Classified

Chapter 34 - "Do you regret it?"

Alright! It is the chapter you've asked for, the one where Carter falls asleep on Donny boy's couch! I warn you its flippin butts long!

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The sound of crowded streets died away as Donovan turned the car into a dim parking structure beneath his apartment building. After he pulled into a spot, he cut the engine and Link reached for his bag, already moving to leave. There was no sound from the back seat and Donovan twisted back. Carter sat with her eyes glued to the world outside but seemed unable to see it. Donovan gripped the passenger seat, hating the way she seemed so unlike herself.

"Carter," he said, gently.

Blinking, she looked at him as if realizing they had stopped. Without a word, they both pushed their doors open and stepped out into the chilly parking garage. The sound of doors slamming shut bounced off the concrete walls and floor. After a brief elevator ride, the doors dinged open on the familiar hallway and Link led the group to his apartment.

The faint smell of orange scented cleaner lingered in the air and Donovan figured the cleaning lady had just left. The light of the late afternoon sun streamed into the apartment and fell across the floor, elongating the shadows.

Link took off his glasses and tossed them onto a table beside the door. Donovan had seen the same action for years, each time it was like Link became fully himself. Carter made a slow circle, really taking in the apartment. Needing to stop himself from watching her every move and trying to decipher her thoughts, Donovan moved past her and settled his bag down on the ground near the couch. As he took out the paper he was writing for his college psychology class and the work he had to do for calculus, Carter spoke, but it wasn't to him.

"Do whatever you normally do," she said to Link. "I'm fine."

"I was going to take a shower and change real quick," he said, his voice hesitant.

"Yeah, go ahead."

Link moved to the hallways but paused.

"Eat anything you want," he said. "There's not much in the fridge, but I think we have something."

"Thanks."

With another nod, he left. Donovan felt Carter focus on him and then away to the row of framed photos on the table below the TV. She moved over and picked up the closest one, examining it. Unable to help himself, Donovan raised his eyes to her. The photo was of Link and his mother when he was younger. Carter studied it like she was seeing how much Link truly looked like his father.

Setting down the picture, she picked up a new one. Slowly, she continued moving down the table, looking at the pieces of Link's life. At the end of the table was a photo Donovan knew she would stop at. It was of Link and him, standing side by side at Link's 8th-grade promotion.

Donovan remembered that day clearly. Link had been giddy with excitement because after the ceremony they were going to see his father for a very private dinner. After two years of working to be more than a nuisance to Link, it was a day when he had acted as if Donovan was simply a friend and not some weight holding him down. Not waiting for her to get there, he forced himself to fall back into the task before him. Minutes slipped by and Carter kept up her quiet observations.

"You look young," she said, breaking the silence.

Donovan looked up.

"What did you say?" he asked.

Carter held the frame up and looked back at him. He studied it for a moment. He was young and at the same time so old. The world around him had been crowded with kids barely beginning to know who they were while he was already tossed into a job that would take away years of his life. Not wanting to think of it, Donovan nodded and focused his attention back down at his work.