by Debbie Civil
Chapter 43
Jake
“Are you all right?” I ask Peter. This has been a dramatic day. Number one, Dom proclaims his love for Carmen. Number two, he admits to abandoning a child. And now, I’m sitting in Peter and Chelsea’s room beside Carmen, who’s holding my hand. We both are in the love seat, and she hasn’t said much. Chelsea had called us and asked us to meet her in her room. That’s when I warned her that the code has changed. She didn’t even bother asking for it, which is a good thing because I wouldn’t have given it to her. Kate could be following her.
“Are you all right?” I ask her. She yawns.
“I’m really tired, Jake. This has been a stress filled couple of days,” she tells me.
“I know. Don’t worry. We’ll be out of here as soon as you can finish packing,” I tell Carmen. Peace fills me at the thought of having her in my space. She hasn’t been over before.
“What’s going to happen with Sharp Michaels?” Carmen asks.
“What about him?”
“His show is moving to Gately. It’s trending on twitter.”
“I’m not sure. Jill told me that I could appear on the show to make things right with him. But I’m not going to do it. We need some time away from the media,” I tell Carmen even though I told Jill that she would have the final say.
“I think that you should do it,” Carmen says before letting out a yawn.
“Why?”
“Jake, you and Sharp need to make peace with one another. I also think that you should talk to Alex. You barely said a thing to her at the wedding,” Carmen comments.
“She made things perfectly clear,” I snap without meaning to. I just don’t want to spend the time talking about Alex. Instead of getting offended, Carmen brushes my hair back with her palm.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” she gently says. “I just think that you need to make things right with her, August.” Before I can say a word, Peter walks in. He doesn’t look as terrible as I thought he would. Despite it all, he seems relaxed, as if he’s unaffected by the fact that his wife has been insane for days. He grabs one of the chairs from the round table and turns it around to face us. After he sits, he eyes us, speculatively.
“How have you two been?” Peter asks.
“Good. We’re heading out after we’re done here. Carmen made a deal with Dom,” I tell him. Peter frowns.
“What did he want?” Without hesitation, Carmen tells Peter the entire story. After she’s done, he sighs.
“What about Donald? Tia seems into him.”
“I think that Donald is just a distraction,” Carmen begins. “She’s clearly trying to make Dom jealous.”
“I don’t get it. Why would Tia lie for Dom?” I ask them.
“Because she loves him. You’d be surprised what some people are willing to do for love,” Peter answers, his eyes filling with exhaustion.
“Are you considering Chelsea’s idea?” Carmen asks, but he doesn’t get to answer. The door flies open, and Chelsea runs over to Peter. She leaps into his lap and wraps herself around him. He tentatively hugs her back and then the crying starts.
“What’s wrong, Chelsea?” Peter softly asks. She gently pulls away from Peter and doesn’t bother to face us.
“I did it,” she begins and Carmen squeezes my hand. “I turned Mom in. I tricked her. I…” Her crying increases in volume and Peter, looking relieved, holds her close to him.
“It’s okay, Chelsea,” He says softly. “Everything is going to be all right.” I highly doubt that anything will be the same. With the trial coming up, this family will be trapped in the zoo that is the media. I for one am glad that Carmen will not be around for the trial. Well, I’m hoping that she won’t be. I don’t know how long she plans to stay at home. I don’t think that it will be healthy for her to listen to how her parents were kidnapped and nearly killed. It won’t be good for her psyche.
“No, it won’t, Peter. This entire year has been filled with one thing after another. I can’t believe that Mom killed someone. Why did she kill Amy? If she was really mad about the affair, all she had to do was leave Dad. I don’t get it. Why did she risk her freedom like that?” Chelsea asks no one in particular.
“Because she wasn’t thinking,” Carmen answers. Chelsea releases Peter and rushes over to us. She stands in front of her cousin, guilt in her hazel eyes.
“I’m sorry for avoiding you, Carmen. I just needed a few days to think. I took Mom to the Cape. We spent some time bonding, and I paid for her to get a full spa treatment. That’s when I turned her in. She was at the spa when I insisted that people touching me would just be too weird. I went back to our suite and called Detective Green. He was shocked when I told him what Mom had done. He told me to bring her into questioning. I tricked her. After Mom was all pampered, I told her that we needed to drive back to Gately to get some documents. I drove her straight to the police station and told her what was happening. The same lawyer that Jill found to represent Dad met us there. I left after that. So I don’t know what’s happening. All I know is that Dad may be off the hook. Hopefully, he’ll be home in a few hours,” Chelsea tells us. She looks like she’ll fall apart at any moment. I know that we can’t leave Chelsea here, no matter what promises Carmen made to Dom.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” I ask Chelsea, who looks like she appreciates the distraction.
“Tangled?” she asks, hopefully.
“She’s watched that at least five times already,” Peter groans.
“I’ll have the cook whip up the finest cheeseburgers on the planet,” Carmen interjects. “And I will be sure not to forget the chocolate cake.” It’s obvious that Carmen is also ignoring the promise that she made to the dead beat dad.
“Wait, I thought that you two are supposed to go back to Connecticut,” Peter says, halting the plans.
“We can stay here,” I reply, figuring that Carmen won’t have it any other way. Besides, Chelsea needs us.
“Dom’s right. Carmen, until Kate is put away, you aren’t safe here,” Peter tells her.
“Chelsea needs me. I’m not leaving.” She’s being stubborn, which is why I didn’t bother attempting to make her leave. Why fight a losing battle?
“Where are you two supposed to go?” Chelsea inquires.
“Back to my place,” I answer. Chelsea rolls her eyes.
“Peter, maybe we can all go back to Jake’s cabin. That would be nice.” That would be nice. I haven’t seen my home away from home for a while. Besides, we hadn’t finished our week of relaxation the last time because Chelsea’s parents ruined the show.
“That’s a better idea. The media knows where I live. When the dust settles, we want to be out of dodge,” I say, thinking that everyone filling the luxurious space will be fun. I’m not much for crowds, but I do love a good barbecue. And besides, Carmen’s father will be more amenable with this arrangement.
