Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

brENDON

Carter is acting weird today, and it's bothering me. Something is obviously up, but he isn't telling me what, which isn't like him at all. He's never kept a secret from me in all our years of being friends, so it doesn't make sense for him to start now, but he isn't acting like himself. The only time I've seen him be so awkward before is when he's around new people. But I'm his best friend, so why is he acting like this with me?

I wish I could force him to spit out just what the ever-loving fuck is going on already, but there hasn't been a single moment where we've been alone today, and it doesn't feel right to ask him to spill his guts around others.

Thankfully the day is almost over, and we'll have some time to ourselves soon. I just don't know if I'm going to call him out on his odd behavior or wait for him to tell me in his own time.

I'm normally a pretty patient guy, but I've never had to be around Carter before. He normally tells me everything the second it happens. Hence I'm more bothered by how he's acting today than I should be.

"Want to order pizza for supper?" I ask Carter once our class is over.

"Umm… yeah… sure… that should be fine," he responds, stumbling over his words in such an awkward way that causes me to furrow my brows.

What the fuck is going on with my best friend?

Part of me wants to demand right here and now he tell me why the hell he's been acting like a weirdo all day, but the more logical side of me knows that would be mean. If he hasn't told me already, there has to be a reason, and maybe he'll feel more comfortable once we're by ourselves at home.

We make our way to Carter's car in silence, and even though my thoughts are focused on trying to figure out what is going on with my best friend, I can't help but feel like someone is watching me — a feeling I've gotten all summer. Casting a quick glance around, I don't see anyone with their eyes on me, so I shrug it off as usual then pull out my phone and place an order at our favorite pizza joint.

"Ham and pineapple good?" I tease as we arrive at his car, knowing how much my best friend loathes fruit on pizza. To my surprise, he nods, pursing his plump lips and running his hand over his short jet-black hair. He mumbles his acceptance of the pizza before opening his door and getting behind the wheel.

"Okay, that's enough," I tell him firmly once I've joined him inside.

"What?" Carter squeaks out, his dark brows shooting up and surprise dances behind his chestnut brown eyes at my random outburst.

"You've been acting weird all fucking day, and now you just agreed to pineapple on your pizza. Have you been abducted by aliens or something? Because this isn't you."

Carter shakes his head but won't look me in the eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about," he mumbles. "I've been acting the way I always do."

"Bullshit. Are you seriously going to act like I don't know you almost as well as I know myself?" I question him with a lifted brow.

Carter blows out a breath and hangs his head, running his fingers through the short strands at the same time. "There's just something going on in my head," he whispers, and I reach over to grab his shoulder.

"You know you can tell me anything," I remind him, and he nods his head once in agreement.

"I know that, but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this at the moment," he tells me. "It's not that I don't want to tell you, I'm just not sure how to right now."

I hate that he's keeping something from me, because I'm a fixer type of person. The last thing I want is to see my friends hurting, so if I can help in any way, I will. I'll be a listening ear or a problem solver if need be. However, sitting on the sidelines and letting people figure things out on their own has never been my strong suit. I do understand that sometimes it's difficult to talk about things. I just wish that wasn't the case right now. I guess I'll just have to be patient and accept that he'll talk to me about it eventually.

"Well, I'm here when you're ready," I assure him, squeezing his shoulder one last time before letting go.

He offers me a soft smile and nods. "I appreciate that."

Without another word, Carter starts the car, and we make our way to our favorite pizza joint. On the way, I stare out the window, lost in thought. It's times like this that I wish I was a mind reader, so I could help my best friend out without him having to find the words to whatever is troubling him. But this isn't a sci-fi movie, and as far as I know, being able to see into someone's thoughts isn't something anyone is able to do at this moment.

Hopefully, it won't take Carter too long to wrap his head around things and share with me what's going on because I really hate this awkwardness between the two of us right now.