(Carl)
It had been many hours since my mom had left but I couldn't shake the feeling something big was happening in the house. There was been strange feeling of foreboding in the house but I chose not to pay much attention to it, convincing myself that I was just being paranoid. I knew Mom and Dad had an argument yesterday but I didn't know what it had been about. I had planned to just ask her when she comes home. I mean she had to come back, right? It's my Mom, I'm sure she and Dad are just having a little disagreement. That's normal for married couples, isn't it? I'm sure they'll cool off and get back together when Mom comes back home. Putting that in the back off my mind I continued getting ready for the dinner
After a quick shower and brushing my teeth I got dressed in the suit I had altered.
With everything going on recently I hadn't found the time or opportunity to ask my parents for new clothes so I had to take in most of my clothes albeit poorly, however I think this one was well done. I mean you don't even see the thread
I look at myself in the mirror one last time before going to put on my cologne.
"Huh?" I said realizing nothing came out
"Is it finished? No way I bought this last month and I barely used it. How can it be empty?" I asked before realization hit me.
I remembered how Brittney use to drown herself in the stuff so it was no surprise it finished.
I smiled as I reminisced about the past.
(Carl Mid October)
"What are you doing?" I asked walking into the room
"Nothing" she said pushing the perfume behind her
"Is that my perfume?" I asked
"Yeah" she sighed showing me the perfume
"It's like the fifth time I've seen you using it"
"Yeah so what?" She huffed turning he head cutely
"Why do you like that perfume so much? Don't you normally wear expensive perfumes?"
"Yeah so what? I like yours" she said
"Why? I thought you said it smells horrible"
"Yeah but it also smells like you" she said throwing her arms around me.
My face turned a shade of deep crimson when she said that and I couldn't help but smile shyly
"You're so cute" she said as she immediately kissed me. The deep kiss lasted for two minutes before she eased back with her arms still around my neck
"How about we cancel our date?" she said with a seductively smile
"What but I worked so hard to get these tickets."
"I know but maybe we could do something more fun. We don't have to cancel if you don't mind being a little late"
"More fun?" I said confused
"Yeah" she smirked
"Like what?"
"Getting lucky"
"Gambling?" I said before she sighed
"I mean let's do it, bone, get laid. I'm trying to put out" she said listing off references I didn't seem to get at the time
"Put out what?" I asked before she let out a grief filled sigh
"Sex Carl. I mean we should have sex" she said
"Oh that's what you meant" I said before my mind processed it and it seemed like my entire body blushed as I shook and stepped back nervously.
"What's wrong you don't want to?" she smirked walking towards me
"No" I said backing into a wall
"What?" She stopped and her smile seem to fade
"No I don't mean like that"
"What did you mean?" She asked looking me directly in the eyes.
Looking at her stare made me feel nervous so I turned away
"Mom always said sex is the most important thing to a girl. So are you sure you want to do it with a guy like me?"
"A guy like you? What the hell is that suppose to mean" she asked glaring at me
Not daring to look into her eyes I scratched my cheeks awkwardly
"I mean I'm not exactly Mr. Perfect you know. I know I'm socially awkward and not exactly the best looking guy in school. Are you sure you want to do it with me? A girl like you should be with a guy like.... Nick" I said
Her glare seem to vanish as she seemed to go deep in thought
"Are you kidding me?"
"Huh?"
"Do you think you can tell me who I can and can't sleep with?" She said glaring at me
"No I didn't mean it like that"
"So what did you mean?" She asked still glaring
"I....nevermind" I gave up
"Good so we can have sex now" she said but she still sounded a bit angry
"No"
"What? You seriously don't want to?
"It's not that" I said
"Then what is it?" She asked
"Um..... I need time to make it special" I asked sheepishly scratching my chubby cheeks
There was a awkward silence for a minute which was quickly broken by the sound of her giggling
"You're the cutest thing ever" she laughed
(Current Carl's POV)
That memory always made me smile. Wait why was I thinking of Brittney? That had been happening a lot. Mrs. Taylor was right, now that I didn't have her to keep me distracted Brittney was all I could think about. Even seeing something she once touched sends me back to blissful memories. I hated it because that's in the past. Whatever what was I gonna do about my cologne. It seemed like I had to go borrow my Dad's.
I walked out of my room and down the hall to my father's room but just as my hand was going to make contact with the door I froze. I didn't know why, but I was scared and I don't understand why, I had never been afraid of my dad before. As cold as he came off he would never hurt a fly, but for some reason he had changed. There was something really different about him. I guess that could be contributed to my paranoia as well.
"Yeah that's it! I'm just being paranoid" I convinced myself
"Come on Carl. Just knock the damn door. What's the worse that could possibly happen?" I tried to convince myself but for some reason I couldn't move. Just as I was about to walk away the doors opened and I jumped back seeing my father in an ugly sweat shirt and shorts wrapped in a filthy bath robe with his hair in a mess and his glasses crooked on his face
"Hey Dad," I nervously said as cold sweats ran down my back
"What do you want?" he asked coldly
"I came to....I mean I wanted to...Maybe I could... You know what nevermind" I said before walking away
"Carlton" Dad said stopping me in my tracks
"Come back here" he ordered before I walked backwards and turned back to him
"Come in" he said moving aside allowing me to walk in
"That tie, take it off" he said
"Uh why?" I said as he went into his closet and pulled out a blue tie and walked back over to me and took off my clip on
"You're a big boy you should know how to tie a tie" he said as he hung the tie around my neck
"Yeah I know" I sighed
"So who is she?" he asked
"What?"
"The girl. The one you're taking on a date" he clarified
"It's not a date. It's just dinner"
"Okay so who is she?"
"A classmate. Her name's Britney but trust me she's totally different from Brittney. Totally different" I said
"So you like her?"
"No Dad, I mean I just got out of a relationship" I said noticing his hand shivering as he stopped tying the tie
"I mean with Brittney of course. That hasn't even been two months yet. I think I just need time for myself" I said before he started tying it again now that I clarified
"So this Britney girl is she nice?" Dad asked
"I'd like to think so" I answered
"So why not give her a chance?" Dad asked
"I don't know Dad. I just don't think I'm emotionally ready for another relationship" I said
"If you don't put yourself out there you'll never be ready. Plus who better to try again with than a nice girl who seems to really like you" he said
You know I hadn't thought of it like that, but is it really okay? I don't think of Britney like that. I mean wouldn't that be like using her
"Okay I'm all done" he said before stepping back allowing me to look in the mirror
"You look great but there's something missing" he said before going to his dresser and took up his Eternity perfume from Calvin Klein
"Here" he said handing me the perfume
It made me smile because this was his favorite perfume but he was giving it to me
"What time did you guys say you were going to meet?" he asked going into his wallet
"Around 8"
"Okay so you should probably just get going then" he said handing me some money. I smiled looking at the clock before taking it.
The current time was 7:25
"Thanks and I'll see you when I get back Dad. Oh yeah can I borrow your car?" I smiled before walking out
"No but you can borrow your mother's" he said throwing me the keys to Mom's car
"Mom's car still here?"
"Yeah"
"But didn't she stay out last night? Did she call a cab?" I asked
"Carl, it's nothing you need to worry about. Just go and enjoy your dinner"
"Okay see you"
That was nice. That's the Dad I remembered. Moments like that had assured me everything was gonna be okay
I had got in Mom's car and drove away. As I drove along the road I stopped questioning why my mom's car was at home. I mean its totally normal right she's out of town. I guessed she had gone really far because she hadn't brought her car. I wonder where sure went. Maybe I should ask my dad when I get back. After that I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and that's when I noticed her waiting by the bus stop. It was the blonde I met at the bus stop
Wait didn't she have a car? Why is she waiting at the bus stop. What do I care? I'm sure she has her reasons. But it looked like it's about to rain. I can't just leave her here. I sighed
"Hey you need a ride?" I asked parking beside her
She stepped back before taking a good look at me. After recognizing me she smiled and agreed
"Thanks" she said putting on the seatbelt
"It's alright. So where you headed?" I asked driving off
"The Palace" she answered
"Is that where you're staying?" I asked
"Yeah my manager said it's a great hotel and she wasn't wrong. It's amazing" she said
"Yeah. Second best hotel in town"
"Oh have you been?" she asked
"No I haven't but I want to."
"You totally should. It's amazing, the staff there leave chocolates on your pillow and a glass of hot milk on the nightstand"
"What if you're lactose intolerant?" I asked
"Are you?" she asked smiling
"No" I admitted
"Then it's okay then isn't it and you can also request them not to do it" she said
"Fine that's pretty cool"
"And they even give you complimentary donuts and coffee in the morning" she added
"That sounds nice"
"Yeah, I hear they have to do stuff like that to compete with the Midnight" she said
"That sounds about right" I laughed
"Anyway you look nice. Where are you going?"
"Thanks I'm going for dinner" I said
"Really? Is it with your girlfriend?" she asked
"Actually no"
"You don't have a girlfriend?" She asked
"No"
"I find that hard to believe"
"I guess you say I was in a sort of relationship until recently"
"Oh did you two breakup or something?"
"Something like that. Kinda" I said
"Something like that? Kinda? How do you kinda breakup with someone?" She chuckled
"You can start by not really dating them to begin with" I chuckled
"What?"
"It's complicated. Don't you have a phone?" I asked
"Yeah but I just use it to keep in touch with my manager and look at cute animals pictures. I don't even have any social media account"
"Manager?"
"Oh yeah I'm a model" she said
"Right another model" I groaned
"Is that suppose to mean something?"
"Oh sorry. Please don't take it seriously. My ex was a model"
"Oh. I'm guessing it didn't end well"
"She cheated on me"
"I'm sorry to hear that" she said
"Yeah I shouldn't have been surprised it happened."
"How can you not be surprised?"
"It's something I expected. It's more surprising you don't have a social media account"
"I do have one but my manager manages everything. She decides what gets liked, posted and shared. It's more of a company account to be honest"
"So you haven't heard the gossip around town?" I asked
"I don't socialize much sorry. Should I have?" she said
"No it's great. I'm actually glad. It's kind of refreshing to be with someone that not judging me or giving me looks of pity. I almost forgot what that felt like" I smiled at her and she smiled back
I've got to admit she's really pretty. That cute smile of hers is amazing. No wonder she's a model with looks like hers it'd be weird if she wasn't
"So who are you going out with?" she asked
"Just a friend from school. She's new and she invited me to go for dinner"
"Really so where are you going?"
"The Midnight" I answered
"Really?"
"What? What's with that face?" I asked
"The new girl at school invited you, someone she doesn't know, to dinner"
"Yeah what's wrong with that?"
"She totally likes you" she giggled
"I guess" I laughed
"You guess? Come on, you don't just invite someone you just met for a fancy dinner"
"Okay so what? It's not like I'm interested in a relationship right now. To be honest I don't really like her like that"
"So why are you going out with her"
"Huh?"
"I mean if you're not interested you should have just told her straight away"
"I did"
"But you're still going" she said condescendingly
"Isn't that giving her hope?" she added
"It's not. Even if it is. Is it that bad? I mean maybe I'll end up liking her more than I expected"
"Okay so you expect to fall for her when you're still thinking of your ex"
"She's a nice girl. Why should it matter that I just got out of a relationship?"
"That's awful. You shouldn't bring emotional baggage into a relationship. A relationship like that is bound for failure."
"That's really judgmental for someone who just met me. Plus I tried turning her down but she practically forced me" I said
"Sorry, you look like a nice guy but going out with a girl like that seems wrong?"
"What's so wrong about it? What are you jealous?" I jokingly said
"Wow Carlton it looks like it's not just the body that's different. You're just another jerk too full of his damn self" she scoffed with an eye roll surprising me.
I was just kidding but wait....She's knew my name. How did she know my name
"How do you know my name?" I asked before she shook her head
"Look I'm close to my hotel so you can just let me off here. Stop the car" she said but I kept driving
"What are you doing I said stop the car" she said
"Did we meet somewhere before" I asked
Now that she brought it up I couldn't shake the feeling I knew her. She had seemed a little familiar before however I never thought much of it. However now I just can't shake the feeling I've seen her and it was really bugging me
"Let me off now Carlton" she repeated
"Did we meet at some camp or something?" I asked
"Let me out or I swear to God I'll scream" she said as I finally reach the Palace's parking lot and parked
The minute the car stopped she got out
"At least tell me your name" I said
"Fine my name is Ingrid Larsen" she said before running off
"Oh my god" I said as I watched her run into the hotel passing Nick as he got out