For Carter, Bella going to Saco with Reef was a kind of unbearable mockery. Meanwhile, for Alex Ross, finding out that his daughter had gone to Saco with a young man he had disliked for a long time was considered insubordination. When Carter called him and told him that Bella and Reef were no longer at the apartment, Alex was furious.
"Why didn't anyone tell me that that ignorant young man was staying at Bella's apartment?" he said grumpily. "Did you really just find out?"
Carter knew Alex's temper well. He replied calmly, "Yes, I just found out yesterday."
"Who else knew?"
Carter thinks of his uncle Nathan, who seems to be siding more and more with Bella instead of his nephew. Nathan is a pain in the ass, he grumbles to himself. Carter never knew what the other guy wanted. Nathan was used to doing things on a whim.
"Nathan, my uncle, he knows. Lately he and Bella have been seeing each other like they're talking about some business."
