carterxowens-blog - Tumblr blog

[carterxowens-blog]

Carter wasn’t thinking anymore. His mind was empty and to be quite honest, the man preferred to keep it that way. Things were spiraling out of control and the last thing he wanted was to actually stop to think each and everything through. Kevin had gotten out of the hospital what, a month, maybe two ago? And the night he had, Carter managed to get him bitten, turned into whatever the hell he was now. He still had no idea where his sister was, and now Maisie was in the hospital too. The universe had an absolutely sick sense of humor that made even the most positive people start to wonder how they could hope for something better. The moon was in the sky, now barely visible though the little light was enough to reflect off the water and illuminate the beach. Not like he needed it of course because apparently being a wolf meant he had better senses too. Which was why he was able to detect the presence of another easily and turned around to face the person.

[carterxowens-blog]

Carter wondered if he maybe should just stop going home and live in the hospital. It seemed that one way or another, everyone he knew ended up there so there was really no reason to bother renting a room somewhere else. He could just rent a room in the hospital. That way he’d be prepared for the next person that would pass through those halls. Of course thoughts like these were definitely uncharacteristic of the man who preferred to think that things would get better. To hope that no one else would end up in the hospital. But he still had no explanation for why Maisie was in the hospital, in a coma just as Kevin had been. So perhaps even he was struggling to find the silver linings and paint a rosy picture. The town was getting hotter which, in any other time may have made him happy. Yet now he spent most of the time indoors, whether it was at work or Maisie’s room. He could feel the recognition whenever he visited because he was known as the poor guy whose friends kept falling into comas. How sad. A presence as this feet caught his attention and as he saw a kitten clawing at his shoes. When the owner showed up, Carter managed a half hearted smile, shaking his head. “No it’s fine. I hear cats grow less active as they get older. So enjoy this side of him.”

Life alone was more or less the only life he’d known for little over six years, but it was quickly taking a toll on his ability to recover. Solitude provided incredible perks and also horrendous loneliness. He resolved that since he hadn’t gotten any more comfortable being on his own, he would take a small step against being alone. That led to him getting a kitten, whom he unceremoniously named Hannibal, and he thought he’d be okay carrying him around, but the little creature mewled nonstop within its carrier. Victor’s tender heartstrings were strummed with each noise to leave its mouth. He took to setting it down, popped open the bars that separated Hannibal from the outside world, and the kitten immediately bolted away. He chased after it, but only stopped when he saw someone being harassed by the still screeching animal. Victor’s approach hid his little layer of fear that the only creature he was trying to get attached to not choosing him back. “Oh…uh, sorry about this. He’s a bit adventurous, it seems,” he called out to the object of Hannibal’s attention.

[carterxowens-blog]

Eugene ✉ Curly Fries

*today*

Eugene: Oi

Eugene: You've been MIA.

Eugene: As your mother figure, I've decided to check up on you. Where you at Curly fry?

Carter: A lot's been going on.

Carter: For an actual location I'm in the hospital right now.

[carterxowens-blog]

“Glad I was able to save him the humiliation and myself the clean up.” Carter replied with a smile. He had seen plenty of people come and go through the bar, some managing to actually make the connection that everyone seemed to be after. Recently he had actually been able to listen to the conversations. Overhear what they were saying and discussing, not because he wanted to but somehow the words were just that clear to him. And most of the people, like the man at the end of the bar, were hardly looking for something serious. Just a fling, maybe a single date. His attention back on the woman, Carter nodded in understanding. “Can I get you anything else in that case?”

Felicity chuckled at the look on the young man’s face. “well look at you Mr. Problem Solver,” she said with an arch of her eyebrows, “just for that I’ll resist the urge to go and dump this on his head,” she wondered if the guy was one of those hyper focused individuals. Transitioning people was never an easy thing. Not during the first change anyway. The focused sometimes had an easier time once you gave them a goal, the trick was getting them so focused it got them through it but not so focused they lost sight of everything else. “and that’s flattering, but I am far too old to be won over by the pink drinks,” she smiled, “and far too much of a lady to be won over by any drinks at all,” she added. 

[carterxowens-blog]

In some ways it did suck to be him. There was no doubt that others had it far worse than him though—Maisie and Kevin had it worse. He was in the system, but at least he could say he had some roof over his head. They had wanted to stay out of the system when they were kids. That was the reason they had to wait until Carter was eighteen and could be a guardian of some sorts for them. Because he knew what happened if they were thrown into the system. Each of them would be placed in some home far away from each other and would jump around so much they would never see each other again. And at the time, being separated was out of the question. He had refused to allow the three of them to part ways because the government was fulfilling whatever duty it felt it had. Of course the irony was it had been him that abandoned them, the one to split them apart, not the government. Kevin and Maisie probably did whatever they could to avoid being caught and put into the foster system and that could only make life that much harder. “Maybe there’s an unspoken curfew because I haven’t heard of an official one.” Carter stepped on the accelerator to go but after a few minutes, the car began to slow on its own before sputtering to a stop. They were far from the hospital, stuck in between James and Daniels Islands. “Shit.”

“Sucks to be you,” Kevin said as if that was even remotely the case. He was still glad that Carter had gotten the normalcy that they hadn’t. For a long time he blamed himself for not figuring out how to pull it off. Until he’d realized that there was no way for them to have done that. Not with someone like Katherine wanting to torture Artemis. He shook his head. “There isn’t some kind of curfew?” he said peering out the window. He may have not given a crap about the work the CIA was having him do, but he had spent years running with someone he did give a crap about. And even if he’d broken his vow about not doing what his parents had, he’d managed to keep the other one he’d made. He was better at it then them. And you didn’t get to be that way by ignoring the moments when the hairs on the back of your neck stood up. Pulling up his leg he wrapped his hand around his ankle. “Drive faster,” he ordered. There was no point in stealth since they were the only car on the road. 

[carterxowens-blog]

Carter couldn’t help the sheepish expression pressed on his features as the woman regarded the drink with seeming disgust. He couldn’t help but agree that the name was atrocious but plenty of people drank it. Maybe they were willing to put anything into their mouth as long as it contained alcohol and this woman had more refined tastes. As she pushed the drink towards him, the man took a whiff and crinkled his nose. It did not smell appealing in any sense of the word. “How about I give you credit for the drink and you can order whatever you want. He’ll cover it. I assume the sentiment would be the same. He’d be paying for a drink instead.”

“Of course it is,” Felicity said pressing a hand to her head and reminding herself that murder was not a good first move. “it smells like some kind of combination of berry bodywash, scented markers and rubbing alcohol,” she said wrinkling her nose before nudging the drink towards him, “go on, tell me I’m wrong,” she said. If that was what was being served on Valentine’s Day then either a lot of people went home alone or they had cotton up their noses. 

[carterxowens-blog]

Plenty of people came through these doors following the explosion with stories of their loved ones. Too many people had died because of one man’s boredom and Carter had channeled all that hatred that night, killing one of the people who worked for the man. There was no saying why the man was working for Damien. Perhaps he had been threatened or forced into it but now he was dead and there was no way for them to figure that out. Each person handled the sadness from the losses in different ways and the ones he saw were those who had no idea how to cope other than to drink away the pain. Carter was glad to stray from the topic because the last thing he needed was to begin feeling the anger he still held towards Damien Roth again. Each time he saw Kevin getting shot, Maisie crumpled on the floor beside him, her hands red with his blood, the temper that lay dormant within him flared. And the last thing he wanted was to consume him, pushing him to kill more people, commit more crimes that he would later regret. “I got all my customers’ backs. So as long as you’re here, I’ll be sure to keep the tabloids from printing your face on the front page.” The corners of his lips turned upward at her words, happy that his aunt may have a shot at moving up in the company that she put her everything into. “I wouldn’t go that far but my aunt certainly can. If there is anyone who can find silver linings, it’s her.”

Lily couldn’t shake the thoughts of her father, of everything he’d done, everything he’d taken from so many people. It ignited in her a rage that was beyond frightening to her, it was the kind of rage that changed a person, the kind of rage that led to darkness. A darkness that had consumed her father once. It took everything in her not to fall down that hole. Looking down  at her phone the back light of the screen lit up and the lock screen showed a picture of Camden smiling back up at her and she was reminded why she was doing what she was doing. “Well I do appreciate you looking out for me.” She said sincerely as she munched on a french fry. “Some day I’ll figure out this eating like a lady thing.” She laughed. “Isabelle Ruiz, well lord knows we need all the good PR help we can get right now. She might be the saving grace I’ve been looking for the last few days. You Carter, may have just saved my families company.” She joked with a smile. Lily would take any and all help that she could get right now.

[carterxowens-blog]

This was the revelation that changed everything for Carter. Because to that point he could go along believing that Kevin had gotten shot because he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time or because they were hardly the luckiest people in the world. Maybe he was an upstanding citizen who pissed the wrong people off and had gotten himself shot. But none of the scenarios that Carter came up with to console himself were true. They were leagues away from the truth of the matter and he couldn’t help but hate himself more now that he found out what had happened. It wasn’t like Kevin had simply gone ahead and started the business. Carter always assumed that he would be disgusted with the entire concept given that was what his parents had done and of course that was exactly what he was seeing on the man’s face. But his reasoning was understandable—he was trying to keep himself and Maisie alive. He was doing Carter’s job. “Did they find out it was you?”

“She was a drug addict,” he said and shook his head in disgust at the choices she made and the choices he made. “I knew, I knew if I didn’t find a way to keep us going they were going to find us. And if the system found us they were either going to split us up or they were going to send us back,” he looked away, wondering if he was truly as twisted as he felt some days. “it was only supposed to be until we were 18. Until no-one could tell us where we could go.” He wondered if the desperation in his voice had always been there. He didn’t think so. His polygraphs hadn’t echoed like that. “I did what drug dealers do to drug addicts who attack them,” he said. 

[carterxowens-blog]

“I was in the foster system for years, which meant schooling was mandatory.” In some ways it seemed that Carter and Kevin had lived completely different lives and yet at the same time some things were far to similar. The man only wished that the things that were similar were the high school drama and weird relationships, rather than the drug dealing and being forced into deals with the government agencies in order to prevent jail time. Their lives crossed over in all the wrong places and Carter thought about how things were supposed to be. He would have gotten a GED too and they wouldn’t have had to resort to dealing drugs to make money. Kevin and Maisie would have kept him straight. As he drove towards James’ Island, Carter noted that the streets were oddly empty, but he didn’t make too much of it. “People seem to not be night owls in this town. And maybe after the explosions they decided to not go out.” The road was the empty, the full moon high in the sky above them. As the check engine light began to flash, Carter hadn’t realized before in his rush to get to the hospital that the light had been on.

“Carter Owens, mechanic at large,” Kevin chuckled. “I still can’t believe you went to high school normally,” he said, “I got my GED. Got to miss out on all the high school misery,” he joked. He would have been miserable in high school, Kevin was sure about that. Or as sure as he could be with any second hand description of the events. He’d been in a high school but he definitely hadn’t been there as a student. Truthfully he would have found it alarmingly easy to trust Carter to drive with or without his license. “so you’ve been here longer than me. Wanna fill me in why everyone’s in doors so quickly tonight?” he asked, finding the streets oddly empty. 

[carterxowens-blog]

That was how it had always been with Carter—he was never one to fight against what people wanted and most of the time he would go ahead and do whatever they wanted from him. Things were easier that way. It was something he learned extremely quickly. Rather than disobeying others and getting into conflicts, he was able to simply stop them even before they started if he just agreed to do what was asked of him. When he had been at the orphanage, that was the one time he did not have these same thoughts. He was a different person back them in some respects. He was a tougher individual who saw strength in holding onto his anger, into hating the people who wronged him. Vigilante justice was his life blood and he was the strongest supporter. Of course then he saw what not listening to Katherine, not doing what she wanted got him. It got him years in the foster system that threw in around the country while the two people he could actually say were his family were still jumping through her hoops. Once he left the orphanage, never again did he allow himself to not do what others wanted. When his friends asked him to join the cartel, while they were met with resistance at first, eventually Carter went ahead and agreed. He did Viictor’s bidding as the older man sent him to do deals that were known to be dangerous so he could prove his worth. While there, Carter had had no desire or intention to work his way up the ladder. Truth be told, he didn’t want to be there to begin with but the money was better than anything he could have gotten with his meager qualifications. Logan died and the FBI asked, or rather demanded his support and even then he gave into that. Threw Victor to the dogs and got himself out. Of course he hated the FBI but perhaps he hated Victor even more because his best friend was dead, and once more he was alone. Compliance was second nature to the man now, so he simply shrugged at her words, an easy smile still on his face. “In a job like this, if you don’t adapt quickly, you’ll have a really rough ride. So I adapted.” Her list was extremely cliché and it was what he heard often. The sobs stories were almost always the same and alcohol was the best form of consolation. Clearly whatever happened to her was not along those lines because the mocking way in which she spoke of those reasons told him that much. “That’s what I get most of but none of those warrant that bottle. But then again you struck me as the type who holds her liquor better than most.”

It was crazy how many different people called this place home. How they found comfort in the dimly lit room, the music, the alcohol.. Everything about the place was some sort of salvation for all of those who had different backgrounds. Before, Emily would’ve wondered what had happened to these people that caused them to become so reliant on the affects of alcohol. However, now she didn’t care. They could’ve gone through far worse than she had, and she still wouldn’t care. Every ounce of good had escaped Emily. She had lost her will to be good when she had everything taken from her. She once thought that losing her memories was unbearable.. That the world had betrayed her with the worst possible scenario ever, but that wasn’t even the worst of it all. Just when Emily was happy again, when things were looking up and the young woman was able to carry on with her life, a giant bomb exploded around her, and everything was gone. With the blink of an eye, Emily lost everything. Her husband, her son.. She even lost her family. It was so much to take in, and just when she was ready for the world to take her too, like she had wanted, some asshole decided to give her the immortal life.. When she didn’t even want it. So now, because of him and his sire bond, Emily was forced to walk an eternal life, waking up everyday and remembering what it was that she lost that night. This was why she turned to alcohol. It took her longer than most people, given that she healed so much more quickly, but that was the price she was willing to pay. “Mmm. I bet.” She began, sipping the drink before her. “I’m sure you meet dozens of people who just love to complain to you, and order you around, right? So you’ve gotten used to just giving them what they want to begin with, huh?” Emily wasn’t sure how anyone could want to be a bartender. Dealing with that type of abuse seemed treacherous and she wouldn’t be able to hear everyone bitch over and over. “Hmm, I might start that sooner than you think though. Then again, the affects of alcohol aren’t exactly the same as they are with others. Takes quite a bit before I can get drunk like I want.” But if he was to do something she didn’t like, which was quite possible, then surely he would get an earful. “Cliche or silence… Let’s see. What cliche words could I give you? My husband left me for another woman, how’s that? Or wait wait, I lost my job, I have no boyfriend and my life is going nowhere fast. Good enough?”

[carterxowens-blog]

“Hey no judgment. I was just wondering if that means I won’t be getting a tip.”

“Before you give me a dirty look or start judging me, it’s water. I just like drinking shit out of a fancy glass.”

[carterxowens-blog]

Having spent plenty of the time at the hospital, Carter had gotten to know the staff well. It was there that he had come across the woman he had stopped to help. On his way back from Maisie’s house, which had become at least a weekly routine, the man recognized the other who was moving her luggage. When the last box was inside, the last wall painted, Carter looked around to observe their handiwork. It was his day off from Roth Industries though he was supposed to go to The Roadhouse later, and he spent it helping an almost stranger clean up her new place. Maybe the south really was rubbing off on him. “Don’t mention it. It looks really nice now. Like a real home.”

It took her three weeks longer than she had expected but Athena finally managed to find an affordable apartment near the hospital. Whether she was more excited to be out of the shady motel she had been staying or because her new place was rather close to her sister’s was anyones guess. Probably, most likely, definitely the latter. The down side to finally finding a place however was the hassle of moving in but luckily she had been able to sucker one of her new friends into helping her. Turning around with paint brush in hand Athena gave a thankful smile. “Thanks again for helping me fix up this place.”

[carterxowens-blog]

Normal. The events that he was telling Kevin did make him seem disgustingly normal. Like any regular orphan who went back to find his family and managed to track them. Hell he even had a bad break up back in high school. Maybe the foster system had given him some sense of normalcy unlike the rest of his life. Was he supposed to be grateful for the small glimmer of regular life he had a shot at before being thrown into a world of danger once more. Because from high school to where he was now, there was a lot of not normal. Too much. “Trust me I’d take the disgustingly normal over the rest.” Wasn’t that what they had always wanted? A shot at a regular life without the labels of orphan, juvenile, or miscreant? To have to worry not about whether one of them was going to be killed next but about making rent. To argue about Chinese or Mexican for dinner not about whose shift it would be at the hospital. Laughing Carter shook his head. “Which one? Because I’m pretty sure they both have plenty of stories.” Pulling out of the lot, a goodhearted eye roll was accompanied by his answer. “I’m a trained mechanic. I have my license not only to drive cars but to fix them too.” The drive to his aunt’s house wasn’t too far and from there it was a few minute walk to his apartment. After losing yet another roommate he was left with an extra room and Carter figured having Kevin around was a better than anyone else. It was how things were supposed to end up and he was clinging to those small plans of the past.

“You sound disgustingly normal,” Kevin said putting his hand to his forehead. “you went to high school and you got dumped and now you’ve got a sister,” he ran his hand through his hair. It was still hard to wrap his head around how Carter had managed to get some normalcy in his life. He winced dramatically at Carter, “careful or she’s gonna tell her stories about you,” he said. Sitting in the passenger seat he looked over at Carter, “tell me you actually got a drivers license because I swear to God if I survived everything and you kill me in a mini-van I am going to find a way to haunt you,” he threatened sitting back. It hadn’t taken much to convince the CIA that he should live with Carter once the invite had been given. But even if it had, he would have put up a hell of an argument for it. 

[carterxowens-blog]

As Kevin recited the story to Carter, he fit pieces in one by one. This was probably the most concrete version of the events that he had been given since he had found Maisie and Kevin again. She had given him the fact that Kevin had gotten shot, and a few other things along the way. Axel kept cropping up everywhere and Carter could piece together that he was probably her ex. But how they all got themselves into this situation, got themselves embroiled with the CIA was unknown. Though the deal was hardly an unfamiliar one to Carter. “You know I’d say that sounded absolutely ridiculous if I hadn’t just seen you get shot once myself and lived through a kidnapping and explosion.” How everything got them here he wasn’t sure. Why they were given the horrible fate out of everyone was another question that had no answer. “Why’d you kill the girl?”

“I was given a choice,” Kevin said with a shrug, “I could take a job offer or spend my life in prison,” he said keeping his voice neutral. “Kind of obvious which one I picked,” he looked at Carter’s eyes, “but I got shot before that,” he said, “because I killed someones sister,” he said. “Artemis’ ex boyfriend’s sister,” he said, “did that all on my own,” he lifted his head, “got shot, wound up in a hospital with a choice,” the entire story still made him shake his head when he said it aloud. Looking back at Carter he relaxed against the bed and sighed. “so the coddling thing isn’t necessary.”

[carterxowens-blog]

“I’m more than happy to take the compliment though it’s a lot more selfish than it seems. Because if I don’t cut her off, I’m the one who has to deal with either the vomit, or lugging her into a cab or some unpleasant combination of the two. To avoid any of those unfortunate circumstances, it’s easier to just say no more alcohol for tonight.” His gaze caught his co workers and the man quickly cocked his head towards the woman and the other understood. “Isn’t the customer king or queen or something like that? So I must serve. I’m Carter.”

“Well, aren’t you a good bartender. Some wouldn’t be bothered with the state of their patrons as long as they still had money to spend,” she leaned forward and commented nonchalantly. An hazel gaze returned to the girl, cocking a brow at the mention that she may have been lying. “Well, luckily for me, I had you to warn me before I made the same mistake. You sure do know how to get good tips out of your costumers. What’s your name?”

[carterxowens-blog]

As the woman asked for the name, Carter couldn’t help but laugh. It was absolutely ridiculous and no lie that the stories he got out of in the bar were unparalleled by any others. Trying to get himself together, he shook his head. “Sorry. I’m just really amazed at how much the man who sent the drink lacks subtlety.” Clearing his throat, he continued, not able to help but feel just a little embarrassed on behalf of the man. The poor man had gotten a little too much courage from the alcohol it seemed. “He insisted I send you the Pink Flirtini. And tell you that you are the finest woman he’s seen in decades.” Looking back at the individual who was pretending to be nonchalant, Carter looked back at the woman. “It’s not too bad from what I’ve heard. It might just be the name that’s atrocious because it was a Valentine’s Day special that was so popular it stuck.”

“We obviously wouldn’t want you to not get paid,” Felicity deadpanned back. Taking a wiff of the hot pink drink, she shook her head in amusement, “no, that’s alright. But if you could tell me what in gods name this is, I’d be much obliged,” she said. The bartender shifted his weight. Felicity could smell his systems starting to kick into high gear and was glad she’d managed to get to him before he started experiencing anything he couldn’t easily dismiss. 

[carterxowens-blog]

Everyone had a story and that was probably one of the few perks of this job. Aside from the generous tipping courtesy of the alcohol. Through the months that he had worked at The Roadhouse, Carter came to learn a lot more about people than he would have any other way. Usually he was a need to know kind of guy but the people that came into the bar never seemed to pose any threat. They were primarily people who were disillusioned by life. Grieving husbands and wives after a bad marriage ended in divorce. They would come with a range of emotions and guilt, from those who were angry to distraught, and others who took full responsibility to those who took none at all. A few had too mundane monotonous lives to truly enjoy—they were disillusioned by the lack of excitement. Their frustration taken out on themselves as they attempted to inject some activity into their quickly flat lining existence. It was said that bartenders were the best therapists and Carter could say over time he was quickly picking up on small signs that would tip him one way or another. He could identify the angry from the grieving, the bored from the indifferent. It was the best psychology lesson he could have asked for and though the man had always been good with reading others, he was honing his skills with precision. “It’s amazing what a few months at this job teaches you.” As the woman emptied the glass quickly, Carter could immediately tell he was correct in his assessment. The story was not something he knew but the signs he did. Filling the glass once more, he spoke. “Why don’t I keep you company until you start cursing me out. Then I’ll call you a cab.” Pushing the glass towards her, he brought his gaze to meet hers. “You can tell me whether you want the cliché or silence.” Carter was unsure what to expect from her because from her expression he could tell she was volatile, but her words were oddly relaxed. The people that came were truly like bombs and one wrong move set them off. Carter couldn’t imagine this woman was any different.

With mother’s day approaching, Emily needed a chance to just forget about everything. Just over a month ago, the woman had lost her own son to a bomb Damien Roth let off, only seconds before finding out that the woman she called mother her entire life, wasn’t her mother. Thus, she had no desire to even think about the holiday approaching, or what it would mean to her. It would’ve been her third year celebrating the day - getting to spend it with Mason like she deserved. But that was no longer possible. Her entire world was stripped from her. Her title as a mother and a wife, and even daughter. It was like she didn’t have meaning anymore, and all she could do was either drown herself in alcohol or drown herself in the blood she sucked from others. It was crazy how different her life turned out to be. How after all this time she finally broke, and let the pain take over - driving her to go mad. Emily was doing things she would regret in the long run. She was tearing the world apart, when before, all she wanted to do was save it. - Looking up at the bartender, Emily couldn’t help but perk up her eyebrows and smirk at his words. It was rude of him to assume, but hey he wasn’t wrong so she couldn’t be all that upset. “You’re wise man.” Picking up the glass, Emily quickly downed the entire shot of burning brown liquid then proceeded to talk once more. “I think you can guess that I’d rather have the bottle. Though if you’re interested in keeping me company, feel free to keep refilling the glass. Your choice.” She said, pushing the glass back over toward his side of the bar. Quite honestly, Emily didn’t want company. Nowadays she lived off the idea of being alone. The female hated everyone it seemed, so she didn’t bother with keeping or making new friends. But the man behind the bar was smart enough to know her needs, and didn’t judge her on the way she was acting. And that was exactly what Emily needed right now.