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She opened the door and showed me out.
Twenty
Zoe
Carter kept his word and he and Kieran came by a few times a week when both Rex and I were out. Our interactions were short and kind of blunt. Rex kept asking when he and Carter could go to the park for the ball game, and it broke my heart to lie and tell him that Carter was busy when it was never going to happen.
I tried not to get too upset. Carter was doing a lot of work on the condo, after all. But it still gutted me that he’d made an impulsive promise to Rex and wasn’t going to keep it.
I don’t know what it was about talking about his father that made him change his mind. But one moment, he was upbeat, ready to fix and solve and help. To be the man I know he could be if he believed in himself. And the next, he was the guy I met at the hot water heater that night. Selfish, aloof, and ready to bolt.
Which made breaking the news to Rex all the more heartbreaking.
“Maybe Carter can take me to the park tomorrow when I get back,” Rex said. He clutched his favorite pillow to his chest excitedly. He had a duffel and a sleeping bag on the backseat next to him.
We were on the way to Bobby J.’s house for Rex’s first sleepover ever. Rex was so excited to have been invited and I was proud as anything that he was making friends. Despite what Desmond said, I didn’t care about Rex being popular or the life of the party. I just didn’t want him to go through life isolated from the other kids. Books were nice and good grades were important, but they were no substitute for human connection.
“Maybe…”
Rex sat back in the seat, happily thinking about his sleepover. This was as good a time as any to break the news to him. Maybe he’d be so excited for tonight that he wouldn’t be too disappointed about Carter.
“Rex… actually… I don’t think Carter’s going to be able to play ball with you any time soon. Maybe ever,” I told him, carefully.
“Why not? He said he would.”
“I know.”
“He promised.”
“I know that too,” I assured him.
“Why would he say he’d do something and then not do it?”
I sucked in a deep breath, keeping my eyes on the road.Because he wanted to be a hero and then remembered that it required some work. Or maybehis true colors are coming through.But none of those answers were appropriate for Rex.
“Probably because…”
“We’re here,” Rex said. “It’s the red one. Number 118.”
I hurried to park while Rex grabbed his stuff, trying to get out of the car before it had even stopped. I walked him to Bobby J.’s house and after a brief talk with Mr. and Mrs. Jakinovich telling them to call me if anything went wrong, no matter how late, I got back in the car and drove back to my condo.
I got back home and found the front door unlocked. That was strange as I’d expected Carter and Kieran to be long gone by now.
“Hello,” I asked, cautiously. I walked inside, greeted by the sounds of power tools and “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones coming from an iPhone sitting on the dining room table.
“Hey, just finishing up,” Carter informed me.
Carter looked up from what he was doing and met my eyes for a split second. He wore a heather grey tee shirt, jeans, and work boots. My gaze wandered to his bicep, which strained against the fabric. I cleared my throat, hating myself for staring at him like that.
“It’s cool. You can leave it for tomorrow.”
“I’d rather just finish this tonight if that’s cool. I’m almost there,” Carter said. “Kieran had to leave an hour ago, so it’s just me here.”
“Okay then.”
I put my bag on the table and poured myself a little whiskey from the super secret Zoe-only cabinet over the refrigerator.
“Want some?” I asked Carter. “It’s the good stuff.”
