WRONG NUMBER // C.L ( #wattys2019 ) EDITING

29

Brooke's mum led Carson out of the room and downstairs, to the dining room. She sat down at the table, gesturing for Carson to do the same.

He took a seat across from her, running his hands up and down his jeans in a nervous manner. He cleared his throat,

"What do, uh, what do you want to talk about?"

"Brooke," Claire responded after a few seconds of silence. She had her hands folded on top of the table, a small smile on her face. "It's nothing bad, Carson, I promise."

"Okay," Carson nodded. "Go on, then."

"When I first heard about this... relationship between you and her, I was quite skeptic. For one, I didn't want my daughter talking to a complete stranger and... then there was the whole celebrity thing," She began, moving her hands around as she talked, much like Carson always did. "I didn't want my daughter involved with a celebrity. I don't know why...I just didn't."

Carson remained quiet, listening intently to her words. He couldn't help examining her face and seeing all the similarities her and Brooke shared. They had the same hair color, a light shade of brown, almost auburn. They even had the same eye color, except Brooke's  eyes shone bright with life, while Claire's seemed to have been dimmed a long time ago.

"But then...but then, Eric started telling me all about you two. He told me how greatly you treated her, how you looked at her, how you spoke about her, how heartbroken you were when you stopped talking for a while," Claire talked with admiration laced in her tone.

"How you came up with this whole plan to come and visit her." A single tear ran down her cheek and she was quick to wipe it away. "And, Carson, I am so, so glad you decided to stick by my girl. I'm so glad you are a source of happiness for her, something I couldn't be when she was younger."

"Brooke's dad walked out on us when she was just five years old. She was too young to know what the word 'divorce' meant back then, so it was all very confusing for her, which is understandable since she was just a kid. She was forced to grow up fast, to mature, take care of herself," Claire went on. Carson suddenly wanted to yell at her as the image of a young Brooke surfaced into his head. "And I sucked as a parent. I wasn't there for her when she needed me and now she's pushed me away."

"I focused on my work, but understand, when I tell you that, I was working so hard to maintain my children. I was suddenly a single mother of two and it all became incredibly difficult. I had no one to help me. It was just me. And I neglected my kids, which is something that I deeply regret."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Carson asked quietly, reaching his hand out to place it over Claire's in an attempt to comfort her, even though he knew she was in the wrong here.

"Because," she smiled through the many tears that were now streaming down her cheeks. "You make her happy. And I haven't seen Brooke this happy in a long, long time. I want to make sure you're not planning on breaking her heart."

"No, of course not," Carson was quick to reply. "I love Brooke, I really do."

"I thought so," She stood up and went around to Carson, pulling him into a tight embrace.

"I'm afraid of her breaking my heart," Carson confessed in a whisper.

A/N
This was a heavy chapter. I hope you enjoyed it :)
Neve x