My Sister's Keeper

Sixteen.

Carter and Xavi stood across from each other at the park, clearly in a heated conversation as Damien could see the anger on Xavi's face and the way Carter had stepped up to him. It had been years since Damien had stepped foot in a conversation between the two, but with his recent makeup with Xavi, he knew he couldn't just sit and watch them. Though his trust in Xavi hadn't fully returned, Carter Wright had proven himself plenty of times over the years that he couldn't be trusted at all. Especially since his anger could easily be on the same level as Damien's at times.

With a sigh, Damien sent a quick text to his mother and got up from his seat.

"Yo! Xavi!!"

Both Xavi and Carter broke their glares to turn their heads to Damien as he crossed the street to walk towards them. Xavi backed up as Damien got closer, avoiding eye contact with Carter who did the same.

"Dame," he said and stepped away from Carter. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

Damien greeted Xavi with a handshake as he said, "I was over at Mr.Bernie's with my mom when I saw you two out here."

He then looked over at Carter and mumbled, "What's up, Carter?"

Carter gave him a short nod. " 'Sup, Damien?" he asked. "Everything good?"

"You tell me," Damien said, looking between them. "What were y'all talking about? It looked kinda heated."

Xavi shook his head and said, "Nothing...Don't worry about it. We good."

"We just made up and you already trying to lie to my face?" Damien asked.

Xavi sighed. "It's not like that," he said. "Honest, Dame, don't worry about it."

"Yeah, why you trippin, Damien?" Carter asked. "What, y'all buddy-buddy again so I'm back to being the bad guy?"

Damien clicked his tongue, narrowing his eyes as he said, "You actin like I'm stupid and I don't like that. I saw what I saw. Y'all weren't just talking about nothing, you were about to step."

"Did you though?" Carter asked and tilted his head. "You've been seeing a lot of things lately. Maybe you made it up."

"Yo, Carter, chill," Xavi said.

"What'd you just say?"

"Dame," Xavi said, placing a hand on Damien's shoulder. "Don't do it, bro, you know it's not worth it."

"You heard me," Carter said with a smirk. "I ain't forget. You still seeing her, Damien? You still think you hear her voice?"

He then looked around while saying, "Oh my bad, let me stop. She might be here right now. Don't want to hurt her feelings or nothing."

Damien clenched his jaw. His chest tightened as his face felt hot and his eye twitched. There was a look of smugness that sat on Carter's features as they stared at each other, daring the other to make a move. Xavi's words of warning grew silent in Damien's ears as he no longer felt the weight of a hand on his shoulder.

Instead, he felt the skin of Carter's cheek against his fist as he stepped up and swung his arm.

"Shit, Damien, stop!!"

Carter grunted as Damien's fist connected with his face once more after they both landed on the ground. He couldn't stop it. It was as if he had no control over his body as he continued to swing his arm back and forth.

Until he couldn't.

Suddenly, Damien found himself lying on his back as Carter's fist connected to his face. Once. Twice. He allowed it to go once more before he twisted Carter's wrist and kneed him in the stomach. As he was about to switch their positions once again, he was yanked away by a pair of hands that grabbed his arms tight and pulled him away.