The Carters | ✓

Chapter One - The First Time

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This chapter is set ten years before the events of His Sunshine.

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Anna's POV

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"Mommy! Guess what!" My older brother, Reece comes running into the kitchen, a wide grin on his face which displays his missing front tooth. Mommy and I are in the middle of making cookies and I'm standing on a stool, stirring the mixture in the bowl.

"What is it baby? How was school today?" Mommy turns to Reece with a smile as he jumps up onto the barstool on the other side of the bench. Reece is in second grade now, but I'm not at elementary school yet. Next year I will be going into first grade.

"I made a friend today! He's so cool! His name is Liam and after school today he said I was his best friend! And and and! You'll never guess what else!" Reece is speaking hurriedly, his eyes bright with excitement and joy.

"What?" Mommy urges him on, smiling happily. Daddy walks into the kitchen then as well, giving both Mommy and I a kiss on the cheek. He has just picked Reece up from school.

"He lives really close! Like, just a street over! Can I please go and play with him? Please?" Reece stares up at Mommy with wide, pleading eyes.

Mommy only chuckles, "Why don't you invite him over here instead? I'm sure Anna wants to meet him as well. Then the three of you can play together while I look after Max."

Reece looks around then, eyebrows furrowed, "Where is Max?"

"He's having a nap at the moment, but he'll be up soon. How about daddy takes you over to Liam's house and you can both come back here to play with Anna as well?" Mommy suggests, taking over the stirring of the cookie mixture when she sees that I'm slowing down because my arm is getting too tired. Mommy smiles down at me, "Would you like that Anna?"

I nod excitedly, jumping down from the stool. "Yes!"

"Anna and I can go by ourselves! He literally lives just around the corner!" Reece pouts.

Mommy looks to Daddy and he smiles slightly, nodding, "It's just around the corner. I dropped him off home because he was going to be walking otherwise. It'll take them only a minute."

Mommy sighs and looks at Reece and I, "Okay, you can walk. Please be careful though. You two walk together, Reece, look after your sister. Look both ways before you cross the road. Are you going to stay there or come back here?"

"Can we stay there for a bit?" Reece asks hopefully, "Liam said that he has a treehouse!"

Mommy nods, "Alright, that's fine. But only if his parents say it's okay. Reece, I want you to give Liam's mommy or daddy the home phone number, okay? Do you remember it?"

"Of course!" Reece exclaims, jumping down from his chair and running around to stand in front of me, "Go put your shoes on Anna! Come on!"

I look up at mommy with a small frown, "But what about the cookies?"

"They're basically done now, baby, I just have to put them on the tray then in the oven. I'll bake them and then they'll be all nice and warm for you to eat when you get back, okay?" Mommy bends down to kiss my cheek.

I nod, kissing her cheek back, "Bye, mommy!" I then run over to Daddy and he bends down so that I can give him a kiss on the cheek as well, "Bye, Daddy!"

Reece and I run towards the front door and he helps me tie the shoelaces on my pink sketchers because I'm still not very good at it yet. Then, he grabs my hand and we call out one last goodbye to our parents before we step outside and shut the door behind us.