Goodbye Carter

t h i r t e e n

December 25th, 2014

THE DAY STARTED OFF as any other normal holiday.

I woke up to the lovely smell of pancake batter and hot chocolate, giving me a shot of motivation to get out of bed and quickly pull on my pajamas as I made my way downstairs.

Upon arrival, I am greeted with the sight of my little brother, Luke, standing over the stove with a spatula in hand and a very confused look on his face. I chuckled, realizing that my fourteen year old brother still had absolutely no idea how to make pancakes.

Oh poor, sweet, Luke.

I grab the spatula from his hand and ruffle his hair as he tries to grab it back from me, "the hell Kennedy! I'm making pancakes!"

I laugh at Luke's determination to give my family a yummy Christmas breakfast. Although we didn't get along most of the time, I truly could say that Luke was probably the nicest teenage boy I had ever met. I mean, what other fourteen year old would take it upon themselves to make their family a holiday breakfast?

"Aw Lukey," I say, teasing him with the dumb nickname I've called him since we were little, "you're such a good brother." 

Luke shrugs and grabs the spatula back from me, "whatever," he says, as he tries to hide his grin. 

The rest of the morning consisted of a small food fight, a scolding by our parents, and finally, gifts. 

Luke received a new laptop along with a few other small gifts, while I was fortunate enough to get a new phone and a couple of items of clothing. Our whole family spent the rest of the afternoon watching cheesy holiday movies and snacking on sweet treats. I think I gained about five pounds by the end of the day. 

My mom eventually shooed Luke and I off the couch and to get dressed for the holiday party my parents were hosting at our house. I rolled my eyes as I sat up, knowing that tonight was going to be filled with awkward small talk with middle aged suburban parents, and forced labor to babysit their small children while they drank spiked eggnog in the dining room. 

Okay, maybe I'm being a bit too harsh. But my family has had this holiday party for as long as I could remember, and it was always the same thing every year. 

From my brother's annoyed expression, I figured we felt the exact same way. 

I made my way up the steep steps and into my room to figure out which outfit I was going to wear that illustrated a sophisticated yet festive look. 

I'm distracted by a small ping that echoed from my phone, I sigh and grab it, assuming it was Aiden, bragging about his Hawaiian Christmas vacation. 

Sooo, I'm coming to your house tonight.

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion as I read over the text message, that wasn't from Aiden- but from Carter. 

What are you talking about?

My parents just told me we're going to the Summer residence for a holiday party... 

What? I didn't even know our parents were friends. It would've been nice for my mom to at least tell me that someone my age would be at this thing. 

No way, I had no idea!

Well at least now tonight won't be a total waste of time. 

I hide my smile as I bite my lip, trying my hardest not to read into Carter's words. Besides, I was happy. I had a boyfriend, there was no reason to contemplate the text's double meaning. 

Think of Aiden. 

* * * 

"Kennedy! Luke!" 

I groan as I grab my makeup wipe to remove the remainder of masacrra that was smeared messily on my eyelid.

"Shit," I curse as I end up taking off the corner wing of my eyeliner. 

"Kennedy Summers!" My mother yells once again from downstairs, I could tell she was getting irritated. 

"Coming!" I yell back as I try to keep my focus on fixing my makeup. I was completley screwed at this point. 

"Kennedy!" 

"What!" I yell, annoyance lacing my voice more than I meant as I hear a knock on the door. 

"Jeez, calm down," says a confused Luke as he walks into my room and rounds the corner into my bathroom. 

"Sorry," I mutter while grabbing a fluffy brush to spread setting powder over my face. 

"Whoa," he says as he catches a glance at my bathroom, noticing the makeup that covered every open counter top in the room. 

I sigh sheepishly. My brother knew me well enough to realize that something was up. I never tried this hard.

"What the actual fuck are you doing?" Luke asks, I catch the smirk on his face. He was so full of it. 

I gasp, "no profanities, Lukey- you're like ten."  

Luke grabs the nearest hand towel before chucking it at me. Luckily, he didn't have the best aim, as his chosen hobby was soccer, and it missed me by a few inches. 

"Dick," I mumble while closing my lip gloss bottle and giving him a pointed look. 

"Hypocrite," he shoots back. 

I shrug. True. 

"Kennedy and Luke Summers! Come down right-"

Luke and I both give each other a look before we interrupt my mom's rant to yell, "coming!" 

An hour is spent exchanging small talk with suburban parents while simultaneously holding small toddlers and attempting to entertain them with my old barbies. Honestly, I was an absolute master at multitasking. 

To be honest, I had forgotten about Carter and his family's expected arrival until the doorbell rung loudly and echoed throughout the house. 

"Kennedy," I turn around to my mother to see her happily sipping a glass of wine with a smile on her face. She looked carefree and happy, which I had to admit, made it all worth it. "Go get your brother and get the door, please." 

I nod and give her a small smile before I excuse myself from a conversation with one of my mom's old friends. 

"Luke," I yell, reaching the couch where he was sitting and playing with a small little boy, "c'mon let's go get the door." 

My high-heeled boots echo on the hard wood floor as Luke and walk to the other side of the house to open the door. I feel a blast of cold air as I do, and spot the snow coming down heavily outside. 

"Hi," I say with a friendly smile as I greet two parents, "come on in." 

I don't spot him until the family fully steps inside and I close the door, but when I do I immediately feel a flutter in my chest that I have a hard time ignoring. 

Carter was wearing a button down maroon shirt and tan khakis. His usual unruly dark hair was pulled back neatly, accentuating his bright blue eyes. His cheeks and nose were slightly pink due to the cold and snowflakes coated a small layer of his eyelashes. His lips were upturned into a cheeky smirk, his eyes roaming down my body as I stepped back. 

"Hey, tootsie." 

I was completely and utterly screwed.