowhere else to go, he ruined my life. His only grandchild. “I just hoped that one day we’d be able to make amends. Now that’s never going to happen.”
“I’m sorry, Mum, but he was an arsehole. He treated us both like shit.”
“I know,” she sniffles wiping the tears from her eyes. “My mum wants me to get in contact with her. She hired an investigator after my father died, to track me down. He’s given me her contact details.”
“Are you going to contact her?” She doesn’t even hesitate with her answer.
“Of course.” It instantly gets my back up. “She was nothing like my father,” she says in her defence.
“Well, where has she been for the last twenty-five years of your life?” I practically scream as I stand. I feel bad when I see her flinch, but I can’t seem to control the anger that rages inside me. “If you want to do this, then you’re on your own. I want nothing to do with her.”
“Carter,” she calls out to my retreating back as I storm towards my bedroom. I’m not sure why this has made me so angry. Maybe my nerves are just frazzled from everything I’m going through with Indi. Maybe it’s something else.
As I sit on the side of my bed and bury my face in my hands, memories of that day flash through my mind. Why did you bring that little bastard here? Get him out of here. Don’t you ever bring him here again. It’s funny, it’s been nineteen years, but it’s still as fresh in my memory like it happened yesterday. I hate that motherfucker. I’m glad he’s dead. He ruined my fucking life and broke my mother’s heart. That may be harsh, but that’s exactly how I feel.
“Carter,” my mum says knocking on my bedroom door. “Can I come in?”
“Sure,” I reply. I shouldn’t be mad at her. She’s the biggest victim in all of this. They were her parents. They let her down when she needed them most. “I’m sorry, Mum,” I say, making eye contact with her when she comes and sits beside me on the bed.
“You have nothing to be sorry about sweetheart.” Her voice is soft when she speaks. She raises her hand and gently rubs it over my back. “You’re right. He did a number on both of us. My mother was nothing like him though. You need to understand he was very controlling. She had no say in any of this. She was devastated when he kicked me out. She tried to reason with him, but he wouldn’t listen. He never did. He was very stubborn. The day I left the house, she broke down. She handed me an envelope that contained two thousand dollars. She’d been saving money over the years without my father’s knowledge. She also gave me some of her jewellery to sell if I needed more money. It wasn’t much, but it was all she had. It helped me get by until I could find a job. It gave me a place to stay and food to survive. Without that, I would’ve ended up on the street.”