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My head was pounding. I was half asleep and half awake and I didn't even know where I was or how to pronounce my name, yet I knew one thing for sure: my head was pounding. I groaned into a pillow and squeezed my eyes shut as the initial haziness from waking up clears and I fully come to. I take a deep breath and freeze.

That was not the smell of my pillows. While my pillows smelled consistently of the lemon detergent my mom uses in the washer machine, these pillows smelled musky like coffee grinds or something of the sort. Slowly, I lifted my head from the pillow and looked around the room to confirm I was not, indeed, in my own bedroom.

My eyes scanned the room cautiously and stopped on a figure lying face down on the hardwood floor with a blanket bundled up by his head to act as a pillow. I stare at the person for a good minute as I think of what to do. I was in a strange bedroom that most definitely did not belong to me or anyone I knew and there was someone passed out on the floor.

Momentarily, I panic and wonder what I did last night. Did me and the floor-person hook up or something? I glance down to see that I'm still in the too sizes too tight outfit that Georgina had me wear and take the fact that the person is lying on the floor instead of the bed as a good sign. Relief floods me briefly before I remember the odd situation I found myself in.

I sit up in bed and swing my legs over the side carefully so my feet touch the cold hardwood floor. As I move to stand up, the floorboard creeks under my feet, and I watch in horror as the stranger stirs from his sleep. I freeze in my position as I watch the person shift and watch wide eyed as Carter sits up and looks at me.

I'm not sure if I'm relieved that it's not a stranger or horrified that it's Carter lying on the ground, so I don't make a move. Instead I just stare. I stare at Carter's bedhead that I so badly wanted to run my fingers through, and at his hazel eyes that blink at me in a daze. We look at each other for a good minute before he runs a hand through his messy hair and smiles at me.

"Good morning," Carter's voice is husky from sleep.

I pretend like I don't notice his extremely sexy morning voice and instead ask him, "Why am I not at home? And why are you on the floor?"

He scratches his head as he looks at me sheepishly. "Well, you got pretty wasted last night and we came up here-"

"Oh God," I cover my face with my hands as panic sets in. "We didn't have sex, right?"

Carter shakes his head and I let out a breath of relief. He stares at me blankly for a moment before he shakes his head slowly. "I'll try not to take offense to how relieved you look that we didn't do anything. I took you upstairs and you passed out."

But I was relieved, especially because I was trying to maintain the whole I-don't-like-you-anymore act. I expect Carter to look deflated, like he often did when I was cold to him, but he looked at me with newfound determination. It shocked me initially and I just stared into his golden flecked eyes for a long moment.

"So this is Wes' house," I announce awkwardly as I tear my gaze away from Carter's to glance around. "Do you know what time it is?"

Carter feels around in his pockets for something before producing a phone from there. I narrowed my eyes at it to see it better, and then realized it was my phone. He glances down at the screen and then back up at me.

"Nine fifty seven," He answers casually and then tosses my phone on the bed.

My eyes practically bulge out of their sockets. "It's ten o'clock? Oh God," I groan as I drop my head into my hands. "My mom is going to kill me. I told her I was going to a movie, not staying out all night."

Carter's lips tug upward in a small smile. "I texted her last night to tell her you were staying at Georgina's house."

I lift my head up at the information and stare at Carter for a long moment. Before I could really filter my thoughts, I ask him seriously, "Why are you being so nice to me?" He just stares back at me and when he opens his mouth, I cut him off. "You were done with me by the end of summer and then you showed up at my school acting like nothing ever happened between us. I've been an absolute bitch to you and yet you still take care of me when I'm drunk and make sure I don't get in trouble with my parents. Why do you care? Why are you still trying?"

My words hung heavy in the air for a long moment as a pained expression flitters across Carter's face and his eyes search my expression like he was willing me to understand something. But I didn't understand and I didn't know if I wanted to, but I couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of my mouth.

"I never stopped caring," Carter says slowly and my heart stops when I hear his voice thick with an emotion that I wasn't expecting. "Amelia, I-"

The bedroom door swings open and a disheveled Wes stands there with a goofy smile on his face. His clothes looked tugged on and his hair was all over the place, and yet his eyes were bright as he grinned at us. "Good morning, you two."

I looked away from Carter but still felt his intense gaze linger on me and I tried to ignore the way my heart was thumping wildly in my chest in anticipation of what his next words would be.

"Morning Wes," I pull my lips up into a smile but even I can tell it's forced. "Thanks for letting me crash here."

He waves me off. "Anytime," Wes glances at Carter with an amused expression on his face. "What are you doing on the floor there, Miller? You know I had another empty bed down the hall, right?"

I finally glance back at Carter to see his intense gaze still focused on me as he says, "I wanted to make sure Amelia was okay."

"How sweet," Wes drawls by the doorway. "The maids are cleaning downstairs and Joey is making breakfast if you guys want to come down."

I tear my gaze away from Carter once more and nod. "Thanks, Wes. We'll be down in a minute."

He nods before heading off down the hall, leaving the door opened a crack. I finally turn back to Carter and see the same intensity in his eyes as he looked at me as if he was pained. My breath caught in my throat from the look on his face and my heart picked up speed once more. We just stared at each other for a long moment, neither of us saying anything, as the silence weighed over us.

"Amelia," Carter begins to say again as he breaks the silence in the room.

But I shake my head, because I suddenly realize that I don't want to know the answers to the questions I asked. I couldn't deal with some bullshit answer and not being sure if he was being genuine or lying. I just couldn't.

"No," I say hoarsely and tear my gaze away from him as I stand up shakily. "I'm going home."

I can feel his gaze burning a hole through me as I begin taking shaky steps toward the open door. I hear Carter stand up behind me as he pleads, "Amelia, please just-"

"Carter, dont," I meant the words to be fierce but I'm stricken by how desperate and small my voice sounds. I turn around to look at Carter and feel the unshed tears well in my eyes as I stare at him and shake my head again. "Please just don't."

His lips press into a tight line as he watches me turn back around and head out the door then pad down the hallway. The smallest, tiniest part of me screamed to go back and listen to what he was going to say. To give him another chance. But the bigger part of me knew that I couldn't trust someone who made me feel so weak, so vulnerable, so bare.

By the time I make it downstairs, I put a mask on so nobody will be able to tell that I was seconds away from tears in the bedroom upstairs. I hear Joey and Wes in the kitchen and peak my head in to say goodbye, and when I do, I see Georgina sitting at the counter. She turns around to look at me and I see the bags under her eyes and the paleness in her skin.

"Wow," I tell her with a wince. "You look like shit."

Georgina smiles bitterly. "Thanks, I didn't know."

Joey turns around and grins at me as he chirps, "Morning Amelia. Do you want some eggs? I can make you an omelet."

"You didn't offer to make me an omelet," Wes whines from beside him.

I force a smile at the two of them and shake my head. "No thanks. I'm going to head home, actually. Thanks again for letting me stay here, Wes."

Georgina slowly stands up and stretches for a good moment before she nods. "I'll drive you home, Amelia. I really need to get back and take a shower. I feel like absolute death."

"You look like absolute death," I tell her with a teasing smirk.

She narrows her eyes at me. "You know, it's not too late for me to rescind my offer for a ride."

I laugh at her empty threat and tell her, "Kidding." She nods once and grabs her jacket and keys form beside her on the counter before saluting the boys. "Thanks for letting us stay over, Wes. And thanks for throwing a pretty kick ass party."

Wes smiles at Georgina warmly. "Anytime, Gina."

Joey snickers from beside him and mocks in a high pitched voice, "Anything for you, Gina. Anything at all-"

Georgina's cheeks warm as Wes swiftly hits Joey in the stomach, causing him to double over instead of continuing his poor impression. I laugh to myself and shake my head at their antics before Georgina and I head out toward her car. It's not until we are safely in the car that I look at her and smirk.

"So," I drawl slowly and, before I even say anything, her cheeks flush again. "Wes, huh?"

She starts the car and gives me a sideways glare. "Carter, huh?"

The smirk drops off of my lips and goes onto hers as I mumble begrudgingly, "Touche."

"Seriously though," Georgina's tone shifts as her gaze slides to me again. "Carter was acting like a jealous boyfriend most of the night and then he disappeared to make sure you were alright."

I shrug in the hopes to feign indifference. "He'll give up eventually."

She stops the car at a red light and gives me her full attention. "I'm not so sure about that. He genuinely seems to care about you, Amelia."

"No," I say, my voice surprisingly hoarse, and I shake my head because he can't genuinely like me, not after what he said to me at the end of summer. "He doesn't. Let's just drop it, okay?"

"But-" Georgina tries again.

"The light is green," I cut her off and stare straight ahead with a hardened mask to cover the rush of emotions that were trying to float to the surface.

Georgina quieted down after that and we listened to the radio in silence for the duration of the car ride. I was thankful that she stopped pushing it because every time I thought about Carter, it chiseled away at my heart a little bit more. I was painfully aware of the fact I still loved him despite how much I wanted to hate him.

As we drove, I tried to remember specific events of last night, but it all goes hazy after the game of beer pong that we were all playing. I tried to remember past that but nothing came up. Everything was just blank. So when Georgina pulled the car up to my house and put it in park, I turned to her with hesitance and concern written all over my face.

"Did I..." I start slowly as my gaze finally connects with hers. "Do you know if I said anything to Carter last night? Anything that I wouldn't be happy about now?"

She smiles sadly at me. "I didn't see you again after you left the game. I'm sorry, Amelia."

I force a smile and nod at her. "It's fine. Thanks for the ride." As I climb out of her car, I give her a short wave. "I'll see you on Monday."

When I walk inside, I hear shuffling and both of my parents voices in the kitchen. I decide that it's for the better to tip toe around the kitchen and head upstairs unscathed, but as I was walking by as quietly as possible, I heard my name.

I paused outside of the doorway leading into the kitchen and leaned my head closer to the entrance so I could hear what they were talking about without getting caught. When I was younger, I was a pro at eavesdropping on their constant conversations about piano.

"Since when do we allow her to go out all night?" My father's harsh voice boomed. "We don't even know the girl she stayed with!"

I hear my mom's sigh as she says, "She just had a sleepover. We shouldn't make a fuss of it. After all, she hasn't had any friends ever since her and Jake broke up at the end of last school year."

I'm surprised when I realize that my mom is defending me. I mean, she has been weirdly lenient with me ever since I got back from camp, but I still catch her strictness if I'm being disrespectful in any way. My dad, on the other hand, was a whole different story. He was still the same strict man that preferred I call him sir to dad.

"You're being too much of a pushover," My father accuses hotly. "Do you know the last time she practiced piano? I haven't heard her play in days. If she wants to get into Juilliard-"

"She already auditioned," My mom cuts in. "It's up to the admissions board now."

Part of me wants to walk in the kitchen right then and tell my father about the last three days that I practiced directly after school, when he wasn't home to hear me, but I stop myself. Instead of sticking around, I turn and continue my way up the stairs and down the hall until I'm in the safety of my own bedroom.

It's not until I'm lying on my bed with my phone off and door shut that I feel some sort of peace wash over me. All morning, my mind was spinning about Carter, what happened last night, and now the wrath of my parents. All I wanted was a second to breathe.

So I did, and then eventually the breaths became deeper, and I fell asleep before I was even awake for a full hour.

+ + +

I was lying on my couch watching a movie when the doorbell rang. It was a Saturday night and my parents had left a few hours ago to go to some work party thing and, like most Saturday nights, I stayed at home. My idea of fun- when I wasn't with Poppy, of course- strictly involved vegging out and watching old movies.

So when the doorbell rang, I was more than surprised. I dragged myself off of the couch and shuffled to the door in my pajamas, wondering who the hell was at my door. It was only seven o'clock, but I wasn't expecting any company, nor did I necessarily want any.

Before my parents left, my father gave me an earful about staying the night at my friends house without asking them first. It was safe to say that after a day full of worrying about what I did last night when I was drunk and then getting lectured, all I wanted was the house to myself so I could relax.

I opened the door curiously when my eyes met a familiar hazel gaze. "Hey, Mina."

Immediately, my defenses flew up and I felt myself stiffen as I looked at his mesmerizing eyes and tried not to get lost in them. "What are you doing here?"

Carter holds up a guitar case in his hand and smiles at me. "I thought we could work on the composition for music theory."

I raise my eyebrows at him. "On a Saturday night? Don't you have anything better to do?"

"No," He tells me with his intense gaze locked on mine. "Why, are you busy?"

"Extremely," I lie. "I was about to go out."

I didn't want to spend time with the very boy I'd been thinking of all day. Especially not after the conversation we almost had this morning.

Carter raises his eyebrows as he glances down at my sweatshirt and pajama shorts before looking back at me with a small smirk. "I can see you're prepared to have a wild night out on the town."

My gaze narrowed at him as he calls me out on my lie, and I begrudgingly open the door wider. "Fine. Come in. But let's only work on this for a little, okay? I have a movie to watch."

I leave the door open as I turn around and begin leading him up to my room. When I was younger, my parents moved the piano into a corner in my room so I could access it easier. While I used to hate the fact it took up such a large portion of my room, I've grown used to it, and even enjoy playing sometimes when a new composition struck me.

I don't speak to Carter and the only confirmation that he's following me as I pad up the stairs are his footsteps behind me. I push my bedroom door open and quickly scan the ground to make sure I hadn't left any underwear discarded on the floor and, when I concede that it's clean enough, I walk over to my desk.

"So last time we worked on something but I was playing it in A Flat," I tell him as I grab my composition journal from its hiding spot in my desk. "I was thinking we try it in C Major instead so it sounds a little softer."

I turn around and see Carter still idling in the doorway as his eyes scan every inch of my room. His gaze floats over my light blue painted walls, the messed up sheets on my bed, my dresser across the room with some clothes falling out of the second drawer, until his eyes settle on my bedside table, where there's a picture of me and Poppy sitting there.

He takes two long strides toward my bed before he picks up the picture frame gingerly. I stand there rigidly as I watch his lips carefully stretch into a small smile while his eyes float around the photo of us. It was my favorite photo of Poppy and I from last year at the Water Hole. We were standing in the water in front of the waterfall with our arms up and laughter on our lips.

"You look so happy," Carter murmurs as his gaze shifts from the photo to me.

I'm still standing tensely a few feet away from him as I nod. "I was."

As he sets down the photo exactly where he found it, Carter straightens up and surprises me by asking, "Do you miss her?"

Before I can tell myself not to open up to him, I nod and say softly, "All the time." His gaze bores into mine, burning me with the intensity in his eyes, and I finally snap out of the trance as I look away from him. "We should get to work on the composition."

I can still feel his gaze on me as a moment passes before he mutters, "Yeah, sure."

I walk over to the piano in the corner of my room and Carter pulls the chair out from my desk over beside the bench. He pulls his guitar from his case as I situate myself in front of the piano, my fingers brushing the white keys, as I review the little progress we'd made last time.

We sit side by side like that, talking softly over the stringing of his guitar and keys of the piano, working on our composition as I tried my hardest not to think about how much it reminded me of the night I played for him and he leaned over the bench to kiss me.