Sick

Carson really didn't mean to be difficult. And he knew this was what he really wanted. He just... all of a sudden, the fear of being rejected or messing up again was too great. But as long as Misty wasn't upset... 

He went back inside to grab his jacket. If he thought too long about it, he'd just walk his mind in circles.

Mackenzie still wasn't sure what all this meant, but she tried her best to smile anyway. She gave Misty a big hug and nodded. "I wanna come back soon if my family says it's okay. Thank you for having me."

She lugged her bag towards the door, half-dragging it as she went. Carson grinned a little and stopped her, picking it up with one arm and slinging it over his shoulder. "Alright, come on." He gave one last look to Misty, along with a short nod. "I'll see ya tomorrow."

The ride to Lewis City was quiet and when it was an hour long, the quietness made it all the longer. Finally, Carson glanced over at Mackenzie. "Have a good time with Misty?"

She nodded while her hands fidgeted in her lap. She just couldn't hold it in any longer. "I'm sorry I asked you to come over. I didn't want you to fight. It was my fault."

"Hey, hey." He reached over and set his hand on her shoulder. "You didn't do anything wrong. Okay? I'm the one that should be sorry."

She kept her head down.

He sighed, and inwardly cringed. His head hurt and it wasn't getting any better. "You know how sometimes something is bothering you but you don't know how to express it so you get really upset?"

She nodded. She got in trouble for that a lot still.

"Sometimes grown-ups do the same thing," Carson tried to explain. "Misty and I, we.... we're going to be okay. We just... have a lot of things to work out and... we both got upset tonight because we haven't been communicating well enough. But it had nothing to do with you and we both love you very much. Alright?" When she didn't respond, he nudged her arm. "Yo, Mac? Ya deaf?"

She giggled a little and shook her head. "Okay. Are you... gonna get back together with Misty?"

Carson grinned a little and returned his hand to the steering wheel. "I think so..."

The evening lasted longer than planned. Once at Ken and Jeanette's, he wound up staying a while until the girls had to go to bed, then on the drive home there was an accident on the highway, which delayed the drive even more. By the time he got back to North Springs his headache had worsened, he was tired and... regretting his decision not to go to Misty tonight. He could kick himself for telling her he needed more time. It was just fear that had pulled him back at the last second. What if because of that, he lost his one shot at getting her back? How could he not go running to her now, while she let him?

Stopping at a red light, his thumb tapped the steering wheel. Finally he turned right instead of going straight. He fished for his phone, only to discover the battery had died. He'd forgotten to charge it. Great. He sighed and rubbed his throbbing forehead. Misty had said to call first, but now he couldn't. 

Within a few minutes he was back at her place though, parking at the curb. The house was dark. He knew she would be in bed by now. He didn't want to wake her up. But now he didn't want to go to a big empty house either. He fiddled with his keys and finally exited the car. Maybe he was being irrational, but he'd already messed things up, what was a little more? 

Using the key he still had, he very quietly let himself in the front door. He wouldn't wake Misty. He just... wanted to be near. That was all. Silently he shed his jacket and slipped off his sneakers. Padding softly to the living room, he laid down on the couch, using a throw pillow for his head. He was glad she hadn't replaced this couch...it felt the same as it always had. Curling on his side, it didn't take long to drift to sleep...

...Early morning. Carson pried open one of his eyes to find the digital clock by the tv. His head was pounding, he had a chill, and his skin was so hot. He shivered and curled up a little tighter. It had been a long time since he'd felt this sick. But he needed to leave before Misty discovered him and he scared her. Just ten more minutes. That was all. 

He closed his eye again and swallowed, finding his throat felt like he'd just swallowed razor blades. Just ten minutes.

Unfortunately, his body was too worn out to wake up again in that short amount of time, and he slept much longer than  intended...


Hunter chuckled at Ryan and rolled himself out of bed. "Okay." Taking his side of the blankets, he threw them over Ryan's head before grabbing some clothes and going into the bathroom to change.

It only took a few minutes to clean up and throw on his jeans and a clean t-shirt. Coming out again, he sat down to pull on the cowboy boots he'd brought, and donned his old denim jacket.

He glanced to the bed again and smiled just a little. He was glad Ryan  was comfortable enough to sleep. She needed it and he hoped she'd be able to have a relaxing day.

Exiting the bunk, he aimed for the barns. Hopefully, once Ryan got up, she'd find him out here or in the main house if she followed her nose to the coffee.