Rescue Me
At the jail, Carmen was talking to Jack, who was still locked up.
"Jack, what the hell did you get yourself into now?" Carmen asked, disappointed, as the cop opened the cell door.
"Don't be giving me no "I'm so disappointed, Jack" bullshit. I don't need it,"Jack said frustrated, as they walked to the front desk to grab his belongings, which wasn't much.
"Don't be angry with me. You're lucky I even bailed you out. What the fuck were you doing with Josh anyways?"
"What does it matter? It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't kept blowing me off at school. What the hell happened?" Jack asked, a little hurt.
"…Look, Jack, I'm sorry but I can't exactly explain. Please just tell me what you did to wind up here…" Carmen asked as they got in the car.
"Fine. Look I was hanging out with Josh and a buddy of his. They were talking about something they had to do for some guy. They asked if I wanted to come along, I said sure. Next thing I know we're at some abandon warehouse and the cops show up. I start pounding on the horn and all these people come out of the warehouse shooting at everything. Josh gets back in the car and we make a break for it. Only the cops had back up and that's how we wound up here. Happy?" Jack asked, looking at Carmen who had her eyes on the road.
Carmen than slowed the car down and stopped on the side of the road, "I can't believe you did something that stupid Jackie! You know I have to tell Evey. Fuck! Bobby is so gonna kill me!" Carmen yelled in frustration leaning her head on the steering wheel.
"…Carmen, this is my fault. I'll deal with it. Why would Bobby kill you, anyways?" Jack asked, rubbing her back slightly.
Carmen took in a deep breath before looking Jack in the eye. "After we had sex and you were sleeping it off I went outside to call Justin about what just happened. I felt so ashamed for what I did. Especially after hearing what Bobby said about you caring so much about me. I really let him down. I let myself down. And worse of all I hurt you cause Bobby showed up and told me to stay away from you cause he didn't want you to be one of my one night stands," At Jack's hurt and confused look she quickly added, "But I didn't want you to be just that cause you mean something to me and it scares me and losing you cause of what we did hurt me more than anything. I didn't want to lose you…"
Carmen then broke into tears, Jack allowed her to bury her head in his chest as he held her tight. There's a lot to know about Carmen, like why she does the things she does and what she has gone through to make her the person that she is. But the one thing that bothers Jack the most is the relationship between her and Bobby and what exactly went on between them.
The Next Night – Mercer House
"Carmen, you wanna stay for dinner? I'm sure there's enough food." Evelyn said, kindly, to the teenage girl leaning against her youngest in the doorway.
Jack's back was rested against the doorframe to the kitchen and Carmen's head was rested against his chest, her arms wrapped around his waist loosely.
"…I don't know…" Carmen replied, softly.
"Why not?" Jack asked.
"Where's Bobby…?"
"He's coming. You'll be fine. Me and Ma'll run damage control for you."
"I'm gonna go lay down for a little while… Come get me when dinner's ready, Jackie…"
"Oh…uh…yeah, okay…" Jack said, softly; he was very confused at her mood swing.
Bobby/Carmen Situation
"What do you mean you're leaving again?" Carmen asked Bobby.
"I mean I'm leaving again. I'm not coming back for a while."
"Why! I don't want you to leave again, Bobby! I had enough trouble without you last time and I don't need to do that all again!"
"What trouble? I left my whole family to do this, you still had EVERYONE else here for you!"
"I was…pregnant… I don't think anyone else would want to help…"
"You were WHAT…?" Bobby asked, calmly in disbelief and shock.
"Pregnant. But the baby died, so you don't have to worry about leaving again. There's nothing to take care of except your entire family…and me…" Carmen left Bobby's room, crying silently to herself as she went downstairs to get her stuff.
Bobby paused his packing for a minute. He realized she was right for once and ran downstairs after her, catching her on the porch, sobbing now.
"Carmen…"
"What?" She snapped.
"HEY! Don't get snappy with me, just yet. I still don't know WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"
"Oh…that's right. You were totally wasted when you fucked me. So you don't remember." She hissed.
"One more time?"
"We. Slept. Together. Last time you were here. And I got pregnant."
"How the HELL do you remember these things!" He exclaimed, still slightly confused.
"I had feelings for you. I was only 15, so I wasn't wasted."
"Then why do you insist on bringing something that shouldn't have happened up NOW?"
"BECAUSE IT DID HAPPEN! AND I CAN'T LET IT GO! I wasn't always a whore you know…" She mumbled.
"What's going on?" Jack asked, popping his head out on the porch.
"GET OUT!" Bobby exclaimed.
"Oh, now I'm interested." Jack came all the way out and took a seat on the chair.
"JACK!" Carmen screamed, now she was frustrated AND pissed…very bad combination.
"What's going on out here?" Evelyn asked, calmly but firmly.
"I haven't found out, yet, but it's gettin' good!" Jack exclaimed, excitedly.
"Jack, get the fuck out of here!" Bobby screamed.
Carmen got sick of waiting and walked out of the house to her car.
Once she got outside, tears freely started pouring down her face.
"Carmen, wait!" Jack called out the front door as she drove away. He spun around to face his older brother. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He shouted.
"Jack, calm down." Evelyn said, calmly.
"Yeah, Jackie, chill out." Bobby added.
"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! I TRIED TO STAY CALM WHEN I HEARD YOU SLEPT WITH MY GIRL AND APPARENTLY GOT HER PREGNANT!"
"First of all, Jack! SHE'S NOT YOUR GIRL; LAST I HEARD YOU JUST SLEPT WITH HER, TOO! AND WHEN I SLEPT WITH HER, YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW SHE EXISTED! AND I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW I GOT HER PREGNANT UNTIL ABOUT 5 FUCKIN' MINUTES AGO! SO DON'T START SCREAMING AT ME!" Bobby screamed, angrily, before storming upstairs to his room and closing the door to finish packing.
Jack stormed out of the house before Evelyn could say anything to either of them.
He walked all the way to Justin's and, just as he thought, there was Carmen's car.
"Jack!" Josh greeted him, smiling that evil smile.
"Hey, uh, can I talk to Carmen…?"
"They're upstairs-" Josh started, but before he could finish that dreadful sentence, Jack was running up the stairs.
The only room he found the door closed to, he opened it and WHAM! He thought someone had smacked him in the face because Carmen was laying on Justin's bed, half naked, Justin hovering slightly over top of her.
"CARMEN!" Jack screeched, his voice starting to crack. He slammed the door shut, so hard the pictures on the bedroom walls shook, and stormed back out of the house.
"Fuck!" Carmen whispered to herself, while getting up and pulling her hoodie on over her bare skin.
"Sorry, Carm." Justin said, quietly, falling onto his bed.
She gave him a worried look and followed Jack out into the now-pouring rain. "JACK!" She called.
"What!" He spun around to face her, standing on the drive-way while she stood on the steps of the porch, now drenched and shivering.
She didn't know what to say. Yeah, now she regretted doing what she did, but it's not something Carmen Johanson could apologize for because it was expected and known that she normally wouldn't regret doing it.
Now, it was a little different. She regretted sleeping with her best friend in the first place, but here and now? She hurt Jack.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Jack started walking away, but she couldn't follow. She was frozen in her spot, partially due to the rain and partially because she, her heart, was aching now. Terribly. Josh was right. She was a whore.
"So now do you believe me?" Josh asked from the dry side of the porch.
"About what?" She asked, wiping the tears off her face.
"You're a whore. And you know it's true. So stop denying it and say it to my face that I was right."
"Fuck off, Josh." Justin said, handing him the phone and pushing him in the house. The door shut and Justin sat on the porch swing, close to getting wet.
"Carmen, I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have done that…" He said, almost rushed as the words flew from his mouth.
"No, you really shouldn't have because NOW, Jack won't even speak to me unless he's screaming and I don't even know what to say to him because 'sorry I slept with my best friend' just isn't going to cut it!"
"Hey! When I apologized, I didn't say it was ALL my fault! You were there, too, and you kissed me back! So DO NOT yell at me because you're mad at yourself!"
"You know what? I'm done with this. I'm done with all of it. I think I'll just avoid guys like the plague and keep all to myself until I die of depression… Or suicide. Whichever gets to me first." She walked off the steps and got in her car, leaving the rest of her clothes in Justin's room.
When Carmen got home, Hailey bombarded her with questions like, "What happened with you and Jack," and "Did you really sleep with Justin?"
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY FACE!" Carmen snarled while running up to her room and closing the door.
She changed into warm, dry clothes and sat down, criss-cross, on her bed crying.
Her dog, Sammy, the toy terrier, cuddled up in her lap.
"Why does shit like this always happen to me?" She asked the dog, cradling his head in her hands. "I always gotta fuck stuff up so bad that I can't fix it when I try."
He licked a salty tear from her cheek and she smiled at him and held him against her chest, while scratching the back of his head. "Thanks, Sammy."
And We're With Jack
Jack stormed into the Mercer house, slamming every door he touched.
"Stop slamming doors, Jack!" Bobby screamed from upstairs. "PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP, GODDAMN IT!"
"Carmen's a fuckin' whore!" Jack exclaimed, pushing Bobby's bedroom door open and turning on the light.
"What the fuck! Turn the light off and go to bed!" Bobby squinted at the bright light radiating through the room.
"No! Josh was right! Carmen is a whore!"
"Hey! Calm the fuck down and SIT down!" Bobby yelled, getting frustrated at his younger brother for waking him up. He got out of bed, considerably fast and pushed Jack to sit on the chair on the other side of the room. "Chill. Out. What are you screaming about?"
"I walked in on Carmen and Justin fuckin' around at Josh and Justin's place." Jack said, his voice now calmer.
"Okay…"
"Okay? What do you mean 'okay'? It's not okay, because if it was, I wouldn't be here right now!"
"You 2 aren't officially going out, right?"
"Well…not technically, but she-"
"Then she can sleep with whoever the hell she wants. Now go to bed before I throw you out the window and watch you suffer."
"Why are you acting like this isn't a big deal!?" Jack exclaimed, standing up and walking towards Bobby.
"BECAUSE ITS NOT!" Bobby screamed. "What happened after? Did she notice you were there?"
"Yeah. And she tried to follow me out and apologize but she never said anything, and it probably wouldn't have meant anything anyways."
"Was she crying?"
"It was pouring but it sounded like it, why?"
"Then it would have meant something. Carmen's just not the kind to apologize, especially for sleeping with someone. It's like…"
"The way she is."
"…Do you get it now? Can I go back to sleep?"
"Has she always been this fucked up?" Jack asked, bluntly.
"It's not fucked up, it's loves to fuck." Bobby laughed. "She just grew up with an older brother, younger sister and a dad. No mom that I know of; doesn't even mention her mom or a step-mom or anything so I don't ask. Her brother's overprotective. So she pretty much LOVES rebelling against her brother's wishes. Her dad thinks she's a fuckin' psycho and Hailey just looks up to her…which I haven't decided is good or bad yet."
"I feel like shit. I'm going to bed; if anyone calls just tell 'em…I'm dead or something."
"I won't be answering the phone and I know you meant if Carmen calls, tell her to fuck off, but I'm not doing that kind of shit for you."
Jack went back to his bedroom and shut and locked the door.
Carmen and Lil Sammy, the Puppy
Carmen decided to call Bobby. Maybe he knew something about Jack and his whereabouts and whether he's mad or sad or what.
When Bobby picked up his phone and sounded completely miserable, she hung up; afraid he'd be mad that she woke him up.
Bobby just called her back. "Carmen."
"Hey… Is he-?"
"Pissed and somewhat depressed about the fact that you were fuckin' around with Justin after he assumed you 2 were together…"
Carmen sighed, trying to hold back the tears she'd been attempting to hold in for the past 3 hours. "So he won't talk to me, will he?"
"Well…if you walked in on Jack sleeping with one of your best friends, you wouldn't talk to him either, would you?"
"I fucked up good this time…"
"Yes you did, Carm, yes you did…" Bobby sighed, falling back on his bed, waiting for her to say something.
"Can I talk to him?"
"Are you crazy?"
"Just for-"
"Give him time to cool off, Carm. He's not ready to talk to you yet."
"Bobby, he's that mad?"
"What'd you think he was going to do!? Prance around going, "CARMEN SLEPT WITH JUSTIN! WEEEEEEEEEE!" YEAH I DON'T THINK SO!"
"Don't use my shit on me! Just give him the fuckin' phone!"
"I'm not giving him the phone, Carmen. Let him sleep it off. Okay? Now, I'm going back to sleep and if one more fuckin' person wakes me up…god bless their souls."
"Wait a sec-"
Bobby hung up. He was tired, frustrated and a little angry.
Carmen cried herself to sleep that night, listening to music she thought would calm her down, but only made her sadder and sorrier.
Morning – 6:45AM
Carmen was starring at her front door, debating whether or not to go see Jack in person. "I can't do this alone…" She whispered to herself, still starring at the front door from her place sitting on the stairs.
She looked up the staircase and frowned, "Hailey!"
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!?"
"Can you come down here, please…?"
"Why?"
"Just come down here!"
"GOD! I'm coming!"
Hailey stomped downstairs, pouting. "Can I help you?" She said in her your-so-annoying voice.
"I just wanted to talk to you…"
Hailey noticed the look of sorrow on her sister's face and decided to ask. "What did you do and who wants to kill you?"
"I fucked around with Justin and Jack wants my blood."
"Aren't you a bright one!"
"Thanks… You're so kind…" Carmen said sarcastically.
"What do you want from me?"
"Just come with me so I can talk to Jack."
"You're going to his house?"
"I need to talk to him. If you help me, I'll buy ice cream!"
"How's this gonna help? Ice cream's full of fat and Jack wants to kill you."
"I gotta atleast TRY to talk to him…"
"You need to stay away from him!"
"But I don't like Justin as much as I like Jack…and I like…GAH!"
"So you want to tell Jack that you slept with Justin because you like Jack better?"
"But…I do…"
"That makes you a skank, you know?"
"Why do I talk to you?"
"It's true. You don't win over a guy by screwing other guys. Even I know that and I'm only 14!"
"Can we just get this over with?"
"Fine. But it's your funeral."
At Jack's House
Carmen knocked on the door and Bobby opened it. The second he opened the door, Jack saw her and stormed upstairs, shut and locked his bedroom door.
"Jack, open the fuckin' door!" Carmen shouted, pounding on his door.
"GO AWAY, YOU WHORE!"
"JACK, YOU BASTARD!"
"LIKE YOU HAVE ANY ROOM TO TALK!?"
"I DON'T LOVE JUSTIN!"
"SO YOU SLEPT WITH HIM BECAUSE HE LIKES YOU!? AGAIN, YOU WHORE!"
Carmen started crying again and sank to the floor next to Jack's door.
Jack went to his door, but didn't open the door. "Carmen, don't just sit there and cry!"
"Why not!?"
"I can't stand hearing you cry!"
"But you hate me so why the fuck does it matter!?"
"I don't hate you! That's why I'm so mad! Everytime I think about you with someone else, it hurts! I hate it!"
"Jack, I'm sorry…" Carmen wept.
"You don't understand!" Jack was crying now, too.
He opened the door to see her head on her knees, sobbing. He lifted her head with his hands and looked her in the blood-shot, green eyes.
"I'm mad because the fact that you don't love me makes my heart break. I'm mad because Justin has something I can never have. I'm mad because you love any other guy except me."
"But I don't love any other guy, it's just-" He cut her off in a hug; she expected a kiss and got a hug.
'He thinks I love Justin…' She thought. "Jack, stop."
"What?"
"I don't love Justin."
"Then why'd you sleep with him?"
"Because I needed someone. I just needed it. I thought I liked him but I don't. He's just my friend."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I tried but you wouldn't listen."
Hailey appeared from the bathroom. "Is the shouting over with?"
They ignored her.
Carmen looked into Jack's icy blue eyes and then got up. "Bye, Jack…"
Hailey followed her out the door to her sister's car, the wind making the tears on Carmen's cheeks burn.
Skatepark – 2:30PM
Carmen's skates were…misbehaving… at the least. She was getting pissed that they kept unbuckling so after the 6th try at fixing them, she ripped off the other one and threw it on the ground, pieces breaking off as it hit the cement.
The few other people that were there, including Josh and Justin, stopped and looked over at her.
"You want some help, sweetheart?" An unfamiliar voice asked.
Carmen pulled off her other skate and dropped it on the ground next to where she was sitting on the cement. "Not really. Get lost."
"You really shouldn't be out here with the big boys. You'll damage that pretty little face of yours…" The guy sat down next to her, too close for her standards.
"I said, GET LOST!"
Justin heard her frustrated scream and stopped to watch but let her take care of herself.
"What's wrong? Don't like attention?" He was breathing down her neck and before he knew it, she stood up and kicked him hard, once her Vans were back on.
"Trying to be tough, huh, girlie?" He was less than 2 inches from her face, literally begging for a kiss, but practically begging for a punch in the face. "Can't I have a kiss…?"
"Get the fuck out of my face!" She screamed, shoving him backwards.
"Aww…all I wanted was a kiss…" He wasn't giving up and Carmen's arms were now pinned to the small of her back.
"Dude, she said she didn't want you near her!" Jack's voice came from behind the 2 of them.
Carmen gave the guy a face that said 'Haha. I win.'
"This is between me and the lady here, so get your punk ass away and go play on your toy guitar."
"Hey!" Carmen kneed the guy in the stomach and then kicked him in the stomach once he was farther away. "Don't talk to him like that!"
Justin started walking over, noticing that the guy STILL wasn't giving up on Carmen, despite the fact that she's kicked him 3 times already, really hard.
"Get lost, asshole." Jack demanded, simply, his arm around Carmen's waist, protectively. Her arms were wrapped around him, her head rested on his shoulder.
"Joey, get out of here. Leave CJ alone." Justin said, coming over from the other side of the Skatepark with Josh in toe.
"CJ?"
"Joey, meet Carmen Johanson. Our local legend." Josh laughed.
"Damn." Joey walked off feeling dumb.
"You all right, Carm?" Justin asked.
"I'm still mad at you."
"Yeah, I know."
"Am I being hated?" Josh asked, stupidly.
"Depends. Did you do anything making you deserving of hatred from any of us?"
"What scares me is I know what you just said." Jack laughed.
"Are you 2 "together" yet? Or what's the deal?" Josh asked, curiously.
"We still gotta sort out our shit. Then we'll let you know."
"I want a smoothie." Carmen said, randomly.
"Wanna go to the mall and get one?"
Carmen nodded. She knew he wanted to talk to her alone. "I'll meet up with you guys later." She said to Justin and Josh.
"Later, Carm." Justin called back over his shoulder.
A/N: HOLY FUCKIN' WOW! THIS CHAPTER WAS 14 PAGES! HA! That's pretty good!
Much love to xBrokenDreamerx, she's my number 1 go to girl! THANKS, AMANDA!
Props to my girls: DreamAngelHeart (Keara), XxMay.Angels.Lead.You.InXx (Katie), TutorWifeScott (Cassie), and I've been writing this for a week so if you even helped me with even A LINE, you should be in here! I have a bad memory, sorry!
REViEWS PLEASE!
L))((C
