𝐈 𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐎 - ʲᵒᵉ ᵇᵘʳʳᵒʷ

011

011 — ❝RED LIP❞

AFTER CARSON SCOLDED her little brother, she decided it would be time to get ready for the evening.

The time was now almost one o'clock, and they had to be at the Burrows by seven. This would give her time to physically and mentally prepare for what would be her reunion with not just Joe, but everybody in the neighborhood.

Walking up to her bedroom felt like a treacherous climb, as she went past all the family portraits from when her and Declan were younger. A collage of photos on the wall included newly added pictures of her Academy Award win, along with her framed photos from her high school graduation party with Joe.

Her stomach turned seeing the picture with Joe. He smiled so hard that you couldn't even see his eyes, and he was wearing an Ohio State tee. Carson was wearing a vintage New York University shirt, which was the school she attended for two months before dropping out due to scheduling conflicts.

No one in Athens believed that Carson, the little girl who was scared of heights, was moving to a big city like New York. Not even Carson believed it, but once she settled in, it was natural. Like she was meant to be there. She didn't come home for two years after moving, so everyone in her community thought she just had forgotten about them, including Joe.

She entered her walk-in closet, scanning through her wardrobe. It wasn't a surprise the lauder's were already well off, or at least they were when Sherrie and Easton bought it in the early 2000's. After the two of them retired, they wanted to sell the house since they no longer could afford it. Immediately after putting it on the market, Carson paid off the remaining mortgage in exchange for them to keep it in the family. She didn't know they were having hardships at the time, so now, Carson takes care of her parents financially. She bought them nice cars, designer items, and fancy appliances to try to repay them for all they did.

Supporting them was not a problem to Carson, as it barely made a dent in her paycheck. She saw it as spoiling them, just as she'd always dreamed of.

Carson searched through her skimpy clothes from 2015. A particular Athens Highschool sweatshirt with the last name of "Burrow" monogrammed on the back made the color drain from her face. She swallowed, her jaw clenched as she removed it from its hanger and threw it on the ground.

She huffed seeing the sweatshirt on the ground, recalling of the time he gave it to her. It was when they first started formally dating, and they were both around sixteen. Carson in Joes bedroom, sitting on one of his bean bags while he rummaged through his closet. She can almost remember it like it was yesterday.

"You should wear something... Black. All black." Carson smiled from Joe's green bean bag he'd had since he was a child.

Joe scrambled to find something formal but not too formal for the schools charity event. He felt Carson's eyes on him and swallowed as he tried to speed up the process. He heard her words and turned around, "All black? What is it with you and boys wearing all black?"

She shrugged, "It's hot. Not in an emo way, but it an athletic way, y'know?"

Hearing that she thought wearing black was hot changed his mind on the topic, searching through his black tops and shorts. "Guess I'll wear something black."

Joe went through each sweatshirt, landing on one that had his last name monogrammed on it with the schools logo on the front. "What about this?"

"That's cute," Carson began, standing up as she became intrigued. "Almost too cute."

He saw her interest in the sweatshirt and smiled, "Do you want it?"

Their relationship had been relatively new, so Carson wasn't yet accustomed to taking Joe's clothes.

She took a step back in response to his question, "No, no. It's yours."

He threw it playfully on her head while giggling, "Take it."

The sleeve fell on top of her face, making it unable to see. Taking a sarcastically annoyed inhale, she breathed in his scent from the sweatshirt and decided she wasn't going to protest keeping it. 

Carson peeled it off her head, her hair a mess from the static of the sweatshirt. "Joseph Burrow!"

Carson picked up the sweatshirt from the floor, not bothering to take a sniff of it to see if it still carried the same scent. She neatly folded the shirt, then got the spare shoebox she'd used as her "mourning shrine" as she called it.

It kept love letters from Joe, corsages from past homecomings, polaroid pictures, and some of his old athletic tee-shirts she'd wear on runs. She stuffed the sweatshirt into the box, quickly closing it and pushing it back under her bed.

Soon after Carson was at her vanity getting ready. She wanted to go for a natural but put-together makeup look, so she could do a dramatic red lip to pull it all together. After all, Joe did love a red lip.

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