His Hidden Little Secrets

June 15th ADC pt. 4

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I make a u-turn on the street I'm on and I head my car in the other direction.

"What are we doing?" Braden asks.

"Going to Carter's house," I say.

"To investigate?"

"No shit, Sherlock."

I eventually pull into the driveway of Carter's small house. I haven't been there in 2 or 3 months, and it looks like it's been deserted. Random garbage and dead leaves is scattered across the lawn, the lights are all off, and I'm surprised to see that one of the small kitchen windows was broken.

"Wow," Braden slightly gasps, staring at the house. "This place looks haunted."

I grinned to myself. "I think it looks cool. Let's check it out!"

"Um... You're sure you want to go in there?" He stutters. "Like, who knows what's been happening in there?"

"That's partially what we're going to find out, Jackson. Don't be such a wuss."

We open the front door (which was unlocked, another surprise to me), and the inside is probably a hundred times messier than the outside. It looks like someone took a dumpster and dumped it all over the house. A wave of a booze and urine smelling stench washed over me. I gag.

"Oh my... Oh sh-" Braden chokes behind me. "What died in here? Carter?"

He starts laughing a little too hysterically at his own comment, then stops when I shoot him a glare.

"Too soon?" He breaths slightly nervously towards me.

"Way too soon."

We hold our noses as we walk further into the house. We go down Carter's long hallway that leads to his room, and Braden and I both stand in the entryway.

The horrible smell from the front of the house was now suddenly replaced with Carter's scent: a mixture between Old Spice cologne, pencil shavings, and dirt kicked up from the field (because he literally would run All. The. Time.).
Carter's bed is still unmade from when he last rolled out of it... Probably from the night before his death. Some of his Linkin Park, Sleeping With Sirens, Fall Out Boy, and random rock band posters have fallen onto the floor. Dirty clothes of his are scattered throughout his room and laying over open dresser drawers.

I look around until I spot Carter's shirt that I saw him wearing the last time I saw him: a dark blue t-shirt from Old Navy. I go and pick it up, holding it up to my face. I remember hugging him and running my hands down his strong back while he was wearing this shirt. It's so soft, so nice... It's so CARTER.

Everything in the room is quiet for a moment while I hold it in my hands until I eventually break down into sobs again.

"Wow," Braden croaks, staring at Carter's shirt that I'm holding. "This investigation thing is going to be a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be."

"Yeah," I whisper. "Really tough."

Braden walks over to me and gives me quick hug, then paces around the room awkwardly and unsure of everything as I try to pull myself back together.

"H-hey Saige?" He stutters nervously.

"Yeah?" I say, wiping some mascara that was running off of my lower eyelids.