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TRACK 20 - PART 3

CARTER

"You and TJ?" Aidan crossed his arms over his chest. "I have to say, little brother. I can't tell if I'm more impressed or disappointed."

"Why would you be disappointed?"

"Rory's taken quite the interest in her. And, we both know how rare it is for her to talk to someone she doesn't know. Or, at all," he said, sporting a proud smirk. "I thought I had a shot at finding her a new step-mommy."

I knew his comment was nothing more than a jab to get under my skin. With all I had in me, I did my best to suppress the feeling and let it show that he had succeeded at riling me up. "Don't be an ass."

"So how long have you two been together?"

"I'm not talking about this with you," I said, attempting to step around him.

"You know, I'm just shocked it took me this long to realize she was the girl from those paparazzi pictures."

"Did Ma see those?"

Aidan shook his head. "Of course not. You know she refuses to read any of that stuff."

"Good." I let out a sigh of relief. "Look, things are just a bit complicated right now and it's not like we have a label on anything so I'd appreciate it if you weren't a dick during lunch. Okay?"

"Woah, woah, woah. She's not your official girlfriend and you're already bringing her to meet the family?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "I thought it would give her a chance to get to know me better. It sounded like a good plan in my head."

"You know, if Dad were here, he'd call you one dumb motherfucker."

"I know. But, it hasn't all gone horribly wrong yet. I mean, she's still here. That has to be a good thing."

Aidan nodded, patting me on the back. "And Ma seems to like her. Said she was watching her interact with Rory and they were two peas in a pod."

"I'm even surprised those two got along."

"Yeah, well, thanks for that. Now I have a six-year-old wanting to dye her hair pink."

"Could you two please help bring the food to the table?" Mom said as she carried a bowl filled with salad and placed it down.

"Coming, Ma!" Aidan called over.

Once Mom was out of earshot, I whispered to Aidan as we walked. "How's Dad doing?"

"Not great," he replied back in a whisper. "He's getting there, but he's still not back to... Dad. If that makes any sense." He picked up a dish from the kitchen island and quickly checked over his shoulder to ensure Mom was still at the table. "They're talking about doing the surgery."

"Why did no one tell me?"

"I told her to tell you, but Ma didn't want you to worry about it. Once you see him later, you'll see for yourself."

"You promise to keep me in the loop, right? All his doctor visits... therapy... any appointments."

"I will. I always do."

I sighed, carrying a serving plate as I followed Aidan back towards the table. "I should be home more."

Aidan gave me a look. "Don't do that to yourself. You know where your head gets when you start saying shit like that."

I opened my mouth to protest. Knowing he was right, instantly caused me to fail to come up with any words to fight back with. It was a downward spiral - especially when I thought about how much I was missing out on by not coming home more. At least with having a better idea of where Dad was with his physical recovery, I could figure out how to better plan out my schedule for the near future - whether that meant organizing around his appointment or planning for the worst-case scenario, one far too dark to let myself think about.