Going Full Tilt (Carter Baizen)

Nine - The Experience*

Ellie took off her wedge sandals and kept running.  She knew if she kept going through the woods behind the house, she would eventually hit the town.  She turned and knew to go toward the ocean.  It would take longer but she didn't want to be found.  Eventually she found the beach.  She made it to the lifeguard tower and climbed up.

She cried; Nate had never done that before and she never wanted to experience it again. She found a couple of towels in the tower.  She laid one down and wrapped another around herself.  She curled up into herself, the wind chilly.  She sat, unsure of the status of her relationship with Nate, what Carter thought about the whole situation.

Carter was frantic, running through the woods.  It was getting darker and darker, and he feared she would hurt herself.  He made it to the point where she could either go to town or to the beach.  He took a chance and went to towards the beach.

Ellie listened to the waves crashing, wishing it would wash away the embarrassment, the shame, the heartbreak she was feeling right now.

Carter made it to the beach.  He didn't see anyone along the beach.  "Ellie!" He yelled out.  "Elizabeth!"

Ellie could faintly hear someone calling her name.  She didn't want it to be Nate, so she moved to the back of the life tower.

Carter made it all the way to the water, praying she hadn't gone in.  He turned left and right to see if he could see anything.  He turned back toward the woods when he noticed the lifeguard tower.  He noticed some footprints and hoped they were not old.  He climbed up.  "Elizabeth?" He called out softly.

Ellie heard Carter and unwrapped herself.  "Carter?"

"Oh Elizabeth, thank god."  He came up to her and wrapped his arms around her.  "I though you went into the water."

"I'm upset Carter, not suicidal." Ellie pulled away from him.  "What are you doing?"

"Everyone is looking for you gorgeous.  We were so scared.  Why did you take off like that?"

"I needed to get away.  I was so embarrassed with what Nate did and the fighting." 

"But that wasn't your fault, Elizabeth.  Nate was high.  He wasn't in his right mind."

"Doesn't matter Carter.  He hurt me." Ellie had a fresh set of tears come down.

Carter's heart broke seeing her so upset.  He sat down and pulled her into his lap.  "I'm sorry gorgeous.  I'm sorry I couldn't protect you better."

"It's not your fault Carter.  It's mine.  I just wanted to see you.  We hadn't talked.  I missed you." She curled up into his neck, breathing in his scent.

"I know sweetheart. I just had to finish things for your father." Carter kissed her forehead. "I wanted to be a better man for you."

Ellie pulled away to look at him.  "Tell me what happened between you and Nate."

Carter sighed.  "A couple of years ago, I came back into town for some allowance before I went back to jetting around the world.  I heard about the Lost Weekend that was happening.  Something I invented by the way and I wanted to see how it evolved.  Nate and I were cool back then, he looked up to me.  I found the key to the drawer where the baseball and the watch were and because I was an idiot, I stole them, pawned them and used the money to go to my weekly poker game."

"Wow, so they weren't lying about that."

"No, they probably weren't.  Anyways I invited Nate into the game, and he went full tilt.  Do you know what that means?"  Ellie shook her head.  "It means he got emotional and lost. But he didn't have the cash to settle his debt.  I was working on a way to help him when Chuck interrupted. Told me to keep the ball and the watch but settle Nate's debt.  I did, but I got kicked out of the game."