Attention

7

___

It was time.

It was winter break and we were ready to go out and find his mom.

I was sitting in Carter's car at nine in the morning, waiting for him to grab a few more things from his house. Carter told his dad he was going on a trip for the whole week with some friends and since my parents know I have no friends, I told them I got a babysitting job that required for me to stay the entire week at this person's house. And they believed it. But the only reason we told them a whole week was because we didn't know when we'd be back.

Carter came back out and put the things he got into his backseat. When he finally got in the drivers seat, I ask, "You got it?"

He holds up the most important item of this trip. Her picture. "Of course."

And then we were driving.

I could feel the intense hope radiating from Carter that we would find his mom. It made me nervous. What if I wasn't doing the right thing? What Joey told me four days ago was really starting to get to me. But if we don't find his mom then there's one positive thing coming from this. I got to spend time and be close to him. I've really got to know him.

"...hungry?" I hear Carter's voice say while he was glancing at me but also keep his eyes on the road and I was staring straight at him.

I shake out of my thoughts, blushing from being caught. "Uh, what?"

An amused look appears on his face. "I asked if you were hungry? You're stomach was growling."

I put my hand over my stomach. "I guess I am."

He nods. "Okay, then, we'll stop for breakfast before we really hit the road."

I nod and stare at the window before I catch myself staring at him again or worse, he catches me.

He pulls up to Denny's and my stomach growls again. I groan. "Okay, let's hurry up and eat before my stomach eats me."

Carter chuckles, putting the car in drive. We both get out of the car and make our way inside the restaurant. A middle-aged brown haired lady approaches us. "Hi, welcome to Denny's. Is it just you two?"

Carter nods. "Yes, it is."

The hostess smiles. "Okay, follow me and I'll get you seated."

We follow her and she takes us to a booth. I smile at her. "Thank you."

She nods, smiling back at me. "No problem. You're waitress will be right with you guys."

She walks off and I sit down in the booth, Carter following suit on the other side. Carter picks up his menu and I take advantage of his distraction to look at him. His determination to find his mother was very admiring. What would happen after this anyways? What if we do find his mom? He lives happily with her and forgets all about me? I need to stop thinking like this. I sound selfish.

"If you're gonna stare at me, make it less obvious." he says while still looking down at his menu.

My eyes widen and I can feel myself blushing. I hurry up and grab my menu to see what I want. Damn it, I was caught. Again. "Sorry." I mumble.

He chuckles. "No, it's okay. I know you can't help it, I'm just too handsome." he says, jokingly.

I narrow my eyes at him with a small smile on my face. "Oh, shut up."

He laughs and I can't help but stare at his smile, showing his bright white teeth but I quickly tear my eyes away and back to my menu before he notices.

"Hello, guys," a waitress comes up to our table, "I'm Kathy, I'll be your waitress, can I start you guys off with something to drink?"

Carter nods his head at me to go first.

"I'll have an orange juice." I say.

She nods, writing it down. "And for you?" she says to Carter.

"A coffee."

She nods. "Alright, I'll get that for you guys. Be right back."

A few minutes later, she comes back with our drinks. She asks us if we're ready to order and we both were so we order and she goes off to go get our food.

I take a sip of my orange juice when Carter asks, "So, why are you helping me?"

I almost choke on my drink. What do I say? I'm helping you to get closer to you because I like you? No.

"Uh.." I struggle to think of what to say. "because if...if this was happening to me, I would want someone to help me."

He nods. "Okay, well, thank you. I really do appreciate it."

A smile stretches onto my face. "You're welcome."

Thirty minutes later, our food is here. We don't talk because we're too busy eating our food. Carter gets steak with eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns and I have classic pancakes with eggs and bacon. You can't go wrong with classic pancakes.

I swallow the piece of bacon I was chewing on. "So, where are we headed?"

Carter takes a sip of coffee. "The one place I know my mother might be."

I tilt my head. "And where's that?"

He smiles. "The beach."

My eyebrows scrunch. "The beach? Four hours away and during the winter? Why would she be there?"

"When I was little, she told me that the beach always calmed her and helped her forget about her problems. So, why not go there to forget about the family she left?" He looks down, pushing his eggs around with his fork. "She has to be there." he mumbles.

Please, let her be there.

A/N:

Who thinks she's gonna be there?

Or not?