𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 || 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢

| 𝚝 𝚎 𝚗 |

It was loud. Carter's thoughts were blasting at full volume, screaming at him, words ripping through his head.

His mother had been in one of her rages, which never ended well. It hadn't this time either.

I wish you had never been born.

You were a mistake.

Everything that had happened next was a blur. The only thing that stuck with him were his mother's words, replaying in his mind over and over, like a song on loop, ricocheting around his head and splintering everything in their path.

His mother thought he was mistake. That she'd be better off without him. Panic settled in his chest, and it was suddenly hard to breathe.

He was a mistake.

His own mother wished he had never been born.

Someone could have stabbed him in the stomach with a knife and it would have hurt less.

Carter stood up, not being able to handle staying in his house anymore. He needed air. Air would make everything all right. Air would somehow, somehow fix him. Fix him so that his mother would love him again. Fix him so his father wouldn't leave. Just fix him.

He broke into a run, not knowing where he was going, not caring, because anywhere was better than there. Anywhere. It didn't matter where he was going, as long as he wasn't at his house. His house, not his home, because home was a warm place, filled with laughter and love, and his house was nothing like that.

It made him glad he was leaving.

That was when he remembered: he had promised Stella he'd meet her at the park. Making a few turns, he found himself there, amidst the trees, and breathing in the earthy scent. It helped calm him.

And there she was: Stella West, and her blue eyes were trained on his hazel ones fiercely. "What happened?" she demanded.

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"You're not okay," she said simply.

"I'm fine," he lied. Stell did not look impressed, and Carter sighed. She always saw right through him. "She said....." he trailed off. She prompted for him to continue exasperatedly. "She said she wished I had never been born and that I was a mistake," Carter said finally.

Her gaze flickered up to meet his. "Do you believe her?" she asked quietly, all annoyance gone from her tone.

He said nothing.

"Do you believe her?" she asked again, her voice rising.

"Maybe," he admitted quietly, and silence fell over them. They stood there awkwardly, until, out of nowhere, she threw her arms around him.

"Well, I don't," she said, her mouth near his ear. "You're amazing, Carter. You're one of my best friends. You're always there when I need you. Even if it's two A.M. in the morning and I need you to tell me a story." He didn't respond, only tightening his arms around her.

—
Ah, this chapter sucked. I'm sorry.

And, a huge thank you to Aeney @chronic_dreamer for helping me with this chapter! It was much appreciated.

Thank you so much for reading and please vote!