Sorry, I Love You.

3.16

Kenneth woke before the sunrise, watching it stretch desperately through the tall buildings blocking the horizon in order to reach him. As the room brightened, he turned to the woman laying beside him. Well, she was basically laying on him. She was tucked under his arm, laying a cheek on his chest, arm across his torso, and leg over his. He moved his arm to gently stroke her lovely curls and then let his fingers glide over her shoulder, down her arm, and towards the naked curse of her hips.

Carmen laid on the scarred half of his body, peacefully dreaming upon the display of nightmares. His eyes ran down his arm and he frowned at the scars. As he ran his fingers gently over the stretch marks decorating Carmen's dark skin, his frown softened. They did not get their scars the same way. His held nightmares, hers held dreams come true. He liked Carmen's scars so much better than his own. Except for the small one she had under her eye, which she explained was from an aggressive client, in her prostitution days. He didn't like that one.

A moan rose from Carmen as she stirred in her sleep. Kenneth stayed still, waiting for her to settle again, but Carmen stretched her arms and legs. Her eyes popped open a moment later and looked up to meet his. A smile took over her gentle features before she snuggled against him again and Kenneth could have swore his heart had burst in his chest. Knowing she was so happy and comfortable in his arms did something to him that he did no expect and was not used to.

"I tried to pull my father from the car, after the crash," Kenneth compulsively confessed. Carmen's smile fell and her eyes turned soft and thoughtful. She wanted him to go on, so he did. He nervously cleared his throat and said, "I managed to get out of the car but he was unconscious, so I reached in to save him, and the car blew. Completely scarred the right side of my body and killed my father. I failed to save him."

"Fail is kinda a harsh word..." Carmen whispered. She rubbed a soothing hand across Kenneth's chest, rubbing his scars with the pad of her thumb. "You were brave to try. The car literally exploded, Kenneth. It's not like you were lacking and that's why he died."

"Yeah, I know. It's just all the stuff that came afterwards that made me feel like a failure."

"What happened?"

"I lost my football scholarship because of the injuries. Hadn't even entered college yet so I just dropped out and sulked. My entire future and my entire family vanished with that car accident. I had nothing. And nobody loves lost souls more than Rin Yang..." Kenneth sighed as he ran a hand down his face. "I found Rin through a bullshit rehabilitation ploy. Her company claimed to be looking for employees that lost their way. I sold my soul under the guise of a publicity stunt..."

"That's rough," Carmen cringed. "I'm so sorry, Kenneth. Losing your father, your future, and then having all these scars to constantly remind you of it all. You don't deserve that torture."

Kenneth nearly laughed. Carmen didn't know enough to know what he deserved, because he definitely wasn't a saint by any means. It was very sweet of her to comfort him like that though. It made him feel a little bit better, even if it was all false hope.

"Thank you, Carmen. You're an Angel." Kenneth held Carmen closer and placed a kiss on his forehead. "So please, excuse me if I admire your scars every time I see them. I may be slightly jealous that your scars are made of love and mine are of tragedy."

The conversation of their scars had came up multiple times during their trip together. After resenting his own for so many years, Kenneth was drawn to hers like a moth to a flame. When they went out on the Los Angeles streets, Kenneth kept his hand on her hips and was constantly rubbing his thumb over the scars hidden under her clothes. When they made love in their hotel bed, Kenneth took time to kiss her scars and trace them with adoration. Carmen tried to tell him that his were not ugly and he shouldn't look at his body with such resentment all time, but Kenneth was stubborn.