2013: Carmen meets Pete Wentz on a rainy evening. His kindness and mystery draw her in, and she begins to fall for him. He comes with a dark past and secrets but she's willing to stay by his side and fight them. Even if it could cost her life.
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"You were the song stuck in my head Every song that I've ever loved,"
CARMEN had remained at the back, smiling back at the man she almost felt was a stranger to her. She wanted to allow his family and closest friends time with Pete and after an hour had passed, they all began to trickle out of the room, leaving Carmen alone with Pete. Seeing that Pete had closed his eyes, Carmen quietly made her way to the door to leave him be.
"Carmen," his voice called out, and Carmen turned around to smile sheepishly at him, he may have just been in a coma for a year, but his awareness was still there. "Please don't leave just yet," he whispered, eyes opening, and Carmen noticed a vulnerability in them that anyone rarely seen.
Carmen stammered nervously, "I-I'm sorry, I won't," she replied closing the door gently and gently lying beside him.
She lay her head on his chest listening to his heartbeat and emotions flooded her, he was alive. His hands reached up to stroke her hair, "It's been a year?" he asked his voice cracking slightly.
"It's been a long year," she replied, tracing patterns onto his chest.
"I'm sorry," he began but Carmen had already pressed a finger to his lips.
Pete smirked against her finger and placed a hand on the back of her head to pull her in and kiss her. She forgot about everything at that moment and lost herself to him. She forgot the smell of the hospital room and how her mind kept telling her to run. Instead, she gave in to the way his lips moulded to hers, parting now and then to share air. He pulled back ever so slightly, "I love you," he whispered against his lips, making her more desperate to kiss him again.
They pulled back to breathe, "I love you too," Carmen spoke without thinking, for once she was letting her heart speak for her.
Just hearing those four words changed everything in her life, maybe things were looking up, maybe she was meant to be apart of the family she pushed away over the last year. No, she thought, not maybe, definitely.
***
2 Months Later
It was Winter and the snow was tumbling down heavily over their city. Sheets of white already layered the ground and it all looked magical outside except the harsh and bitter wind that howled. Pete had made an immense recovery and he seemed to have forgotten about his past and Leonardo. So now, he sat cuddled up on a sofa with Carmen in the new house they bought together, surrounded by their closest friends and partners. Those two months since Pete waking up had proved that they were stronger than ever, and also so very deeply in love. Ashlee had even allowed Bronx to visit more regularly and Pete and his son rekindled their relationship.
They sat in front of the fireplace sipping warm drinks and playing games, Carmen had even managed to get them to play UNO, but Brendon claimed he didn't feel like playing that one and sat out, allowing Carmen to beat all of them. Pete threw down his cards laughing, "Hey look the snow has stopped," he announced, running to open the back door.
Carmen had stolen the blanket and wrapped herself in it, shaking her head at Pete. "It's still freezing," she spoke and Patrick agreed.
Pete shrugged and slipped a pair of winter boots on, before disappearing into the white backyard. Minutes later he crept back in holding a snowball in one hand and a finger to his lips, he aimed and launched it at Patrick's back. Pat yelped and shot up, swearing and causing everyone to laugh. He turned around and shot after Pete, who laughed and ran outside once more.
The boys ended up outside, snuggled up in multiple layers, pelting snowballs at each other. They had divided into two teams and set up defences using garden chairs. Carmen remained in the doorway, attempting to shove her sock layered foot into her boot. Sarah laughed at her but remained seated on the sofa in front of the fire.
"Please come join my team, they're all going to gang up on me," Carmen begged but Sarah and Elisa shook their heads.
Carmen laughed, scooping some snow, and throwing it in their direction, "Boring!" she exclaimed and stepped out into the cold air.
Somehow even though she was layered up, the cold air still knocked the air from her lungs, and she pulled her scarf up over her nose. She ran over towards Pete, covering her head because she was in the middle of the battlefield. She grabbed Pete's arm and pulled her scarf down to give him a brisk and icy kiss, however she yelped and jumped back as a snowball smacked into the side of Pete's head. He turned around slowly, "Revenge," Pete shouted.
Whilst Pete was busy making a pile of snowballs, Carmen sneakily gathered her own ball of snow and launched it at Pete's chest. The force knocked him off his knees and onto his back, and Carmen panicked for a second before echoes of laughter behind her came.
"Carmen fucking Wentz!" he shouted, running towards her and rugby tackling her into the deep snow.
Carmen was taken back by the name he had called her, "What?" she asked looking at the snow in his hair and the hint of evil in his eyes.
Pete scooped up more snow and sprinkled it over her face before running away and gathering all of the guys outside, "New rules, us. Against you," and Carmen scrambled off the floor sprinting away from them.
She had no chance, she stops running, she loses, she scoops up snow, she loses. It wasn't enough, the snowballs kept coming until one by one they hit a different part of her. So, instead, she decided to lie on her side with her knees crunched to hide her face.
"Hold up," Pete called out.
She was saved, she thought, but seconds later Pete had pinned her to the ground and was straddling her hips. He pulled her scarf down and leaned in close to whisper in her ear, "You lose," his breath tickled her ear and she shivered, this time it wasn't from the cold.
Carmen giggled and Pete planted soft kisses along her cold neck and finally met her lips. They forgot where they were and she accidentally let out a little moan, causing Pete's grip on her wrists to tighten.
"Uh, guys. You're going to get hypothermia. Please continue things in the warm." Patrick called out, quickly adding, "When we're gone!"
Pete laughed and helped Carmen up, she pushed the scarf back up to hide the blush that had appeared on her face. They ended up back inside, cuddled up on the sofa chatting until the late hours of the night when they all said goodbye and disappeared to their own homes. Pete had fallen asleep on the sofa and was snoring lightly, Carmen smiled and admired him. One of his arms hung over the edge whereas the other lay across his chest. She always felt nervous when he slept, in case he would never wake up again, but this time, Carmen felt at ease. She watched his chest rise and fall steadily and covered him in a banket before kissing his forehead lightly.
She curled up on the opposite sofa and smiled. She had such a perfect life currently, everything had finally fallen into place.
