Love Blooms (Jane/Carlos)

Chapter 17

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"Samuel... Samuel raped her."

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed the statement. Everyone was in shock. Mal and Evie stood still as stone, not believing Samuel could do something so heinous to someone so amazing. Jay clenched his jaw so tightly, it should've shattered his teeth. Lonnie covered her mouth to contain her tears. Jay noticed this and pulled her into his side. Carlos tightened his grip on Jane, trying not to run out and kill Samuel for what he did. Corinne looked at all of them and felt her heart shatter. She hadn't been able to protect one of the people Carlos kept closest to. She had failed her brother.

Corinne let out a small sob and everyone's eyes darted to her. Evie stepped forward and placed a hand on the 15 year old. "Corinne, what's going on with you?" She asked.

Corinne shook her head and turned to Carlos and Jane. "I am so sorry." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. The couple looked at her confused. "Jane, I promised to protect you until they came for you but I didn't! Carlos, I failed you! She's the most important girl in your life and I couldn't protect her for one night!"

The apologies dissolved into sobs and Jane reluctantly left Carlos' embrace to pull his twin into her arms. "This is not your fault, Corinne. I told you I could handle one night with Samuel. You had no idea what he was going to do to me!"

"But I should've!" Corinne argued. "I know him! I should've known he'd try something like what he did!"

Something of a growl came from Carlos before he stormed towards the entrance. Mal grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" She hissed. How could he possibly leave while the two most important girls in his life were crying into each other's arms?

"I'm going out to kill the son of a bitch who made the two most important girls in my life cry!" He responded yanking his arm out of Mal's grip. He turned to leave but Jay grabbed him. "Jay! Let me go! He's not going to get away with the hell he put them through!"

"Not happening!" Jay retorted. "This is for your own good, buddy." Carlos struggled in the thief's grip.

"Jay!" Carlos protested. 

"Carlos!" Jane shouted. Carlos stopped struggling and looked towards his girlfriend. Both she and Corinne had tear marks on their faces but their sobs had quieted. "Please." Her voice cracked, making his heart do the same. The minute Jay let his grip loosen, Carlos rushed towards the half-fairy and pulled her against him. He kissed her temple and he could feel her physically relax at the touch. 

"I should've never let that bastard near you." Carlos murmured into her ear. "I could've stopped all of this."

"Okay, stop this crap!" Lonnie shouted. Everyone turned to the young warrior in shock. She stepped towards them, arms crossed over her chest. "Not one person in this room is at fault! The only person who is to blame for anything that happened to Jane is that bastard who did it! Corinne, you did not fail Carlos or anyone else! You did everything you could and that creep still decided to take advantage of Jane! Carlos, nothing you could've done would've stopped Samuel from trying something like this. And Jane..." Tears started to well up in her eyes. "Jane, you had something precious ripped away from you by someone who doesn't deserve to say your name! He stole it from you and deserves to rot in hell for the rest of his life! He's the one to blame for all of this!"

Jane smiled at her roommate and best friend. "Oh, Lonnie." She said and hugged the girl tightly. Carlos smiled at the two as Corinne came to rest her head on her brother's shoulder. 

"I'm sorry but you all seriously needed a reality check." Lonnie said. Jane laughed slightly through her tears. They pulled away and smiled at each other.

Evie stepped forward and looked towards the group. "I think we should all start heading to the limo. We don't want to be here any longer than we have to." She reasoned. The group nodded.

"The limo's parked in the abandoned garage." Mal told them. 

"Corinne's coming with us." Jane said. The group looked at her. 

Corinne turned sheepish and stepped towards Jane. "Look Jane, I know we talked about that when I was helping you but..." She started.

Jane cut her off, "And I wasn't lying. You are supposed to come over in the next few months and Samuel is staying on the Isle, it all works out. You're coming with us. No arguments." 

Corinne's eyes widened and Carlos had a small, proud smile on his face. Even after all the hell the Isle had put her through, Jane remained kind and amazing to everyone she met. It made him fall even more in love with her, if that was possible. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Jane's waist. "She's not wrong, Corinne." He said. "You're coming with us."

Corinne smiled at her brother and the girl who held his heart. She raised her hands in mock surrender. "Fine. If you guys insist." A chuckle filled the room. "Thanks, little brother."

The VK's laughed at the familiar nickname and Carlos scoffed. "Three minutes, Corinne, three minutes." He reminded. The VK's laughed again. 

"Three minutes older." Corinne smirked. Carlos punched his sister lightly. Jane turned her head and kissed his jawline. Carlos turned to face her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Okay, enough with the mushy love stuff, let's get out of here before it gets too late." Corinne went into the small back room and grabbed what little she had.

Jay swung an arm around Lonnie's shoulder and Evie and Mal linked their arms with Corinne on either side. They walked out, allowing Jane and Carlos to follow behind them. Jane practically fused herself to Carlos' side while he kissed her temple. "I do really like your hair." He said against her skin.

She blushed darkly as they walked out of the salon. Jane smiled. She was going home. It had only been a day and everything had changed, she had changed. But she was going home!

To be continued...