Carlee
The Next Morning
Knocking on Chris's room door, I waited for him to answer. It took a few seconds but he finally did with just a pair of grey sweatpants on. My eyes quickly stared at the print in front of his pants then up at his face. I could tell he was trying to suppress his smile. I felt embarrassed that caught me.
"Wassup?" He asked.
"Oh, uh, I was going to go look at some cars for Carter's graduation present and was wondering if you wanted to come."
"Yeah, just let me get dressed."
"Ok, I'll be downstairs waiting."
"Alright."
I was about to walk away but he grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. "Good morning, by the way." He placed a kiss on my forehead.
"Good morning." Quickly pulling away, I rushed downstairs and went into the kitchen. Mama J, sat at the counter eating and reading like she does every morning. "Hey ma." I hugged her.
"Hey sweetie, how are you?"
"I'm good."
"So How is everything going with Chris?"
"Good, we talked last night and honestly I feel a lot better."
"Talked about what?"
"Working on our friendship. Everything isn't going to change overnight but we decided to take things one step at a time. We just want to be able co-exist. We still have Kylee to raise and that's not going to work if we're not speaking."
"That's true but Carlee, I know the feelings are still there. It'll be easy for you to fall back under his spell. Stand your ground, don't let things go past a friendship."
"I won't, I'm too nervous about getting hurt by him again. There's this wall built up that I know not to let down. In the past all he had to do was bat those eyelashes or flash that smile and I'll be putty in his hands. Things are different this time around. Yes he apologized but it doesn't change how horribly he disrespected me."
She nodded. "Okay. I just want to make sure you're fully focused on Eric."
I smiled. "Yeah, I am."
"Good."
Chris soon appeared in the kitchen with a upset look on his face. "You ready?"
"Yeah."
"We'll see you in a little bit Ma." He said before heading to the door. I'm guessing he heard our conversation.
During the car ride he stayed quiet, only focusing hard on the road.
"You okay over there?" I asked.
"Yeah." He answered dryly.
"Don't lie, what's wrong?"
"It's just crazy hearing my own mother giving you pep talks about not dealing with me."
"Chris she's just making sure that I don't set myself up for failure once again."
