HONEY HONEY
CHAPTER ELEVEN

FEBRUARY 7th was a difficult day for the Roth family. It was a usual and mysterious occurrence at Justine's work to have this particular day off. She booked the day of months in advance and spent the day in her bed, dressed in pyjamas and munching down chocolate. Carly didn't show her pain. She didn't really feel it anymore. She would continue her day as usual and today she was going to Belleview. As far as anyone else was aware it was just Tuesday the 7th of February. John picked her up from her house and was surprised to see her mother's car still in the driveway. However, when he pointed it out, Carly ignored him and walked towards his car. When they arrived, there was no Lara Jean. The two began working on the Star Ball in silence. As Carly worked John Ambrose started playing the piano. Although she was annoyed he had left her to work, she enjoyed the soft notes of music. She hummed along to the melody as she hung fairy lights.

"You have quite the ability to remain sneakily silent." John Ambrose spoke. Carly stopped, confused by his words. As she turned her head, she found Lara Jean at the entrance. Knowing the situation was tense, Carly excused herself. She could still hear the faintness of his piano skills as she left. To pass time, Carly moved to read more of Gracie and William's love story. It seemed William was away at war as their relationship started to blossom. When he came back he promised to marry Gracie. She waited for him every night and one day the letters stopped. William was killed in combat. Carly had also found Gracie's diary. Apparently, she tried to move on but nothing compared to William. She died unmarried with no children. She continued to wait for him. Carly could only hope they reunited.

Carly didn't realise how much time had passed until Lara Jean exited the room. Lara Jean tread lightly towards the girl. Carly looked up from the journal, offering a kind smile to her. "Did everything go okay?" she asked politely.

"Yeah." Lara Jean was surprised but responded. "I wanted to say sorry to you as well. I'm sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable at the tree house, trust me that was not our intention."

"Don't worry about it, it's fine. I'm just glad that you two are okay again. He really does care about you a lot."

"I know, that's my fault. I shouldn't of led him on like that and it was completely unfair to him and you-"

"Me?" Carly asked. "Why me?"

"Well...you..." Lara Jean stumbled over her words. She had thought that the fact was obvious but clearly not. "I just thought since you like John Ambrose...do you not...?"

It was a question that Carly couldn't necessarily answer. She knew she felt something. Maybe a little crush. She had worked so hard to be John's friend that she forgot about her whole possible feelings towards him. Breaking the silence, footsteps ran towards the two. Fortunately enough, it was John Ambrose himself. He had an alarmed look on his face that was easily contagious. "Carly, your grandmother...she...she's hysteric. She's crying and yelling and I don't know what to do."

Without wasting any time, Carly darted towards her grandmother's room. Dorothy stood beside Bernadette's bed as she tried to calm her down. Lara Jean and John Ambrose followed behind swiftly. Carly ran over to the bed and enveloped her arms around her grandmother. "Nana, Nana, it's okay, you're okay."

Bernedette placed a hand on her granddaughter's cheek as she sobbed. "My sweet girl. I'm so sorry. I failed you, I failed your mother. It's my fault, it's all my fault."

"It is not your fault. You could never have known. None of us did." Carly tried to reassure her.

"How could I give birth to such a man? How could he leave like that? What went wrong? What did I do wrong?" Bernadette cried.

"You did nothing wrong. I don't know why but it's over. It's in the past, he's gone. Stop blaming yourself because you are the most amazing mother and grandmother. Look at Joe, he's a doctor, Missy got into Yale, and no matter where dad is now, he's probably doing something stupidly extraordinary with a perfect wife and perfect kids. You did good. He's the one that messed up." Bernadette calmed and nodded her head. Carly brought her grandmother closer to her body and rubbed her back. The three evacuated the room and left the Roth's to themselves. Carly stayed with her grandmother until she fell asleep. John Ambrose waited outside Belleview for her. When she saw him he offered her his softest smile. Tears filled her eyes and he stepped forward to envelope her.

"You don't have to talk about it." He told her but she shook her head. Whether right now he was her best friend, or a crush, or a boyfriend, he deserved to know. She took his hand and walked over to his car. They sat in the warmth as she explained.

"Do you know why I like Encino Man so much?" She asked him and John Ambrose shook his head. "Besides it being absolutely extraordinary, it was my dad's favourite. I watched it with him every day until I was about 6 years old. And then he left and it became the only thing I really had left of him. I don't really know what happened. I don't think any of us do. Everything seemed perfect but I guess it wasn't for him. All I remember is waking up one morning and he wasn't there. I woke up my mum. It didn't take long for her to figure out that he wasn't coming back."

"If you could, would you want to see him again?" John asked in a small voice.

"He tried. A few years ago, he contacted my mum, said that he wanted to see me again. I couldn't honestly care less about what he wanted. I wanted a dad and he left, why should I give him the daughter he walked out on? The reason why I wanted to put the necklace in a time capsule is because I wanted it to remain a part of the past. He can have his perfect family but I'm not going to pretend he is still my father." John Ambrose didn't say anything as the tears streamed down her face. He just leaned over and hugged her. She cried into his shoulder. He had no idea of the hardships she had faced. It was the first time she had let her guard down in front of him and for once she was glad she had a friend.

sorry this was quite short :(