I felt bad for asking, the fact that he went still just tells me how he's probably not ready to talk about it.

Carter stayed quiet and he avoided looking at me, "I'm sorry.... I didn't mean it in a rude wa-

He sighs, "Its fine"

I bite the inside of my cheek, "I guess I knew the question was coming one way or another"

I move a little closer to him, "Long story short it's to do with my dad" He says

I had a feeling

"Does he live here?" I ask

Carter shakes his head, "Not anymore"

I continue to listen, "My mom cheated on him four years ago"

I raise my eyebrows with surprise, I honestly didn't expect this from Melissa at all. "She was having an affair with some guy that she met at a conference, apparently it had been happening for months"

I do the math in my head, "So you were thirteen and Grace was two?"

He nods, "Anyway after my dad found out he obviously wanted a divorce. Mom didn't want one because she said it would create a bad look for her, this is back when her clothing line started catching a lot of peoples eye"

I've researched his mom before, she owns a lot of hotels and estates, as well as the clothing line. I frown, "So then how did they-

"Mom tried to bribe him, she wanted them to be together in the public eye but obviously get a divorce in private" He replies

"Damn" I say surprised

"My dad obviously didn't take the bribe, he tried hard to make things work for me and Grace but he couldn't stand her, so one day he just got up and left"

"Without a goodbye?" I frown

He nods, "Without a goodbye"

"So... legally they're still married"

"When people ask where he is she just says that he's on a business trip"

"You were definitely a daddy's boy then" I say amused

He gives a sad smile, "I was a mommy's boy actually"

I frown, "Grace however was a daddy's girl" He continues

I think I know where this is going, "She was always trying to talk and was loud when he was around, her first word was dad too" He smiles at the memory and I look at him softly

"Then obviously after he left Grace eventually stopped interacting with other people. Melissa would always say it's because she was two and that toddlers don't really talk but over the years it didn't get any better"

"And so Grace developed selective mutism" I realise

"Exactly, hence why I can't stand Melissa"

"You look like you need a hug"

He snorts, "I don't-

"You do" I wrap my arms around his torso and he laughs a little

"You know your mom probably blames herself already right?" I mumble

Carter sighs, "Yeah"

I lift up my head, "Do you still talk to your dad?" I ask softly, he shakes his head

"Then I guess they both have something to be held accountable for"

He hums in response

"Carmen!" Melissa calls out from downstairs

I sit up before patting his chest, "Carter time over"

He snorts as I get up, "Practise your breakup speach for Eliza"

"Fuck you"

I smile before walking out and heading downstairs, "You going?" I ask

Melissa nods, "I'll see you two tomorrow" She smiles

"Later"

I'm not gonna lie I see Melissa a little differently now, I honestly didn't expect her to be the type of person to have an affair. She probably learned from her lesson though, I doubt she still talks to the person that she cheated with. I guess what they say about rich people is true, they can be wicked with their money.

"So...I think we should have a rematch at snakes and ladders"

Grace watches as I take the game board out of one of the cupboards, I sit down opposite her at the table and she bites the inside of her cheek. "You ok sweetie?"

"C-... can you make my hair look like yours?" She asks shyly

I wanted to jump, I wanted to scream, I wanted to shout to the roof tops. Grace Miller just spoke to me...... biggest highlight of the day. I could've had an over the top reaction but you know what, let me stay calm.

I smile, "Of course" I reply before standing up

How was that for a calm reaction

"Why don't you sit at the island whilst I get your hairbrush" She jumps up off her seat before running to the kitchen and I smile a little

As I pick up her hairbrush from the couch Carter leans on the door frame with an amused look, "What are you happy for?"

"Don't ruin my moment, your sister spoke to me"

He raises his eyebrows with shock, "For real?"

"No" I deadpan

He looks back at Grace as I walk over to her, "Ready?" I say

She nods excitedly

-

You can officially call Grace and I twins

"Damn you look like a princess, princess" Carter says impressed

"She's a queen you idiot" I reply

He raises his hands with surrender, "My bad"

Grace looks up at me with a smile, "Thank you"

"Your welcome" I say softly

"Can we order food now?" Carter questions

"Yeah" I pick up my phone only to end up frowning at the Lock Screen

The photo of me and Lola is covered with a bunch of notifications, all messages and missed calls. "Everything ok?" He asks after noticing my facial expression

I frown as I sit back on the couch, "Yeah I just-.... my siblings" I mutter before going onto the messages app

There's like so many texts....

Then there's four missed calls from both of them and then another two from Enzo. I ring my little sister right away, thankfully she answers on the third ring. "Finally" She scoffs

I stand up, "Sorry my phone was on silent, are you ok? What's wrong with Matty?" Carter looks up from drawing with his sister

"Me and Matty are fine"

"So what's going on?" I say confused

Lola sighs, "You need to come to the hospital.... It's about mom" And with that she ends the call

I get up before grabbing my shoes, "Hey what's wrong?" Carter asks softly

"I really need to go"

"Did something happen?"

"Yeah my moms in hospital"

He raises his eyebrows with surprise, "Can I drop you?"

I nod and he picks up his keys, "Grace get your shoes"

We were out of the house within five minutes, I don't even know what happened and I'm really worried. I mean it's the fucking hospital, nothing good ever comes from that. The car ride was silent, I kept my eyes trained on the outside world but I could feel Carter glancing at me every now and then.

Carter pulls into the hospital car park within two minutes, I undo my seatbelt quickly. "If I'm not out in twenty then you can go"

He looks back at Grace, she's playing a game on his phone. "We'll wait" Carter says softly

I smile appreciatively before closing the door and walking towards the building. I absolutely hate hospitals, the smell is just off putting, the food isn't great either, and let's not even start on the constant beeping that comes from the machines.

There's a lot of people sitting around in the waiting room, about half of them are probably going to end up receiving bad news, there's quite a few kids playing around too. I walk towards the front desk and the lady behind it looks up from her computer, "Isabella Rodriguez?" I ask

She types for a few seconds before looking back up at me, "Room 107"

"Thanks"

I practically ran, I don't know what's going on and that's what makes it worse. Finally I make it to the door, I spot Matty sitting on the bed besides mom who's in a hospital gown, she's smiling at him.

At least she's awake

Each and every one of my family members watch as I walk into the room. Literally, they're all here....even Daniel. "I'm sorry, I didn't have my phone on-.... Mom are you ok?" I ask

I notice how her smile wiped clean after I entered, "Clearly not"

You know what, for once I'm not gonna get mad

"What happened" I ask quietly

"She was having difficulty breathing because of her blood pressure, maybe you would know that if you weren't busy with Carter and actually had your phone on" Santiago says annoyed

Dad narrows his eyes, "Carter?" He questions

"Ok first of all I already apologised for having my phone off and two, what makes you think I was just with Carter" I scoff

"Enzo"

I look back at our older brother and he shrugs, "I saw you get into his car"

If only they knew

"Yeah to take me back to his house so that I could work" I shoot back

"You don't start work until 4:30" Adriana points out

"I wanted to go earlier today-

"Well it was just Matty, Lola and Santiago, they tried calling you-

"And I said that my phone was off"

I'm starting to wish I stayed at the Miller house

"Los dos se calman" Dad says to the both of us

"Deberiìa haber estado en casa" Adrianna says annoyed -she should've been at home-

"Do you know how dumb you sound right now?" I scoff

"How am I sounding dumb-

"Santiago is sixteen for fuck sake, your telling me that someone his age shouldn't know how to pick up a phone and call the damn ambulance?"

"Carmen her point is that you're the older one and you should've been at home instead of out with some boy" Mom finally says, Matty bites the inside of his cheek awkwardly

This is exactly why I hate big families, everyone chooses who they want to defend and go against. Because had it have been Santiago getting the blame, Enzo and Adri would've said something about it, or if it was Daniel then Enzo would've said something and so would I.

"You know what, fuck you"

Daniel raises his eyebrows and Matteo widens his eyes

"Carmen" Dad warns

"No fuck all of you. Mom I know you wouldn't have cared if I came or not because deep down you hate me"

She narrows her eyes, "Make it about you Carmen, it's what you do best" Enzo says amused

I'm not gonna cry, not this time. I point effortlessly at the tube going through my moms hand, "Hope you sort that out" I walk out afterwards, sniffing as the door shuts behind me

Who knew a good day could turn so shitty

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