Frenemies For Life

Chapter 15 - Broken

**I have a little treat in this Chapter. I told myself I would only keep this story in Carrie's POV... But I couldn't help myself...**

The room was filled with nothing but silence. An awkwardness that was more suffocating than the pain I had felt not ten minutes ago. Gabby's gaze went blank after a few minutes probably processing my words and convincing herself that it was impossible. I keep my face as serious as possible hoping that she doesn't start accusing me of something ridiculous again.

"You're lying, there's no way that's possible." She says after what feels like forever.

"I'm not lying." I say my voice low and calm. "We were half sisters. Her Mom decided to have some personal business with another guy and I was the product of that business." I say not really wanting to get to deep in the details.

"But- Your parents-"

"They're not my biological parents. Linda used them to cover everything up, she practically shoved me in their hands before I was even born."

"Linda-You..." She trails obviously not knowing what else to say. "Haley..." She says quietly sounding breathless.

"Yeah..." I trail not really knowing what else to say.

A long silence follows and I can't help but look at Eli who looks almost heartbroken. He stands up and walks over to the wall opposite of where I'm lying down. He turns around and makes eye contact with me. There are tears hanging on the edge of his eyelids and that alone makes me shift uncomfortably causing a shock of pain to run through my body and a groan to leave my mouth.

Eli steps toward me quickly and kneels by the bed, his eyes shift toward my hand and before I know it his hand is covering mine. I try to pull it away quickly but he quickly grasps my hand in his own and squeezes it. I look up at him and see his face is plastered with a sympathetic gaze that I don't like being directed toward me.

"That's why she left... isn't it?" He asks, his eyes still trained on me and my every move.

I feel a tear threaten to fall and I force my face to go cold before it has a chance to fall from my eyelid. Eli notices this and gently squeezes my hand again making me take a deep breath as I find fighting my tears a little more difficult. I try to swipe my hand from his again but he holds it probably knowing exactly why I'm trying to pull away.

"It's okay to be sad about it Carrie." He says confirming my thoughts. "Let yourself feel." He says to me quietly.

"You don't know." I say my face staying cold and empty of emotions but slowly losing its normal strength.

"You're more like Haley than you think." He says and with that I pull my hand away before he can say more.

I take him by surprise and his face gives me the impression that he had just failed at life. I feel my heart tighten at the thought that I'm pushing away another person that wants to help me. But the memory of my Carolyn clears my mind and I know that I can't... I just can't.

"Thanks, but I'm fine." I say not looking back up at Eli. "You can go." I say my voice getting quieter and I turn my head not wanting to look at them anymore.

"No."

"Eli-"

"No... Haley would've stayed. She would've fought until you let her in. She wouldn't leave family to cope with something like this on their own."

"You're not Haley." I say simply not liking that he was trying to fight me.

"No I'm not. But someone needs to remember her, and I'm tired of trying to forget."