YOUNG

Carter stepped into the mildly hot Arizona air and sighed, what was she even doing back here. The pain she once forgotten was back and flooded her memories. She blinked back tears and made her way towards the place she had gotten directions to.

"Carter! Look at you!" Mr. O'Callaghan felt warm and fuzzy seeing the sight of a healthy girl in front of him, "You look so grown up."

Marie hugged the girl and kissed her cheek, "We've missed you, how was it?" She bit her tongue in hopes of everything that were to come out be great news.

"Well, um." She swallowed and stared at the familiar stranger family, "It was long. But, I guess it paid off. I dont feel the need to blame myself or fight against my will with a pair of scissors."

Marie cringed and smiled, "Well, thats great. Lets go back home."
Home. That word disgusted Carter, it made home feel like a joke. Her home was not with the O'Callaghans. It was with Mel Castilogne in a coffin. All the five years of her hardwork were slowly dimishing into the thin air. "Home, right." She sat quietly in the back of the car hardly listening to the words her 'family' were rambling.

"Mom, mom, mom!" The familiar little boy, Carter remembered ran up to Marie, "Ross is being a jerk and John is being too loud with his band."

Carter remembered John, she resented him. She hated his guts. She despised him. She wanted him dead. But, she didnt go away for five years to have the raging thoughts again. She stood awkwardly in the middle of the yard, "Do I have a room?"

Mr. O'Callaghan nodded, "Yes. John is allowing the transition of his room upstairs to be yours and the basement to his."

She nodded and made her way into the house, she walked around the house as memories of her flooded. This wasnt a good idea. She bumped into a stranger, "Oh." She tucked a piece of her brown hair behind her ear, "I'm sorry."

He checked her up and down, "Well, hello. Who are you?" He licked his lips as he spied on her exposed skin.

She thought very rudely of the stranger, "Who are you?" She mimicked the guy as she snapped her fingers to alert his eyes back at her face.

He smoothly and seductively said his name, "John, and you are?"

The quickness of her hand was faster than anything she had experienced. Her hand made contact with his face and she instantly became angry, "Dont ever look at me like that again, you disgusting pig." She turned her heel and made it into her new room as fast as possible.

Jared peeked through the door and laughed, "Dude, who was that?"

John touched his stinging cheek and gave Jared the death look, "The bitch is back from hell."

"Bitch? Who?"

John opened the fridge and opened a coke, "She used to live across the street from me when we were little, her mother committed sucide, nobody in her family wanted her, so my mom and dad being the saints they are, took her in and sent to her to a rehabilitating place for five years." He shrugged, "She's a loser, and an attempted sucider."

Jared whistled, "Thats rough, I wonder if she's okay."

"Who fucking cares, bro. Come on lets go practice." He walked down into the basement and fooled around.

Jared shook his head and walked up the stairs to find an open doorway, he saw her crying on the floor. "Um, hi?"

Carter shot up with a tear stained face, she wiped her tears away and angrly shouted, "What!"

Jared inched his way in and put his hands up, "I just wanted to know if your okay. John can be a big asshole."

Carter shrugged, "I dont know, I'm never okay. Havent you heard? I'm a fuck up and 'loser'."

Jared shook his head and sat down across from her, "Nah. I just think you've had a rough time and people to understand it."

Carter half smiled, "Your the first person to ever think that. Everyone always thinks its my fault, its her fault she cant get over it. I cant help it if I'm mentally messed up. I try but it fails."

Jared smiled at her smile, "Than try harder. You'll never go anywhere if you dont try harder."