Carmen - H.S

Chapter 11

Carmen stepped inside her house, head still buzzing with concern for the kindly Hugo. Her thoughts were consuming her mind, and they swirled around like a tornado. She imagined dead leaves and powerful winds knocking into the walls of her skull. In fact, she was so immersed in her contemplation that she didn't even notice Lucy standing in the center of the foyer looking like a movie star.

Her normally plain brown hair was styled into voluminous ringlets, artfully framing her face. Her skin was glowing, as if lit from within by the hazy spark of sunrise. A navy blue dress hugged curves she didn't even know Lucy had. Carmen was shocked to say the least.

"This is the first time I've ever seen you look even remotely good." That was the first remark that slipped out of her mouth.

Lucy's radiance seemed to dim a bit before she squared her shoulders and slightly tossed her head of curls.

"Where are you going?" Carmen snorted derisively. Suddenly, Lucy felt much less confident with her new appearance. The tone of Carmen's voice filled her with doubt and insecurity. But she couldn't let her little sister undermine her like this.

"On a date." Her voice sounded a lot less firm and a lot more quiet than she'd been hoping for, but she'd take what she could get when it came to Carmen.

Carmen stared at Lucy in absolute disbelief. She felt the world being yanked out from under her like an old dusty rug that had cushioned her fragile feet for so long. She was spinning wildly through space without anything to grasp. All she could see was planets steadily orbiting around her, close enough to glimpse but too distant to touch.

"What?" Carmen said a little too loudly. Lucy winced at the volume. "You're going on a date? Who would be stupid enough to agree to that?"

She would not cry. Her makeup was too expensive and had taken too long to apply. "A very nice man. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be late."

But Carmen wasn't done yet. She planted herself in Lucy's path, blocking the exit.

"Hold on," she declared. "I want to know more about this nice man." She rolled her eyes upon uttering those last words and placed her hands on her petite hips.

"Why do you want to know?" Lucy snapped, suddenly feeling irritable. After treating her the way she had for the last couple months, Carmen was the last person to deserve any sort of explanation.

"If he's gonna be fucking my darling sister, I at least wanna know a little bit about him."

Lucy blushed and Carmen smirked. This moment seemed to represent the roles in their relationship. Lucy, unassertive and weak, Carmen, headstrong and willful. And it seemed that they would be doomed to fulfill these parts for the rest of their lives. The thought terrified Lucy.

She sighed and finally relented. "Okay, okay. I-I was going to a job interview," she began, and Carmen's eyebrow reached for the ceiling.

Lucy hadn't even mentioned finding another occupation ever since she'd moved to New York. This was news to her. She wasn't sure exactly how she felt about it. All she knew was that she didn't like it.

"What job?" Her tone was sharp and accusing.

"It's just a secretary job," Lucy murmured. "No big deal."

Carmen ached to say something more but closed her mouth instead. She wanted to hear the rest.

"He was getting interviewed too, but for a different job. We had to sit in the lobby together while we were waiting to get called in. We talked for a while, and then... well, he asked me for my number."

Carmen stared at her for so lengthy a time that she began to feel uncomfortable. Which didn't make sense. She had done nothing wrong. She was nearing thirty and couldn't spend the rest of her natural life running after her wild beast of a sister and slowly wasting away in the confines of the city. She had to live her life for herself, too.

"What?" Lucy said, her voice taking on a defensive tone. Carmen's large brown eyes were unnerving, peering into the very depths of her soul.

"I-I," she mumbled, and for the first time, Carmen looked uncertain. Then something steely flashed across her face and she glowered up at her older sister.

"This guy could be a serial killer," she growled. "He could have a wife. Or AIDS!"

"I guess the only way to find out is to go on the date," she fired back. Pushing Carmen out of the way a little harder than necessary, she stalked to the door and flung it open. It closed with a bang that reverberated throughout the room.

Carmen simply stood there for the longest time, unable to think, to move, to process this strand of information. Lucy hadn't been on a date in years. She'd been single for so long now that it seemed commonplace, just another aspect of life.

Even when they were growing up, Lucy had never had never been overwhelmed with suitors. The few boyfriends she'd had during adolescence were the stuffy, clean cut types who never swore or drank or had any fun. She recalled awkward family dinners in which Lucy's boyfriends had been invited to. They'd talked in their monotonous voices about their future colleges and job prospects. She'd hated them.

Lucy was admittedly pretty. Whenever Carmen went anywhere with her, which was rare, men always approached Lucy, winked at her, complimented her beauty. And Lucy would stand there blushing and fidgeting as Carmen snapped at them, pointing out their deficiencies and making sure they'd never go near her sister again.

It was inexplicable, but Carmen hated it when Lucy received any male attention. Every time a guy so much as glanced at her sister, she felt a rising pressure consume her chest, one that made her want to lash out at anyone in the vicinity. She had no idea why she felt this way.

Maybe it was because she was fiercely protective of Lucy in a way even she couldn't comprehend. Maybe she couldn't bear the thought of her sister possibly getting married and abandoning her here. Or maybe it was because she was the star, the center of everything and couldn't bear the thought of anyone else being admired.

She shook herself out of her stupor and padded over to the sleek black couch on the other side of the room. It was all angles, sharp corners jutting out into space. It felt like a jagged rock beneath her.

This penthouse was huge. It was laced with empty space, holes that even furniture was unable to fill. At the time, spending her newfound income on this vast apartment had seemed like a marvelous idea. She'd wanted to drench it in opulence, shower it with class, prove that she was better than everyone else. But now it seemed cavernous, threatening to swallow her whole. She was all alone in this massive house, and she felt utterly insignificant.

Lucy was gone, and she could be leaving for good. Lucy was her anchor to the world, to reality, to sanity. Lucy was the only one she had left. At the thought of her imminent departure, Carmen felt panic begin to invade her mind. She had to do something, anything to release it.

"Amy!" she screeched, her voice shrill and slightly hysterical. Maybe yelling at the maid again would restore order to her whirring mind.

I hate this chapter but Harry will be in the next one so YAY. Please comment and vote if you didn't hate this. And thank you for reading :)