by Debbie Civil
Chapter 35
Jake
“Let’s ditch,” I whisper to Carmen as we sway under the blinding lights. If the wedding was overdone, then I don’t know how to describe the ball room. Okay, so the center pieces are a bundle of purple, red, yellow, pink, and red roses. The table cloths are gold. The chandelier hanging over our head twinkles. The streamers are also multi-colored and swing gently from the ceiling. The decorators have most definitely outdid themselves.
“Ditch,” she responds. Carmen looks up at me, her beautiful eyes filling with possibilities. She doesn’t like to waltz and I can tell that the string orchestra that has been playing is getting on her nerves.
“Yes. I want to talk to you.” I want to do more than talk to Carmen. But I have the sneaking suspicion that she wants to take things slow. That is understandable, since I had abandoned her in the past. The thought that I’ve been so horrible to Carmen kills me.
“Okay,” Carmen says and I’m relieved. We’ve already gone through the bouquet and garter catching thing. Maybe fate was telling us something those months back. I have a sudden urge to tell Carmen that I love her. But I don’t since we haven’t talked things through yet. The last thing that I want to do is make anything more complicated than it is.
The dance floor is packed. It’s fortunate that we had chosen to dance on the edge of the floor. I grab her hand and I slowly guide her to the door. We wave at a few people who decide to sit the dancing out. I would have been among them if it wasn’t for wanting to hold Carmen in my arms. We have just walked into the hallway when a familiar voice calls my name.
“Jake!” And there she is. I have no idea how to react. Adriana is getting off of the elevator when she sees me. She’s dressed in a pale pink gown that is definitely low cut. I feel cold inside. Part of me wishes that she had ignored me and kept on walking.
“Adriana, hi,” Carmen says and that’s when I realize that I haven’t said a word. The only thing that I can say to the woman standing before me is “monster.” Her dark eyes fill with confusion. But I don’t take the word back. She is evil. If it hadn’t been for her, Maggie wouldn’t have gotten shot. She ruined someone’s life because she wanted to bully an unstable person. I can’t believe that life has been kind to her.
“Jake, I thought that you were over me,” she awkwardly says. Carmen, figuring that I called Adriana a monster because she cheated on me with my best friend releases my hand. I feel cold without her and wrap my arm around her shoulder.
“No. That’s not what I meant,” I spit out. “Think hard, Adriana. What did you say to Amber?” Carmen stiffens when I mention her cousin but I ignore her reaction for now. It just pisses me off that Maggie had to go through years of physical therapy while the monster is living a life of privilege.
“Jake, I don’t know what you’re talking about. But I came over to you to say hi. I didn’t think that you would be a jerk about this.” She’s about to turn her back on me when Danny walks into the hallway. It’s like the two of them planned this. Danny frowns at the situation.
“Adriana, is there a problem?” Danny snaps, glaring at Carmen who is squirming to get out of my grip.
“No. I just didn’t know that Jake wasn’t over all of this,” she mutters.
“You ruined Maggie’s life,” I hiss. “Because of you and your pettiness she’s suffered.” The rage that I’ve kept buried deep surfaces. I’m so pissed off that I’m seeing red.
“Excuse me?” Adriana snaps.
“Think about it Adriana. Don’t you wonder why Amber shot Maggie?”
“Because she was a monster,” Danny says, her eyes narrowing on me.
“Nope. Adriana, think long and hard. What did you dare Sharp Michaels to do?” I ask her. Usually, I don’t ask awkward questions but I’m going to make Adriana say it. She’s going to admit to what she did to Amber.
“Why is this important, Jake?” Danny nearly yells.
“I thought that you wanted to know why I broke up with your precious Adrianna,” I roar. “Go on Adriana, do you have amnesia? Tell my sister, who raises you on a pedestal what you did.” Adriana shakes her head at me. It’s clear that she has no idea what I’m talking about. I guess that she truly has no idea what she did. I thought for sure that bringing up Sharp Michaels was going to jog her memory. But that just shows how nasty the girl really is. What did I see in her? “You told Sharp Michaels that if he got a pair of Amber’s panties and hung them on the flag poll, then you wouldn’t tell his father that he stole money from him. You told the guy that handling Amber’s nasty panties was a fitting punishment for Sharp’s dishonesty. So Sharp being an idiot courted and dated Amber, broke in to her house and stole the underwear. . Then, he dumped her. When she suspected that you told Sharp to pull the prank, you told her that it was all Maggie. You convinced her that Maggie wasn’t really her friend and that she laughed at Amber whenever Amber wasn’t around. You put all of this in her head and she snapped. She snapped and shot my friend because of you. You are nothing but a…”
“Jake. Please, stop!” Adriana cries. But I have no sympathy for her. This is all of her fault.
“Jake, want some water?” This question is asked by Peter, who had been standing behind me the whole time. What I really want is to be away from Adriana. I don’t want to think about Amber and how stupid it was that she’s rotting in jail because she shot the wrong person. Instead, I release my hold on Carmen’s shoulder and turn around. Peter and Chelsea are standing there along with Carmen’s father, Kenny. Danny must have texted someone when she saw the confrontation. Uncle Kenny is pale and confused.
“She never said why she shot Maggie,” he says. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“She was embarrassed and I didn’t want anyone to know that Adriana was a monster,” is my honest answer. It wasn’t until she cheated on me that I realized who she really was and by then, Amber had already pled guilty. Is the best answer that I can come up with. But to be honest, even I know that it’s a pathetic excuse.
“Come on man. Chelsea and I have a room here. Maybe you should get some water and take a breather,” Peter suggests. Danny is giving him a nasty look. I know that she’s probably wondering why he has anything to do with this. But I’m glad that someone that’s on my side is here. To be honest, I don’t know where Carmen stands and I can’t face her.
“Fine,” I grumble. Then, I turn around to see that Carmen’s staring at Adriana with a puzzled expression. Danny seems disbelieving, like she can’t figure out why I’ve told such a lie. The monster is quietly crying, as if she has no idea how to hold herself together anymore. I sort of feel sorry for her. Well, I try to feel sorry for her. But she’s evaded this truth long enough.
“So, you are who my cousin was supposed to shoot?” Carmen asks Adriana. Danny glares at her.
“We’ve already been over this, Carmen,” Danny snaps.
“Shut up, Danny! I’m talking to the monster.” Carmen’s words are loud and furious. It’s as if something comes over her. She walks over to Adriana, and punches her straight in the nose. I snap out of whatever rage I’ve been in. I literally scoop Carmen up into my arms and follow Chelsea and Peter into the elevator. She struggles at first, but once the elevator doors close, there’s no point.
“Are you all right?” I ask her.
“No,” she mutters as she wraps her arms around my neck.
“Want me to put you down?” I ask.
“No,” she softly answers. It feels nice to hold Carmen that I have to admit that it would be good to do it for the rest of my life. I just hope that she forgives me for not telling her the truth.
