READ THE NOTE AT THE END!!!

I stood staring at the two people standing in front of me, my mouth slightly agape, my ears not believing what they had just heard.

A fiancee? How could he have gotten engaged in the past six years? How had he moved on so quickly? I felt sick and hurt as I stared at the young man that I thought I knew so well. I guess time really did change everything. I had no idea who this person standing in front of me was anymore. He was completely different. He wasn't my Carter.

And it was all my fault.

"Your fiancee?" I asked, trying and struggling to hide the emotions flitting across my features.

"Yup," Julia replied, popping the 'p' at the end. "He proposed to me last April. The wedding is going to be in March," she said, a gleeful smile on her face. She kissed Carter's cheek and then snuggled into his embrace.

But I wasn't paying attention to her anymore. I was looking at Carter, wondering if he could see what I was going through at that moment. He looked back at me with a distant and undiscernable expression. I had no idea what was going through his mind. I could no longer read the emotions on his face, could no longer read his eyes. Carter was a complete stranger to me now.

"Congratulations," I said, my voice solemn and hollow as I continued to stare at Carter, whose eyes had not left mine from the moment he told me who Julia was.

"Thanks!" Julia giggled. "So were you two close friends in high school?" she asked, pulling away from Carter slightly so she could fix her wavy blonde hair.

I looked at Carter, waiting for him to answer even though the question was directed towards me. How did he want to play this out? Was he going to tell her that I was the one that broke his heart six years ago? Because surely he would have told her about the girl that destroyed his view on love.

"I guess you could say that," he replied stiffly. I laughed hollowly, shaking my head and I saw the first discernable emotion flash in Carter's eyes: sympathy.

"You know what? I should get going. I'll give you two your space," I said, picking up my purse.

"Oh, my God! Is that a Christian Dior tote?" Julia asked, deattaching herself completely from Carter's arms and coming closer to me to look at my bag. I glanced up at her, raising my eyebrows.

"Umm...yes. Yes, it is," I replied.

"Oh, my God! I've had my eye on this bag ever since it came out at the beginning of the season! Where did you buy it?" she asked.

"I didn't," I answered bluntly. Ryan had gotten me the handbag to celebrate solving--and winning--100 cases together.

"Who would spend that much money on you?" Julia asked, completely bewildered by my answer.

"My..." I trailed off.

I was going to say my boss, but then my eyes fell on Carter, who was still looking at me with a curious expression on his face. Maybe it was because I was still shocked and reeling from the revelation he had just given me or maybe my emotions had taken control of my common sense, but the words I said next were completely accidental.

"My boyfriend," I said, my eyes on Carter. I saw the slightest hint of annoyance cross his features. His left eyebrow twitched up a bit and his nostrils flared slightly.

Ryan's going to kill me.

"Your boyfriend? How lucky of you! He must be a keeper if he spends that much money on you!" Julia exclaimed, still gawking over my handbag. She was completely unaware of the silent exchanges between me and her fiancee.

"Yeah, he is," I said, my voice slow and thoughtful. "Anyway, I should get going. It was nice meeting you, Julia," I said, trying to pry my bag out of her grasp.

"Oh, wait!" she cried as I started to walk away.

"What?" I asked, turning. I failed to hide the annoyance in my voice and I saw Carter shake his head slightly.

"Let me take you shopping some time. It looks like you could use a wardrobe update," she said. I winced at her words and glanced down at my outfit from high school. She was certainly right about that, though. I was badly in need of some new clothes. I couldn't go back to the city to fetch my things because Grammy needed me by her side. I had no choice but to take Julia up on her offer.

"Sure. I'll meet you here at around 5," I said.

"Goodie!" Julia cheered, clapping her hands and then hugging Carter. Carter looked at me questioningly and I shrugged at him before turning around and sighing.

I may have just made a huge mistake.

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

"Hey, Grammy," I said, walking into my grandmother's patient room.

"Hello, dear," she replied, looking up from the newspaper she was reading. She smiled warmly at me as I walked up to her and sat on the chair by her bed. Her eyes scanned my outfit and I she let out a small chuckle, making her greying blue eyes twinkle.

"I can't believe those still fit you," she said.

"Neither can I," I replied.

"It goes to show how little you eat. I know you live in the big city now, but you don't have to act like those skinny models that walk down the runway," Grammy told me. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Grammy, if you saw how much I eat when I'm at home, you'd be amazed that I don't weigh over 200 pounds," I said to her.

"Oh, I highly doubt that. You're a lawyer; you like to exaggerate things," she said.

"I'm not a lawyer yet," I said, pointing at her.

"But close?" she replied. I sighed.

"Not even. I still have to take my LSAT and get into law school, remember?" I said.

"Oh, yes. I forgot. But you're nearly there. And you work at such a big law firm. Surely you'll get into any school you apply to," she said.

"There are a lot of people out there with a ton of experience and really good LSAT scores," I said, frowning.

"Yes, but none of them are as pretty or charming as you," Grammy said. I smiled at her and then shook my head. "So why were you so late this morning? I thought you would be here by 11," she said. I felt my face drop and I averted my gaze.

"I got held up," I said, a little too quickly.

"By?" she prodded. I shrugged and leaned back in my chair, setting my purse down on the floor.

"Aria Elizabeth Hansen, you tell me this instant what happened to you this morning," Grammy demanded.

"Grammy! It's not a big deal!" I exclaimed.

"Well, you're face says otherwise," she answered. I gave her a look and she returned it. We continued staring at each other like this for a few moments before I gave in to her. She always won.

"If you must know, when I ran into Carter yesterday, I had asked him if he would get breakfast with me some time. He hadn't answered me and I didn't really expect him to show up, but when I went to Danny's diner this morning, he was there. So we sat and had a little chat to catch up on things," I explained.

"Oh, well that's good! At least you two are on speaking terms considering..." she trailed off after I gave her a dark look.

"I guess," I mumbled.

"You seem upset," she noted after we sat in silence for some time.

"He's engaged," I said, my voice heavy and dripping with disappointment. Grammy bit her lip and took to fumbling with her blanket. I looked at her skeptically. "Did you know he was engaged?" I asked, looking at her suspiciously. She didn't answer.

"Grammy!" I exclaimed.

"I may have gone to his engagement dinner," she said.

"Oh my God!" I shouted. A nurse that was walking by the room stopped to shush me and then shut the door after herself.  I turned to glare at my grandmother, who was still fumbling with the hem of the blanket.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me," I said.

"I figured you wouldn't want to hear about it," she said.

"You could have warned me, though!" I cried.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that you would ever find out? If it wasn't for this surgery, you would have never come back to this town," Grammy said.

I sat back, silenced by the truth in her words.

She was right. I wouldn't have ever come back if it weren't for Grammy getting sick. All of those promises I had made to her about coming to visit during the holidays were mostly empty. I never meant to ever step foot into this town. I had every intention of moving Grammy to my apartment in the city so that I would never have to face the people and memories of my old life again.

But here I was again, back in the old town. Everything was nearly the same, but at the same time, so much had changed. I had changed. I thought coming back to my old town would be scary because I would see all of the things that reminded me of the past. But now, I realized that so much had changed since I had left, and that change was more frightening than anything else.

 "I'm sorry. That was harsh," Grammy apologized somberly after gazing at my stunned expression. I blinked at her a few times.

"No," I said slowly, "no it wasn't. I deserved it because it's true."

Grammy frowned in pity at me and reached over, patting my cheek with her cold hands.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway, because you're here now," she said, trying to lift the atmosphere of the painful tension that had settled.

"Yeah..." I trailed off.

"So, how'd you like Julia?" she asked. I looked up at her.

"She's not his type at all," I said.

"You can't possibly know what his type is," Grammy said. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're joking, right? I know him better than anyone else," I said.

"You knew him better than anyone else six years ago," Grammy said, her voice sounding a little sharp. "It's been a long while since then and a lot has changed," she added, softening her tone.

"He used to hate girls like Julia, though," I said.

"And what kinds of girls would they be?" she asked.

"Well...you know...girls with pretty faces and nothing else," I responded.

"That's a little judgmental, don't you think?" she questioned, giving me a look.

"Why are you taking his side?" I asked.

"Because you made your decision six years ago, honey. He moved on and so should you," Grammy replied.

"I have moved on," I said, my voice quiet.

"If that were true, you wouldn't be so upset about him being engaged," Grammy said.

"If that were true, would I be going shopping with Julia later today?" I spat back, growing annoyed at my grandmother's insistence of my dejected, albeit true, feelings.

"Really, now?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"Really," I said. She chuckled.

"How did that happen?" she asked.

"She said I was in dire need of a wardrobe change," I said. "And, honestly, I couldn't agree more. I can't walk around in my clothes from high school while I'm here," I added.

"Oh, well, have fun, then," she said, a smile still on her lips.

"I doubt it," I said, sighing.

"She's not that terrible," she said. I rolled my eyes.

"Listening to her voice makes my ears want to bleed. She is much too happy and preppy," I said.

"You're just being a sour puss," Grammy said. I shook my head at her, disregarding her comment.

The door opened and a nurse walked in with a small plastic box.

"Hi, Martha!" the nurse exclaimed in a cheery voice.

"Hi, Leah," Grammy replied, her expression darkening slightly as she eyed the box.

"It's time for your medicine!" Leah said, her voice much too excited for someone who was about to deliver a shot of medication into my grandmother's veins.

"Oh, sweet Jesus," Grammy grunted under her breath. I gave her a sympathetic look.

"Is this your granddaughter?" Leah asked as she popped open the lid of the box and pulled out the needle. I stared at the shot, horrified at the length of the needle.

"Yes, it is," Grammy replied robotically, also watching the needle.

"Do you want me to stay?" I asked Grammy, feeling myself pale at the sight of the needle. Grammy glanced at me and noticed my pale complexion.

"No, you can go. I'll probably be asleep in a few minutes anyway," she replied. I swallowed and nodded, leaning forward and kissing her forhead.

"Good luck!" I called as I headed out the door, closing it behind just as I heard my grandmother take a sharp intake of breath as the needle penetrated her skin. I grimaced as the door shut behind me.

I hated shots.

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

"This color would look gorgeous on you," Julia said, holding up an olive green jersey dress with pockets and a thin leather belt. I forced a smile.

I had been shopping with Julia for about an hour now. The verdict? My head was about to explode from the sound of her girly voice.

"Green is actually my favorite color," I said, taking the dress from her. I checked the price tag discreetly and my eyes widened. $72?! For this thing?!

I mean, I made quite a lot of money from my job at the firm, but I was saving most of it for law school and used a good sum of it to pay the rent for my expensive condo. I wasn't really much of a shopper; I never was, even when I was in high school. Because I worked at a high-end and prestigious law firm, the majority of my closet consisted of business suits, skirts, and dresses. Everything I owned was made for work. I had two pairs of jeans and a couple sweaters. Otherwise, I owned no other casual item of clothing.

"And that green especially. It would totally bring out the color of your eyes," she said.

"I'm not really a dress person..." I said.

"But it's on sale!" she cried, indicating a sign over the rack we were standing at. I glanced at it. 25% off. I internally rolled my eyes. I could hardly call that a sale.

"Let's try something else," I suggested, putting the dress back on the rack.

"Oh, all right," she pouted, trudging after me as I made my way to a pile of folded up sweaters. "You know, I bet I can get Natalie to give you a discount," Julia said, talking in regards to Natalie, who was Carter's stepmother and the owner of the store we were in.

"I doubt it," I muttered. Natalie probably hated me for what I did to her stepson.

"What was that?" Julia asked.

"Nothing!" I said, forcing a smile. She grinned back and I heard her phone's ringtone go off.

"Oh! I got a text from Carter!" she exclaimed, fishing her phone out of her purse. I lowered my gaze to the variety of sweaters before me as she giggled in glee at the text.

"He got a break for dinner! He's asking me to join him," she told me, although I really did not want to know.

"That's nice," I said.

"You should come, too!" she suggested, looking up suddenly.

"What--? No-I--" I stammered, completely off-guard.

What was wrong with this girl? When I first met her, she was sizing me up as if I were competition. And now she was acting as if we were best friends. Did Carter tell her to not worry about me? Did she realize that I didn't stand a chance even if I tried?

"Oh, hush, you. You have to join us. Who else will you eat with?" she asked.

"I'm find by myself, honestly," I said.

"No, no. I insist," she said, texting at her phone. "And besides, I just told him to reserve us three spots," she added, waving her phone in front of my face. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling my annoyance grow exponentially.

It seemed to me that by accepting Julia's offer to go shopping with her, I had somehow managed to give her the wrong impression that I wanted to be friends with her. Now, she was going to make it extremely difficult for me to avoid Carter for my stay here.

"Ok," I sighed. "Ok, fine."

"Yay! Now let's get you a new outfit for dinner!" she said, clapping her hands together and bouncing off to a different rack of dresses. I stared after her and then sighed heavily.

This was a huge mistake.

_____________________________________________________________

A/N: Well, shame on me for updating this story after a whole month. I'm really very sorry, everyone. School has been an absolute nightmare of assignments and exams for me. I've just been very, very busy with life and figuring out my future. And it's not going to be over anytime soon, so please bear with me.

So here's the next chapter. I don't really have too much to say. Do you guys think Julia has an alterior motive? Or do you think she genuinely likes Aria? How do you think Carter will feel about their new friendship?

Leave me a comment below! You know how I love reading them. The most insightful comment gets a dedication!

Also, please leave me a vote! It doesn't take too long. It's just a push of a button (and you can vote even if you're using your phone or tablet to read this, so no excuses!).

ONE MORE THING!!! So I recently checked out the Watty Awards competition and guess what?! NIGHT LIFE IS IN THE MOST POPULAR CATEGORY FOR ADVENTURE!!!
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE vote for Night Life. I would love it if I at least got nominated to be in the competition.  It would honestly make my year and half on Wattpad worth it and it would literally be a dream come true. SO PLEASE HELP ME OUT!!!

Until next time...

XOXO