Chapter Text
The sky was bright. Cloudless and empty.
Birds chirped somewhere among the trees, before flying away as the breeze danced that evening. The hand striked three, and out of the wooden box came out a miniature set of lovebirds, signaling to the whole house that it was three p.m.
But nobody cared.
Nobody in the house cared except for the three year old girl standing in front of it, hugging a teddy bear almost her size. Her bright blue eyes stared at the fake lovebirds, voices arguing and screaming behind her deafened out.
She tilted her head. She wondered why her parents couldn't be like those two pair of birds, in love and seemingly just happy to be with each other.
"Carrie!"
The girl spunned towards the source of the voice. It was Claudia— her mom, coming out of the kitchen with cheeks wet from tears, her hair a bit messy.
"Go to your room, Carrie. How many times do I have to tell you?"
The blonde haired girl blinked, frowned and scared under the woman's frustrated gaze. Something in the little girl's heart told her the frustration wasn't exactly directed at her, neither was she the cause.
On the corner of her eyes, she saw a man packing up his stuff into a bag. Clothes, books, just random stuff.
"Is dad leaving on a trip again?"
The woman sniffled, shrugging. "Yes...," she answered, but then finally decided to tell her the harsh truth merely seconds later. "Actually, no. He's choosing another family, Carrie. He's leaving us."
Carrie stayed silent, trying to process the woman's answer. Claudia left the room, while Carrie slowly walked towards her parents bedroom. Her dad was in there, packing his stuff angrily and hurriedly.
"Dad...?" Carrie slowly called. It caught his attention, she knew because the man paused to look back at her. But he ignored her and went back to packing.
"Dad. Are you leaving?" The girl asked again. Being ignored felt horrible, so bad that it became the final straw for the littlr girl to cry. Her mom's answer and the scene laid out in front of her, and the man ignoring her. It was all too much for the girl. "Where are you going?"
"I'm sorry, Carrie."
"Why?" Carrie kept asking, watching as the man zipped the duffel bag. "Can't I come with you?"
The man walked pass her, ignoring her pleas.
"Dad! Wait!"
Carrie chased the man out of the house. It was just a usual, bright evening for everyone else. But for Carrie, it felt like there was a storm outside, raining and the sky cloudy. Or maybe it was just how it was in her heart.
"Dad! Please! Don't leave me! Just wait!"
The man went inside the car.
Carrie grabbed the door handle, pulling it with no success as the car engine started. She screamed and begged louder, crying. Her teddy bear was left stranded on the ground, face down.
"Dad!"
The wheels rolled back, taking the car out of the front yard. Suddenly, the car was gone, leaving her behind without mercy as she cried and wailed on the asphalt ground.
There was the sun, the clear beige sky, but to her, it was a storm, dark and gray.
The weather never got better even after years since that day.
.
"Carrie. Will you sit down for a second?"
The girl stopped colouring her school project— she was supposed to draw what she wanted to be. She wanted to be an athlete, because she tasted the gold medal once. The stared between Claudia and the drawing on the paper. Her, standing on a bar with a winning medal, her shoes shinny and colourful.
"Come on, Carrie. It will only take a minute."
A man appeared in the living room— his name was Aaron. Tall guy, curly brown hair neatly combed, wearing a stripped shirt.
Austin knelt next to her, a small smile on his face. "Is that you? With the big sparkly shoes?"
"Yes!" the girl answered excitedly. "I want to be a runner!"
"Like Kathrine Switzer?"
"Like Kathrine Switzer."
"That's awesome," the man nodded with a big proud smile. "I suspect you want new shoes? Seeing that it's all big and sparkly?"
Carrie gave out a sheepish smile, laughing happily as the two shared knowing looks.
"Well guess what, honey? If you come with me and your mom to the living room, I'll buy you a new pair of shoes this week."
The girl's blue eyes brightened and widenned in happiness. "Really?!"
"Yes, sweetie. Really."
Carrie immediately got up from the carpetted floor and ran towards the living room, ignoring her crayons and drawing as she sat down on the couch. Claudia sat there already, a tiny smile on her face. Austin soon joined them, sitting next to the woman he had married a few months prior, officially becoming a part of their previously broken family. Taking in the empty spot her dad had left a year ago.
"Carrie," Austin started, patting Claudia on the shoulder. "Your mom and I have something to tell you."
Before he could say anything else, Carrie frowned first. "Are you going on a trip?"
"What? No...?" Austin replied confused, but then realized why the girl had asked. He cleared his throat. "I mean, no. I'm not. We just have an announcement to make."
"Divorce?"
"Absolutely not, I love you. And your mom."
"Ew!"
The three of them laughed at her reaction. Carrie too, laughed after seeing she had managed to make her mom and step-dad happy.
"Well... So... uhm. Uhm, your mom is pregnant. Do you know what that means?"
Carrie nodded silently.
"She's five weeks old. You can't see it yet, but it's there. Look. Very tiny."
Claudia pressed on her stomach gently to tighten the fabric, so the little girl could see what they were talking about. A very small baby bump, almost nonexistent to the eyes.
"I'm gonna have a brother?!"
"We don't know that yet," Claudia shook her head, giggling a little. "I'm hoping for a girl. But boy or girl is fine, so long as it's healthy."
Carrie kneeled in front of the couch to stare at the woman's belly. She glared threateningly at it, pointing a finger.
"You better be a boy!"
"Carrie!" Austin laughed at the girl threatening the womb. "You want a brother that bad?"
"Mhm! Can i name him later?"
"You want to?"
"I mean, if you don't already have a name yet," Carrie negotiated. "I want a name that... that starts with D!"
"D? Why?"
"Because we can have the ABCD! Austin, Claudia, Carrie, and... D, what do we do with D?"
Austin smiled. Claudia ignored how Carrie skipped over the name B, as he didn't exist in their life anymore, anyway.
But to Claudia, he was still there.
In the form of a little four year old girl. Thinking of a name for her soon younger brother.
They were an exact copy. The girl, and the man that had left them all alone years prior.
Claudia couldn't help but felt... less for the girl. As horrible as it sounded.
Carrie snapped her fingers. "What about Dust?"
Austin and Claudia raised their brows, a bit confused over the girl's decision. "Dust? Why would you name him after dust?"
"Because he's tiny!" Carrie pinched her fingers together. "This tiny, like dust!"
The parents laughed. "He's not gonna be that small forever. He will grow big in just a few months."
"But the name is cool! Dust, nobody else is named Dust."
Austin shrugged. "For a reason, Carrie. You're named after a cool character from Stephen King's work. Why not try to do the same with him?"
The girl shook her head in disagreement, sticking out her tongue. "No! I don't like being named after a horror character, I don't think he will like it either."
Claudia sighed and looked at Austin. "Dust sounds nice, actually. Dusty. Dusty...?"
"Dustin!"
The two pair looked at the little girl.
"It's Dust, Dusty, and Austin all in one!" Carrie grinned cheerfully. "If he's a boy, can we name him Dustin?"
Austin smiled gently and nodded, before looking at his wife.
"What do you think?"
"Dustin sounds great."
"I can't wait to meet him. Or her. Depends."
Austin opened his arms for Carrie to join in the couch, hugging both the little girl and the woman next to him. Carrie felt comfortable in their hug— mostly his, because Claudia only had one arm around her, the other on Austin's shoulder.
Carrie felt safe.
But it would only last a moment.
A few months later, Austin was gone. A car crash took him away from them.
He never got to meet Dustin.
Carrie watch from the corner of the kitchen as Claudia carried baby Dustin in her arms, singing a faint lullaby.
For a moment, the baby looked at her.
Carrie looked back at him. He had his father's eyes. His hair was curly like hers, but brown, not blonde.
Dustin smiled at her.
Carrie smiled back, waving her hand a little.
.
.
.