Catch Me

Chapter 2

Instead of walking to the bus stop like I usually do after school, I walked with Carter down to CVS. It wasn't a bad walk, really, but three miles for a girl like me, who's not athletically inclined in the least, usually wasn't an everyday occurrence. Walking with Carter made me forget that it was a toasty 80 degrees, forget that I had a Spanish test to study for, and forget that I had to walk three miles to my destination.

After the walk that lasted over an hour, Carter stopped in front of the store and turned to me.

"Well, we made it here alive," he remarked with a smirk.

"Did you doubt that we would?" I teased.

"Au contraire, my friend. It just was a long walk. I was afraid I might die before we got here," he laughed. Oh my goodness, he thought the walk would never end. That is not good, I thought to myself. Not good at all. After a short silence, Carter linked my arm and walked me into the store. "Let's go find some food, Rylee," he said grazing towards the back aisles.

"That will be $35.98," said the girl at the checkout line. I began to hand her a five dollar bill when Carter stopped my hand. "It was only some gummy bears and a pack of gum you put in. I'll get it for you," he stated winsomely.

"What a great boyfriend you have," checkout lady said while punching numbers into the cash register.

"Oh, he's not my--"

"Why, thank you, Ma'am," Carter interrupted me. "I do what I can." We walked out of the of the store and sat on a bench by a tree in the parking lot.

"What was that about?" I asked giving Carter a nudge.

"Well, I was taught to say thank you when someone gives you a compliment and--"

"But you gave her the impression I was your girlfriend," I said, this time I was interrupting him. I really wanted to know what he was thinking. It would great if I found out he was interested in me.

"Oh," he shifted his gaze to the CVS bag. "I guess I did give her that idea, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did."

"Rylee, I was just playing along," he said, nudging my shoulder. I crossed my legs on the bench and avoided his gaze. That's just great, I thought. He sees this as a joke. Carter grabbed the gummy bears out of the bag and opened them.

"You know, I can already tell you are going to be a big part of what is left of my Sophomore year," he said picking up an orange gummy bear before handing the bag to me. I placed a long, brown strand of my hair behind my ear and looked at Carter.

"You too."

Since Carter's mom still had no idea how to navigate around town, I called my mom to pick us up. Sometimes I hated being one of the youngest in our class, still unable to drive until June 1st.

"How come come you don't drive?" I asked Carter.

"I just never got around to it," he said with a little bit of regret. My mom pulled up to the bench, and we got in the car.

"Where do you live?" I asked him. "My mom can drop you off."

"Oh no, honey, you can stay for dinner if you'd like. I am Mrs. Peters, Rylee's mom." Mom has always been the hospitable type.

"Yeah, um, Mom, this is Carter. He's new here," I said, suddenly embarrassed I hadn't remembered to introduce him earlier. I couldn't help it. I already felt like I had known him forever.

"Pleased to meet you, Ma'am," Carter said, flashing a genuine smile. "I would love to stay for dinner. Thank you for inviting me."

After steak and mashed potatoes, Carter and I began discussing plans on getting him back home. When we realized he lived just a block away, I decided to walk him back home as opposed to driving him home with my mom.

When we reached the door, I was greeted by a plump woman who looked about 40 with the same dusty blonde hair that Carter has. "You must be Rylee," she said, beaming. "Thank you so much for helping my little Carter out today. It sounds like you were very helpful."

I smiled. "You're welcome," I said handing her a CVS bag.

"Oh, Carter, you got me some paper towels! I couldn't find any in this house earlier. Thanks for remembering I needed them. And wow, you got lots of little things we're missing," Carter's mom hugged him.

"Hey Momma, may I please talk to Rylee for a moment?" Carter asked politely. She nodded, blew him a kiss and shut the door.

"My mom," he began. "She's definitely very protective of me. I mean, it's just us two in the world. Well, and I guess Grandma too, now."

"I understand," I said. "If you don't mind me asking, has she always been like that?"

"Well, when my dad died when I was nine, she realized that life is something we take for granted. We developed a really close bond trying to heal the scars. We've just stayed close ever since."

"Wow, I'm sorry Carter. I didn't mean to..." I stopped, searching for the right words to say. "That must be tough."

"Well," he whispered, taking a step closer to me. "Life is for the living. I miss him, but you can't live in sadness. That isn't really living."

I gave him a hug. "Have a goodnight, Carter," I said, releasing our hug.

"Thanks. For everything."

I walked home in deep thought. Carter Mattingly was one of a kind.