The IV League [EDITING]

Chapter 11

"I think I screwed up. Again."

"Why am I not surprised?"

Carter sighed and held his head in his hands. It was the day after his fight with Vivian, and he was beginning to regret his words.

"Joey, I feel really bad about it."

"Did you lie to Dr. Dev again? Or tell Morgan you don't have feelings for her, when you actually do, but you're just going to push her away because of what-"

"Woah, woah, woah, okay. Hold up. Why are you dragging her into this?"

"Well, who else could you have screwed over? Cassandra? 'Cause I don't think that even possible."

"No! This isn't about Morgan!"

"Then who is it about?"

"Vivian."

Joey sat up and scratched his head. "I thought you'd screwed up with Vivian a long time ago."

"Jo, you're not helping!"

"Okay, I'm sorry. What happened?"

Carter sighed again. "So, I'm guessing you already know what happened with Vivian. And I was really upset about it. And in an outburst of emotions, I told her that I didn't want anything to do with her anymore."

"Wow. Dude, that's harsh."

"I know! And I feel super duper bad because she needs me! Especially in a time like this. And I pushed her away, when she's trying so hard to hold on. I'm so selfish. I've made a huge mistake."

"Buddy, look." Joey put his hand on Carter's shoulder. "Not only did Vivian hurt herself, she hurt you. You trusted her, and she let you down. And you're allowed to be mad about that. You're allowed to be disappointed in her. You allowed to let her know how hurt you are by her actions. That does not make you selfish. You have the right to be pissed off. Don't beat yourself up over it."

"But I was so insensitive! She was already in so much pain, but I didn't think about that. I just thought about myself."

"And that's okay. Because Vivian was the one who screwed up. She put herself in that mess, and that's her burden to bear, not yours. So it's okay if you weren't concerned."

Carter scoffed. "I was more than not concerned. I was furious. Hell, I even punched someone in the face."

"Woah. You punched someone? Sweet!"

"No, not sweet! Not sweet at all!"

"Who'd you hit?"

"Noah, the guy who got the vodka."

"Wait, wait, wait," said Joey, "isn't that the name of the dude who Morgan has a thing for?"

"Yeah it's the same guy, and it's had."

"You punched him because of the vodka, or because of something else? Or rather, someone else?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, you sure you didn't punch him because of what he did to Morgan?"

"Why would I punch him for that?"

"Because he's made her so sad and insecure, and you care about her and you hate seeing her like that?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't punch him. I don't even know the guy."

"Maybe you weren't aware of how strongly you feel about her, and your subconscious toon care of it for you."

"That's a truckload of crap."