The next few weeks went by in a blur of meetings, emotions, and decisions. 

After Grammy's funeral, I had a hard time adjusting to the fact that I was now truly an orphan. I had no family at all. This revelation was a blow to me and it hurt. I mourned both Grammy's death and my newly lonely status for a good two weeks before Danny finally intervened and told me to stop my self-wallowing and start to do something.

But doing something turned out to be even harder than I had initially thought. Despite my being a future lawyer, I had no idea how much legal work needed to be worked out after the last living member of a family passed away. I had to figure out what to do with Grammy's finances, her estate, and then there was the question of going over her will. Although going over her will was easy--she had left everything to me--the rest was a bit difficult. Leaving everything to me left me with no specific instructions, so I had to do what I thought was best. And at that particular moment in time, I wasn't sure I was capable of making that decision.

For example, one of the things that Grammy left behind for me was her home. This was the home that she had grown up in. It was the home that her parents had raised her in and it was the home that she and Grandpa had lived in. It was the home that my father grew up in and was the home in which I had spent the majority of my childhood and the entirety of my adolescent years. This home was not only a building, it was a part of the family legacy; it was as much a part of the family as I was. So to even think about putting it up for sale on the market was an incredible insult to my family's past. 

I had options, though. One was that I could do nothing and leave it as it was, which was, in fact, mine. But then there was the issue of maintaining the house. After all of this was over, I was surely moving back to my expensive condominium in the city. Ryan would kill me if I stayed away from the office much longer. So while I was away at my actual home in the city, the house would suffer. Someone would need to mow the lawn, keep the bushes, trees, and flowers trimmed and kept, shovel the snow in the winter, and rake the leaves in the fall. And that was only the outdoor maintenance. I couldn't just leave the house. It would be ruined. And that would be a worse fate than giving it away.

Which led me to my second option: putting it up for rent. This was the option that Danny had suggested to me. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind. I had been looking through the Yellow Book for people that would maintain the house without it costing me too much money, although Grammy had left me quite a bit of savings behind--which I had planned to use majorly on law school. But as I was fretting over the costs and my budget and the ridiculousness of keeping the house maintained until I died, Danny tossed me a business card with Mr. Planck's--the local realtor--name on it.

"Why don't you put it up for rent?" he asked. 

And that's when the lightbult went off.

Renting the house would still give me ownership of it, but without the added expense of having to actually take care of it myself. The deal that Mr. Planck helped me come up with was this: I would rent the house out to any new families that were either moving to town or were expanding their own family. The new families would be able to rent the house out until they found a suitable house of their own. But in that time, they would be responsible for taking care of the house: mowing the lawn, keeping the interior clean, etc. etc. Because of this responsibility, the rent wouldn't be as high, although all the needed facilities would be available. In this way, I would be able to keep the house under my name and, at the same time, it would, in a way, allow Grammy to still be a part of the town that she had loved so much.

It was perfect.

Once I had signed the contracts and gone over the legal stuff with Mr. Planck--which took another couple weeks--I felt a load off my shoulders. But there was, however, one more load that I needed to take care of. 

Carter.

I hadn't talked to Carter since the funeral. While I was busy controlling my emotions and dealing with the aftermath of Grammy's death, Carter had gotten swept up in preparations for his fast-approaching wedding. It was now the middle of February and Carter was due to be married to Julie in a month, according to the invitation that I wasn't supposed to receive.

Carter had been the one to send me the invite. I didn't expect one from Julie, especially when had flat out told me that I wasn't invited. As she had said, I wasn't allowed at the wedding, even if Carter sent me an invite. It wasn't like I was going to go anyway since at the end of the week, I was returning back to my home in the city and go back to my real life. This was to hold up my end of the deal so that she wouldn't spill my secret to him. But now, as I thought about it, I could go if I wanted. Because at this moment, I was walking up the pathway to Carter's house, ready to tell him my secret myself.

I hesitated at the door, which was painted a pale yellow color, very Julie-esque.

Did I really want to do this? I could very easily just turn around and go back home, pack up my things, and leave this place forever. I had spent the past six years of my life doing everything I could to hide this secret from Carter and in this moment, all of those years would go to waste.

I could turn around.

I could go back.

I could never have to face this for the rest of my life.

But did I want to?

I had to admit, after Grammy's death and the days leading up to it, I had started to become exhausted. It was as if this secret was weighing me down, keeping me from being truly happy. Maybe I had wanted it that way for a while, but now I was getting tired. It was too hard to keep it now, especially with Julie's looming threat over my head. 

No. It was the right thing to do. I had to tell him. It was now or never. And if I didn't do it now, it would haunt me for the rest of my life. And so, thinking this, I raised my hand and picked up the cold brass knocker on the door and knocked twice. 

I waited and with each second that ticked by, I felt myself grow more and more anxious.

What if Julie showed up when I told him? Carter had assured me that Julie would be gone for the entire day because she had gone for a fitting for her wedding dress in the city and wouldn't be back until nighttime. But I hated leaving things up to chance. As a future lawyer, I liked having all of my facts straight and clear so I knew exactly what to do. But with Carter, everything was uncertain.

I felt my heart skip a beat when I heard the door unlock. It opened to reveal Carter, dressed in his signature gray khaki pants and a light blue button down. He even dressed like a professional when he was at home.

"Hey," he said, opening the door wider so that I could walk in. I had wanted to do the meeting at Grammy's house, but he had insisted on doing it here at Julie's and his place.

I stepped inside onto a mint green mat that had flowers on it. I shuddered at the girliness.

"Hi," I said, following Carter inside.

I looked around with a mildly amused expression on my face. I couldn't believe that Carter would live here.

The first room that I saw after the hallway was a sitting area that was most likely the family room. It was painted a light lavendar color with white French crown molding along the sides. The furniture was made of a mahogany wood, but with a black finish. The couches were white and on the couches were tribal printed pillows. I felt like I had walked into an IKEA catalogue. This didn't look like the kind of place Carter would live in at all. He must have sacrificed a lot for Julie.

"Do you want anything to eat? Drink?" Carter asked, gesturing for me to sit on one of the suede white couches. I sat and shook my head.

"No thanks," I said politely. He nodded and then sat down on the couch that was adjacent to mine. We sat silently for a moment as I looked around at my surroundings and Carter looked at me.

"This is a nice place," I said finally, to break the growing tension.

"You hate it," he said flatly. I fought back a small smile.

"And you don't?" I asked. 

"It took some getting used to. We moved in together three years ago, though, so I'm used to it," he explained. 

"Did you guys buy the house together?" I asked. He shook his head, crossing his legs.

"No, her parents bought it for us," he replied.

"They really like you, huh?" I asked. He chuckled.

"What's not to like?" he replied. I smiled sadly.

"That's true," I said quietly, looking down at my hands folded in my lap. He sombered up immediately. 

"So...how have you been? You know, after..." he asked trailing off.

"It was hard to deal at first. It still is sometimes. But I think I've dealt with enough grief in my life at this point. It's become easier to shut it all out," I replied. 

"You were always really good at controlling your emotions. It took you forever to cry in front of me," he said, reminiscing about the past. 

I remembered, too.

It was after my first break up, back in 7th grade. I had been dating Oliver McCallister, the new student that had transferred from a school in San Francisco, since May of the year before when he had first moved. He had dark blonde surfer hair and eyes the color of the ocean. We had dated for about 5 months before he broke my heart by cheating on me. My 12 year old self had been devastated and it was Carter, of course, that was there to dry my tears. 

It had taken me five years to cry in front of Carter. When we had first met, after my parents initial death, I would cry before meeting him and he would know. But the tears never came when he was around. Even as children, when I would fall and hurt myself while playing tag or something, I wouldn't cry in front of him. I had been stubborn even as a child. 

But there was something different about Carter. I could trust him. He wasn't going to hurt me.

So naturally, what did I do?

I hurt him.

"So what are you going to do about the house?" he asked. 

"I'm putting it up for rent. That way I still own it, but don't have to live in it. I don't think Grammy would have wanted me to put it up for sale," I replied. He nodded.

"I don't think she would have, either," he said. 

"But then again, she would have wanted me to stay and live in it," I added.

"So you're moving back to the city for sure?" he asked. 

"I can't stay here. Not anymore," I said, my voice quiet. 

"You don't have to leave," he said to me.

"I don't have a reason to stay anymore. I have nothing here for me. I have no one here for me," I answered. He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "And don't say that that's not true, because it is. Grammy was the only reason I came back here. And now that she's gone, I have no reason to stay."

"You have everyone in this town that cares about you--" he began.

"But none of them are mine," I interrupted.

He was silent for a moment, his amber eyes boring into my green eyes.

"So Grammy really was the only reason that you came back?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Carter. I had no intention of telling you why I did what I did ever. I never wanted to come back here. None of this was supposed to happen," I said.

"So you were just going to let me hate you forever?" he asked.

"That was the plan," I said, my voice hard. He narrowed his eyes slightly. I didn't know why I was trying to pick a fight. I was so emotionally exhausted, though, that controlling my emotions at this point was too tiresome. I just let the reign free now.

"The city really does make a person heartless," he said.

"It's not about being heartless, Carter. It never was. It was about me trying to protect your happiness," I said.

"You're not allowed to do that, though. You lost that right six years ago when you decided to leave!" he exclaimed.

"So why do you want me to bring it up now?" I asked.

"Peace of mind," he replied immediately.

"Then promise me one thing," I said, and I think what I was about to say was what I had been trying to do this whole time. The lead up to the final reveal. But with a condition. "After I tell you, it can't change anything. Not between us and not between you and Julie. Promise me that nothing will change," I said. 

"I can't make that promise," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was stressed. He always did that when he was stressed or frustrated.

"Then I'm not telling you," I said, starting to get up.

"Like hell I'm letting you go before you tell me," he said, getting up as well and blocking my way.

"Then promise," I said, looking him straight in the eye.

"No," he replied.

"I'm not telling you until you promise," I said.

"Well, then I guess we'll be here for a while, then," he replied, folding his arms over his chest. 

"Carter," I said flatly.

"Arya," he replied, mimicking my tone. 

I gave him a look and he returned it. 

"I can be pretty persistent," I said.

"So can I. You taught me that," he said, his gaze unwaivering. "Oh, and, you should know, Julie will probably be back in about two hours," he said. 

"Are you trying to threaten me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Whatever it takes to make you talk," he replied. 

He really was a smart one. I dreaded to think what would happen if Julie came home to find me in her house alone with Carter. And I would much rather have myself tell Carter my secret than her. This was probably why he chose to have the meeting here. He knew I would resist and he knew he'd be able to use Julie as an excuse. I had taught him well. 

"Fine," I sighed, sitting back down on the couch. He smirked in victory. You won't be smiling for long, I thought.

I folded my hands in my lap, crossed and uncrossed my legs. I felt a nervous pit in my stomach. Actually, it was more like a watermelon than a pit. Suddenly, I felt nauseous. 

I looked up at Carter, who was waiting patiently. 

Was I really doing this?

Carter leaned forward slightly.

Yes. I really was.

I realized at that moment that I had never really imagined a scenario in which I would tell Carter about Lillian. It had never occurred to me that there was a possibility that I might have to tell him. Even after Julie's threat, I hadn't given it a thought. I was so sure that I would be able to get away and stay away forever. But now, that certainty was costly. I had no idea how to go about telling him about his child. 

I pulled my phone out. Carter shifted slightly. I flipped through the pictures on my phone until I found one of just Lillian. It was one that I had taken of her on her most recent birthday. She was standing in front of her cake, which was in the shape of a six. She was wearing a navy blue dress that had a bow that stretched along the neckline. On her feet were a pair of golden sandals and in her hands was a tiny Dooney and Bourke purse that I had given her as a present. She had liked the one that I carried so much, so I bought her a miniature version for her birthday. She loved it. 

In the picture, the similarity between Lillian and me when I was a child was extremely evident. She was literally the spitting image of me and I had no doubt that she would grow up to look exactly like me. All except for her eyes and shy smile, which were her father's. Her father, who was sitting right in front of me, waiting for me to say something.

But I couldn't say anything. So instead, I handed my phone over to him. He took it and looked at the screen, his face confused.

"Who is this?" he asked. 

"Her name is Lillian," I replied, feeling my throat constrict. I could hear my heart beating in my ears and my face flush as I felt the warm sting of tears behind my eyes. 

"And?" he asked. My vision became slightly blurry before I composed myself.

"She's a child at this adoption center that I volunteer at sometimes," I explained. Why wasn't I just telling him? He looked up at me and saw me falling apart.

"Arya...who is this?" he asked, his eyebrows drawn up in concern. I think he already knew now, after seeing my own facial expression.

"She's our daughter," I managed to choke out. 

He paled. I saw the Adam's apple in his throat bob up and down as he swallowed. He handed me my phone back, not taking his eyes off of me. He wiped his hands on his pants. He rubbed his thighs with his knuckles. He was so deathly pale that I wondered if he was going to pass out. 

"Our--?" was all he said. I nodded.

"She's our child," I said, the tears springing freely from my eyes. 

"That's why you left?" he asked, his voice unnaturally calm. Why wasn't he freaking out? Why was he so calm? His quietness only made my nervousness worse.

"When we finally...did it...that December that we broke up...It had been perfect, but then I didn't feel good for a few weeks. And then I missed my period and I started freaking out. So I took a test and it came out positive. And then I went to the doctor and they confirmed it. And I was so upset. I was so upset and I hated you. I was stupid and young and I blamed you for it. I had my whole life ahead of me and then I was pregnant and I hated you so much," I said, my words coming fast. Now that I was talking I couldn't stop. And neither could my tears.

"That's why I did it. That's why I broke your heart. I couldn't stand to see your face. That's why I stayed away. I hated you for what you did. I didn't realize at the time that it was as much my fault as it was yours. I just needed to blame someone. But after I left, after I moved to Boston after graduation, I missed you so much. I wanted you to be there with me. I wanted someone because I was scared and I was having a baby and I was so alone. But that was when I realized that I couldn't ruin both of our lives. At the time, I thought my whole life was over because I was having a kid. There was no chance of me going to college, no chance of me pursuing my dreams. But I couldn't do that to you, too. I couldn't ruin your future, too."

"At the time, I didn't even consider the fact that I could give her up for adoption. It didn't even cross my mind. But Grammy helped me make the decision. She's the one that told me that I was too irresponsible to take care of a child. So I put her in an adoption center. But she was mine. She was my daughter, my flesh and blood. I couldn't stay away. So I signed up to be a volunteer there and while I was in school, I spent all of my time with her. I didn't take care of her or raise her, but I made sure I was there with her. And then after I graduated from college and then moved to the city, I still came to visit her. I couldn't stay away. She was my daughter," I said. 

Carter was still silent. He seemed to have frozen, having an angry staring contest with the glass coffee table in front of him. So I kept going. I kept talking.

"I never wanted you to know. Especially when I came back here and saw that you were happy. You were engaged. You had moved on just like I had wanted you to. You were going to become a doctor in two years. You were so happy. You were finally getting everything you wanted. So I couldn't tell you. I couldn't."

"But then Julie...Julie told me that she knew about her. She knew about our daughter and she threatened to tell you if we kept getting closer. So I tried so hard to stay away from you. And I thought I was going to do it, I thought I was going to get out of here without having to tell you, but you kept insisting and I got tired and so here we are now," I said, finishing. I took a breath and then held it in as I watched Carter. He still didn't move.

"Say something, damn it!" I shouted. He raised his eyes and looked up at me slowly. He was still pale. He was shaking his foot, a nervous habit of his. His lips were pursed and his eyes were a dark, chocolate brown. 

"I need time," he said. 

Three words. That's all he had to say. After I had spilled my heart out to him, told him my secret, that's all he had to say.

I stood up, not saying anything. I picked my phone up from the table where Carter had set it down. I turned it off, hiding the picture of Lillian. Then, without a word to Carter, I turned on my heel and walked out the door.

He could take all the time he wanted, but nothing was going to change. Not now. He had his chance to say something, but he didn't. And now I was done.

________________________________________________________________

A/N: There it is! The big reveal! What'd you think? Did it live up to expectations? 

So, like I said before, the end is near. I know it doesn't seem like it, but it is. I'm thinking the next chapter will be the last and then maybe I'll write an Epilogue. We'll see.

Let me know what you think will happen next! Is Carter justified in saying he needs time? How much time will he need? Will he be too late? Leave me a comment below!

Also, don't forget to vote!

XOXO