The Eighteen Year Fallout

Chapter 23

Carson couldn't believe that it was exactly a week today since Isabella had been discharged from the hospital as he pulled carefully into Alexa's driveway, shutting off the engine and climbing out of the car. He quickly reached across the driver’s seat to grab the McDonalds bag that was on the passenger’s seat and closed the door gently before locking it.  It wasn't until he was walking towards the house that he noticed both Taylor’s car and an unfamiliar one parked up the side of Alexa's house.  He felt his stomach churn with excitement. Then again it could have been the guilt he was feeling. There was something unorthodox about his rediscovered fascination with her.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, Carson made his way up the pathway and knocked the front door. Lissa has warned him numerous times in the last few weeks about not having to knock but for some reason he did anyways. A couple of seconds passed before the door swung open to reveal a very flustered looking Lissa.

“Thank God you’re here!” she exclaimed grabbing him by the arm and dragging him into the house, “they’re going to kill each other very soon.”

Carson laughed, “Who exactly?”

“Oh you’ll see!” she replied flustered, turning away and walking into the living room.

Carson followed suit but he stopped as he entered the room, for two reasons. Firstly, an unfamiliar girl was currently sitting closely beside Alexa, cradling Isabella. She had dark brown hair that was tied up into a messy topknot and her makeup was dark and brooding. He’d honestly never seen her before in his life so he hazarded a guess that she was from out of town. Secondly, Taylor was sitting opposite them a look of pure anger and disgust on her face. The atmosphere was so tense you could have cut it with a knife. What the hell was going on?

“Oh hey”, He heard Alexa’s voice as he snapped out of his analysis of the atmosphere, “Is that for me?”

It took a moment to register that she was referring to the soggy McDonalds bag he was holding in his hands before he nodded and passed it to her. She mouthed thanks before scurrying out of the room no doubt to devour the meal he’d brought her. He noticed the girl that she’d been sitting beside look him up and down before she cleared her throat.

“Hey, I’m Kaydie” she smiled politely; “I’d shake your hand or something but they’re kind of full you know” she laughed.

“No worries” he smiled easily, “I’m Carson.”

“Oh I know” she smirked, “I know all about you buddy boy.”

Carson laughed uneasily. Everyone knew he had a good and bad side, which had she heard about though?

“All good, don’t worry” she laughed, obviously noticed his uneasiness at her words.

“Good, good” he chuckled before asking, “Can I hold Isabella?”

She nodded before carefully standing up and passing his tiny little daughter into his arms. Carson made sure to support her head, remembering his mom’s warning about always supporting a baby’s head. When she had told him this little piece of information he thought she’d been trying to sound supportive and helpful but instead she’d just scared the shit out of him. He was terrified of doing something wrong now.

Kaydie stood beside him cooing at a wide-eyed Isabella as he gently rocked her in his arms. Their peaceful moment was interrupted though by the sound of Taylor scoffing from her seat. Carson had genuinely forgotten she was there and was curious as to why she appeared to be in such a bad mood. It seemed she wasn’t going to tell him though as she launched herself out of her seat and skulked out of the room, closing the door loudly behind her.