Chapter 447 Cling On To You
Carter was waiting outside the operating room. The lights went off after a mere one hour. The surgeon came out and told him that Jennifer was fine and that she was lucky to have only fractured her thigh bone and got herself a few scrapes here and there.
Everyone present let out a sigh of relief.
Laura followed as Jennifer was pushed into a general ward. Carter wanted to follow too, but Vincent stopped him.
Bone-wearied, Vincent spoke. “Carter, go home with your mother. Laura is still hot under the collar, and she won’t be nice to you. Don’t worry. Jennifer’s fine now.”
Carter pressed his lips and hummed for a bit. He eventually nodded his head.
On their way home, Faye angrily probed, “Carter, what on earth is going on between you Jennifer? Weren’t you just going for a meal?”
Carter bit his lips and kept his eyes on the road.
His silence made Faye more cross.
“Have you turned mute? Say something!”
“Mom, can you be quiet? You’re giving me a headache.”
“Hahaha!” Faye let out a mocking laugh.
“Carter, aren’t you a grown man now? You’d gotten Jennifer into an accident, and now you’re saying that I’m annoying. I was just thinking, so many accidents had happened within the past few years. Oscar got into an accident, Tiffany got into an accident, and now Jennifer. Anyone who’s in any way related to Amelia somehow got into an accident. Is she a jinx?” Faye didn’t hold back.
Carter frowned at his mother’s words. “Mom, it was an accident. Why is Amelia in the picture? This has nothing to do with her, okay? Stop accusing her.”
That was the last straw. Fire of rage could be seen gleaming through Faye’s eyes, and all she wanted at that moment was to vent her fury.
“You’re so quick in defending her! I’m pretty sure she had something to do with the accident. You and Jennifer always quarrel because of this woman!” Faye lost her graceful composure. “It amazes me. What’s so good about her that makes you go out of your way? Do you think you’re in some sort of romance drama?”
Carter’s silence persisted, and it totally drove Faye up the wall. He didn’t want to sing to her tune and kept quiet, dissolving her sharp lambastings just like that.
When they got back to their residence, he emotionally distanced himself. “Mom, we’re here.”
Instead of getting off the car, Faye stayed put.
Seeing Faye glued to the passenger seat, Carter looked at her coldly and said, “Mom, if you like this car that much, you can sit in it as long as you like. I’m getting off.” He opened the door and stepped out.
“Stop right there, young man.” Faye quickly unbuckled her safety belt and got off the car.
Carter came to a halt and looked at his mother, who rushed to stand in front of him. He was exasperated.
“Mom, can you just stop? Leave me alone today, okay? You and Jennifer had been driving me nuts for the past two years. It’s frustrating and draining.”
Faye looked at him fixedly, and something came across her mind.
She took a deep breath and tried her best to calm herself down. “Carter, tell me the truth. Does Amelia have anything to do with Jennifer’s accident?”
Thoroughly irritated, Carter shot his mother a glance. “Mom, this has nothing to do with Amelia. Why do you always drag her into the picture? Just like the examples you talked about. Amelia has nothing to do with them, but you somehow blamed her for their occurrences. I know you don’t like her, but she has already got a husband and a son. Can you please stop making baseless assumptions? It irks me so much that I don’t even feel like coming home.”
Surprisingly, Faye didn’t yell back.
She waved a hand in short strokes and replied, “Alright. She has nothing to do with it. That aside, I want to know what’s going on between you and Jennifer. How did she get into that accident? She gave me a call before it all happened, saying that you two were going for a meal. Who knew an accident would happen just like that?”
Carter gave Faye a cold stare, strode, and eventually ran to the car, chucked himself in it, and drove away before she could react.
Faye stood there dumbfounded as the car was driven further and further away. When she finally came back to her senses, she was hopping mad.
Carter drove to a bar, got a dozen beers, and drowned his sorrows quietly in a corner.
After a few pints, someone came and sat right next to him on the sofa. It was Derrick.
Derrick smiled at him, and as Carter wanted to speak, Bam! Derrick bulldozed his fist into the latter’s right cheek as fast as lightning!
Carter was sent smashing into the sofa.
“Mr. Scott, this punch is for Jennifer, who’s still lying on the hospital bed. Is it to your liking?” Derrick coldly uttered.
Carter sat back onto the sofa and softly stroked where the fist landed. Thank goodness there wasn’t blood.
He then shifted his bum to where it was, grabbed a beer, and chugged.
“Oh my! Since when Mr. Scott became mute?” Derrick sarcastically jeered at him.
After a large gulp, Carter placed a bottle in front of Derrick. “Drink it if you’re a man.”
Derrick took the beer, opened it, and slowly savored the offer. It looked like he was drinking a well-aged wine rather than beer.
After a few sips, Derrick spoke. “Mr. Scott, Jennifer got into a car accident. I understand that she’s stable now, but shouldn’t you be showing some care to her?”
Carter looked up at him. “Derrick, I might be convinced that you’re in love with Jennifer from your unexpected concern for her.”
Derrick paused for a millisecond and chortled.
“Mr. Scott, you have quite an imagination. However, I already have a lover. Jennifer is like a sister to me.”
“But she’s not your real sister, isn’t she?” Carter sneered. “Derrick, I don’t know your stance, but man to man, you should know how it feels like to have a woman you don’t love clinging to you for two years. If you’re close to the Larsons, please, I beg you, talk to Jennifer and ask her to stop wasting her time on a scumbag like me.”
“Hahaha…” Derrick dignifiedly took another sip. “This matter is between you and her. I’m just here to have some beer because I couldn’t sleep. I’ll be heading home soon.”
After finishing his drink, Derrick stood up and looked down at Carter. “Ciao.”
He left right after that.
Carter continued his grog-up. However, the beer seemed to have lost its flavor.
He scanned the rest of the beer bottles and figured that drinking alone wasn’t that fun after all. He got up, paid for his drinks, and left the bar.
After he got back to his apartment, he lolled himself on the sofa. He allowed his mind to go blank while looking at the pendant light.
Slowly, he dozed off.
The next day, Carter made time to go to the hospital.
Laura was surprised to see Carter when she opened the door. She looked daggers at him not long after that, though. However, she wasn’t as critical as she was the evening before. “Go in. Jennifer’s awake, and she’s looking for you,” she said.
Carter nodded, but just as he lifted his knee, Laura called out, “Carter, will you please be nicer to Jennifer? Everyone could tell that she loves you. We’re planning to take her overseas once she’s fully recovered.
Carter was slightly startled by their decision, and an odd feeling fluttered through him. Yet, he shunned that fleeting emotion.
“I will, Mrs. Larson,” he replied and went into the ward.
Jennifer was on the bed, and she looked rather pale without makeup.
Seeing him, she frantically covered her face. “Carter, would you mind going outside for a minute? I look horrible now. Allow me to put on some makeup before you come in again.”
Carter was brimmed with guilt when he heard that. It hurt him to see that this woman on the bed cared so much about his opinions about her.
Carter walked over to the bedside, dragged a chair, and sat himself down. “Jennifer, it’s not necessary. You still look pretty without makeup.”
“Really?” Jennifer pulled her hand slightly away from her face, and Carter nodded.
A wide smile crossed her face as if she had totally forgotten about the accident and the unhappy episode yesterday.
“I’m sorry.” Carter lifted his head and looked at her.
Jennifer was slightly stunned, but a smile ensued.
“This accident had nothing to do with you. I was emotionally unstable, I sped, and I crashed. I was too self-absorbed, and I’m supposed to be the one apologizing. I’m sorry that my mom scolded you. Please don’t blame her. She did it out of care and concern for me.” They sounded estranged. Perhaps it was due to the accident.
Carter looked up again, and in a slightly raspy voice, he told her how he felt. “Jennifer, you don’t have to be so tolerant with me. I’m, to a great extent, responsible for the accident. I’m glad that you’re alright now. If your condition were worse, I’d take good care of you. But sorry, I still don’t feel the chemistry with you.”
His words wounded her heart, but she chose to keep it to herself.
“Carter, I won’t give up. I’ve only fallen in love once in my life, and it’s with you. I won’t let go no matter what.”
Before Carter could react, Jennifer changed the topic. “Amelia got into an accident, and then it was her friends and lover. It seemed like anyone related to her would be met with such mishaps. Don’t you think it’s like some cliché movie plot?”
Carter almost choked on his saliva. His mother mentioned this yesterday, and now, Jennifer. He wondered if telepathy was in play.
“Why? You don’t like me talking about Amelia?”
“Nah. I just didn’t expect that.”
“I mean, I’m just saying. I woke up this morning and saw my parents asleep by my bed. I then looked up to the ceiling and asked myself, ‘How is Amelia better than me?’ When she got into an accident, everyone was buzzing around her. When I got into one, you were nowhere to be found. I guess that’s the difference. However, I don’t want to give up. Are you willing to give me another chance and let me into your heart?” Jennifer looked into Carter’s eyes, but he subconsciously turned his eyes away.
She put on a smile, though utterly disheartened. “Carter, I’m not going to give up. I can mess with you, but I’m never leaving you. You’d better brace yourself because I’ll continue clinging on to you.”
Carter was vexed.
