Mezzanine

| 19 |

I shifted back and forth on my feet as I waited outside the door to Carter's house, trying to decide if knocking a third time would be overkill. His dad's blue sedan and his mom's silver SUV were both in the driveway, so I knew they were home.

The wind beat past me, chilling me to the bone. I shoved my hands into the pockets of my black jeans and tucked my chin against my chest. Wearing a hoodie or something would have been smart, but after talking to my mom, I'd barely been thinking straight.

Once we'd cleared the table, she headed out to run some errands. I took the opportunity to get out of the house too. I had to tell someone about what I just found out, so I ran the mile and a half to Carter's house, even though he'd been acting like an ass and ignoring my texts all morning.

"Come on Carter, I need to talk to you. Quit being a dick," I muttered under my breath, right as the door swung open. "Oh, hi Mrs. Turner." I immediately snapped my expression from a scowl to a smile.

"Jay!" Carter's mom's face lit up when she saw me. She dried her hands on a dish towel as she glanced over her shoulder. A classic rock song played quietly in the background, drifting in from the kitchen speakers. "Sorry I was just doing the dishes and didn't hear you knocking. I wasn't expecting anyone. Carter didn't tell me he invited you over."

"That's because he didn't," I replied.

"Oh." She looked me up and down, stalling for a second on my face and meeting my eyes. Something seems off about him. He's a complete mess. It's freezing outside, and he isn't even wearing a jacket. And how did he get that black eye?

"Can I come in?" I did my best to keep smiling and ignore her thoughts. "I need to talk to Carter, and he's been ignoring my messages all morning."

That's strange. It isn't like Carter to ignore Jay. He talks about him all the time. I hope they aren't in a fight or something.

"Of course," she stepped out of the doorway. "Sorry, I should have invited you in sooner. You must be freezing out there. Why aren't you wearing your jacket?"

I shrugged as I stepped inside. "I couldn't find it." That wasn't entirely true. I knew I'd left it in Lola's car, but I didn't have the nerve to message her about anything—let alone something as dumb as a jacket—after the way I chased her off last night. I'd gotten a few text messages this morning from a number I didn't recognize that I figured was her, but I hadn't even opened them.

"Carter's in his room." His mom gestured with her head to the stairs. "He hasn't come out yet this morning, but I think he's awake."

"Thanks Mrs. Turner." I headed to the stairs, taking them two by two before making my way down the hall to his room.

I paused at the door, considering if I should knock or not. The sound of gunfire and explosions came from inside, muffled by the walls. He had to be playing video games or something. If I knocked, he might ignore me, so I thought better and just pushed the door open.

Carter sat on the floor with his back against the footboard of his bed. He glanced at me for a second before immediately directing his attention back to his game. "You look like hell," he said.

"Thanks," I replied as I closed the door behind me.

"What happened? Did you get in a fight with your hairbrush this morning or something?"

"Or something." I shrugged as I went over and sat on the floor next to him. "You've been ignoring all my messages."

"Yeah," he replied, his eyes still fixed on the screen. Don't think anything. Don't think anything.