Heart and Soul [bxb]

Chapter Twenty-Nine

*This chapter contains multimedia relevant to the plot*

Carter had built a new routine.

He went to school, either with Seth if he made it to first period, or with Mike. He sat through his classes, had lunch at the usual table, then went to Calculus where he stared at the back of Johnny's head a lot and his stomach did a little flip every time the other boy looked over his shoulder to meet his gaze.

Then he went to practice, which was getting increasingly challenging the farther down the season they got, and rushed to get to the library and be with Johnny. After they were done studying, or pretending to study—whatever they were in the mood for that day—Johnny drove him home.

That particular Wednesday night, Tony was supposed to have the night shift at the restaurant he ran with his brother, so Carter was surprised to find him in the kitchen when he arrived.

"Hey," he greeted Carter, barely lifting his eyes from the list in his hand.

Grocery bags littered the kitchen table and floor. Mike moved around, stocking shelves with its contents. He shot a smile over his shoulder at Carter, while stacking packages of spaghetti inside an overhead cupboard.

"So," Tony spoke up. "Abby will be late today, so I need you to feed everyone. Get Frankie and Luca to help with dinner. Have Bella do the dishes after. And put Charlie to sleep before eleven—his teacher kind of busted my nuts today at the parent-teacher conference for not making him sleep at least eight hours a day." He looked up suddenly, pointing his pen between Mike and Carter with a warning look. "Don't tell anyone I used those words."

Mike smiled, storing gallons of milk by the fridge on the floor. "Your secret is safe."

"Good. Abby will meet me at the Ristorante when she comes from work and we'll eat there, so don't wait for us," Tony continued. "I'll need you to run things at the Ristorante tomorrow too, while I'm at your school. Abby and I are trying to manage five meetings between the two, but I'll need you guys to man the money-maker."

"Got it. I'll ask Frankie and Bella to work a shift after school," Mike said smoothly.

"Do you need any help from me?" Carter asked. He had sort of forgotten parent-teacher conferences were happening on Thursday, but he could imagine how that would be a stressful day for Tony.

"It's fine. You and Luca have practice, so I won't ask anything from you," Tony said. "But I do need someone to pick up Charlie."

"I got it," Mike said, picking up a new grocery bag. "I'll run the Ristorante, get Frankie and Bella going with it and then I can make a quick run to Charlie's school."

"Thanks."

Mike smiled. "Of course. You should probably go, now. Uncle Robbie will not extend his shift much longer on his night to have dinner with his family. I got everything covered here. Carter can help me with the groceries before he goes up."

"Yeah, sure," Carter said promptly.

Tony nodded. "Don't forget," he reminded, folding his list into his pocket. "Charlie in bed–"

"–before eleven," Mike finished.

"Angelo," Tony shot back before leaving.

Carter helped Mike through the piles of groceries. When they were done, Mike asked him to get Frankie and Luca down when he went up.

Carter showered, while his stepbrothers cooked, then sat at the dinner table to eat with the usual bustle that had also become part of his new routine.