It was 2 o'clock in the night and everyone was already fast asleep in the cabin. Anne slowly opened her eyes and all she could think of was Victoria telling her not to be hard on Carl.
She slowly turned to the other side of the bed backing Clara and Victoria who were already sound asleep. She looked opposite her where the other bed was and she saw that Carl wasn't on the bed or in the cabin.
"where is he?" Anne whispered to herself wondering where he could've been in the middle of the night.
Anne was the last person to fall asleep so she saw Carl sleeping alone on the smaller bed while Victoria, Clara, and she slept on the bigger bed.
'Could he have gone back to New York in the middle of the night?' she thought, feeling worried and hoping that Carl hasn't left already.
Anne slowly got up from the bed to avoid waking up Victoria and Clara. She wanted to check for herself if Carl was still around.
She opened the door and saw Carl sitting peacefully on a bench by the door, gazing at the moon.
Anne heaved a sigh of relief as soon as she saw that Carl was still around.
"What are you doing here? You should be inside so you won't get cold." Anne politely said to Carl for the first time since he got to Alabama.
"Don't act like you care when you don't" Carl replied still staring at the moon without glancing at her.
"Fine!! You can sit here and freeze to death for all I care" Anne replied harshly, expecting Carl to give her a comeback but his face was without any form of annoyance.
He was just staring at the beautiful full moon like she wasn't there.
'he wouldn't even look at me,' she said in her head.
Anne delivered a long sigh, rubbing her palms together due to the cold.
'Is he going through something but doesn't want to open up?' she thought to herself, feeling a little guilty for shutting him out since he came to Alabama despite how nice he has been to her.
She thought about leaving Carl outside to go back to sleep but she couldn't leave Carl alone outside, gazing at the moon like he was depressed about something.
She sat down beside him on the bench with a few inches of space between the both of them.
However, Carl was still on the bench like he was alone, not acknowledging Anne's presence regardless of sitting close to her.
But on the contrary, Anne was feeling a little disturbed and anxious as to why Carl was ignoring her because she is not used to that treatment from Carl.
Carl has always adored her presence even if she treated him badly. She slowly shifted closer to Carl until there was only a centimeter space between the both of them and their arms could almost touch.
"Ahem" Anne cleared her throat for Carl's attention and it worked.
He finally looked at her with a faint smile on his face. He was surprised that Anne chose to sit with him instead of leaving him alone as she would normally do.
"What's so special about the moon that you can't take your eyes off it?" Anne asked Carl.
Carl exhaled.
"When I was eight years old, my dad used to tell me that, if I stared at the full moon and make a wish, it'll come true," he said.
"wow," Anne whispered.
"It's unbelievable isn't it?" Carl said.
"no is not, someone has told me that too." She said softly.
"so, do you mind sharing what you're wishing for?" she asked him.
"I want my best friend to be back on his feet. I miss him and I don't know how long he'll be in a coma… I'm worried he won't survive" he said sadly.
"wow, you're still on that cooked-up story," Anne said flatly.
"And you still doubt me, you still think I'm lying…" he said.
"..and who's fault is that?" she said and Carl sighed.
"Have you ever thought for a second that I was telling the truth? You know I wouldn't cook up such a story that Carlos got into an accident and he's in a coma. I'd never" he said truthfully.
Anne paused for a while, thinking about what Carl just said.
'Carlos is very clingy and possessive. He must've looked for a way to come see me like Carl did if he isn't really in a coma… Or he's probably on a honeymoon with his stupid girlfriend Linda' Anne thought to herself, frowning.
"what is it?" Carl asked Anne, noticing the angry look on her face.
"It's nothing," she shook her head.
"Are you sure? It seemed as if you were thinking about something that got you upset" he said.
"It's just funny how a person can make you feel like you're not enough," Anne said, referring to how she thought Carlos pictured her. She thought she was never enough for him or enough for anyone.
"If you're talking about yourself then you're totally wrong. You're more than enough" Carl said to her, staring at her bright silver orbs.
Anne bit down her bottom lip also staring at his beautiful eyes.
'is he just saying it?' she thought.
'…you should also know that not everyone has the same personality as their friends. Carl and Carlos might be best friends and even have the same names but Carl is different.'
Those words from Victoria rang in Anne's head like a song.
"how long have you two known each other?" She asked Carl, wondering why and how Carl and Carlos are even friends since they don't match at all especially when it comes to physical appearance.
Carlos has a gangster look while Carl appeared to be more of a responsible gentleman.
"Carlos and I?" Carl asked to confirm.
"Yeah" she responded.
"Twenty-two years. Carlos and I have been best friends since we were five… Though, it's kinda funny how we became friends" he said.
"Tell me," she said, paying full attention to him.
"I used to be bullied in school by seniors to the extent that I had to eat my lunch in the toilet. One day in school, six of those bullies were chasing after me in the hallway and that was when I bumped into Carlos. Without saying anything, Carlos quickly hid me in the janitor's closet.
When the bullies met Carlos to ask him where I was, he pointed in the wrong direction and they followed." Carl chuckled softly as he remembered the scenario.
"Since then, Carlos and I have been inseparable. He's got my back and I have his back too" he said.
Carl got a quick flashback of how he saved Carlos from the cops that were chasing after him when he stole some money from the bank. He smiled subconsciously as he thought of that.
'I hope he recovers soon' he thought to himself.
"That doesn't sound like the Carlos I know," Anne said.
"what do you mean?" Carl asked.
"The Carlos I know will be the bully chasing after you because of how aggressive he can be," she said
"Ohh you're right…" he laughed.
"…That was before he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Carlos was also an innocent kid too"
"I suppose" she muttered.
"You know, it's pretty hard to believe you were once bullied," Anne said touching his chiseled biceps with one finger.
"Ohh" Carl laughed.
"I didn't have muscles when I was five…" he said to Anne with raised brows.
"... And you need to be fit, working with the cops"
"wow! you really took it seriously," she said and they both laughed.
There was silence for some time after they laughed and Anne didn't even realize she wasn't feeling cold anymore.
"Carl, I... Uh... I think I owe you a thank you" she said, breaking the silence between them.
"what for?" Carl asked.
"For everything. Mostly putting a smile on Victoria and Clara's faces. No one has ever done what you did for them" she said with sincere gratitude on her face.
Carl smiled "it's just one of my hobbies, putting a smile on people's faces"
"I see" she nodded her head.
"Can I ask you something?" he said.
"Sure" she replied, curiously waiting for Carl's question.
"While I was taking Clara for a ride, she told me that since I was a superhero, I should use my superpowers to make her father disappear permanently." He said and Anne gasped.
"I asked her why and she told me it was because she hated her father so much… do you have any idea why?" he curiously asked Anne
"I didn't want to say anything to Victoria because I thought it was too personal. But hearing a little girl confess such a thing about her own father makes me really curious and anxious. That is why I'm asking you. What do you know about Clara's father?" Carl asked concernedly.
Anne deeply exhaled.
"I can understand why Clara told you that. It's because she's scared of her father. Victoria divorced him a few years ago but he still acts like he owns her. He shows up whenever he feels like and he beats her up for the slightest thing." Anne said, frowning.
"What?" Carl exclaimed. "is he crazy or what?"
"he is crazy!! I mean, he's such a scumbag. The worst part of it all is that he is Clara's father no matter what… Clara is afraid of him because he beats up Victoria right in front of her." She said.
"That man needs to be locked up in jail… it's insane to beat up a woman let alone beat up your wife in front of your kid" Carl said.
"Not every man knows how to treat a lady right, Mr. McAlester," she sighed.
"well… good manners make the man," Carl said and Anne smiled at him.