Escape Route | ✓

19

Carrie stared at the piece of paper in front of her, taking a deep breath and reading it over again. It didn't make much sense the first time she read it, and it still didn't the second time.

'Carrie, you should stop,' a gentle voice broke through the stuffy silence in the room. 'It's not doing you any good looking at all of that stuff tonight. You're not taking any of it.'

She slowly dragged her eyes up to meet Sebastian's and cracked a small smile. 'I know. But it's stopping my mind wandering. I'll go over it all another day, but I just want something to do right now.'

'You could go to bed?' Sebastian suggested, crossing his arms over his chest. 'It's past eleven o'clock now, you know. You need to get up early tomorrow morning.'

She shook her head. 'I won't be able to sleep,' she told him. 'Give me another hour, or so, and then I'll go to bed.'

It was the night before Derek and Greg's courtcase and Carrie was trying to distract her worried mind from the next day's proceedings by reading over some papers regarding Derek's business. Since he was going to plead guilty the following day, she was due to take over the day after. She had mastered pretty much everything she needed to in order to take over the company.

Three days before, she had met with Derek's personal assistant, who had been helping her with everything she needed to know and giving her some tips. It had been really helpful and reassuring, because Sharon was really nice and Carrie knew she would get along well with her.

With a sigh, Sebastian sat next to her on the sofa. 'I'm nervous, Carrie,' he admitted so quietly she almost didn't hear him. 'I'm nervous.'

'Me too,' she confessed just as quietly. 'I don't really want to think about it... But we've got each other, and we're going to get through this, okay?'

He nodded. 'Yeah. But I mean, he's my dad, you know? And I'm pressing charges against him...' he trailed off.

'For murdering our mom,' she continued flatly. 'I know that he's your dad, and for you it feels slightly wrong to be doing this, but she's dead, Sebastian.She's dead because of him.'

He exhaled noisily. 'Yeah, I know,' he muttered. 'And you're totally right, I just... I just wish it hadn't come to this. I wish that it hadn't been him and that it was all just... not this.'

Sighing lightly, Carrie rested her head against his shoulder. 'Don't we all?' she murmured. 'Don't we all.'

There was a long pause, while both siblings sat quietly, both lost in their own thoughts.

'I'm nervous about taking over the company, too,' she whispered, staring at the pieces of paper scattering the table in front of her. 'What if I mess it up? What if Derek put the company into the wrong person's hands and I get it all wrong? What do I do then?'

Sebastian shook his head, comfortingly rubbing his hand up and down his arm. 'Carrie, no. Dad is a very accomplished business man who knows what he's doing. Yes, he's clearly made some irrational decisions outwith that, but in business he knows exactly what he's doing. That's why his company is doing so well, because he knows what he's doing. If he picked you, it means that he knows you'll be great at it. He wouldn't have chosen you if he believed otherwise. He put aside the obvious tension between you two and chose this. He didn't do this to try and smooth things over, this was something entirely different. Don't worry, you've got this.'

Carrie smiled at her brother. 'You're great, you know that?' she murmured. 'You always say exactly what I want to hear in that moment.'

He chuckled lightly. 'Well, I am quite great., you know.'