Written in the Stars

“Wow it’s sure been awhile, hasn’t it?” Derek grinned from ear to ear.

“Sure has, but you haven’t changed a bit.”

“Who was at the do—“ Carter stopped mid-sentence as his gaze fell upon his older brother. “What do you want?”

“Can’t an old friend and older brother just stop by and say hello?” Derek asked pushing us aside as he made his way threw the door and into the kitchen.

“Not when this ‘older brother’ kicked his younger brother out of his house!” Carter started to get pissed with Derek and I know it’s wrong of me to say but it was entertaining.

“I only kicked you out to help you,” Derek told Carter as he pulled and apple out of the fridge and took a big bite out of it. “You were screwing around in your life, you need a reality check.”

“Bull shit! I was doing just fine!” Carter slammed his fist on the table and I resisted the urge to chuckle.

“You fucked a different girl every night, you drank at least a bottle of Jack by yourself everyday, I don’t know how much pot you smoked a day and you didn’t have a fucking job! Shall I continue or are you done harassing me?” Derek yelled in Carter’s face.

“It’s called living,” Carter huffed.

“It’s called being so hung up over a girl you start to kill yourself!” Once those words left Derek’s mouth both of there faces dropped, now I was interested. I was silently pleading with my eyes for them to continue there ‘conversation.’

“Fuck you,” Carter seethed and ran upstairs to his room.

“Uh question,” I raised my hand like I was in second grade again.

“Yes?” Derek cracked a smile.

“What were you guys talking about? Oh! And what girl?” I asked hoping to sound nonchalant about it, but in the inside I was burning with curiosity.

“Nothing important and that girl, well lets just say she’s history.” Derek smirked. “Did I tell you how much more beautiful you got with age?”

I laughed, “I know! I grew boobs!” I yelled clutching on to my chest laughing.

“Very fine ones I might add,” Derek winked and I blushed. “How about we grab some lunch?”

I check the time on my phone and indeed it was around lunch time, “Sounds good. Let me go grab my purse and we can leave, do you want me to invite Carter?” I asked halfway up the stairs.

“He wouldn’t come even if we did invite him.” I nodded and continued upstairs.



“Very cliché,” I told Derek after sitting in the chair he held out for me.

“Excuse me?” He chuckled nervously taking his own seat across from me.

“Taking me to a family diner,” I told him gesturing to the 50’s style run in the wall type of diner. He only raised his eyebrow, “You know the classic story were the boy brings the girl to this cute diner, they instantly click and live happily ever after.” I told him and he just stared at me oddly.

“Well I don’t have a ring with me but uh did you want me to propose?” Now it was my turn to laugh nervously.

“No, no, no, please don’t.” We both started laughing awkwardly; wow I turned a perfectly fine conversation awkward. Nice going Cam. “So uh,” I cleared my throat catching his attention. “How did you find this place if you live in northern Cali?”

“Actually Carter and I stumbled a pond it a few years back while we were visiting Lucas and the lazy fuck didn’t want to cook for us.”

I giggled and nodded my head, “Sounds like Luke. So Mr. Fisher, what do you do for a living?” I asked after the waitress returned with our drinks, funny I don’t remember ordering them.

“Well not all of us can pitch for the Dodgers,” He grinned ruefully. “Actually I stopped playing baseball after high school but that’s a story for another day. Now what were we talking about? Oh yes! My job, I have a partnership with Hamilton and Glens Law firm.”

I smiled nodding my head, “So you’re a lawyer?”

He chuckled and nodded, “In simpler terms, yes I’m a lawyer.”

I bit my cheek to keep from laughing but Derek caught on and asked me what was so funny. “It’s just that I never thought you of all people would become a lawyer.”

He frowned, “What’s wrong with lawyers?”

I gasped sitting up shaking my head, “No, no, no, nothing is wrong with lawyers, I just didn’t think the resident bad boy would turn into Mr. prim and proper lawyer.” I explained to him and he just smiled.

“What can I get you lovely couple?” The waitress asked us.

“I’ll have a burger with fries please,” Derek told her while handing her his menu.

“Um can I please have the buttermilk short stack of pancakes and a side of bacon and hash-browns?” I asked the lady and she nodded her head and walked away.

“So how is practice going?” Derek asked picking at his napkin on the table.

I took a sip of my vanilla milkshake before answering, “It’s going good.”

He smiled brightly at me, “That’s good. So I take it Carter’s still pretty pissed?”

“What would ever make you think that?” I asked sarcastically.

He chucked, “Your right. At the time I thought I was doing the right thing, you know?”

I shook my head, “I don’t, please explain.” I was very curious to what was going on with the Fisher boys and I wanted the full story, not bits and pieces from a stupid fight.

“Well ever since sophomore year in high school Carter hasn’t been acting like himself. At first I thought he was just upset you left, but he kept acting like a wild animal all threw high school. Mom and Dad put him threw therapy and that only made it worse, soon he was doing drugs and drinking every night. He would bring home a different girl every night, Mom and Dad got pretty pissed and told him if he didn’t change they would kick him out and in his senior year they did. Luckily for him I had an apartment not to far from his school that fit the both of us pretty comfortably.”

“The sad part is he changed for a little while, but his grades still weren’t good enough to get into a college and he returned to his parting ways. I took care of him for 6 years, providing for him like a parent should. One day I just snapped, I kicked him out. Honestly I didn’t care were he would end up at, but I called Luke and well you know Luke, he took Carter under his wings and viola! He has a job working at the ball park, a place to live and he’s getting better. So I have no idea why he is still mad at me.”

I sat there absorbing all the information. “Of course he is still going to be mad at you!” I shouted, “You were his only family and you gave up on him, you have no idea what that’s like!”

“Oh,” He scoffed, “And you do?”

I sat there with a surprised expression on my face, “Actually I do.” I stood up and threw a twenty on the table. “Thanks for lunch, but I can find my own way home.”

As I was walking out the door I heard a barely audible “oh shit.”