---
"Cara, are you ready to go?" John Spencer asks his daughter as he stops in the doorway of her bedroom. Cara had been standing in front of her mirror, deep in thought, but was startled at the sound of her father's voice. "Oh, um, yeah," She says, grabbing her black clutch off of her dresser and following her father out to the car. When they arrived at the funeral home, Cara couldn't bring herself to step out of the car. John spotted Derrick Connors standing outside with a cigarette in his mouth. Sighing, he got out of his car and walked over to him, Derrick's eyes widening as he desperately attempted to conceal the cigarette. "Relax, I'm not here to bust you for smoking," John says. "I think we all need it right now. But I'm here to ask for your help with something," Derrick shifts on his feet, giving John a confused glance. "What's up, Mr. Spencer?" He asks. John sighs and looks towards the car, where Cara was still sitting in the passenger's seat, deep in thought. "Can you get Cara inside? Or at least out of the car? She seems to listen to you more than me these days," Derrick nods his head at John's question. "Of course," He says. John smiles and pats Derrick on the shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss, Derrick," He says. Derrick simply nods and walks towards John's car, whereas John heads into the funeral home to give his condolences to Diane and Maxwell Connors.
"Cara, you okay?" Derrick asks as he opens up the passenger's side door of John's car. Cara didn't flinch, she just stared through the windshield. "Come on, Car, you need to get out," Derrick pleads, taking her hand in his. She glances down at their intertwined hands before looking up at Derrick, who had a pleading look on his face that read "Please don't make me do this alone," Nodding, Cara steps out of the car and wraps her arms tightly around Derrick. "I'm so sorry," She whispers, finally allowing the tears that were building to fall free. "This is all my fault," Derrick lightly pushed her back and put his hands on her shoulders. "Don't say that," He says firmly. "This is not your fault. You made mistakes. Everybody does. Blair forgave you for yours," Cara raises a questioning eyebrow. "What do you mean?" She questions. Derrick shifts on his feet. "She told me a month ago that she was ready to forgive you and your friends, not including Sierra and Kayla, for everything," He explains. Cara shook her head in disbelief. "Even if she did say that, I'll never forgive myself for all the shit I put her through," Derrick sighs and holds his arm out to Cara. Hesitantly, she laces hers with his and together they walk inside. "I'm sorry for being weird," Cara whispers to Derrick once they're inside. "This is all just so much," Derrick nods in understanding, leaving Cara with Bailey, Ellie and Sydney while he heads over to where Carlos, Kevin and Micah stood. "How are you doing, hon?" Sydney asks Cara, who shrugs her shoulders. "I feel like I'm probably going to get shit-faced drunk tonight. Anybody wanna come with?" The girls all chuckle at their friend. "Why don't we all head up to the cabin up on Mt. Hood?" Ellie suggests. "The cabin? I want to come!" Kevin exclaims as he wraps an arm around Bailey's waist and kisses her cheek. "Why don't we all go?" Cara suggests, her eyes locking on Derrick, who shakes his head. "I'm gonna stay with my parents," He says. "But we'll have to make up for it sometime, just you and me," Cara gives him a small smile before he turns and walks over to where John, Diane and Maxwell stood. "What was that about?" Sydney asks Cara, who's eyes locked with Ellie's, begging her not to say anything. "Oh, it's nothing," Cara says, lying through her teeth. "Derrick and I are just close," Carlos then wraps an arm around Cara's shoulders. "Well, I say we all go grab some dinner later, then go home, pack our shit and head up to the cabin,"
---
After the funeral came to an end, Cara found her father standing with Maxwell Connors. "Hey, dad, do you think it would be okay if my friends and I went up to the cabin for the weekend?" She asks him. John raises an eyebrow. "Who all wants to come?" He asks her. "Bailey, Ellie, Sydney, Carlos, Kevin and Micah," She says. "But don't worry, the girls won't be rooming with the guys," John gives her a playful, skeptical look before nodding his head. "Oh, alright," He says. Cara smiles and hugs her father tightly. "Thanks, dad," She says. John nods again. "When are you leaving?" He asks her. "Well, we are all going to go get some dinner, then we're gonna go and pack our stuff and head out tonight?" She says as more of a question. "Alright, honey. Have fun. I love you," He kisses the top of her head. "Thanks dad. I love you too,"
Cara met up with Carlos outside the funeral home. "Ready to go eat?" He asks her. Cara nods her head and slides into the passenger's seat of his truck.
---
Carlos dropped Cara off at her house an hour later and told her he'd be back in another hour to pick her up. Cara ran up the stairs and into her bedroom, pulling out her duffle bag she'd rarely used and began tossing clothes into it. As she was packing, she didn't hear Derrick walk into her room. He stood, leaned against the doorway, watching her. The girl he was so helplessly in-love with. Cara then walked into her bathroom to get her makeup and other necessities. When she came back into her bedroom, she gasped in surprise when she saw Derrick. He chuckled at her and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. "What are you doing here?" Cara asks him, stuffing the last couple things into her bag and zipping it up. Silently, Derrick wraps his arms around Cara's waist and pulls her into him, setting his chin on top of her head as they embraced. "I'm gonna miss you this weekend," He says, running his hands behind her to cup her ass. She gasped, and Derrick smirked at her. "I'm gonna miss you too," She says quietly, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck. Backing her up against the wall, Derrick pinned her arms above her head and kissed her. She moaned against his lips. When he dropped her arms, she immediately wrapped them around his neck again. After a few minutes of a steamy make-out session, Derrick pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. "I've got twenty minutes before Carlos comes to pick me up," Cara tells him in a strained whisper, causing him to smirk at her. "We'd better work quick, then," He says, picking her up and tossing her onto the bed. He crawled on top of her and began trailing kisses down her neck.
---
"I'll see you on Monday?" Cara says as more of a question as she hugs Derrick goodbye. He nods his head. "Yeah, see you on Monday," He presses a quick kiss to her lips before walking out of her bedroom and out to his car. Cara watched him drive away from her bedroom window. Sighing, she sat down on the edge of her bed, touching her lips with her index finger, a smile on her face.
"What's got you so giddy?" Carlos asks her as she climbs into the passenger's seat of his track after tossing her bags in the backseat. "I'm just excited to be spending a weekend with my friends!" Cara says, smiling at him. "It's gonna be good for us, to get away from everything that's happening," Carlos nods in agreement and pulls out of her driveway. "Well, get comfortable, we've got a long drive ahead of us,"
