When Mrs. Infamous Loved The Masochist... (BOOK 2)

Chapter 9

Carina's POV

These days seem more precious while Remington and his brothers are still here and I am a little anxious to start school again, but at least I am more familiar with it than I was last year. Everyone here seems to respect me more since I help lift the ban on rock n' roll music and now more people are able to come out and express their love of it without being afraid they'll be punished for it. While that day seemed like the most proud moment of my life, it was also the most traumatizing one. After I finally reunited with Remington, I saved him from getting shot by his ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Hazel, who's now in prison for what she did and wint be coming out for a long time. Now I don't have to be worried about her, but that didn't make it easier for me to deal with the fear I now have of guns. Whenever I hear a gunshot or see one that looked like the one Jennifer held up to me, my mind flashes back to that moment when I pushed Rem out of the way from getting shot and felt an instant pain that caused me to lose consciousness and it felt like I wasn't even there. I could hear my friends screaming for me to come back, but my body just shut down and I couldn't respond back to them.

Between June and July after that event, I went to see a therapist to try to help me with my trauma, and it helped me to an extent that I no longer have to believe all guns are evil and whatever happened wasn't anyone's fault but hers and hers alone. I almost blamed Remington for dating her in the past and then myself for involving myself with him, but that wasn't going to help me, so now I've done my best to let it go and the only thing I want to do now is focus on my future and the people I love most in this world. Everyday, I thank God I've found a place with the sweetest and most selfless individuals who treat me like family than my own ever did, and that I found a boy like Remington who loves me entirely and treats me so well, there are times I feel like I don't deserve him, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I am a little scared that what we have might change once he goes to LA to work on his music, but the way he still looks at me like I'm the most beautiful thing he's ever seen and the way he's not afraid or insecure to show me off to his friends or random people that we meet, reassures me that he loves me very much and he isn't looking for someone else after me. I hope he knows I feel the same way about him.

I decided to visit him at his mother's house where he'd be in this time of day. I drove up there and knocked on his mother's door, where she answered and greeted me with a sweet smile and warm hug. I loved their mom, Stephanie, like she was my own mother. She was so sweet and caring and supportive of her own sons, I wish my mom was more supportive of my choice to go to college and have my own career, then maybe I wouldn't feel like my parents were disappointed in me. Stephanie was someone I looked up to as a woman and a mother: She's so strong-spirted and gentle-natured in a toxic male-dominated society and she does everything she can to give her sons the best life and let them know someone will alway believe in them and have their backs. I wish there were more amazing women like her, and maybe people would expect more of us.

"It's nice to see you again, Stephanie", I told her with a smile on my face. "CARINA! HOW THE HELL ARE YOU?!?", I could hear Sebastian shouting from the kitchen and then popping his head out to wave hello at me. I giggled as I waved back and said, "Doing fine, Sea Bass", then I found Emerson sitting on the sofa, drinking an entire carton of chocolate milk and I waved at him, "Hi, Emerson", he threw a peace sign to greet me back. I turned back to Stephanie, "Is Remington here?", she nodded and pointed up the stairs, "He's upstairs in his bedroom, probably writing some songs. If you need anything, let me know." I thanked her and before I went up the stairs, I could see in the corner of my eye Seb and Em teasing me with heart signs and googly eyes, and I just rolled my eyes at them. Once I got to the second floor, I found Rem's door to his room slightly open and I knocked on it lightly before entering a little to see him sitting on the other side of his bed with a book in his hands, and as soon as he heard me knocking he turned around and I gasped at what I was seeing.

"Rem...you wear glasses?", I asked as a smile grew on my face after seeing Rem wearing cute, black glasses on his face, making him look so adorable. He turned away and took them off, "No, I mean, kinda. Just for reading, but my eyesight is just fine." I giggled as I walked over to him and kneeled down to his level as he looked embarrassed about his frames, "I'm not shaming you, Rem, I just didn't know. I think you look really cute in them." He looked up at me when I said that and the corner of his mouth twitched up, "Really? I'm cute in these?", I blushed and nodded as he glanced at them then put them back on before looking at me again. "Yeah, Rem", I stood back up and walked closer to him, holding his face gently in my hands as he looked up at me with such admiration in his expression, "You look so adorable." He stood up and wrapped an arm around my waist and held the side of my head gently as he replied with, "You always look so adorable after I kiss you." Before I could respond, he went in for a slow then passionate kiss that left me flustered and my face as red as a tomato. He smirked at me as he held me close and teased, "You're simply the most adorable being I've ever encountered, ma chérie."

I hid my face in his chest and he chuckled as he kissed my head sweetly and pulled me to sit with him in his bed. I glanced at the book he set on his side, "You're reading, too? What are you reading?" He picked it up to show me that it was an old copy of "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. "Hmm, I didn't know you were into vampires", I commented, he shrugged and played with his spiky hair as he explained to me, "Not at first, but when I was a teenager, a lot of kids said I looked like one, even my brothers, and at first I felt insecure about it, but then the Literature class I was taking at the time was going over this book and I just...got into it. It is kinda messed up, but the way everyone knows about him seemed pretty awesome, so I want to embrace this part of me in the future, probably when we get famous and well-known." I smiled up at him and kissed his cheek, "You can be my Dracula if I can be your Mina." He bit his lip and kissed my forehead before placing a small, soft kiss on my lips and declaring, "For all eternity, my angel."