Of Course, It's You

Chapter 24

CARMEN

Sitting in the passenger seat of Hannah's Jeep hadn't been on Carmen's bingo card. Honestly, it felt like dangerous territory.

Carmen tried not to notice the way her pulse stuttered with every bump in the road.

She couldn't tell if she was dreaming, overanalyzing, or just running on fumes from the uncertainty of the past 24 hours. After her phone call with Dani the night before, none of this had seemed like a possibility.

"Carm, look, if your dad is there and he isn't letting you run this location, then why hold yourself back from the things you want? If he isn't going to take things seriously like he promised, then there's no pressure on you anymore. Do things the way you want. If you want to finish the Bi-Con event, if you have different ideas, or if you want to get the girl... then fucking do it!"

"Dani." She groaned.

"What? If he's not going to uphold his promises, then you uphold your integrity. Don't let him take the credit for your work. And for Christ's sake, don't let him get the girl... again."

Dani was right. If her father got his way again, it might just break her.

She exhaled a shaky breath.

"Do you need me to come down there and shove my foot up his ass for being a douche? Because I will."

That made Carmen laugh. "I know you will. But this is my problem. I'm sorry for dumping all of this on you."

"Darling, I don't mind one bit. What I do mind is when he walks all over you. I'm here for you. I always will be."

Dani's words stuck with Carmen, even as she found herself surrounded by new people in yet another new place. Although, for the first time in what felt like a long time, she didn't feel like an outsider.

The only person she truly knew here was Hannah, and she was currently upstairs showering, claiming she needed to feel human again before prepping food for their meal. Carmen did her best not to think about the fact that Hannah was just a few walls away, wet hair and bare skin behind a closed door.

Instead, she focused on her surroundings.

The house was beautiful.

She'd never paid much attention to farm-style houses before, but this one felt like it had a soul. Maybe it was how the sunlight filtered through the trees, or the mismatched porch furniture, or possibly the garden that looked like it began to grow on its own accord. Whichever it was, it all wore Hannah's fingerprints in every corner. It felt like a home.

The house stood on a decent bit of land and a building that was used as a garage across from her. She understood why they wanted to have the cookout at Hannah's, there was a good bit of space that she wasn't quite used to back home.

A man stepped up beside her, setting a bag down near the front door.

"You're Jason, right?" Carmen asked.

He nodded, brushing his hair from his face before offering a hand to shake. "I'm Hannah's brother. You must be Carmen?"

She grinned. "I've heard quite a bit about you."

"Nothing terrible, I hope."

"All good things. But it's nice to finally be able to meet you."

"Yeah. Last time we only saw each other in passing. And honestly," he chuckled, "Hannah hasn't shut up about you since."

Carmen's heart thudded loudly. "Oh?"

Jason dropped into the weathered rocking chair like it was an old habit of his. The wood creaked under him as he sat, laughing lightly. "She's got this spark again. You've given her a lot to look forward to. She hasn't been this happy in a long time. So... thank you."