Blood & Water Flashback One Shots

3 - A Crushing Blow

Despite having broken up with Kevin, Carrie still saw him around more frequently than either of them would have liked. They had some mutual friends in their more extended circles and frequented a few of the same local spots during the week, but they rarely exchanged more than a small smile and wave.

That was standard but this day was not standard for Carrie. She sat with a cup of coffee that had gone cold by the time Kevin strolled in after one of his classes. The coffee shop was always full of students from local schools but he noticed her immediately. He got his coffee first, debating whether or not he should approach her, not deciding until he saw her face. Carrie's cheeks were puffy, wet, and her eyes were clearly red, she'd been crying.

"Hey," he said softly as he came up to the table. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Carrie looked up at him. "Kevin, oh, uh, no, I'm not."

"What going on?" He sat at the table and looked at her with concern.

"My dad died," she said then quickly corrected herself, "He was killed, actually."

"Shit, Carolyn, I'm so sorry."

She whimpered, looking away from him, "Thanks."

"What happened?" Kevin asked, giving her hand a squeeze.

"He was working toward early release, you know uhh, good behavior and taking classes and just really trying to wow the parole board and shit. I don't know if there was something else he was banking on or someone just thought there was but uhh, he was beaten to death and whoever did it cut out his tongue," she whimpered. "Apparently that's something they do to snitches," she shrugged.

"Jesus," the chair legs squeaked beneath Kevin as he slide over closer to her. He hugged her tight, an embrace she returned, and cried into his neck briefly until she pulled away again. "Can I do anything for you?"

"No," she laughed ruefully. "My mom and sister are flying in but they're not here yet and I know they don't really care, they hated him, so I have to do everything. I don't even know what to do."

"You have to find a funeral home to take him," Kevin said quietly. "After that, they can walk you through everything."

Carrie nodded, "That sounds easy enough," her voice cracked.

"Do you have anyone that can go with you? Maybe Vanessa?"

Her mind immediately went to Angel but he was serving a thirty day in county jail for a drunken fight. "No," she scoffed. "They're all 20 something college party girls, I'm not dragging them into this shit."

"Not everyone knew your dad was in prison?"

Carrie shook her head, ashamed of how embarrassed she was, and broke down again. "I'm sorry," she sputtered.

"Let me take you home," he said gently. "You can eat and get some rest, I'll find a funeral home for you and we can go together."

Wanting nothing more than that, Carrie hid her face and shook her head. It was too confusing emotionally for her and she didn't think it was fair to Kevin either.

"I'm not taking no for an answer," he said, holding her elbow and guiding her up to stand. "I know we split up, Car, but you don't have to do this shit alone."

When her eyes met with his she felt her heart swell, he was a good man and she needed him at that moment. "Okay."

--

It wasn't until the next day that Carrie was able to make arrangements for her father's funeral but Kevin was still there with her like he promised. There were there for about an hour before leaving together and getting into Kevin's car.

"Thank you," she said sadly, grabbing his hand as it rested on his thigh. "That fucking sucked."

"You're welcome," he smiled a little. "Want me to take you home?"

Carrie thought about it for a minute and shook her head. Without speaking, she climbed over to the driver's side of his truck and straddled him, she assumed his arms around her waist was approval of her bold move.

"I want you to make me feel something other than this shit storm in my head, Kevin."

"I would love to but you're upset, Carrie, I don't want you to regret it or something."

"I won't," she dug her nails into his shoulders. "Please?"

Clenching his jaw, fighting his most basic urge, Kevin shook his head. "I can't."

Carrie was embarrassed but she nodded and slipped off his lap. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," he said, turning the ignition.

"I'm dating someone," she muttered.

"I heard," he sighed.

"I love him but he's...he's a man like my father and I'm scared, Kevin."

He glanced at her briefly as he drove and nodded. "Of what?"

"Him getting hurt, me getting hurt, me ending up like my mother," she sighed. "This just makes it so much more fucking real."

"Makes sense," he said, keeping his eyes on the road now.

Leaning her head on the window she began to cry again. "What am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "It's your life, Carrie."

The rest of the ride was silent except for her sniffles and muffled crying. When they arrived at her place she got out, without a word, and shut the door.

"You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Thank you."

"You need anything, seriously, just call me."

Carrie nodded. "I never should have broken up with you, Kevin. I'm sorry."

"I'll see you on Thursday," Kevin said, ignoring her admission.

"You're coming to the viewing?"

"And the funeral," he said with a sullen smile. "Unless you don't want me to."

"I do," she said eagerly. "I really do."

"I'll be there then," he said. "I'll check in on you tomorrow."

Carrie nodded and waved a little as he drove off, reevaluating everything she was so sure of just a few days before. When she got in and changed, finally relaxing in her bed with a cup of tea, she was interrupted by a phone call.

"Hey EZ," she said with a huff.

"I heard about your dad," he said quickly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't wanna talk about it, I still don't," she said coolly.

"Okay," he seemed taken aback. "Uh, well, I'm calling about Angel too."

"What?"

"He got kicked around," EZ said sadly. "Some stitches, nothing too bad, but Pop got the call from the jail and I just thought I'd let you know."

"Yeah, thanks." She was angry he told her, she didn't want to worry about Angel especially considering how she just lost her father. "They say what happened?"

"Sounds like he got mouthy," EZ explained. "But I don't really know."

Rolling her eyes, Carrie groaned. "Okay. Thanks for the call, EZ, but I'm tired. I wanna get some rest."

"Alright," he sighed, knowing she was even more upset now. "Sorry about everything."

"Thanks," she said, ending the call and placing her tea on the nightstand. Carrie pulled a pillow over her head and sobbed loudly into the mattress until she fell asleep.