BK 4 - Chapter 58 - Carmen
Lisa, Jayce, Melanie, and Saxon sat at a table they had reserved in a private room at a restaurant in Sacramento. They were waiting for Noah, Eric, and Carmen. Lisa kept wringing her hands nervously. She didn't know what she had to be nervous about, but she was. Despite how hard she tried to cover it up, some of those old feelings of not being wanted she'd felt before she was adopted were still there. When the door to the room opened, she looked up anxiously. In walked a tall man with wavy brown hair. Lisa stood up and smiled.
"Hello, I'm Lisa." She said, holding her hand out to him. He smiled with relief.
"I'm Eric. It's nice to meet you." He replied, looking at the others. Lisa did quick introductions.
"I also invited Carmen and Noah, who apparently share the same birth father as we do," Lisa said, sitting back down between Jayce and Melanie.
"That's incredible that you found us all. I never knew anything about my father other than his name was Derrick, and he left my mom when she was pregnant." Eric said with a frown.
"He did the same to me. He did the same to my mother. However, he arranged it so I was cut out of her while she was pregnant, and I was sent to Rio." Lisa said bitterly. Eric looked at her in surprise.
"Why would he do that?" He asked. Lisa couldn't tell if he was a werelion or not, so she looked at her dad, who was good at picking up the scents of others and knowing what they were. He shook his head slightly, letting her know he was human.
"I don't know exactly, but I was lucky to be adopted by my parents," Lisa replied before taking a drink of her water. She was beginning to wonder if that's why her siblings were left with their mothers. Did their sperm donor know that she was the only one who was a werelion? The door opened again, and a woman walked in. She was petite and wore big glasses with her mousy brown hair in a braid. It was over ninety degrees outside, but she wore a long-sleeved shirt and jeans.
"Are you Carmen?" Lisa asked, and the woman, who was looking down, nodded.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Lisa." She held her hand out to the woman who looked up at her through her thick glasses. Lisa knew she was four years younger than Carmen but felt much older than her. Carmen seemed even more shy and awkward than Breanne had been.
"Hi," She answered softly. Lisa looked at Melanie, who stood up and had Saxon move over so Carmen could sit between her and Lisa. They were immediately like mother hens wanting to protect her. Lisa made introductions again before sitting down and looking at her dad. He shook his head again, letting her know that Carmen was also human. The door opened again, and a handsome man with long blonde hair and a tan walked into the room.
"I'm assuming you're Noah?" Lisa asked, standing up once again.
"Yes. Are you Lisa?" He asked, shaking her hand before taking a seat. Lisa nodded and then made introductions. Saxon let her know that Noah was also human.
"Thank you all for coming. I discovered that we're all related by our birth father, and I was hoping to meet so we could get to know each other." Lisa said, looking around at the other three. Eric and Noah smiled, but Carmen wouldn't look up. Lisa noticed how nervous she was and was concerned that something was wrong.
"Carmen, can you come with me and my mom to the lady's room for a minute?" Lisa asked softly, looking at Melanie. They all stood up and walked out. Lisa led them into a smaller room next door to the room they had reserved. Carmen looked at her in confusion.
"I wanted to get you out of that room so we could talk privately. Is everything okay?" Lisa asked gently as they all took a seat.
"I just don't get out much, and I'm scared my husband's going to find out," Carmen answered, looking down while pulling her sleeves to cover her hands. Lisa saw she was shaking, and she couldn't stand it. She had a feeling she knew what was going on.
"Is someone hurting you?" Lisa asked while moving close to Carmen and taking her hand. Carmen jumped when she touched her, which confirmed what Lisa was thinking.
"Wh...why would you ask that?" Carmen asked, not looking at either Lisa or Melanie.
"You seem terrified, and I'm guessing you're trying to hide injuries from how you're dressed and acting. You can trust us. We can get you help," Lisa's heart broke when she saw Carmen's tears.
"No one can help me. Every time someone tries, he always finds me, and it's worse. I shouldn't have come. I need to go." Carmen stood up, ready to run out of the room, but Melanie stopped her. She stood in front of her and wrapped her arms around the young woman. Carmen tried to push her off at first, but then she stopped and started sobbing. Lisa hugged her from behind, trying to surround her so she felt protected. When Carmen calmed down, Lisa stood back to look into her eyes.
"My family helps people who are in abusive situations. We can protect you and take you somewhere safe where no one will find you. Please let us help you. You're my sister, and I can't stand to see you hurting." Lisa spoke softly, and Carmen stared at her for a minute, still unsure.
"I don't know. I don't have any family or anything. My mom died when I was a child, so I grew up in foster care. When I aged out, I met Jerry, and he was so kind to me. I thought I'd hit the jackpot, finding a man who I thought truly loved me. As soon as we were married, it all changed. He's been abusing me since our honeymoon. I've tried to leave many times, but he always finds me, so I stopped trying. Even if you get me out, I won't have anywhere to go." Carmen said, already knowing that she was going to have to go home and face the consequences for sneaking out. Lisa shook her head.
"Don't you worry about that. You do have a family. We're family, and we always take care of our family. When we leave here, you're coming with us, okay?" Lisa asked. Carmen didn't know why, but she felt the first glimmer of hope she'd had in a long time.
"Okay, but I don't want to be a burden." She said, looking at the two women in front of her. Melanie gave her another hug, and Carmen felt some of her unease evaporate.
"You're not a burden sweetheart." Melanie's heart was breaking for Carmen. She was glad Lisa had reached out to her when she did. Maybe they can turn her life around.
"Are you ready to go back to the others?" Lisa asked. If nothing else came out of their meeting today, at least she could help her sister.
"Yeah. Thank you." Carmen said with a small smile. She couldn't remember the last time she smiled.
They returned to the men just as the waiter walked in to take their orders. Carmen still didn't speak much, but Lisa noticed she had relaxed. They learned that Noah was into computer programming and worked in Palo Alto. Eric was a police officer in San Francisco. After they were done eating, they agreed to keep in touch. Eric and Noah left first.
"Are you ready?" Lisa asked Carmen.
"Yes," She replied. Lisa took her hand, and they headed toward the exit. Just as they were getting into the car, Lisa saw an angry man running in their direction.
"What the fuck are you doing? Get my wife out of that car." Lisa saw Carmen shaking with fear and knew this must be the dirtbag. She shut the door and stood in front of it when Jerry reached them.
"She's going with us," Lisa said firmly, glaring at him.
"Carmen belongs to me. Get the hell out of my way. Get out of the car bitch, or you're going to pay for it later. I should beat your ass right here for sneaking out of the house." Jerry tried to move Lisa out of the way, but she wouldn't budge. She was stronger than she appeared.
"I said she's going with us. She is not a piece of property that belongs to you. She's a human being, and you will never touch her again." Jerry pulled his hand back to slap Lisa, but Jayce reached out and grabbed his wrist.
"If you hit her, it will be the last thing you do with this hand because I'll break every bone in it," Jayce said. Ace came forward and made his eyes glow, causing Jerry to take a step back.
"Fine, take her. I'll get my hands on her when she comes crawling back." Lisa was done with him. She walked forward, kneed him in the groin, and punched him in the face, making him fall as blood ran from his nose.
"That's just a taste of what will happen if you ever come near her again." She said, spitting on him as he rolled on the ground. Carmen watched the whole thing from the backseat of the car and couldn't believe it. Lisa was smaller than her, and she had taken Jerry down like it was nothing.
"Wow, she's amazing." She whispered. Melanie, who was sitting in the back with her, smiled.
"Yeah, she believes in fighting for anyone who has been hurt." She said, looking at Lisa lovingly. Carmen smiled when Lisa got into the backseat, sitting on the other side of her, taking her hand. For the first time in her life, with Melanie on one side and Lisa on the other, she felt everything would be okay. Was she finally going to find out what it meant to have a family?
