REVAMPED AS OF APRIL 2014
Three people walking away from an old house. A funeral with a closed casket, with very few people surrounding the open grave. A dead woman hanging from a barn loft. A child screaming and crying as she was being driven away in a black car.
When Carmen woke, she found herself already half-hanging off of the bed, drenched in a cold sweat - and her head was killing her. Still, like the trooper she was, she turned on the light and made her way to the bathroom to shower.
Last night had been such a mistake, she thought as she rubbed her temples, turning on the warm water - it was early yet, and she was sure that none of the Carters would be awake at this hour, given the night they had probably had. She had long outgrown the Carters - she had never really felt like she'd been a good fit with them to begin with. They had always been like this - rambunctious and impulsive - while Carmen had always been more serious. She had always been busy and calculating and nowhere near as warm. She didn't light up rooms when she walked in. At times, she came off as frigid. At times, she came off as awkward. She didn't bask in the glow of attention, of admiration.
And yet, here she was, right back with them the way she had started with Rob, all those years ago. Despite her splitting headache, she laughed quietly, shaking her head. Maybe things didn't change. That was what scared her.
She got out of the shower and grudgingly got back into the same clothes she had just changed out of, emerging into the living room to see Melanie already up, sipping at a glass of water.
"You're up early," Mel said, placing her water down and nodding for Carmen to come and sit down.
"You're not hung over - you really didn't drink," Carmen said incredulously, plopping down on the couch with Melanie. The idea of any of the Carters not drinking seemed strange. Surreal. She laughed, shaking her head and immediately regretting doing so as it reminded her how bad her own hangover was. "Are Chloe and Andi in bed still?"
"Nah. Work - you underestimate them," Mel laughed, shaking her head.
"Why aren't you at the office."
"Taking a - long leave," Melanie said, looking down at her hands. The sudden change in her demeaour cause Carmen to shift her body closer, and she frowned in concern. "I'm currently indisposed. On the way."
"What?"
"I'm... gestating..."
"You're...?"
"Pregnant," Mel replied, raising her eyebrows and chuckling quietly. "I'm pregnant."
"Oh my God," Carmen said, covering her mouth with her hands - she should have been able to put two and two together, but she had been so distracted - and frankly, so drunk last night - that she simply hadn't. "Is it Lucas? That was the name of the guy you were dating before, right? He was a pretty nice guy, even if he was a little on the dull side. Did you two get engaged? "
"Oh, no," Mel said, her face going slightly red. "The baby's dad lives in Massachusetts... with his wife." She cleared her throat and shot Carmen a slightly embarrassed grin, shrugging slightly. "It was just a - a fling. You know things were - out all night every night. It was bound to happen. It's a sign to slow down, I guess."
"Oh." Carmen said, trying to maintain a neutral expression. She felt bad now, having assumed that Melanie was still the same person she had always been, when in fact, she was in a very different and very difficult place in her life. She reached out and placed a hand on Mel's shoulder. "Well - how far along are you?"
"About eight weeks," Mel shrugged casually. "Rob's been awesome, helping move things along so I could take my whole pregnancy off. My blood pressure was a little high right off the bat, so he donated some of his own vacation time, and the girls did too - so I get the extra time off."
Carmen gave a lopsided grin. That was Rob, alright. He got a kick out of helping people, even if the reasons weren't always entirely unselfish. He had always been the kind of person who liked feeling heroic, and giving up his own vacation days for an old friend - especially if that old friend someone other than Carmen - was pretty unprecedented.
"I'm sorry to hear about everything that's going on with Mort and you," Melanie said carefully. "You know, maybe you're being a little hard on him. Do you wanna talk about it?"
"Why would I wanna do a thing like that?"
"Because you wouldn't have run way and come looking for friends if you didn't need backup," Mel answered. She gave a small, knowing grin. "It's not a bad thing, you know. I know you've never been super close with me and the girls, but the five of us have been through a lot together."
"We survived most of our twenties together," Carmen nodded, chuckling nostalgically and leaning back into the couch. "We probably deserved our own sitcom."
"All those times you and Rob had to tag team and drag our wasted asses home," Mel said with a sigh. Carmen raised her eyebrows at the realization that Mel actually remembered those times fondly. As it sank in, however, Carmen realized that however much of a mess those times had been, there was no denying that they were much simpler. Now, she had gotten herself into something far from simple - and judging by the fact that Mel was pregnant and had changed her liquor-guzzling, sequin-wearing ways, she had done the same.
Maybe Mel would get it, Carmen thought with a sigh. She glanced over at the blonde-haired woman, who was looking at her expectantly - she had always been such a genuinely nice person, even in a little impulsive. It was worth a try. Carmen hadn't had any luck making sense of things on her own anyway.
"You know what I asked him?" Carmen asked, pulling one of the small throw pillows over her midsection and squeezing it closer to herself, looking upwards with a sigh. "I - I don't even know where it came from. He was being amazing, he took care of me after the accident, and I tried to forget about it... but I couldn't help it. I asked Mort if he still loved his ex-wife when we got together- his dead ex-wife. And he couldn't even say anything!"
"You asked him that out of nowehere? How can you expect someone to have an answer to a question like that? Those conversations - they take time, and planning!" Mel exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock. "My God, Carmen -"
"You're on his side? Oh, God," Carmen groaned, clenching her eyes shut. "No! No, you don't get it. He could have said something, and he didn't. Couldn't he?"
Silence.
"He didn't even deny it!" Carmen continued heatedly. "Not even an 'it's not like that' or an 'it's complicated' - he just sat there!"
"Hmm." Melanie said calmly, taking a drink from her glass of water. "You know, you can love people in different ways," she continued, and Carmen felt herself shrink a little bit. Maybe this was why she hardly bothered throughout her life to have many female friends. Besides the fact that they were so high-maintenance, so gossipy, they also had the uncanny ability of calling a fellow female out on her bullshit. Since when was Melanie the smart one or the mature one? "Like, how in a way, we all know you're always gonna love Rob -"
"That's different -"
"You didn't deny it. And you shouldn't, because you guys were important to each other. Anyone who comes into either of your lives needs to get that," Mel interrupted. The smile on her face was sagely, and strangely a little melancholy for reasons that Carmen couldn't really figure out at the moment. Carmen raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to argue, only to find that she had nothing. Nothing at all. Mel was right. "Mort spent years of his life with that woman - it doesn't mean she trumps you," Melanie continued, speaking slowly and allowing the words to sink in. "It means that she was - a really important part of his life, and so are you. You're a just as important part - you're just a different part. It's not your job to erase her."
Carmen, for once, was speechless. In the few minutes she had just spent speaking to Melanie, the blonde-haired woman had probably spoken some of the wisest words she'd ever heard. She rubbed her face wearily and groaned, leaning back into the couch even further in hopes of disappearing into the cushions - but at the same time, she felt better. Maybe once in a while, having female friends had its perks.
"It doesn't mean you need to forgive him," Melanie shrugged. "It's just something to keep in mind."
"Hmm," Carmen nodded in acknowledgement. For a few minutes, the two sat in silence. Carmen shifted back to cradling her head and nursing her headache, and Melanie chuckled, retreating into the bathroom and coming back with a bottle of Tylenol. "Thanks," Carmen chuckled weakly. "My head's been killing me, I guess I'm a little bit of a lightweight."
"Well, I always new that," Mel joked with a smirk before her expression shifted. She clapped a hand to her forehead. "Oh, and Rob called earlier - he called me because he was sure you'd still be passed out tired," Mel chuckled, though there was something else - something almost mischievous - in her laugh when she mentioned Rob calling. Carmen made a mental note to look into it. "He said that he's got something important he's got to talk to you about. Said to meet him at A-List in his office at 4:30."
"Did he say what about?"
"Nope. Sounds top secret."
Carmen didn't feel too sure that she liked the idea of 'top secret' - especially not when the most recent top secret discussion she'd had with Rob involved a subject that she didn't want anyone else getting involved in. In all honesty, it involved a topic she wasn't even sure she wanted to be involved in anymore. She didn't want to drag all of the details about Shooter into her conversation with Mel, but that's what it all boiled down to.
"Come on, my offer for those clothes still stands," Mel said, noticing the serious expression that made its way onto Carmen's face. "If you show up at the office - at Rob's office in those god-awful sweatpants, the rumors will be terrible."
"They're not god-awful, they're comfortable."
"God-awful."
"You'll be asking to borrow them once you can only fit into maternity jeans."
Carmen ducked when Mel threw a throw pillow at her and laughed. She could grudgingly admit, female friends weren't necessarily the worst thing to have.
Original A/N's
Okay, this chapter was bad. I don't do "drunk scenes" that well, but I just knew that Carmen should do something like this.
janemariasparrow: Thanks for reviewing! Just got your review on the first chapter. Keep reading!
lordoftheringsfanficreader: haha, the Carter trio as a unit has a fairly small part. But they did get Carmen totally boozed up! Don't worry, Carmen's wild streak isn't forever.
Dawnie-7: Yup, definitely so sixth grade. Of course, this chapter, she's doing stuff I definitely wasn't doing in sixth grade. She's just letting loose. She'll be ready to talk to her "corn fetish psychopath killer" boyfriend eventually.
I think that I shall update again when I have 50 reviews. Maybe that's a bit much to ask...Oh well, if it doesn't happen, I'll still update anyway! Haha. I think my writers' block is almost gone!
