Getting It Right (BOOK THREE)

Chapter 21

You know that feeling when guilt slowly starts to eat away at you? First you're in denial, telling yourself you did nothing wrong. Then you zone out alot because you're busy evaluating your actions. Then you get those nervous cramps in your stomach, the ones that don't go away until your conscious is clear. Then you get depressed because your mind is telling you one thing and your heart is telling you another. And lastly, you break.

That's exactly what Carson is doing now. Breaking out of the guilty shell she's been hiding in since her argument with Shaun. Janine keeps telling her to forget about it because its not a big deal and usually she would, but this time it's different. She can't stop thinking about how much Shaun cared for her, he took her to the hospital and basically held her hand through it all. Even when she screamed in his face he still looked concerned. Now she feels bad for treating him like dirt. She treats a lot of people like that and it barely phases her but this time the guilt has been eating away at her like a parasite and she needs to clear her conscience.

So she walks across the basket ball courts in the middle of a game with her head held high with confidence. Her eyes are trained on Shaun who is sitting on the bench talking with his usual friends. He doesn't notice her yet and that gives her a chance to boost her confidence.

"Look out!" Someone shouts at her, she hears the rubber bang of the basketball as it hits the rim of the hoop and she ducks as it sails over her head.

"My bad shorty," A shirtless boy with a crooked smile says to her.

Her blue eyes narrow, "Watch it."

"You did just walk in the middle of a game."

Carson rolls her eyes at him. "Amateur," she spits before continuing across the court. She hears some of the boys snickering behind her which wavers her confidence a little. When she reaches Shaun, she stands over him until he finally looks up at her.

"Personal space?" Shaun holds his hand over his eyes to see better.

"I need to talk to you for a minute." Carson says, ignoring the stares of the boys (and a few girls) around her. Shaun just stares at her with raised eyebrows and she sighs. "Can I please talk to you, over there?" She nods towards the water fountains.

Shaun looks at Ty briefly like he might need back up, then shrugs. "You've got five minutes before I'm back in the game." He stands up, towering over Carson for a moment before walking to the water fountains. Carson follows him, trying not to sink in the grass with her heels. He faces her and leans his hip against the fountain, "Wassup?"

"I came to apologize---"

Shaun interrupts her sentence with a mocking laugh and her eyebrows furrow. "It's kinda late for that. It's been like a week."

"I know, I've been going back and forth about whether I should apologize or not."

"If you had to think about it it's probably not a sincere one." He says.

"Look I'm not used to apologizing, alright? But the guilt is killing me." She says.

"The ice queen feels guilt?" Shaun chuckles, "Thats news to me."

Carson glares at him. "If you're going to be rude about this then you can forget it."

"I'm the rude one? Did you forget everything you said to me at the mall?" He asks.

Carson clenches her teeth, "No." Her mind wouldn't let her forget it. It also wouldn't let her forget that he called her a bitch and probably worse behind her back. "I know I hurt your feelings that day."

"Hurt my feelings? How old are we Carson? My feelings weren't hurt, I was just mad that you flipped the script so quickly. One minute I'm helpful and the next minute I'm a problem?"