The IV League [EDITING]

Chapter 6

Honestly speaking, Vivian had expected Carter to look way more excited when he saw her. They hadn't seen each other for a month. She'd expected him to wrap his arms around her and kiss her silly, but instead he just sat there giving her a dirty look. Maybe she'd interrupted something.

Carter and Vivian had never formally ended things. She'd left suddenly, and eventually they lost contact. A phone call a day slowly turned into a text a week, which was left unreplied. Part of it was Vivian's fault, and she knew that. She'd broken his heart, but it still hurt knowing that he'd moved on so quickly.

What Vivian hadn't expected was another girl in the room. Carter wasn't the sort who'd pour his heart out to anyone, let alone a girl. Vivian could tell they were close, with the way his fingers lingered on hers. It made her blood boil.

"Hey, Cart," she said, trying to mask her annoyance.

"Wha- what are you doing here? Are you in rehab again?"

"No, I came to see you. And my old room. Seems like someone's moved in though."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said the girl, "I can move out if you want."

"Uh, Vivian," said Carter, scratching his head, "this is Morgan."

"Hi."

Vivian gave her her sweetest smile. "Hey. It's fine, you can stay in that room. It has some pretty great stories hidden in its walls."

Carter shrugged and looked down. Morgan looked between them uneasily.

"So, Morgan," said Vivian, turning her attention to the other girl, "what're you in for?"

"Uh, depression and anxiety."

"So you're with Dr. Dev as well."

"Yeah."

"She's cool, isn't she?"

"She's nice, I guess."

Vivian realised Morgan wasn't much of a talker. And the tension in the air was making her uncomfortable.

"Um, I gotta go," said Morgan, standing up, "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Vivian waited for the door to shut before she started talking.

"She seems nice."

"Yeah," said Carter, "she is."

"She seems like your type."

"And what is that, exactly? The damaged ones?"

"Carter, that's not fair."

"Vivian, why are you really here?"

"I told you, I came to see you!"

"Oh, cut the crap," he snapped. "You couldn't care less about me. Tell me, why are you here?"

She sighed. "I need a new liver."

"Guess the alcohol screwed you over."

"Yeah, I've got liver cirrhosis. I'm in the hospital until I get a transplant."

Carter smiled sadly. "Seems like the only thing that could bring you back was your own problem."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're back because you're sick. And here I am thinking you actually wanted to see me."

"I do want to see you!"

"If you did, you would've come earlier. Or at least responded to my text. But I guess you didn't think about me as much as I thought about you."

Vivian ran her fingers through her hair, frustrated. "I thought about you every single day. I was just so busy with school."