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Have you ever said something and regretted it later? And whatever you had said had hurt someone you really cared about. You feel guilty, wondering, how the scenarios would be if you hadn't said it to them in the first place? Thinking of how you could ease the pain for them? How you could pay them back? And most of all, thinking of anyway you could take those words back? Well that was what I was feeling.

I had never expected to see Carter leaning against Alex's locker, engaged an extremely heated conversation with Alex. Moving closer to them, I realized it was not actually what you call a 'talk'. I stood there and stared at them as I saw Carter raising his index finger at Alex in a threatening manner.

Could it be that Carter was bullying Alex? I knew I couldn't let that happen so I walked towards them. "Hey, Sparkle!" I saw him waving at me and I smiled lightly as I waved back.

When I reached there I smiled at Alex too. "Hey!"

"Hi Sophia. Y-you know, I-I gotta go. The new English teacher called me a while ago," he went away, without conversing properly with me. I turned towards Carter and glared at him.

"It doesn't have to do anything with you, right?" I squinted my eyes at him.

"Right. We were just talking."

"It looked more like you were threatening him." Telling him, I walked towards my locker. He followed behind with his hands shoved in his jeans pocket.

"It was a guys' thing. You won't understand," Carter said stopping by my locker.

"Oh, really?"

"Really," nodding, he answered with a close-mouthed smile and took my hand in his. I returned the smile, opening my mouth to clear, "I just hope you were not bullying him." Suddenly, his smile changed into a hurtful expression. He did not try to hide it, instead it felt like he wanted me to witness it.

"God, no! That's what you were thinking? No, no. I wasn't bullying him. Are you ever gonna forget how I used to be in the past?" It was clear that he was angry. His fists were clenched and his cheeks were red.

"Uh... no? I-It's not like that. I mean you looked like you were angry at him. I just asked to make sure. I'm sorry I didn't mean it that way." I explained, looking intently at his face. The hurtful expression did not go. He just turned his head towards the other side and stared at the floor.

Holding his face between both of my hands, I inspected his face. "Hey, hey, look at me. Look at me, Carter. I know you've changed. You've been nothing but sweet to me. I love you. Don't be like that, okay?" I hugged him, tightly, wrapping my arms around his neck. He hugged me back with the same intensity.

"I just feel guilty for being the way I was," he muffled in my hair. "I'm embarrassed of my past. It's not something I want to remember. Neither do I want you to remember. I want you to forget that side of me ever existed." I rubbed his back, thinking, I'd have never said those words. Thinking, if it was possible to take my words back.

"Carter, I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't know how this will affect you. And I know you've changed. You're a good person, I know," I tried to comfort him, stroking his head. "Carter, people are staring..." I whispered when I realized all of the student gathered around us were staring. At that moment I couldn't be more thankful of the fact that we were slow enough for nobody to hear.

Carter did nothing but pulled me closer to him. As if, he was not affected by people's staring. Like, he wanted to tell me to do the same. I did. I forgot about everyone around us as I closed my eyes and stayed in the same position until Carter moved away. It was like no single person was around. It was only me and him. And when we pulled away the hall was empty.

"Whatever that was, we should do that often," I smiled as I said, trying to get Carter's mood better. That worked because it brought a bright smile on Carter's face. So bright, that I felt my world lightened again.

"I totally agree." He chuckled, looking briefly at his watch. After we got our books out, he intertwined our fingers together and dragged me with him to the class.

Just as we entered the class we heard the teacher speaking. As soon as he acknowledged our presence he stopped lecturing. It was clear that he was angry at us. I walked to him to apologize.

"Mr. Miller, I'm really sorry we're late. We just didn't realize what the time was until now. We're extremely sorry, right Carter?" I looked back at Carter, begging him with my eyes to support me and apologize. But being his idiot, conceited, egoistic self he just shrugged his shoulders.

"I had expected Carter to come late. What I had not expected was you, one of the brightest student of my class to be late. He isn't a good influence Sophia," the moment those words were out of his mouth, Carter walked up to his seat without his permission. I nodded at the teacher, who in return gestured me to go and sit.

I looked at Carter and mouthed, "no, it's not true," I said shaking my head. Carter was not a bad influence. He could never be.

The seat beside Carter was already filled and I had no other seat to seat but beside Alex. Not that I was complaining, but I wanted to sit beside Carter. That might be because Maddie Welsh was sitting beside him and as much as I hate to admit it, I was feeling extremely insecure.

I took my seat beside Alex and smiled at him. He looked quite shaken and did not return the smile like I expected him to. Alex did not, once, look up from his notebook and it felt weird. What we had was not really what you call a friendship. Alex was too shy for it to be one. It was an understanding. And whatever it was, it was better than nothing. And now it was no more. All thanks to Carter Reece.

* * * * *

Everything was perfect. The table, the decorations, the candles, the food, each and every thing was up to the mark. That day after I returned from the mall, I handed over Fluff to Carter with a promise of taking him back when Mom and Dad agreed. My parents returned home and I got to know they were out of the town for a business deal and their return made it clear that they wanted to meet Carter. I was standing all dressed up waiting for Carter to arrive and praying that he takes care of the time. In between admiring the arrangements, I heard a call and sped towards the phone.

"Hello."

The person on the other side, brought a smile on my face. "Hey!" I replied, cheerfully.

"I'm standing outside your gate. And I'm nervous as hell." Carter stated.

"Are you wearing clothes?"

"Yes."

"Are you wearing a nice perfume so that you don't stink?"

"Yes, I am."

"Did you wash your face?"

"Yes."

"You got flowers? Pink roses?"

"Yes."

"You're all good," I sighed, trying to comfort him.

"I might just pee in my pants, right now. I'm so scared." I rolled my eyes at his statement. The guy who made others pee in their pants was now going to pee in his pants himself.

"Come on! You're Carter Reece, my charming boyfriend. You can do this! Don't be nervous, don't be scared. They're just humans. I'm opening the door now." I said, as I walked towards the door meeting with a sight of Mom and Dad sitting in the living room. They seemed to be in between a very serious conversation but they materialized the moment their eyes landed on me. I gave them a smile, making them aware of Carter's presence.

"I'll get the door," Rebecca chirped, walking out of the living room. In no more than a minute Carter graced us with his presence. He looked at me briefly just to get my approval which I granted with an encouraging smile.

"Hello, Mr. Anderson," Carter greeted, shaking hands with Dad. Dad just gave him a single nod and shook hands with him. Carter turned towards Mom next. "Hi, Mrs. Anderson. You're really beautiful, just like your daughter," he complimented with a small smile. That got my Mom to blush and smile at him. Now, that is what you call C. C.– 'Carter's charm'.

"I heard you liked them." I snapped back to reality, hearing Carter's voice speak again. I found him giving a bouquet of pink roses to Mom. Mom blushed even more and accepted them.

"Thank you, Cameron. They're really... good." That made Dad to scoff.

"Carter it is, ma'am." He corrected.

When my eyes traveled to Dad's face, I found myself wondering, how could he even make such a face. It looked constipated, angry, twisted, funny, annoying and cute at the same time. Knowing him this meant he was annoyed, irritated or angry. Like he wanted to kill someone. That could be either me or... Carter.

He started walking towards the dining hall with Mom following him. Carter sneaked towards me and kissed me lightly on the cheek as he smiled. "You don't look so nervous to me," I stated, making him smirk.

"Yeah, that's how I mask it. I'm good at it, you know?" I shook my head at his confidence and he chuckled. Before my parents got suspicious, we walked after them to the dining room. I placed myself on the place I usually sat; away from Mom and Dad.

Carter, being the curious, nosy person he was, stared at the empty seats strangely but chose to sit beside me. "Do we have company?"

"No. Why?"

"You know, you left those seats empty there. I thought..." he trailed, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's because this is my seat. Dad doesn't like to sit close to me and probably Mom too." Hearing my words Carter's cool expression turned into a frown, his gaze going behind me to glare at Dad.

I grabbed his hand from under the table and pressed it as I shook my head, reminding him to act nicely. Carter breathed out a sigh and nodded. Rebecca soon served us the food and we began eating. "So... Tell us about yourself." Mom spoke first, breaking the unbearable silence.

Carter coughed a little and smiled. "About myself, yeah. I'm eighteen and I live with my Mom and Dad. I love to play basketball but I love painting more. I spend most of my time playing or painting. Yeah, I'm not really good at studies but with Sophia's help she I'm acing it." Carter looked at me with a smile.

"Because I love to paint and I'd love to be an artist in future, I'm planning to apply for admission in an arts school-"

"And you think you can keep Sophia happy with that?" Surprisingly, Dad interrupted him. His tone was quite harsh. Like, really harsh. All three of us turned our head towards Dad.

"I-I don't understand what you mean, Sir."

"You think you can keep her happy by doing that nonsensical shit? Painting?" He snarled. I knew Dad disliked Carter but I had not expected he would say such a thing. Carter's jaw clenched, his eyes catching mine for a little fraction of time. Pure rage was prominent in them. I, through my eyes, begged him to not explode. And to bear my unbearable Dad.

"I mean, just cut this crap and admit that you're a gold digger who's after her for nothing but the money. Why the hell would you show interest in-" Dad stopped and gazed at me from top to the bottom, "...that?" That hurt. Not because Dad had looked at me like I'm a dirtiest piece of shit that is good for nothing but because of the fact that his words might've hurt Carter badly.

Carter was none of those Dad had mentioned in his speech. Carter could never be a gold digger. He was with me because he loved me, and not because he needed money, right? I shouldn't even be doubting a bit because I knew Carter was nothing Dad had mentioned he was.

"I think I can make her happy. I'll do what I love to do. And no profession is perfect unless you put all your efforts in it. You're a businessman and you're very successful because you do it with all your efforts. That is because business interests you. Painting interest me. And, Sir, I think I can keep Sophia happy with that."

At that moment I wanted to jump in the conversation and defend Carter. I wanted to tell Dad how good of a painter Carter was. I wanted to support Carter because I knew this was hurting him. I knew how much he loved to paint and that how much he wanted to choose it as a career for him. But I could not do any of those things. I knew all it'd do is make the situation worse. I was surprised at how calm Carter had reacted, because the Carter I knew could only accept this much of insult.

"And about what you said regarding me being a gold digger, I can be anything but that. I may have uncountable bad qualities but I'm after your daughter because she does interest me. You'd have know how interesting she is if you were around with her when she was growing up and not making the money you're so proud of."

"I do not need any penny from your money and I'm lucky to have Sophia in my life. I love the way I live. I have no desire for your wealth." I could see clearly, the veins on Carter's forehead were popping out. As I looked at Dad he matched a vampire that was about to attack with a horrifying look on his face. Mom just stared at Carter with an open mouth.

Shit is going down. Somebody stop them!

"You think you can make her happy? Have you seen how she lives?" Dad scoffed. I closed my eyes knowing nothing good was going to happen today. "Your Mom is a doctor and your Dad is a cook. You, want to be a painter. Wow. Fucking awesome!And you date my daughter?"

My eyes shot opened at his declaration. But before I could make celebration of my Dad finally accepting me as his daughter, Carter sprang up from his chair, his hand leaving mine. It was then I realized that there was more to his sentence than just calling me his daughter.

"I know that I may not be able to provide all the luxuries you have given to your daughter but I'm damn sure she'll be happy with me. Because I value her love for me unlike you! She will most definitely be happier with me and will not try to kill herself because of how tortured she felt. Because I will not regard her as a piece of shit and will be nice to her– which you are not. I will give her the happiness her parents failed to give." Carter was angry. Anger was radiating off his figure. I was scared to touch him.

"I bet you don't even know her name, or date of birth. Some parents you are! Have-"

"I do know her name. It's-" Dad said, cutting of Carter as he looked at Mom for conformation. He then added, "Sophia." Carter just scoffed at him and shook his head.

"This expensive house, the lights, the decorations, the money, the status and class, this all might make materialistic people like you, happy. But knowing Sophia, she needs love, sincerity and affection; which you could not give. So, Mr. Anderson, you have no right to talk about her happiness. You think suddenly you showing up and faking this love for her is going to fool me? I'm sorry but I'm not Sophia." He gave me an apologetic look and with that Carter left the house.

"Listen! Carter! Hey! Wait up!" I ran after him in an attempt to stop him but he had already gone. I could see his car being driven off until I couldn't see it no more. Walking back to Mom and Dad, I sighed leaning against the door of the dining hall feeling like nothing but crying. There was nothing I wanted to do more than crying.

I wanted this day to be good, and not at all the way it turned out to be. Dad had no right to be mad at Carter. He had no right to insult him. He had no right to call him all those things.

I could clearly hear my parents muffling from outside the hall. "For God's sake, Richard! At least you could pretend to like him! You're going to ruin everything one day with this attitude of yours Richard!" Mom's shout echoed around the room. Not being able to control my curiosity I entered inside to hear clearly but they stopped and seemed to have noticed me.

"You could do better than that!" Of course that was Dad. "I do not want to see him with you. You are not going to meet with Carter. Never!" I tried to protest but I was too shocked by his decision that I couldn't utter a single word. With my mouth hanging open, I blinked several times.

No!

No!

No!

"What? What are you saying Richard? I-how? I mean... I can't stay away from him. I lov-" Dad rolled his eyes at me and interrupted me. "You. Won't. See. Him. Ever. Again. And that's final. I hope I made myself clear." That Just as he said that he left the table.

No! No! No!

Nothing is clear!

I can't just stop meeting him!

I was too shocked. To shocked to process what just happened. To protest against it. I was too shocked to even blink. When realization dawned upon me, I ran after Dad. "Wait, Dad-" I tried to stop him but without even giving me another glance he walked past me.

"Victoria, I-" I looked back at Mom who also stood up raising her palm for me as an indication to stop.

"I don't want to hear any of it." She said and walked away too, leaving my thoughts totally perplexed and jumbled up. Not knowing what to do I fell down there as I tried to rip my hair off my scalp.

First Josh,

And now Carter.

I wanted to scream, I wanted to fight with them. I couldn't stay away from Carter. He was the only good thing in my life. He was the reason I was still alive. He was the reason I became happy. I loved him. But Dad ruined everything. Dad destroyed everything that was good.

"I hate you, Richard..." I whispered laying there on the ground, letting all my tears fall.

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