Warnings for this chapter: domestic violence, sex

Jackson insisted on inspecting the church from top to bottom, making Enzo fix everything out of place, before returning him to his mother, who wept, alternately hugging her son and the priest, while Jotaro lingered awkwardly in the distance. It was almost midnight by the time he got home. He opened the door to find Carmen reading a fashion magazine on his sofa. "What are you doing here?"

"Still fighting with Carlos," she grumbled before looking up at him. "You're bleeding!" she gasped. Jumping to her feet, she ran her fingers along his cheek, pursing her lips.

"Just a minor tussle," Jotaro mumbled.

Forming a deep frown, Carmen fetched a first-aid kit from the bathroom. She sat Jotaro down on the sofa and dabbed at his cheek with a piece of gauze. "I shouldn't have let Father Jackson take you."

"I'm actually glad I went," Jotaro said, "A kid did this. Twelve years old and on drugs."

Her mouth twisted, "That's awful."

"I think we really helped."

Carmen's eyebrows drew together over her big, soft eyes, "That's nice of you." Her delicate hands moved down his face. It felt strange, letting her clean his wounds like that. A part of him stayed on guard, waiting for signs that she was tired of being inconvenienced. Or for her to just wander off and forget. But she kept working, biting her lip with worry. He blinked.

"Am I hurting you?" she asked, meeting his glistening eyes.

"No-" His voice cracked. Her face was like an angel's. He stroked her back as she wiped up a last bit of blood.

"That should be good," Carmen whispered. Her fingers tenderly brushed his cheek.

Jotaro kissed her forehead, "Thank you."

Embracing him, she pressed her lips to a spot she especially liked, right above the opening of his collar. She pulled away, realizing it was scratched. "What did that kid do to you?!"

Her brow crinkling, Carmen unbuttoned Jotaro's shirt, revealing the long bruise where Enzo had hit him with his hardened elbow, a scabbed gash at the top. Her eyes lingered. Enzo couldn't fix Jotaro's injuries, but he was able to repair his shirt, which was perfectly white and pressed, without a trace of blood. Though Carmen wasn't the type to analyze things, Jotaro could tell the asymmetry perturbed her.

"At least I got a new shirt out of the deal," he said quickly.

She let out an uneasy laugh. Soaking another piece of gauze in antiseptic, Carmen carefully cleaned his chest.

Jotaro felt warm, just watching her. Feeling each movement of her hands on his chest. When she was done, he pulled her into his lap and cradled her in his arms. It felt so good just holding her. Parting her hair, he kissed the back of her neck.

Carmen turned around, straddling his legs, and he met her lips, giving her a soft kiss that slowly grew intense. Jotaro couldn't bear to pull away. His arms tightened, pulling her closer and closer until his chest was pressed to hers. She tipped to the side, and he was on top of her, his open shirt draping over each side of her body, her legs splayed, kissing her hungrily. He felt a pang of guilt. He was breaking her rules. But so was she. Her hands were inside his shirt, stroking his exposed sides. They traced the waistband of his pants.

"Carmen," he whispered into her ear, his voice coming out as more of a whimper. She grasped his hands, guiding them up her shirt, which he peeled off. Her bra came off next. He groped her breasts, running his fingers across her hardened nipples. Dipping his head, he put one in his mouth. She took a sharp breath as he sucked, digging her fingers into his back. He swirled his tongue, feeling her hips thrust, feeling her nails pierce his skin. He detached one hand and guided it to the button of his pants. It was a gamble, but damn, she was taking them off. His boxers, too. Was he at the bottom of that sinkhole, dying? He let the shirt fall off his arms so he was naked.

Jotaro sat up, bringing Carmen with him. Her lips were red, her face was flush, her chest was glossy with sweat. It was glorious. He unbuttoned her jeans. She wore plain white briefs like a schoolgirl. He slipped his hands inside, on her hips, before pulling them off. Then he kissed her, cradling her in his lap.

Maybe God did love him, because Carmen was naked in his arms. Jotaro admired her in the living room lights. Each line was more perfect than the last. His cock was numb, but he held her for a long while, barely touching her, overcome with a strange sense of calm. Jotaro could see his future unfolding in her body. Every hope, every struggle before this was a stone on a path towards her. Fate had brought them together. She was made just for him.

Jotaro kissed Carmen's lips, feeling her hips move against his legs. She was dripping all over him. It was obscene. He was leaking, too. But it was private. Between them. He lifted her, and she felt weightless, like she was floating. He carried her to his bed and laid her on her back. Carmen's legs were thin and delicate, like a fawn's. He tried so hard to be gentle as he spread them.

Moving his body over hers, his mouth found her ear, "I love you so much." Then he bore down, feeling her, feeling everything. Her shaky breath filled his ears. He pumped, his eyes squeezing shut, moans falling from his mouth, grasping her hips, mashing his lips against hers.

And the heavens opened.

Jotaro's soul was far more ragged than he'd realized. But he was starting to heal. Every morning, he'd wake up next to Carmen, the sun peeking through the blinds lighting up her beautiful face, and she'd cook him breakfast. Then he'd try to tempt her back to the bedroom before heading to class. When he got home, she'd be at work, and he'd do his homework. That was the worst part of the day. But late at night, she'd come in, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and kissing the back of his neck as he jotted a few last words at his desk. After a few weeks, Jotaro and Camilo moved Carmen's stuff. Carlos had started his two-year sentence, so the siblings' apartment was too big anyhow. Jotaro introduced Camilo to a classmate who was renting a room.

Melissa noticed. "You're thinking about her," she'd tease Jotaro in class, every so often. "You were just sitting there, and then you started smiling. You're dreaming about her."

Jotaro couldn't argue. He felt like he was living in a haze. There were Carmen's soft hands, which cared for him, which fed him, which nourished him, and her beautiful eyes, which lit up when they moved in his direction, and her soft lips, which she bit, as she fussed over him. And her body. He couldn't get enough of her body. She was so small that Jotaro could lift her effortlessly. He loved that. He could hold her against the shower wall and feel her whole body shake as water poured over his shoulders. Or lay her over the kitchen island and take her from behind. But his favorite was when she climbed on top of him, so he could admire her figure as his cock bulged out of her, watching as her eyes closed, then her arms crossed to rub her breasts, which she always denied afterwards.

"You're insatiable!' she whined once, after he'd thrown her down on the bed and taken her, then positioned her head between his knees as he sat on the bed's edge.

Jotaro pulled her to her feet, then led her to a mirror. "Look at this," He pointed his hand at her breasts, then slowly lowered it towards her thighs, "You expect me to look at this and not go wild."

She giggled as he bent her over the mattress.

The months passed. Jotaro took Carmen to the weekly keggers, where they gossiped with Trent and Melissa, Jotaro giving sharp looks to any classmate who spent too long admiring Carmen in her beachwear. Jotaro studied for exams with Camilo. He spent the summer working night shifts at a nearby aquarium, a glorified janitor, cleaning fish tanks and taking notes on various sea creatures' behavior. Soon Thanksgiving was coming up again.

"You know how I told you about Carmen?" Jotaro asked Joseph over the phone, "We're getting quite serious. I'd like to bring her to meet you if that's alright."

"You're too young to be serious," Joseph replied quickly.

Jotaro's fingers tightened around the receiver, "Well, we are."

There was a rustling at the end of the line, "I get the feeling that you want to show this girl my place to impress her."

Jotaro blinked. Since when had Joseph had a problem with flashing wealth to get a girl's attention? But moreover, taking Carmen to visit Joseph would actually be a bit of a pain. While Jotaro liked her clothes, they were trashy by New York standards, full of cut-outs and cheap embellishments. He'd have to buy her several outfits to fit in at Joseph's place. "You and Grandma are welcome to come here."

"I'd rather not," said Joseph. The phone crackled for a moment, "How about if you're still together, you bring her next year?"

After the call, Jotaro flexed his knuckles. "How about we go visit my mother in Tokyo?"

In the past year, he'd gained so much sympathy for Holly. Soon after he and Carmen started living together, Jotaro had been running with Trent, who had suggested, "If you want to improve your time, you should pretend something's going to happen to Carmen. It really works."

Jotaro had no doubts he could push himself to superhuman lengths to protect those he cared about, but it got him thinking. It was a dark place that he didn't like to explore, but there was so much he thought he'd do for Carmen. He'd blow up buildings. He'd kill people. Convincing himself that raising a child in a foreign country built character barely even scratched the surface.

"I- I'd like to meet your mother." Carmen's voice shook, "But I've never been on a plane before." Jotaro could tell the prospect of flying made her nervous.

He put his hand on her shoulder, "It's really safe, you just have to get used to it."

She smiled, "Alright."

It was only when Jotaro tried to book the flights that he realized that Carmen didn't have a passport. She didn't even know you needed one to travel to Japan. They ended up spending Thanksgiving cramped in Castilo and Blanca's small apartment.

Jotaro never did tell Joseph he was living with Carmen. He knew he wouldn't like it.

Another summer passed and Jotaro started his third year of college. One night, soon after, Carmen didn't come home. He didn't worry at first, but after fifteen minutes passed, then half an hour, he couldn't do much other than watch the clock with irritation. He went out to the balcony and smoked a cigarette, but he didn't see her coming. After an hour, Jotaro called the store, but no one answered, so he called Oscar at home.

"She left at the normal time," he said.

Jotaro dressed, fastening his shirt's buttons in the wrong holes, then correcting them. He followed Carmen's route to the store, but he didn't see her. Jotaro used a nearby pay phone to call Camilo, then Castilo, then Melissa. No one had seen her.

Not knowing where else Carmen would have gone, Jotaro walked a few blocks to the church, finding only an empty sanctuary with dim candles burning. He sat down, feeling a strange sense of foreboding. He tried to collect his thoughts, considering looking for Jackson and Ignacio. But as Jotaro composed an explanation of what had happened in his head, he realized Carmen had been acting oddly. She'd come home late twice that week. He'd heard her speaking Spanish to someone on the phone that morning, even though her family was already at work, and she'd hung up immediately, claiming it was a telemarketer. When they talked, she seemed distracted.

Jotaro plodded back towards their apartment, the feeling draining from his body. Since it was on his route, Jotaro peered through the window of The Midnight Anchor. It was buzzing, the usual group of tourists looking for hook-ups, but of course Carmen wasn't in there. She rarely left home, except to visit family, and she hadn't even liked the place. But what was that other bar she'd mentioned? El Ecustre. Flagging down a man who looked vaguely Cuban, Jotaro asked for directions in stilted Spanish.

Soon Jotaro was at a wooden door, the faint beat of music beyond it filling his ears. Pushing it open, Jotaro searched the bar. It was crowded and the buzz of conversation completed with Bon Jovi. Jotaro went table by table, then saw Carmen at the bar. Beside her, a man was gesturing as he told a story. Carmen sipped from a can of Cola, holding on to every word. It was a moment before Jotaro recognized him from church. Her ex, Ricardo.

Jotaro stormed up to Carmen. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

She sputtered, but no words came out.

Grabbing her by the arm, Jotaro pulled her out of her chair. Her drink fell from her hand, and soda sprayed the floor. She yanked her arm, looking helplessly at Ricardo. But he wasn't a real man, he just sat there. His heart pounding in his ears, even louder than the music, Jotaro grabbed her under the shoulder and dragged her outside, then slammed her against the wall near the door. She flailed for balance, her mouth contorting.

"What does he have that I don't?" Jotaro's hands were swinging at his sides. His face was inches from hers.

Carmen's lips moved, and she squeaked, then she started sobbing.

She was just like Holly, crying so he'd feel bad for her, even though she was clearly in the wrong. "Answer me!" he roared.

Carmen sniffed, then the door squeaked open. Jotaro glanced towards it, wondering if Ricardo had grown some balls.

It was a waiter in a white shirt, "Are you alright, Miss?"

Jotaro widened his stance, "Mind your own business."

The man was a good foot shorter than Jotaro, and had a fat, feminine face, but he just stood there, fearless. Carmen's random syllables punctured the air. Why couldn't she talk like a normal person? Her face was strained, and tears ran down her face.

"It's … okay," she got out.

Jotaro gave the waiter a fiery glare. He waddled off, lighting a cigarette and propping himself against the wall a few meters away. His gaze stayed fixed on Jotaro.

Carmen's sobs were getting quieter. "I'm sorry … I'm sorry." She sucked in a breath, "You're- you're so different-" She wrung her hands, "Now I have to decide what I want the rest of my life to be like."

Jotaro's throat tightened and his arms shook, but he thrust his head towards her. "We've been through this. You already decided. Remember?"

Carmen shook her head. Her eyes were red. Snot was pouring out of her nose. It was disgusting. "Jotaro-" Her head twisted towards the ground, then back up at him "I'm pregnant."