[ON HOLD]
Carmen relished everyone's misfortune; better yet, she was the author of it.
After a childhood filled with hardships, conning people as a faux tarot card reader was the easy way out, and Carmen takes it. Being the bootstrapper that she is...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
A red, red rose, all wet with sweat, with thorns of green by blood impaled through.
Carmen, as red as a rose, now resembled a wallflower. Glued to the wall she was so certain held the route to escape, she distanced herself from Adara and Rylen, holding each other's hand and speaking words of comfort.
Carmen was anything but shy. Still, she was a wallflower. A flower holding onto the wall for support and hope, perishing from cold, artificial air.
Ever so often, Carmen would knock on the wall softly. She'd prompt an answer from Emily, whispering the words so slightly, her eyes always faced Adara and Rylen as she did so. Every time, Adara looked back. Carmen's look of worry, stemming from the depths of treachery she knew she had to commit had been misunderstood.
Adara, innocent as always, smiled at Carmen's distraught expression. After all, it was Rose who had bonded with Zane more than any other and hence the sole griever of his disloyalty. Each time Carmen analyzed Adara's means of reassurance, guilt resurfaced.
That was the life of Carmen, the con artist. Reason after another to feel guilty.
Carmen continued to punch her thumb into the hollow area of the wall, the irises surrounding the wallflower wallowing away. She moved from one logo to another, hoping the slightest creak would emerge and that she could slip away before Zane returned. The tip of her fingers, especially her thumb, turned pink as her motion continued.
What next? Carmen wondered as her mind subconsciously pressed the immediate next logo.
Carmen longed to call Adara and Rylen over to her discovery. She could tell them what she heard, the hollow room that awaited them and Emily's alive presence on the other side. They could punch more logos, cover a greater area and leave, united.
But partners slow her down. Humans were fickle and fleeting; she couldn't rely on them to put Zane aside and escape with her. Sure, he did the same thing to them but he was the reason they'd come this far. Rylen was too soft to abandon him, no matter how much fury he harboured inside.
Besides, injured Emily was on the path to freedom. Adara was too solicitous to abandon someone she knew at the hands of Bane. She would only drag Carmen down. If Carmen escaped alone, she could ensure Emily's wellness for Adara and Rylen would find her soon. Then, Emily wouldn't be Carmen's burden.
Carmen had to leave alone; she thrived she was alone. She survived years of an unstable career solely because of her calibre. She was bound to remain alone and for a good reason.
Her slight bond with Adara and Rylen was never going to last.
All the while, her hands moved from one logo to another, tracing their outlines briefly but never analyzing them. With each succeeding logo, the force she exerted increased and the speed at which she moved slowed down. But she persisted. Persisted until-
