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29.

February 12th 2006

I rub my face tiredly and sigh in frustration. I would rather slam my head into my desk and bang it a few times. That would look weird and I’m sure Carry would think I’ve finally gone insane. The feeling that we’ve hit yet another dead end getting stronger as we’ve been searching for Seth Mackles for almost two weeks without any promising results. I can see it in the way Carry looks at me sometimes. She doesn’t know what we’re doing anymore, and neither do I. I suspect she’s only helping to humor me at this point.

“We should get some coffee,” she murmurs right next to me.

I jump in surprise, not having realized she’d come so close until now.

“Why are you still helping me?” I ask before I can stop myself.

“Why are you asking?” She whispers, looking straight at me.

I swallow, “Well, it’s not like we’ve gotten anywhere for the past two weeks, so I was just wondering… you don’t even know me….”

“I know you are trying to help your friend. I find that… fascinating.”

I smile awkwardly, “Just… fascinating?”

“And brave… you are standing up for him when no one else would have. That’s honorable,” she whispers, getting closer with every word that leaves her lips.

“Maybe I’m just in denial,” I say slowly.

“You don’t believe that,” she smiles, her face now inches from mine, “You believe in a good cause, and as long as you keep believing that, it will stay good.”

I smile back at her, feeling my face getting warmer, “You really think I’m brave?” I drawl.

“The bravest,” she assures, before leaning forward, softly touching my lips with hers. I smile into the kiss. It had been a long time coming. The tension between the two of us had been getting stronger over the course of the week. She gently pushes against my chest, forcing me to lie down on the sofa. Our mouths stay connected as I let my hands wander over her back. Her kiss deepens and I moan softly, letting her do whatever she pleases on top of me. My head feels like it’s on fire, much like the rest of my body. A good kind of fire. The kind that…

Bzzz!

Don’t mind that, continue what you’re doing Dorough! I try to not feel distracted by the incessant buzzing of my phone on the table, but it has spoilt the moment for the both of us. Carry groans in annoyance against my mouth.

“Shouldn’t you get that?” she whispers.

“Not now, not ever,” I reply, grunting in dismay as Carry un-attaches herself from me.

“You should get that,” she says with an apologetic smile.

Disappointed, I watch her climbing off of me before she reaches for the coffee table in my apartment and hands me the phone.

“I don’t know who you are calling me at this hour, but I will find you, and I will kill you,” I bark into my cell phone.

“Am I interrupting something?” Nick mutters back and I roll my eyes. Leave it to Carter to spoil every single moment I’m about get romantic.

“What do you want Nick?” I sigh, staring at a now smiling Carry. She seems to find the moment very amusing, while I can only think about my lost chance at romance.

“I think you should come over,” Nick suggests and I raise my eyebrows.

“And I think Leighanne will kill me if I did,” I reply, not missing a beat. Why did Nick need me to go to Atlanta?

They seemed to fare fairly well without me. I didn’t even know why Nick was still there. Maybe he needed to focus on something else than what happened three months ago. Maybe we all needed to do that. But we couldn’t, and wouldn’t.

“Aww come on man, you’re not afraid of her, are you?”

“Well, no, but…” I hesitate. Of course I didn’t fear
Leighanne. I just don’t like the idea of invading people’s homes without their consent.

“She never killed anyone, if that makes you feel better.”

“Are you sure about that?” I ask with a smile.

“Dude…” Nick drawls, “I just… I need your help, alright?
We need your help.”

“What? Why?”

“I can’t… I just…” Nick stammers and I frown in confusion.

What could he possibly need my help for? The only thing I had ever really done in the matter was making things worse. Looking up, I meet Carry’s curious eyes. She had raises her eyebrows in question and I shrug as a response.

Disappointed, she returns her attention to her computer once again. No romance for me tonight. The moment is over.

“Nick, we’re kind of busy here, so if you could just spit it out, that would be wonderful,” I growl into the phone, a little harsher then I intended.

“I don’t feel like telling you over the phone,” Nick sighs, “You really should get here.”

“You think he’d remember?” I ask softly. I can’t help but staring at the cast around my hand. That was a day I still regret, a careless, harmful and maybe even selfish action at my part. It could have, and probably has, scarred us both for life. But when I think about it, there are so many worse things people can do to one another. I snort, curling my fingers around the solid plaster of the cast.

Peter is still as missing as he’s always been. Now it’s just… official.

“I don’t know what he remembers anymore,” Nick admits quietly, “That’s actually one of the reasons I need you to come over. To… confirm things during therapy. Not a lot of what he says makes sense, you know.”

I shake my head. Not a lot of what Nick just said made sense either.