Fate Entwined | ONC 2020

Three | Family First

"Uncle Adam!" Carter yelled, running up to Adam as he entered the apartment.

"Hey, bud!" Adam scooped Carter up into a giant hug.

"Carter, dammit... Don't run!" Cynthia, Adam's younger sister, scolded her son.

"Aw, come on, sis. He's a nine-year-old boy. You can't expect him not to run."

"I can, and he knows better. Plus, most nine-year-old boys don't have cystic fibrosis. He can't run. Adam, I swear to God, if you let him do shit, he shouldn't, and he ends up in the hospital, I'll kill you."

"Is she always this uptight?" Adam jokingly asked.

"What are you talking about? You caught her on a good day." Carter chuckled.

"Hilarious, you two. I'm serious, Adam. I can't afford to miss more work. His medical bills aren't cheap, and you realize his F, A, T, H, E, R, doesn't help."

"I'm nine, Mom. I can spell." Carter rolled his eyes.

"Oh, God. That's right. I'm sorry, Carter. Why don't you go play for a bit?"

"Fine..." Carter shuffled off.

"I get it, Cyn. I told you I'd help pay his bills."

"That's not your job. You've done enough for us."

"Come here." Adam pulled Cynthia into a hug. "You're my little sister and he's my only nephew. I'll do anything for either of you. It's not like I don't have it. I have a great job, and I'm all alone."

Cynthia smiled up at him. "And who's fault is that?"

"Yeah, I get it. You don't have to rub it in." Adam released her and walked into the small living room in the modest two-bedroom apartment. He plopped down onto the double-seater couch and stared out towards the windows.

Carter had wandered back into his room. The hiss of his oxygen tank provided the background noise for the tapping of his fingers on his PlayStation 4 controller.

"So, did you find her?" Cyn asked as she made her way into the living room and blocked Adam's view.

Adam leaned forward and peeked through Carter's bedroom door.

"Don't worry. He has his headset on. He can't hear you," Cynthia assured him.

"This woman is a fucking ghost, Cyn. She's on no social media. Who in this day and age isn't all over the internet posting all their business and their every move? But I couldn't find her phone number or anything. I reached out to some people we used to know mutually, and none of them have kept in touch, so none of them could help me with a phone number or address."

"What about the app?"

"She canceled her account shortly after our date."

"I'm surprised she didn't slit your throat with a butter knife when she saw you. You did her wrong, bro." Cynthia joined Adam on the couch.

"Tell me something I don't know. She looked so damn beautiful. I wanted nothing more than to grab her and kiss her. It's been years, but I want her like the first time I laid eyes on her. I love her so much, Cyn. That's why I haven't had another girlfriend since we broke up. I made the biggest mistake of my life. We would have been married by now. Perhaps even had a couple of kids. I adore Carter. I'm missing out, and I realize it more than ever. This was meant to be. How else can you explain us being matched?"

"Dumb luck?" Cyn shrugged.

Adam laughed. "I don't have that kind of luck. Or any luck, for that matter. Tara is, and will always be, the love of my life."