The next few weeks went by slowly and uneventfully. 

I spent the majority of my time working on cases and doing research. I would go from Danny's Diner to the library and back home everyday with no stops between. It was my way of avoiding any contact with Carter. Or worse, with Julie.

I knew I was taking a risk by going to Danny's every morning, but I needed a place to eat breakfast and his diner was the best place in town. I made sure that I would go whenever Carter wouldn't be around. I had asked Danny to tell me whenever he came in and I made sure to go before or after so that I wouldn't run into him. It had been about three weeks now, and I still hadn't run into him anywhere. I called that success.

What wasn't a success, however, was Grammy's health. It seemed like every day she was getting worse. I had found out that she had been skipping her medications for a few days. I was the one that made sure she took them, but somehow, she was giving me the slip. She pretended to toss the tablets back in her mouth, but what she was actually doing was holding onto them in her hand and taking a gulp of water. When one dropped in her lap, I found out what she was trying to do.

"What's this?" I had asked, holding up the tablet that had fallen out of her hand. 

"Oh! I guess I missed my mouth!" Grammy had exclaimed. I opened up the rest of her hand and sure enough, her other tablets were there, too. She looked at me sheepishly, like a kid getting caught with her hand stuck in the cookie jar.

"How long have you been doing this?" I asked her. 

"A few days now," she had responded. 

"No wonder your situation's getting worse! Grammy! You're just going to get sicker if you skip your meds," I had told her.

"I feel sicker when I take them. They make me feel like vomiting and I feel so depressed when I take them," she had said.

"Side-effects," I had replied.

But Grammy wouldn't buy it. She refused to take her medication and I couldn't do anything about it. I had asked the doctor what I should do and he suggested tricking her into taking the meds. But when I tried to hide the medicine in her food, she found out and refused to eat, too. 

The situation with Grammy was getting worse and it constantly worried me. I just couldn't think about how my life would be if something happened to her.

                                                   ~~~~~~~~~~~

 I walked into Danny's diner, just like always. The diner was buzzing with chatter. The source of the chatter was on each of the tables. It was a navy blue rectangular laminated flier with snow flakes fluttering down the side of it. I didn't need to see the title to understand what it was for. It was a flier announcing the Winter Ball.

I went up to the counter where Danny was refilling the glass pastry box. He looked up as I sat down and smiled.

"Hey, kid. How's it going?" he asked.

"When are you going to stop calling me kid?" I asked back as he filled up a cup of coffee for me. He slid it towards me and smirked.

"You're always going to be a kid to me, so better get used to it," he said. I rolled my eyes at him and took a whiff of the delicious coffee. I sighed, pleased. Danny's coffee was always the best I had ever had.

"So the town still does the Winter Ball?" I asked him as he handed me a bagel and cream cheese.

"Yeah. It's tradition. The Firefighter's Association is hosting it this year," he replied.

"They hosted it 8 years ago, right?" I asked, thinking back to when I was sixteen years old. He nodded.

"With fake fire lamps and all," he said. I smiled and nodded.

"That was a fun year," I said. He chuckled.

"You planning on going?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Depends on if I find a place for Grammy," I said.

"You know, you've been saying that for a while now. Are you even looking?" he asked, looking at me knowingly.

"Yes," I said flatly, even I knew he knew I was lying. He shook his head at me.

"Just admit that you like being back," he said. 

"I can't. Because I don't like being back," I replied stubbornly. 

"Oh, but honey, you grew up here," I heard the inmistakable voice of Mrs. Knowles say. I pursed my lips and Danny looked away to keep from laughing at her eavesdropping.

"I know. But it's been a while and a lot has changed," I replied. Mrs. Knowles sighed.

"I guess it's right what they say. The city really does change a person," she said. Except in my case, the city helped me. "Are you planning on going to the ball?" she asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "I haven't decided yet."

"Of course your grandmother will make you go," she said. I frowned. She was right, of course. My grandmother would make me go. "Speaking of Grammy, where has she been? I haven't seen her around as much lately," she continued.

"She's been at home. She's been tired lately," I said. "And she just wants to spend some time with me since it's been so long," I added. 

"Well, that woman waited six years for you to come back to her. I understand that," she said. I know she was saying it casually, but I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for putting Grammy through the pain that I put her through. It was part of the reason I was still here and tolerating being in town for so long. I owed it to Grammy after staying away for all those years.

"Yeah, well, I'm back. For now," I said. She smiled at me and then handed me a flier.

"You really should try to come. You used to love getting all dolled up and going to these," she said. I looked down at the paper and suppressed a sigh.

It was true. I did love the Winter Ball. 

I loved going shopping with all of my friends and trying on dresses for hours at a time until we found the perfect one. Grammy always let me go all out, so she paid for whatever dress I wanted, which was rare. My friends and I would go to the salon the day of the ball and get our hair and make-up done. And then we would get ready together and our dates would all come by at the same time to take us to dinner. Carter was almost always my date.

It was tradition. Since I never really had a boyfriend and Carter never really had a girlfriend, we would always go together. It was kind of unspoken. We just assumed that we would be each other's dates. That's how close we were.

But that December six years ago, when I broke his heart, was completely different. We didn't go with each other. In fact, I didn't go at all. I had stopped speaking to Carter. I was ignoring his phone calls, him calling out to me in my room from the front lawn, him trying to talk to me at school. I avoided him because I was so angry with him for doing what he did to me. But it wasn't his fault. Or at least, not his fault alone.

That year, Carter's birthday was on the day of the ball. I didn't even call him or send him a text message. I think that's when he knew that he had lost me forever. 

I had been so selfish. How hurt must he have been that his best friend since grade school was no longer talking to him? I had even planned a surprise party for him with some of our other friends. But I didn't attend it. I didn't even go to the party that I planned. I was such a horrible person.

And now here I was again, six years later, reaching the time of year I hated most. It was the time of year that my parents died, that Lillian was conceived, and that I lost the one person I had ever loved. I hated December. But I would do anything to go back to that day six years ago and change everything.

"Arya? Earth to Arya?" Danny said, whistling and waving his hand in front of my face. I blinked and came out of my sorrowful reverie. 

"Sorry, what?" I asked.

"You ok?" he asked me, narrowing his eyes at me in concern. I felt Mrs. Knowles looking at me, too, and I nodded stiffly.

"I should probably get going," I said, getting up and leaving my half-eaten breakfast on the counter. I walked outside into the cold briskly. I heard the door chime behind me and heard footsteps following me. I started walking faster, but whoever followed me out caught up with me and grabbed my wrist. I turned to face Danny.

"What?" I asked.

"Go with me," he said, his cheeks pink from the cold. He didn't even grab his jacket.

"What?" I asked, confused. 

"Go with me. To the ball," he replied. I shook my head.

"I'm not going," I said.

"Arya...when are you going to let this go?" he asked.

"Let what go? The fact that it's the most miserable time of year for me? Well, I'm sorry to be such a Debbie Downer, but my life kind of sucks right now!" I exclaimed. 

"You're the one that's making it suck! Why can't you just move on? He has," Danny cried. I glared at him, feeling my eyes well up with tears. He sighed, frustrated, and ran a hand over his face. "Look, I didn't mean to sound so unsympathetic, but it's true. He's moved on. He's getting married in a few months and so far, there's been no sign of that changing. I'm just saying that it would be best for you and your state of mind if you just try to let him go," he said.

"Don't you think I've tried? I loved him, Danny! I still do! For God's sake, he's the fa-" I began saying.

"Arya?" I heard. I clamped my mouth shut and froze. Behind Danny, coming up the sidewalk, was Carter. 

"Carter," I breathed, feeling my cheeks warm, despite the cold.

"Is everything all right? Why are you guys shouting?" he asked.

"Arya's just being stubborn. As usual," Danny replied, sending a glare my way. I sent one right back.

"I should get going," I said, trying to break eye contact with Carter.

"Wait, Arya--" Carter began. I shook my head.

"I have to go. I have a--uhh--meeting. With Ryan," I lied.

"Ryan--" Carter began.

"Gotta go! Bye!" I said abruptly before the conversation could continue. Or worse, before Julie someone popped out of nowhere and caught me talking to her fiancee after she explicitly told me not to.

"I'll pick you up at 7!" Danny called as I turned to leave. I flinched. I never won that argument. 

Sighing, I turned my collar up against the wind and made my way back home.

                                                   ~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I frowned, brushing away invisible wrinkles from the dress I was wearing. 

Danny won. I was going to the Winter Ball tonight. 

I had to buy a dress, which was annoying. Instead of going to Natalie's boutique, however, I went back to the city. If I was going to go to this stupid dance, then I wanted to wear something I'd be comfortable in. And that something was a midnight blue evening gown from Barneys. 

"It's one evening though. Why did you spend so much money on that dress?" Grammy asked, looking at the price tag warily.

"It'll come in use for firm parties, too," I replied, shrugging. "Besides, I have the money. Why not spend it?" I added, turning to face her.

My frown deepened.

Grammy was now in a wheelchair because she was too weak to walk by herself. Her condition was worsening by the day and every time I looked at her, my heart broke a little more.

"Are you sure you'll be all right at home alone? I can always call Danny and cancel," I said.

"You bought a $2000 dress for this thing. You have to go now," she replied. I looked at her, not convinced. "Honestly, I'll be fine, Arya. Stop worrying so much or you'll end up like me at an early age," she said. 

"Then don't give me a reason to worry," I replied pointedly. "Have you taken your medicine today?" I asked.

"Yes," she said, a little too quickly.

"Grammy," I said, giving her a look.

"I'll take it after dinner! The doctor said I have to take it after a meal. I can't take it on an empty stomach," she said. I pursed my lips.

"Fine, but I'm making you dinner before I leave," I said.

"You don't have to do that. You're already dressed! You'll ruin your dress," Grammy insisted.

"So? Then I won't have to go," I said.

"$2000 dress," she said. 

"Will you get over that?!" I exclaimed. 

"Just go. Danny will be here any minute to pick you up. I'll just warm up the leftovers from yesterday," she said. I still felt uneasy, but I knew Grammy was stubborn. After all, it was one of the qualities that I had inherited from her.

"Fine," I huffed. 

A few minutes later, Danny rang the doorbell. Right on time.

I opened the door to reveal a very handsome looking Danny. I crossed my arms over my chest and smirked at him.

"Stop looking at me like that," he said, pushing me aside to come in.

"Who knew you cleaned up so nicely?" I replied, shutting the door behind him to keep the cold from coming in. Danny made a face at me.

"I'm starting to regret telling you to go to this. This tux is a bitc--" he started saying when Grammy wheeled herself to the front door.

"What was that, Danny dear?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said abruptly, his cheeks coloring slightly. 

"Now, you take care of Arya here. Don't let her escape after the speech in the beginning," she said to him. I rolled my eyes and he saluted her.

"Aye, aye, Captain," he said. Grammy smiled at him and a somber expression fell on his face. "Hey, Grammy. Doing all right?" he asked. 

"Never better!" she replied, waving a hand. He glanced at me, unsure. I gave him the same look back.

"I guess we should get going then," he said. I nodded.

"Make sure you eat, Grammy. And you better take your medicine. I have ways of finding out if you did or not," I told her, grabbing my coat. 

"I heard you the first time Arya Elizabeth. You don't have to keep telling me," she said, growing irritated quickly. I frowned and shook my head.

"Bye, Grammy," I said. 

"Goodbye, Arya," she replied. 

I hesitated, my hand hovering over the door handle. I took one last glance at Grammy and then followed Danny outside.

I sighed, watching the little clouds from the cold form in front of my face. It was below freezing out and our footsteps made crunching noises on the frozen, snow covered ground.

"She doesn't look good," Danny said once we were in the car. I nodded, feeling my throat constrict slightly.

"She's been getting worse and worse by the day. I don't think the surgery did anything. She should have been fine after it, but I think something went wrong, even if the doctors say everything went the way it was supposed to," I replied. Danny reached out and took my hand, smiling meekly at me. I squeezed it tightly.

"She'll be ok. She just needs to get used to the fact that she's sick. She's still as stubborn as ever. She never liked being weak," he said to me. "Kind of like you," he added. I bit my lip and looked out the window, hoping that that was all that was wrong with her. I didn't know what I would do without Grammy.

                                                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh Arya! You look beautiful!" was the first thing I heard when Danny and I entered the old log house where almost all of the town events were held.

I looked up to see Mrs. Knowles, clad in a shimmery silver dress, beaming at me from her place at the greeting table.

"Thanks, Mrs. Knowles. You clean up pretty nice yourself," I replied, smiling fakely at her. She looked like a gigantic snowflake.

"Oh, don't make me blush," she said, giggling loudly. Looked like she had already gotten a taste of the eggnog. "Most of the town is already here. You can give your coats to Mark over there. He'll put them away for you," she said. We shrugged off our coats and handed it to Mark, who was a high school student. He took them sullenly and I wondered if he was being forced to do the job.

"Shall we?" Danny said, gesturing towards the main floor where everyone was milling around and chatting. I smiled and took his arm, nodding. We walked forward to join a random group of people and easily fell into conversation. That's the way it was in a small. It didn't matter if a person was gone for six years; they still fit in just as well, as if they had never left in the first place.

I grew distracted and took to looking around at my surroundings. The overhead lights were dimmed down low and along the walls were icicle Christmas lights. There were cut-out snowflakes dangling from the ceiling, no doubt courtesy of the elementary school students. In a town like this, everyone played a part in everything.

"So Arya. You're working at a law firm, right?" Kylie, an old high school friend of mine's, asked. I nodded.

"I'm not a lawyer yet, though," I said. "What about you? What have you been up to?" I asked.

"Well, remember Matt from the football team?" she asked. Vaguely, I wanted to say.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"He's my fiancee! We're getting married in June!" she exclaimed giddily. I smiled at her. Kylie was on the cheerleading squad. She and Matt were an on again/off again couple. I guess now they were really on again.

"Congratulations!" I told her. She grinned and reached out to pull me in for a hug, catching me off-guard. I awkwardly put my arms around her before she let go.

"What about you? Have any hot lawyer guys in your life?" she asked. For some reason, my mind flashed right to Ryan. Although he was hot, he was in no way in my life in the way Kylie was suggesting.

"Not really," I said. She pouted.

"Well, you're smoking hot yourself. You'll find someone eventually," she said.

"Yeah..." I said.

As if right on cue, the door opened and with a burst of cold air, Julie and Carter entered arm in arm. I felt my stomach sink.

"They are just such a cute couple!" Kylie said gleefully as we watched Mrs. Knowles greet the pair. "It's a shame that you and him never worked out," she added. I coughed and felt a jabbing pain in my heart.

"Life happens. Things change," I said, snatching a glass of wine from the drinks table. I downed it in one gulp before excusing myself from Kylie. Now was a good time to sneak out.

Just as I was making my way towards the door, however, Julie stopped me.

"Arya! Well don't you look gorgeous," she said, her words dripping with poison. Carter stood staring at me, his mouth slightly open. 

"Thanks," I mumbled, trying not to look at Carter, who looked extremely dapper in a black suit and red tie.

"Where did you get that dress? It's not from Natalie's," she said.

"No, it's from Barney's," I said. She gasped, putting a hand to her mouth.

"In New York?" she asked in awe. I guessed the fashionista in her couldn't resist a good name brand.

"Obviously," I replied. "I should get going," I said.

"Leaving so soon?" Julie asked, breaking out of her reverie from staring at my dress.

"No...I'm...ummm...going to the bathroom," I lied. 

"Right--" she started saying before I turned on my heel and went in the direction of the restrooms. Where the hell was Danny to save me?!

I found him by the snacks table, stuffing his face with gourmet cheese and crackers. I punched him in the arm once I reached him. 

"Ow!" he cried, his mouth full.

"Why did you leave me?!" I exclaimed.

"Well, I didn't do it on purpose! That Kylie girl always annoyed me," he said. I glared at him. "I assume that you just ran into Julie, hence your mood," he said.

"I want to leave," I said.

"Just stay for a few dances and then we'll go," he said.

"I want to leave now," I clarified.

"Don't be a sour puss. It's the holiday season! You should be all cheery right now!" he said. I gave him a look and he sighed.

"You really are the life of the party, Arya," he said sarcastically. I elbowed him in the side and he flinched. 

After about another half hour, someone changed the music from the Christmas songs to more popular dance songs. People hit the dance floor, swaying and grinding and moving. I stood off to the side, rejecting all of Danny's offers to dance.

I wasn't enjoying myself. Half of me was busy avoiding Carter, who kept trying to talk to me and the other half was worrying about Grammy at home. I was, to say the least, having a terrible time.

"Arya, honestly, you'll have a lot more fun if you just dance and let yourself have fun," Danny said.

"If I dance with you, will you stop bothering me?" I asked. 

"Scout's honor," he said, holding up two fingers. I rolled my eyes at him and grabbed his hand, dragging him to the dance floor.

I put my arms around his shoulder and he placed his around my waist. Danny was quite a bit taller than I was, but because of my heels, I was able to reach him without standing on my tiptoes. 

"See? This isn't so bad," he said.

"Yeah, whatever," I said. 

"Arya, trust me. If you just let go, you'll feel a lot better," he said, referring to our argument a few days ago.

"It's a lot easier said than done," I mumbled. He opened his mouth to retort, but I stopped him. "Let's change the subject," I said.

"Are you going to go see Lillian for Christmas?" he asked. I nodded.

"I was thinking about bringing Grammy with me again. I think they would both like that," I said.

"That's fun. You know, I've always wanted to meet her," he told me.

"You can come visit me when I go back to the city and we can go together," I replied. He laughed.

"I am never going to the city," he said.

"It's not that bad," I told him.

"Sure," he said. I rolled my eyes at him and the song ended. 

"Ok, I danced. Now, let's go," I said, dragging him towards the door.

"Arya--" Danny started saying, but he was cut off by Mrs. Knowles' booming voice.

"Where do you think you're going, missy?" she asked me.

"Home," I said.

"Not before you and Carter have a dance together," she said, dragging me forcefully by the wrist towards where Carter and Julie were standing. 

"What?! No!" I exclaimed, trying to dig my heels into the wooden floors to stop her from pulling me. But it was useless. She was stronger than me and I was wearing five inch heels. The universe was against me.

"Come here, Carter," Mrs. Knowles said.

"What?" he asked, glancing at me, confused. I looked away.

"Come. Here," she demanded.

"But--" he started, but she wouldn't let him. She reached forward and grabbed his wrist and then dragged us to the center of the dance floor.

"It is absolutely ridiculous how you two are avoiding each other. I am not going to just stand here and watch and let you two destroy any relationship you might still have. You are going to dance with each other and you by the end of it, you will be friends again. Do you hear me?!" Mrs. Knowles said. We both clamped our mouths shut and nodded.

"Oh, HELL no," Julie said, storming over. "I am not going to let this happen. I am his fiancee--" she started saying, but Mrs. Knowles silenced her with a deadly look.

"They're having one dance. It's not like they're have sex on the dance floor," Mrs. Knowles said. Everyone in the room gasped. I had a sudden crazy urge to laugh. "Now step back and someone turn the goddamn music on," she said, shoving Julie out of the way. Julie sent a death glare my way. If looks could kill, I would have died ten times over by now. 

I had no choice. I had to dance with Carter. There was no resisting an insistent Mrs. Knowles. Sighing, I turned towards Carter, who looked incredibly uncomfortable with the situation.

"It's three minutes. Let's just get this over with," I whispered to him. He nodded. I gingerly put my arms around his neck and he put his shaky hands on my waist. We were well aware of all the eyes that were on us. After all, we were the only ones dancing right now.

The music began playing and I felt my heart sink when I heard the song. It was the song that we danced to at every Winter Ball since the song was released.

"I wanna be next to you and watch you while you sleep..." the beginning lyrics went.

I tried to avoid Carter's calculating eyes. I tried to ignore my racing heart and my sweaty palms and my throat constricting. This was painful. This hurt. This brought on too many memories.

"Look, Arya..." Carter began. I shook my head.

"Carter, don't. Please. Not now," I said.

"I don't wanna live a day without you. I just wanna be the one that makes you happy. Happy. I don't wanna live a day without you, I just wanna be the one that makes you happy. Happy..."

"Arya, I know what Julie said to you. And I'm sorry," he said.

"You don't know half of it," I said, feeling my eyes well up with tears. Other people began dancing, too, so we weren't the only ones.

"Then tell me. Help me understand," he said. 

"I can't," I said.

"Why did you leave?" he asked.

I felt my emotions get the better of me. He looked at me, his eyes dark and concerned. Was he feeling the same things I was? Was he hurting inside as much as me?

"Can't let this moment go, when you're the only one that makes me feel the way I feel inside..."

He moved one of his hands from my waist and brought them up to my face. I closed my eyes as he gently brushed my cheek with his thumb. We weren't dancing anymore. We were just standing in the middle of the dance floor with our arms wrapped around each other, our heads leaning in.

"Lately I'm falling for you. Yeah. Lately I'm falling for you..." 

I couldn't do it anymore. I had to get out of there. I could cry in front of him, in front of all these people. I was losing control fast and I knew I was going to break. 

I put my hand over Carter's and looked him in the eye.

"I'm sorry, Carter," I whispered to him. Then, I let him go. I turned and walked as fast my heels would let me out the door. I felt dozens of pairs of eyes on me as I ran out, the music following me out into the cold December air.

"I don't wanna live a day without you. I just wanna be the one that makes you happy. Happy. I don't wanna live a day without you, I just wanna be the one that makes you happy. Happy..."

I burst through the doors and ran out to the parking lot, standing under a streetlamp. I had left my coat inside, but I didn't even feel the cold. I was so numb to the pain. I wrapped my arms around myself, breathing deeply to gain control over my emotions. But it was no use. The tears were already here.

Why did you leave?

His words rang through my mind. It hurt so bad. It always hurt so bad whenever I saw him, whenever I was near him. I shouldn't have broken his heart. should have never left him. I should have told him. He would have understood. He would have been there for me. He would have helped me. He would have taken care of me when I needed him.

I let out a sob and felt the tears freeze on my cheeks from the cold.

I was being unreasonable. I had to leave him. I had ruined my own life by getting pregnant and I couldn't drag him into the mess, too. He had his whole life planned out for himself and if I had dropped a baby on him, he would have had to give it all up. And even though it made me selfish, I knew I would have had to give up my future plans, too. Carter would have never let me give Lillian up for adoption. He would have wanted to keep her, to raise her ourselves. And then both of our futures would have been ruined.

But were our futures really worth ruining Lillian's?

I shook my head. No, Lillian was better off finding a different family. One that would care for her and provide for her and help her grow up to be the brilliant beautiful girl she was destined to be. So why couldn't I shake the hollow feeling inside of me?

I heard someone come up behind me and then felt warmth cover my arms. I clutched at the black blazer that was now draped over me and looked up to see Carter standing in front of me.

He came after me.

"Why did you follow me?" I asked him, sniffling. He reached out and brushed the tears on my cheeks off my face.

"Because you never answered my question," he replied.

"Carter, why are you doing this? Why don't you go back to hating me?" I asked. "It was so much easier that way."

"For you, maybe. But it was the hardest thing for me. Hating you. It was almost as hard as losing you the first time," he told me. I shook my head.

"Why do you care so much?" I asked. He looked at me for a long moment, his brown eyes warm and comforting, before smiling sadly at me.

"I guess old habits never die," he replied. I let out a small laugh, feeling my eyes well up with tears again. 

"You should go inside, Carter. Julie will kill both of us if she sees us talking," I said. 

"You don't need to worry about Julie," he said. He sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. His cheeks and nose were pink and I saw that he was shivering from the cold. I hesitated, but then stepped forward, putting my arms around his waist. I tried to tell myself that I was just keeping both of us warm, but I knew that I just wanted to hold him. 

He wrapped his arms around me, holding me close.

"Sometimes I wonder if I should have tried harder to reach out to you," he said. I felt my heart twist in agony.

"You tried hard enough. You did everything. I just wasn't in any position to reach back," I replied.

"What scared you off?" he asked after a moment of silence. I fell silent. 

Even after everything, I still couldn't tell him. 

"Will you ever tell me?" he asked.

No.

"Maybe one day," I whispered. He pulled me back a little so he could look at me. The look in his eyes was so tender, so concerned, so loving that it hurt to look back. So I looked away, turning my face so I didn't have to see those eyes. But he moved my chin up, not letting me break his gaze. 

"Can I tell you something?" he asked. I nodded. "I really want to kiss you right now," he said. I couldn't help but laugh. 

"You're engaged," I reminded him. 

"I guess we can't always get what we want," he sighed. I smiled at him. "What will we do now?" he asked.

"I'll go back to the city and become a lawyer. And you'll stay here, get married to Julie, finish up medical school, and become a successful doctor," I replied.

"And we'll both live happily ever after?" he asked. I smiled sadly and nodded. "There's one thing wrong with that plan of yours," he said.

"And what's that?" I asked. He leaned down so that his lips were at my ears.

"It's complete bull shit," he said. I raised my eyebrows at him and he smiled at me. "Neither of us is going to have a happily ever after with that plan," he told me.

"Maybe you're right," I said. "But like you said, we can't always get what we want."

He brushed a few strands of hair from my face, tracing his finger down the side to my jaw. I couldn't take my eyes off his face. We were standing so close, completely entwined with one another. If I could have stood in that moment forever, I would have. But the universe always had it out for me.

"Arya?" I heard a voice say. Carter and I pulled apart to see Danny coming out towards us. He had a worried look on his face and his hands were shaking as he held my cell phone in his hands.

"What's wrong?" I asked, letting go of Carter completely and going up to Danny.

"It's...it's..." Danny stammered. 

"Danny!" I shouted, shaking him. I had never seen him like this. What had happened?! I felt my heart beat inside my ears. 

"Grammy had a stroke," Danny said.

And in an instant, my world came crashing down.

_______________________________________________________

A/N: I've had this chapter planned out for a REALLY long time. I finally got around to writing it. Sorry I've been MIA. I got busy again with work and research and applications. My MCAT result came in. I didn't get the score I needed so I have to take it again. Which means that I'm going to disappear for about a month. Please don't hate me. I'm really upset by this.

Anyway, this story is almost finished. I'm going to estimate 3 more chapters until the end. Yay!

Questions to comment on: Do you think Grammy is going to die? Will Arya finally tell Carter why she left? Do you think Julie will tell Carter about Lillian?

Comment below! And don't forget to vote!

Song on the side (and in the chapter): Happy by Secrets in Stereo

XOXO