Bad Habits

chapter seventeen

Carter's POV

     "I don't want to go! I'm having fun!" Tara tried to wiggle out of my arms.

     "Guarantee you won't be saying that tomorrow morning. Semester finals are coming up. Shouldn't you be studying for those?"

     "I don't care about finals. My life is a wreck. Can you put me back down?"

     "Will you be a good girl and walk to my car instead of biting me?"

     "Yes."

     "Promise?"

     "Yes," she groaned.

     "Thank you." I set her down on her feet. It was absolutely freezing in Michigan and the girl was half naked and dripping wet. "Here," I wrapped my coat around her. "Take this."

     "Thank you," she shivered. "I still don't know who you are."

     "That's alright. I think we're better off that way."

     We made it to my car and I opened the door and guided her in, seeing as she could barely walk.

      "Do you have any of your stuff?"

     "It's all in Elaine's car!" She suddenly burst into tears.

     "Hey, it's okay. No need to cry. I'll just go get it. Stay right here. Don't fall asleep." I turned on very loud rock music just to be sure. I ran all the way back up the long driveway in a t-shirt and opened Elaine's unlocked car. I grabbed Tara's phone, keys, and wallet. I tried my best not to look, out of respect for her privacy,but her lock screen was no longer a picture of her and Lucy. It was now a black and white photo of Gabe kissing her on the cheek.

     When I got back to the warmed up car, Tara was falling asleep and immediately jerking awake at a constant rate.

     "Hey, hey, hey!" I lightly slapped her cheek, just to get her attention. "Stay with me here! Don't make my job more complicated!"

     "My bad. Can you please turn off the music? My head is pounding."

     "Will you stay awake?"

     "Yes."

     I turned down the music slightly, but also made sure to keep a very close eye on her.

     "We're here," I tapped her shoulder.

     "Why are you doing this?"

     "What do you mean?"

     "I don't recognize you at all right now, but you said I wouldn't want to. Am I mad at you?"

     "Something along those lines. I'm not the happiest with you at the moment."

     "So why are you babying me? You could have just left me there and I would have crawled home."

     "Even if I hated you I wouldn't leave you at a party all alone. You know you can't trust Elaine to get you home safe."

     "That's..." She stopped.

     "Everything alright?" I was cut off by her hurling over and puking. "Okaaayyy!" I grabbed her hair and held it behind her head, even though she had already vomited in it.

     "I'm sorry!" She cried before gags. "You don't even like me and I'm puking all over you!"

     "Shhh..." I scratched the back of her neck in attempt to calm her. My other hand was still holding back her vomit filled hair. "You're doing great. Let it out."

     She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and I made a mental note to wash my jacket.

     "Can you walk?"

     "No," she sniffled sadly.

     "That's alright. I can carry you." I lifted her up and carried her inside, struggling to unlock the door with a whole woman in my arms. "You need to shower. Do you think you can do that?"

     "Yeah," She whispered, her lip quivering slightly.

     "Alright, you go ahead. I'll wait out here."

     She dragged her feet to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. I sat down on her bed, covering my face with my hands. While I was sitting there, I picked up a small pink teddy bear that read Lucy and Tara: Valentine's day 2010. It had to have been from when they were kids. When the water turned off, I quickly put the teddy bear back where it belonged and stood up.

     "Feel better?"

     "Sure," she mumbled, her bottom lip still slightly curled. Some people were angry drunks, others were crazy, but Tara was obviously a sad drunk.

     "Okay. Get into bed." I pulled back the blankets for her. I went into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth, ran it under cold water, and placed it on her forehead. As I was doing so, she reached out and spun my hair around one of her fingers. "You're like a little kid," I laughed. That seem to upset her. I wasn't entirely sure how, but she looked sad and scared at the same time. "Where'd you get the bruise?"

     She looked around the room for a minute, not responding to me.

     "Hm?" I asked again.

     "I fell down."

     "No, it looks like someone..." I hesitated for a moment. I didn't want to believe it. Why would anyone hit her? She's the most gentle person in the world. "I'm gonna get you water."

     "Wait."

     "What?" I clenched my fists.

     "Don't tell anybody."

     I couldn't. I knew exactly who gave her that bruise and I couldn't even say anything to her when she was sober since she wanted nothing to do with me. Now I know why. "Sure."

     I walked out into the hallway, trying my best to quiet the anger running through me. Tara Williams, the girl who cried when she killed a bug, was being abused. I knew it would look suspicious if I came back with no water, so I went to a vending machine and got a packet of crackers and a bottle of Aquafina. When I got back, her eyes were softly closed and her chest was rising and falling ever so slowly. I placed the snacks on the table next to her and turned off the lights, leaving the salt lamp on in case she woke up.

     I started my car and sped down the road, never softening my gaze. This motherfucker was not going to get away with hurting her.

a/n: when he's protective *insert heart eyes emoji*

Written: December 17th 2023
Published: December 17th 2022