Cole sat in class, staring numbly ahead while his teacher nodded off in his own seat. At the pool yesterday, he was relieved to see Carter. She had borrowed his shorts, and in doing so revealed her legs. No bruises. No marks. His fear was put to sleep.
"Why are you so happy?" Taylor asked, taking a seat on Cole's desk.
Not realizing he'd been grinning, Cole gave her a confused look.
"You're smiling to yourself." Taylor elaborated, her friend laughing from the next seat.
"Er- I don't even remember." Cole stumbled for a lie.
"What time are we out?" Trevor asked groggily from his seat behind Cole.
"Like, a few minutes." Jake answered. Then to Cole, "You coming over later, man?"
With a lose shrug, Cole answered, "I might stop by. I don't know." He didn't feel like doing much of anything lately. He went to the pool yesterday, at the insistence of a different friend group, but most days he'd rather stay home in bed to stare at the ceiling.
"I'm going." Taylor smirked, leaning forward and wrapping her hands around her ankles. She wore blue jean shorts and a yellow crop-top.
"We're just watching movies." Trevor said in the same sleepy tone from before, "It's not a party, Tay, you'll get bored and ditch in fifteen minutes."
"Bet." Taylor shot back.
"Trevor's right." Cole teased.
Taylor opened her mouth to defend herself, but not before the dismissal bell cut her short.
Cole picked himself up and slung his backpack over his shoulder. He entered the hallway along with a large swarm of highschool bodies. He stood a head taller than most of the mass.
He pushed himself outside. Then without a word to his friends he walked home, stopping only once to pet a stray cat.
When Cole got home he changed into a fresh shirt and sat at the kitchen island to write an essay. He heard the front door open and close shut. Hailey came around the corner, still in her nurses uniform. "Is Nadia up?" She asked.
Cole shook his head without looking up, "Not for a few more hours."
Hailey tied her hair up before trotting upstairs, then into Nadia's room.
Cole was almost done with his report by the time Vee came home. "Carter didn't come to school." She said to him.
"Okay?" Cole said, unsure of what she wanted from him. Could Vee keep quiet? Just once? She didn't have to narrarate every single thought she had.
"I'm calling her."
"Mhm."
The younger sibling took the phone off the wall and typed Carter's number into it easily. She stood. And stood. "She's not picking up." Vee reported.
"Maybe she's sleeping." Cole said, citing his sources in his paper.
"Do you think I should go to her house?"
"Vee," Cole said turning around on the stool, "you oughta chill. She might've stayed home sick. Or she didn't want to go. She ditches sometimes, doesn't she?"
He returned to the keyboard, "I get you guys are friends, but you can't smother her."
"Don't be mean," Vee returned, "if she's sick I should take care of her."
"You're not her mom."
"I basically am. I take care of her."
"She's older than you."
"Barely."
Cole let out a sigh. Vee had a big heart. She was clingy. Naive. Kind. And while Carter was a gentle person, she clearly wasn't a cuddly one. Cole struggled to see how the two paired so well together. More like he and Carter would be best friends; both were sad and emotionally constipated. If only she were older.
"She left after midnight before. Maybe she got hurt on her way home." Vee said, concerned.
Cole paused. Hurt by what? Like, a car? A bear? It's not like there would be a serial killer stalking the woods for a victim in the middle of night. "If she was hurt you'd have seen her on the road going to school." Cole reasoned.
"I wasn't watching. May-" the phone sang and Vee grabbed it mid-way into it's first ring, "You've reached the Good residence, Vee speaking."
Cole strained his ears slightly. "Oh, okay. Do you want me to bring you soup? Tea?"
...
"Oh, well, will you come tomorrow?"
...
"Aw. Alright. Feel better, Carter. I'll see you whenever. Just call me if you need something." Vee said before hanging up. She sounded disappointed.
"Well?" Cole asked expectantly.
"She was sick."
Cole looked over his shoulder and lifted his eyebrows. Told you so.
"Shut up." Vee said, sticking her tongue out after.
