14.
“Hi…mom?”
Carmen listened to the silence on the other end of the line, her chest tight.
“Carmen?” her mother’s voice finally said. “It’s kind of early for you to call, you know.”
Carmen sighed. Her parents were not early risers. In fact, she was something of an anomaly in many ways, being self-motivated enough to leave the house before 9am and come back early for bed; getting a job while she was in high school and paying her own way through college with grants, scholarships, and good old fashioned hard work.
“Sorry, I know. I thought you’d be awake by 2pm.”
“Well I am, but your father’s not. You’re lucky I heard the phone before he did.”
Carmen sighed. Things were always so strained when her father was around, whether he was on a bender or simply recovering from one. It was usually one or the other.
“Okay, sorry about that,” Carmen apologized again, already regretting the call. “I had a surprise for you.”
“You know I don’t like surprises,” her mother said. Carmen could almost imagine her ringing her hands nervously. Her mother suffered from a well-earned case of extreme anxiety, and it was always worse when Carmen’s father was in the picture.
But for some reason, her mother just couldn’t say no to him. It had made for a very rocky foundation growing up. Most kids don’t wish for their parents to get divorced, but Carmen had. In fact, the school had called with concerns when she wrote Santa a letter in class asking to get her parents a divorce for Christmas.
“I know, mom. That’s why I’m calling instead of just showing up. I thought I’d spend the summer with you and dad. There’s not much going on on campus and I thought maybe…”
Carmen’s mother was silent for a few moments.
“That might not be such a great idea, honey,” she said finally. “You know, things have just gotten into a good place with your father and me, and I would hate for…”
“You don’t want me to mess it up,” Carmen said softly. Her mother didn’t seem to hear.
“Well, it’s just that your father always worries more when there’s another mouth to feed, and as much as we would love to see you, he’s been under a lot of pressure lately, and…”
“I understand,” Carmen said, a lump in her throat forming. She should have guessed that the second her father was back, she wouldn’t be welcome at home anymore. Her mother cared more about keeping him happy so he would stay home than she did about anything else. It was unhealthy, really.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. But we’ll definitely see each other during Christmas, won’t we?”
“Of course,” Carmen said, clearing her throat. But the lump wouldn’t go away. She hated her father more than she could ever describe. But in a way, she hated her mother more for her weakness.
“Great! So how have you been anyway? It’s been a while since we spoke.”
“I’m great. I’ve been spending some time with a friend…”
“A boy friend?” her mother asked conspiratorially. Carmen flinched as an unwanted memory of her tryst with Clark invaded her mind.
“No,” she said firmly. It seemed like her mother was overly-invested in seeing her daughter find the man she wanted to marry. Her father had always commented on how weird it was that a girl as pretty as Carmen was didn’t date more. Who didn’t like male attention?
But Carmen had always thought that her parent’s preoccupation with the opposite sex was biased. It was better to be on her own, wasn’t it?
“Well, I hope you have fun with your friend, sweetheart,” her mother said.
“Yeah, she invited me to stay for –”
“Oh honey, I have to go, I think your father is waking up. I haven’t even started breakfast yet.”
There was a twinge of resentment in her mother’s voice, as if she were mad that Carmen had gotten in the way of serving her husband’s every need. But Carmen knew it was because of her father’s terrible temper and tried not to take it too personally.
“Bye, mom.”
But the receiver had already been hung up on her mother’s end and Carmen was left holding the phone with hot, silent tears streaming down her face.
“Why are you crying?”
Carmen’s body was electrified by Clark’s deep voice behind her and she whipped around, surprised by his sudden appearance.
“How long have you been standing there?” she asked, wiping her tears away with her sleeve.
“This is my house, I’ll stand where I want,” he said defiantly, and Carmen glowered.
“It’s still rude to eavesdrop,” she said. “I know about your super shifter senses.”
Clark grinned briefly and took a step toward Carmen. “Are you all right?”
The lump returned to her throat and Carmen could have kicked herself for it. The last thing she needed was to look weak in front of a shifter. Clark in particular.
“I’m fine,” she lied, turning away from him and stalking to the living room sofa. She sat down in a huff and turned the TV on, hoping to tune Clark out and distract herself from her tears, but they were already flooding back.
“You don’t sound fine,” Clark insisted, following her. “Who were you talking to?”
“Seriously, don’t you just mind your own business?” Carmen exclaimed, wiping her eyes quickly and trying to hide her face from Clark.
Clark sat down beside her.
“Usually. But not when people are feeling so bad. What happened?”
Carmen sighed. “I was talking to my mom.”
“And?”
“And I was hoping to go home for a while. You know, to get out of your hair. But she doesn’t want me there.”
“Why wouldn’t she want you there?” Clark asked, genuinely puzzled. “She’s your mother.”
“Well, she’s not a fantastic mother. And besides, it has more to do with my less fantastic father.”
“I see,” Clark said thoughtfully. “Why?”
“Because he’s a worthless alcoholic, that’s why. She’s afraid if I come home I’ll rock the boat. She says things have been better with him lately. It’s what she always says before they get unbearable again.”
The tears began to spill in earnest and Clark quickly gathered Carmen up in his arms. She couldn’t help but take comfort in the feeling of his strong arms around her, as if he would be willing to protect her from anything. But the pain she was feeling was inside. Not even Clark’s strength could take that threat away. It was always inside of her.
“I’ll tell you what,” Clark said, his deep voice rumbling in her ear. “You can call this your home, for the summer or for however long you want it. All right? I don’t know what made you think I wanted you out of my hair, but I get it. Things probably feel as awkward for you as they do for me. But we can be adults about this, right?”
Carmen nodded miserably against Clark’s broad chest and he kissed her on the cheek, his stubble scraping against her as he pulled away.
“I don’t want you to go anywhere. Not unless this town goes to shit. Then I want you and Rachel to take off somewhere safe while I do my best to take care of it. Understand?”
“Yeah,” Carmen whispered.
“Good,” Clark said, smiling down at her. “I don’t want you to ever feel like you’re not wanted, all right? Your daddy sounds like a fuckin’ moron, if you ask me. And your mom’s too lovesick to see it. You’re better off keeping your distance. Things like that have a way of sucking you in and making you feel like you’re not good enough.”
Clark stretched, swiping a tear off of Carmen’s cheek with a finger.
“Cheer up, honey. It’s all going to be fine.”
And with that, he left the room, leaving Carmen in a daze on the couch behind him.