"Yes," she said, cutting him another slice of cake.
"I've been there. It’s like the only nice place, unless you want to go to Raleigh." He gave Carter a sideways glance as Carter poured liquor into his empty coffee cup.
"Do you commute there for school?" Nancy asked.
"There's a satellite campus for North Carolina’s biggest public university near Les DesChamps. That’s where I take most of my classes. One semester, I had to go into Raleigh, which was a rough commute. But now it’s mostly online courses, and I only have to go into the city for a test or for the first day of class or in the middle. It’s a lot better."
"Carter, you could have been taking classes, then. I didn’t realize it was so easy. You could have some more credits under your belt and have finished up at Harvard," Jack said.
Carter grimaced. "I don’t know. I flamed out of college once."
"You could at least earn an associate's degree," Jack pressed.
"Grant doesn’t have a degree," snapped Carter. He turned to Allie. "Can I have another drink, please?"
"No," she said. "You’ve had enough."
14
Carter
After dinner, the Holbrooks all slumped in the parlor. Walter and Jack insisted on more drinks, so Allie obliged. Carter wanted to drink, too, but Allie wouldn’t let him.
"You had a lot. You need to sober up," she said.
Grant thought it was funny that she cut him off. He would body-check Carter when he tried to pour his own drink.
"I’m done with you people." Carter huffed and went outside.
Allie followed him. Carter was sitting out in the garden next to a fire. Allie grabbed a blanket that she assumed Stefan had placed on the bench. She wrapped it around herself and Margot, who had followed her, and huddled down next to Carter.
There were snow flurries that dusted his dark hair with shimmering flakes. The fire gave off a warm glow, however, that chased away the worst of the chill.
"I hope your parents won’t be too hard on you because of me," she said.
"Who cares if they are? They're upset with me no matter what," Carter replied.
They sat in silence for a moment.
"What aboutyourparents?" Carter said.
"My mother is off with her cult du jour. My biological father is dead, and the latest stepfather was supposed to be in prison, last I heard."
"Oh. I guess you think I'm spoiled, complaining about my parents."
"No. You feel what you feel. Having someone constantly belittle you isn't good."
"I mean they aren'tthatbad," Carter said.
"If they are, you can cut them off."
"Ha! You're going to hate me, but I need their money. I don't want to actually be disowned. I wouldn't be able to do, well, anything, really. I'm actually pretty useless."
She turned toward him. "You aren't useless. You have a lot to contribute. You could find a well-paying job if you wanted to be free of your parents."
"I don't want to go no contact," Carter said. "I just want them to want me, I suppose."
"Sometimes people just don't care about their kids," Allie told him. "It's harsh, but it's the truth. I don't know your situation or your parents, but you have to be honest with yourself about who they are. When someone tells you who they are, believe them."
