Walls Between Us

22 | medicine

last update for this week
I wanted to catch up because of the long break in between!

please vote and comment
xoxo

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C A R T E R

The brightness of the room is dim, the only source of illumination being the lamp on the table. I am sitting with my legs stretched on the bed while Amaya sleeps in my arms. I haven't found the guts yet to put her down, to let her go. We have been like this for an hour. The sight of her so limp and fragile makes me ache. Her face has gotten some color back. That ghost-like pallor is gone.

I dread what's to come next. I dread letting her go.

I move my fingers through the strands of her long hair, dragging her feet to my thighs. She is pressed to me, holding me so tight.

The door to her room opens suddenly, causing me to flinch when hurried footsteps enter the personal space. I look up, breath catching when my eyes fall on two figures whom I haven't seen in five years.

"Carter..." Victoria Sommers gasps when she sees me.

She has changed a little over the years. Her hair has turned grey in some places, although it is as long as Amaya's. She has it tied in a ponytail. Dressed in a flimsy grey dress, her eyes scan through me in shock. Behind her, Shaun Thomas looks just as perplexed. Aging is more prominent on his face than it is on Victoria's. His wrinkles are more visible than hers but his eyes still hold that softness that they always had.

I gulp when I see them. Victoria has her gaze firmly fixed on Amaya's sleeping form as if she is judging my role in all this from a distance.

"Hey, Vicky," I greet her, picking Amaya up and placing her in the bed.

She doesn't move as I lie her down and then pull the blanket up to her belly. I do the action as quickly as I can, hurrying to move from the bed as Victoria takes my place beside Amaya.

I stand in a corner, my teeth piercing my bottom lip as I watch Victoria caress Amaya's cheeks. Her eyes are teary and she lets out a sob, pressing her forehead to her daughter's. Shaun, like me, stays standing near the door but unlike Victoria, he has his attention on me. My skin prickles under his gaze.

"What happened to her?" Victoria booms, jerking her head to look at me. Her eyes are red with rage, causing me to wonder what she might be thinking. "Carter, what did you do?"

"I...I didn't do anything..." I say, my voice low. It always is when I am speaking to her.

She doesn't look like she believes me. If anything, her jaw ticks as she sits straight on the bed.

"Don't pretend, Carter. I know you did something," she retorts. "This hasn't happened ever since she started to take her pills. She hasn't had an attack this bad that we had to put her down with medicine. What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, Vicky!" I curl my fingers, fighting hard to keep my rage in check. "I came here because Parker called me. I wasn't even here when it happened."

"Liar!" she seethes. "What did you do? You triggered this. I know you did."

She is crying now. Her hand covers her mouth as she shuts her eyes, trying to keep her voice down. Pain claws at me seeing her like this. I understand her anger towards me. She has every right to be upset with me. I disappointed her five years ago. I disappointed everyone who loved me. She was also among them.

"I warned her not to let you back into her life. I warned her like hell," Victoria continues.

"Vicky, calm down, honey," Shaun says, a mournful look crossing his face.