by Debbie Civil
Chapter 12
Carmen
Peter is the first to notice that I haven’t been out of bed. He knocks on my door Monday morning. And because I know something that I’m not supposed to, I leap out of bed, intending on hiding.
“Carmen, are you in there?” he calls. I don’t want to talk to Peter. The story about Jake punching Sharp Michaels is all over the place. I’m sick of hearing about it. I’m sick of seeing Jake’s face. He kicked me out, and I felt like an idiot when he did. I thought that I was getting somewhere with him. What a laugh. Danny hit the nail on the head, I chase people that don’t want me. That’s not going to happen anymore. My next romance is going to be easy.
“Carmen, can I come in?” Peter asks. I’m totally decent. I’m in a t-shirt and yoga pants.
“Come in,” I call. Peter comes through the door, and I hug him hard. And because I’m an emotional wreck, I cry against his chest.
“Carmen, what’s wrong?” he asks. But something in me just can’t tell Peter that my aunt is a murderer, and my grandmother has been covering it up. This family has been through enough.
“Jake,” I lie. Okay, I’m bummed about Jake. He is cute, and we had a good time together. But it isn’t worth crying over.
“What happened?” Peter asks. I don’t let him go. The human contact is just so nice because I know once the police find out who really killed Amy Gallagher, nothing’s going to be the same. I squeeze him hard and can’t seem to stop crying.
“What happened, Carmen?” Peter asks as the door opens.
“What’s going on?” Eli demands. I slowly disentangle myself from Peter and force myself to stop crying. Eli is clutching a paper bag. I can smell the fried food from here, but I’m not so hungry. She has spent the entire week partying it up with her precious wedding party and has forgotten about me. Was there finally a lull in the action?
“What’s wrong, Carmen?” Eli asks. I’m not hungry. I just want her to go away.
“Nothing,” I say, deciding that it’s time to go wash up. I go into the bathroom and wash my face and blow my nose. When I exit, Peter is gone. Eli sits at the dinette and drops the bag on its shiny surface. I feel like being vengeful, but I push it back.
“How was your weekend?” I ask brightly. Eli frowns at my face.
“Are you upset about Dom and Bridget?” Her question catches me so off guard that I start laughing. Dom seems like so long ago.
“Another boy,” I say.
“Jake? Danny did say that she saw you in his room a couple of days ago,”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Eli,” I confess as I sit at the table. I should eat something.
“We never keep secrets from each other, Carmen,” she protests.
“Eli, I don’t want you to know,” I blurt out. What happened between Jake and I was so embarrassing, I don’t want to relive it.
“Okay, so you’re heartbroken over him or something?” She studies my face and at that moment, I wish that I can shout the truth from the rooftops. But I’m scared. What if Kate kills me? From what Chelsea described, Amy’s murder was violent. Even Bob’s afraid of the woman.
“It’s not just about Jake,” I begin. “I’m stressed out.”
“Carmen, if it’s about the trial, you shouldn’t be. You don’t even have to testify. Adam’s dead,” Eli gently argues. I don’t even care about the trials. In truth, I’m not even planning to go. There will be too much media coverage and too little privacy. I snatch the bag and look inside. There is a burger, fries, and a brownie.
“I picked up lunch for you. I figured that you would be hungry.” Eli stands and looks at the bag and then at me. “Bridget and I have an appointment to get to. I’ll see you later,” Eli says before leaving. I don’t eat any food. Seriously, I’m over feeling like crap, looking over my shoulder. I need to tell someone what’s going on. No, I need to tell Jake how much he hurt me, Then, I can talk to my father about how Grandmother is hiding the fact that Aunt Kate killed Amy Gallagher. I slide into my flip-flops and walk down the hall to Jake's room. I raise a hand and am about to knock but the door swings open. Jake’s sister Kailey stares at me, as if she’s unsure of what to make of seeing me.
“Hi, Kailey. How are you?” I ask as I lower my hand. She smiles at me.
“Fine. Did you know that I have a sister named Alex?” Kailey is the creative type. And she doesn’t sugarcoat anything. Her dark eyes are filled with anger and hurt.
“Yes,” I answer. She sucks in a breath.
“Danny knew and didn’t tell us!”
“I didn’t tell Danny. We aren’t that close anymore. Remember?” Kailey nods. Because Kailey is unpredictable, she wraps me in a soft hug. Kailey is younger than Jake by a year and is his total opposite. She radiates positive energy.
“Jake is busy arguing with Max. Do you want to come with? I’m about to raid this kitchen. I need some raisins. I always eat raisins before writing a chapter,” she tells me. Fine by me, I’d rather prolong this talk for as long as possible.
“So, my folks are totally fighting right now,” Kailey tells me as we exit the elevator.
“Why?” I ask.
“Mom hates the fact that she was the other woman. No matter how you spin it, she stole someone’s husband,” Kailey points out cheerily. I scan the halls, making sure that no one heard that. Kailey seems oblivious. She is miss happy go lucky. If only I could be that way.
“Does Eli know that she’s related to Jake, yet?”
“Not that I know of. Dad’s told me to leave her out of the loop. The girl is just so happy about the wedding. I would hate to burst her bubble,” Kailey explains as we make our way into the kitchen. Eli’s wedding is around the corner. That means that everyone is out shopping for the last minute stuff. I know that this sounds selfish, but I can’t bring myself to care. She’s left me out of a lot and to be honest, I don’t have a place in her wedding. I might as well not be a bride’s maid. If I didn’t show up, would she care?
“Do you two need anything?” Bob asks as he exits the pantry. I instinctively walk backwards before I know what I’m doing. Bob and Kailey both stare at me as if I’m nuts.
“Just some raisins and Dr. Pepper for the mouse,” Kailey says. I’m not sure what surprises me more, that Kailey remembered that I like Dr. Pepper or that she calls me mouse. I haven’t heard the nickname since I was thirteen. Bob flashes us a friendly smile and gives Jake’s sister what she requested.
“Thank you,” she says to a grinning Bob and we walk out of the kitchen and into the hallway. I’m extremely uncomfortable around Bob. And because fate hates me, we run into Sandra as well. She comes out of the elevator dragging a cart full of dishes behind her. I contain my urge to run away. After the door closes, my companion pins me with a look.
“Is Bob bothering you?” Kailey asks. Something about the gentle vibe she’s giving off makes my decision. I clearly need to talk to someone.
“I need to talk to you about something,” I tell her. The door opens, and we leave the elevator and walk toward my room. When I get there, Danny is standing in front of my door with her arms crossed.
“Carmen, we need to talk,” she insists.
“Later. Carmen and I are having a little chat,” Kailey says, effectively dismissing her sister. Danny seems hurt for just a moment, but then she smiles politely and leaves. We enter my room, and I lock the door.
“Carmen,” Jake calls and I shriek. Kailey joins in, searching the room to figure out why I’m screaming. Jake pulls me into his arms and tries to get through to me. When my heart settles, I stop screaming and I push away from him.
“Geez. It’s only Jake,” Kailey says. “And sense when do you hug people, brother?” Jake stares at Kailey, his eyes unreadable.
“Aunt Kate killed Amy,” I blurt out, not wanting to hold the secret anymore. There, I said it. Jake frowns and Kailey covers her mouth, her shocked eyes making me feel very uneasy. I can’t believe that I blabbed what I did.
I begin crying, because that’s all I’m able to do.
“Carmen, where did you hear that?” he demands.
“I overheard Bob and Sandra talking in the laundry room. I was going down there to steal the keys so that I could sneak into your room. I wanted to know if you were dating that blonde woman. Anyways, they were talking, and I’m so scared,” I confess. Kailey unlocks the door and pops her head out into the hallway. When she sees that no one is eavesdropping, she shuts and locks my bedroom door.