INDIANA

2008

    She remembers that night.

    The night everything had fallen.

    A little seven year old Carrie Mellisa Strange had gripped her fingers around the rotten wooden poles wrapped around the side of the family's staircase. Her older ten year-old brother, Wesley Braden Strange, crouched down beside her, his eyes worryingly glancing towards his sister as the soft echoes of the tv reporter on the screen blabbing about how a famous billionaire had been kidnapped by Saudi Arabians.

    She is the only sibling he ever received and would be the only one. So, even when their dear mother or father couldn't stand by her in her drowning moments, Wesley would always there. To him, she was his baby, someone no one could hurt. So, in that moment, where they could hear the loud yells of their parents a story below, Wesley wanted to whisk up Carrie and take her far away from that retched place full of nothing but toxicity and manipulation.

    "Are you joking me?"

    "Rach, come on."

Carrie glanced up to her big brother with her big, icy blue eyes drenched in those tears and as she did so her little lip puckered and wavered. Wesley just shook his head slowly, and painfully before gripping his little sister's hands, trying desperately to drag her away before things became much more heated than they already were. But, the little girl grunted as she jerked back her hands, determination painted across her face in a beautiful anthem.

"Rach, come on." Their mother, Rachel Strange, mocked their father. "No! There is no way out of this."

"You are just being dramatic." Their father, Stephen Strange, made the so awful mistake.

They were both... amazing parents on certain terms. Rachel Strange was considered one of the strongest woman in her generation of her family. She was the one people always looked up to, the one who always helped others no matter what. But, due to these wonderful contributions, she was often at times very strong willed and stubborn. Whether that quality was good or not is the question. And their father, Stephen Strange, always achieved more and always had high expectations for himself. Not only him, but also for those around him. This is what led him into his favored medical career.

    Both of these parents had attributes that were both good and bad. And as many say, you need to marry someone who matches you. Rachel Emerson Strange and Stephen Strange did not go well together as much as everyone around them hate to admit. High School Sweethearts who were blinded by the love that soon faded as their time and marriage continued. And if you ask Rachel and Stephen, they would say one of the contributions to the failure of their marriage was the disagreement over children. The doctor who had emerged himself in his medical duties was far too busy for children to tend to, meanwhile Rachel had the opposite views.

    So, you decide who the villain of this story is. Maybe, just maybe, everyone is the villain of everyone's story.

    "Me?" Rachel scoffed aloud with a loud roll of her eyes. "I am being dramatic? Says the one who chose to work on both Christmas Eve and Christmas."

    Stephen aggravatingly smiled and took a step back once his wife, as much as he hated to say that word since a year ago, began the whole same speech she had every single time. "Here we go."

    "I had so many people ask where you were and I had to tell them 'oh he's at the hospital'." Rachel began with a heated breath. "Do you know how embarrassing that is for me to say? That my husband decided to work instead of spending time with his family?"

    Stephen paced back to where Rachel stood and darted his hands towards her with aggression. "For the last time, lives were needed to be saved. Only two doctors were on staff. It was needed of me!"

    "Yeah?" Rachel shook her head.

     "Yeah!" The doctor looked around the barren room as if he was trying to see the ridiculous reaction of the invisible audience around him.

    "What about our anniversary? Hm? And what about Carrie's birthday? And Wesley's birthday? Gosh darn it, you were even working on your birthday." Through the blinking of her eyes in order to keep her raging tears at bay, Rachel explained as her voice grew louder and louder.

    Strange placed his hands on top of his aching forehead. "Okay. Okay. I was there for all of Carrie and Wesley's birthday. So don't even try to manipulate me into thinking that. And sure, I wasn't there for our anniversary but you were out of state as well!"

    "Now you are trying to blame me on all of this?" Rachel laughed aloud.

     "Well since you are doing the same for me."

The wife sighed deeply as she took a seat at their kitchen table. The heaviness of their silence hung in the air, ready for either one of them to take a knife and slice it. It wasn't until Rachel decided that it was enough, and those four words changed the course of their history.

"Then, a divorce is needed, Steve." Rachel somberly, tears pooling at the edge of her eyes, gazed to her husband. A man she once found solace in but now is a shell with a different person on the outside.

"What?" Stephen stumbled back at her harsh words. "No. No. We can- we can fix this."

"No!" Rachel gasped through her tears. "This- whatever this is- is irreparable. I'm being the mature grownup and realizing that our relationship is broken and can never be fixed. Never."

And at the top of the stairs, where the little children peeked through the banister, Carrie glanced over to her protector. "What's ire- irreparable mean, Wes?" She asked with full of wonder and curiosity and the innocence that Wesley so desperately seemed and wanted back.

"It means- it means they can't fix it. Like if you break a toy and can't piece it back together perfectly." Oh how Wesley hated to use such an analogy like so. To compare a toy to his broken parents killed him, but anything to help little Carrie understand.

"Like my dinosaur?" Carrie giggled softly, lowly.

All Wesley did was nod.

    And still, little Carrie and a barely old enough, yet seemingly more mature than his parents, Wesley made the fatal mistake. Carrie, who inherited her mother's stubbornness, did not want to go back to bed no matter how hard Wesley had pleaded. Rage took over him as he pulled his little sister's arms maybe a little to hard, causing the both of them to hit that certain creaking step that every child loathes with their all being. And as soon as the two parents heard that awful sound, they glanced to each other with understanding eyes.

    Strange stepped forward towards the darken stairs where but two shadows stood. "Come down here, kids."

    In orderly form, Carrie, along with Wesley tumbling behind her, treaded down the stairs with sorrowful statures. They heard everything, and knew of everything to come. To see their parent's faces that dimmed with grief and guilt, only settled the fact even more for the two children.

"Listen," Rachel began. Her voice transformed from the snake like slither to a mother tone who softened like the clouds painted across the sky. "Your father-" her eyes darted over to Strange who just smiles in annoyance. "And I were just hashing some things out."

Wesley frowned in disgust. He was ten years old now. His parents should know that they can't lie as easily as they can to Carrie like they do to him. Well, that's what he thought. "Yeah." Wesley couldn't help but glance at his father's figure in absolutely sickening repulse. "Loud enough for us to hear."

    "Yeah." Stephen nodded in concern. "We'll uh- We'll quiet down."

    Wesley didn't believe it.

    They always say they will quiet down but the moment never comes. Nights like these, usually every night, ends in Carrie cuddling into Wesley's side as he hummed one of their songs 'Dream a Little Dream of Me'. That's how she would fall asleep. Not to the harsh noise of two grown adults yelling or to either of them coaxing her to sleep. Not like how any other child falls asleep. But to Carrie and Wesley, this all they have ever known. To sleep over at other kids places and to not hear the same arguing that was so familiar to them caused them to raise questions. And when they asked their parents, Rachel simply shrugged them aside with a baby explanation and Stephen ended up ignoring them.

"Are you really divorcing?" Wesley finally said. His words cut both of his parents' souls with a heart wrenching crack.

"Divorcing?" Carrie's big blue eyes widen.

Rachel angrily and sharply glanced to her husband, soon to be ex-husband, before settling her softened gaze on her children. "No- we don't know yet. It's not finalized."

"Well!" Wesley gasps. "You can't divorce." And as much as he hated his father and his absence, and hated how he had carry both of secrets from his parents with telling the other, he would hate more having his whole family separated.

Stephen took the opportunity to kneel down to his child with a softened look. Though, it hardly matched Wesley's angered expression. And if looks could kill, Strange would be buried six feet under the ground without any funeral or loved ones. "Wes, look. Sometimes things in life don't always work out. And- and it's okay if it doesn't. Life isn't perfect, humans aren't perfect. And lord knows that me and your mom aren't a perfect." And he tries hard to ignore the evil look his wife is sending him right now. "But- but we try and that's all that we can do. In your life, as you grow older and get married and have kids and yada, you'll find that not everything goes according to plan."

And instead of heading his warm, wise words he so rarely shared, Wesley just slapped his father across the face. Of course, it was one of the softest slaps you could have experienced, but, it still shocked the family surrounding the two to the core. Strange just stared at his son, full of hurt and betrayal.

"I hate you." Wesley said before storming off.

And as he did so, Carrie couldn't help but rushing into her father's arms. Her tears streamed from her face and onto his button up T-shirt, staining the poor fabric. And there the family sat, Stephen Strange holding his daughter who had no idea her life was broken for the rest of her childhood, a mad Rachel Emerson Strange darting daggers as if her husband couldn't see it, and a a young Wesley Strange (who soon changed his name to Emerson after his strong dislike for the name Strange) who was crying till there were no more tears left to stream.

Okay. Okay. Woah. What a terrible way to start a story! I am far, far older than that puny seven year old. Now I am a fifteen year old living New York, miles away from any other family that... well... you know... actually talks to me?

But let's actually start the story this time. For real.

Welcome one and all to the wonderful tales of my life sucks!

      In one corner we have a mother who lives half across the world (really a couple states away, I'm being dramatic) in another is a dead beat dad who can't even look at me, then in the final corner is the beast itself: high school. Eugh.

    The monster who created this torture device will forever be on my enemies list.

     No matter how disgusting schooling is, eugh, I spend my life doing it. Friends? Who needs that? My only friend is school... and maybe depression.

    But anyways, my father is the one you would call... uh MIA. He made a mistake marrying a wonderful, or horrible, woman that I call my mother. They were married for a couple years, popped out a few babies, had arguments, the next thing you know, Pops is moving him and myself all the way to the beautiful New York City because he got a good 'job offer'. I mean, yeah he has an amazing job. But I think the job offer was code for: let's get away from the insufferable woman. 'Cause let me tell you, my grandmother was making things ten times worse for him.

Don't get in between my grandma.

     I get it. You know? We all cope different ways. I mean, my parents who I adored for years split just like a cookie. No warning. Nada. That meant that my darling brother and I moved away from each other and as much as I missed the punches and the pulling hair and eating all my freaking snacks after I told him not to amongst other things, I missed my Wesley. So to cope, I shut myself in my room. It was like that for months till a co worker of Pops, the Miss Palmer, shoved some sopapilla cheese cake in my mouth.

      My father was a different story. I think the divorce hurt him. He poured his life into his work, at the hospital. He cut up people for a living. Took their organs and what not. Why does he like doing it? Beats me.

      Often times in the morning I would come out of my bedroom expecting to smell the dark scent of decaf and hear the sizzling of eggs beating against the pan or even laughter from my family, anyone really, but instead the apartment was dead silent. No mother. No brother. No father. All alone. I take advantage of it though. As much as my freakin' life sucks, it got a little better though. Pops got into a fatal car accident, ruined his hands. Then all of a sudden, we have Mr. Clean (or Mrs. Clean) showing up and teaching my father the mYsTiC aRtS. Oooohhhh. And the world is at stake? Same old sob story over and over again. And even after all of that crap is over, a little Spider-Ling makes his way into my life even without permission. The audacity of these people. Am I right?

To begin our dazzling story, we start on a random Tuesday in November where my father came home from his good ol' job.

In a large penthouse belonging to just people, stands only in a loud silence. Well? Expect for the quiet humming coming from one room.

Carrie Mellisa Strange sits on her orange chair with headphones strapped across her head. She listens to the 70s/80s she had grown quite fond of, due to her father and his music choice. And as she is doing so, her fingers swiftly wrote across the plenty notebooks laid across her desk. Written on it are the thousand of words explaining different Algebra and Chemistry formulas and History papers that are due very soon. The glasses worn across her eyes falls down the edge of her nose and she pushes them back up with a sniffle.

"Gimmie some lovin' everyday." The girl mindlessly hums.

    School. It is her life. Her very being. She is in every club you could ever imagine. Decathlon. Band. Debate. Sports. That is all she ever does. She is co-leader, second in command, in decathlon, first chairman violin in band (which to be fair, she is the only violin because she is trying to instill records at her school), one of the best opposing opponents in debate, and is the star pitcher on her softball team. Whilst this may seem impossible for some high school students, what they don't understand is that this is all Carrie does. Whenever you catch her, at whatever moment, you could find her head deep in the books. And the hopes, one day, is to become an anesthesiologist so that she could partner with her daughter one day.

    I am sure you are very well familiar with her dad. Doctor Stephen Strange. Went to college for twelve years and graduated college when he was 30. And by then, he was far in medical debt whilst being married to Rachel Emerson and having two children, Wesley and Carrie Emerson. He became a neurologist surgeon who invented many techniques that is used in the medical field still today. Everyone loves him. He's amazing!

    "Well I feel so good everything is getting hot."

Carrie's ocean eyes quickly glances over to the clock with the green letters saying: 8:36. And at this moment, the front door clicks loudly and heavy footsteps were heard.

Carrie always feels excited at this time. It is always when she can finally see her father for the first of that day and actually hold a conversation with him. Usually, just like how you can find her doing nothing but school related activities, you can find Strange slaving happily away in his Doctor duties. Frolicking with the one and only Christine Palmer. But seriously, a little part of Carrie hopes that the two would get married one day and stop dancing around this game of 'Does she love me? Does he love me'? Honestly. It's okay for teenage rom cons, but not for these two. Carrie wants to scratch her eyes out by the constant, painful flirting.

      So, hearing those signature sounds, Carrie whipped off her headphones and treaded carefully towards the kitchen where her father stood.

His eyes were brighten and he wore an actual smile, like a real one. Like, he had actual happiness.

Carrie smiles as she awkwardly waves to her father. "What's up?"

Strange just bopped his head to the side and then the other side over and over again with squinted eyes. "I'm going to a party tonight."

"For?" As she inched towards the fridge, her eyes staying glued to her father figure.

He heads to a mirror hung lonely on the wall and brushes his hands across his bearded cheeks. "Eh- it is kind of just a dinner. Saved a life you know?"

"Really?" Carrie's ears perk up as the excitement runs through her like adrenaline.

"Yep." Stephen cocks his head. "A bullet was lodged in his brain. They were going to call him dead, but Christine asked for a second opinion. And- as always- my opinion saved a person's life."

Carrie's hands pull out a tray full of half-dollar cookies she made specially for her father. Though, it was her first time making it and it was a trial and error run. Happiness and pride flows through her when she shows her father the platter. "I made cookies especially for you."

All it took is for Strange to take one glance for his face to turn into a disgusting shade of green. "No thank you." He pats his belly with a quiet, insincere chuckle. "I'm saving room for tonight."

Carrie gazes at her lumpy cookies and decides she'll side with her father on it for now. Even though she ignored the crumbling shattering noise of her heart falling apart. Like a cookie. Breaking apart.

"Yeah." Carrie shrugs her shoulders with pursed lips. "Yeah. Totally." And as her father made her way throughout the apartment to reach his room, she followed closely as if a little puppy. "So.. can I come?"

Stephen looks the girl up in down as she is clad in her grey, Hot Flaming Cheetos stained sweatpants and Mickey Mouse shirt with identical stains. "Do you have a dress?"

"Oh yeah. I have one in the back of my closet." She begins slowly. "You know, from the last time you said I could come? You said I could come last time."

Stephen shakes his head in denial. "I don't remember that, Carrie."

She gazes to the floor as her eyes droop downwards. "Yeah. Of course you wouldn't. It was a year ago."

"What?" Stephen asks in the hey quiet.

"What?"

"Anyway, I'll be gone till late. Don't wait up for me. Go to bed early. Get rest." Stephen snaps his fingers towards his only daughter. "34 remember?"

Ah. Yes. The infamous 34. On Carrie's first ACT, she had scored a 20. Ever since knowing Carrie's passion for the medical field, Strange had been pushing her to get the seemingly impossible 34. Just because Carrie's grandmother, Stephen's mother, had received a 34 only on her third try. The highest Carrie had ever made on the ACT was a 26. Which is one of the absolute worst scores to received for someone like her. But really, the 34 is just a constant reminder that she has never made perfect enough grades, that she is a failure.

"I remember." Carrie stutters. "Are you going with Christine?"

And she did not even miss the cheeky grin that flashed across her father's face. Ahhh. She could even see the butterflies fluttering in his stomach. Disgusting. "Yes. I am. And- before you get any ideas- I am also going with a couple other colleagues."

"Okay but can you-" Carrie begins.

"No. But you can have leftovers."

"Can Chri-"

"Palmer is not coming over. Right now or after."

"Well, what about tomorrow we can-"

"No phase ten. I have work tomorrow."

"Ugh." Carrie groans as she throws herself onto her father's master bed. "I fail as human being. I am... a dinosaur now."

Stephen walks into his bathroom as he slides his doctor scrubs off of his torso. "Okay. Sure, Airy. Go stomp and roar yourself to your room."

Carrie makes it painfully known that she skids off the bed and stomps her way out of the room. Her hands are crunched together in a T-Rex motion and she lets a low, horrible growl from her lips. And all to imitate a dinosaur.

And as she did so, she sat herself onto her orange chair hearing the faint sounds of her father leaving her once again whilst she stays alone in the winter season in the crips November. She would say all these things didn't hurt. Because to her it doesn't hurt. But she knows, she knows, that none of this is normal and that hurts her. To know that any and all kids surrounding her brag about their parents and all they do, Carrie just gets to talk about the wonders of Doctor Strange. No. No. Not her father, not her parent, not even as a dad. But as a doctor. And she had wished she could make plans to leave the house and never return because, to be honest, would her dad even miss her?

But all of that instantly left her mind when she received a debating phone call from Christine Palmer an hour later.

REA SPEAKS !

Woah. Okay. Sooo... I had written this chapter many times and wondered where to start. Um.... So here's a garbage chapter. Hopefully this will Ruffin your Carrie Strange needs.

Also, no one touch my baby. I LOVE her so much. Honestly, I want to slap Strange in the head. Now, he might not seem like a butthead and you might be saying I could live with a dad just like him. But the thing is, as a girl who grew up with a dad just like how Strange is portrayed in this book, those little things eat you up and slowly tear you away until your breaking point.

Anyway. Back to the actual book.

I started the story introducing the original family which is Wesley, Rachel, Carrie, and Stephen. I originally had Rachel as the perfect one in the marriage, but I had other plans. I wanted the divorce to change Stephen and his father ways into the man who is later portrayed in this chapter. Also, Rachel is a human. I hate fics that portray all their OCs as all powerful beings no one can take down and they are absolutely perfect. Guess what?? No one is perfect. And neither is Rachel. Stephen and Rachel are both right and wrong. Like I wrote earlier, you decide who the villain of that story is.

And, I had no intention of this, I uh made Carrie hate love in this book but later one she does fall in love with a certain cough cough person. 👀

Always, here I introduce my new section of every book now, the funny memes! Have some light with the dark you know. (Also, I do not take credit from this, this is an idea from illisius) (PS I am the biggest Tangald fan)