“Unbelievable”.

Carmen’s voice sounded much less sleepy, now.

“…And Jenny… Obviously she didn’t want to forgive me, she didn’t even want me to live with her anymore. I remember trying to tell her that I was sorry, that what I had done was unforgivable, and that I didn’t want to lose her friendship, but she was out of her mind. And then…”, Shane rubbed her eyes, “…Then she told me that she was in love with me. And I felt so ashamed, and so guilty for what I had done to her, that… I decided to be with her just to make her happy”.

Carmen stroked Shane’s hair again, lovingly, implicitly telling her to carry on.

“…But we weren’t happy. I wasn’t. I didn’t want that relationship and she was putting me in a box. She was clingy, possessive, manipulative, controlling. I felt devastated, I couldn’t breath, and yet I couldn’t dump her. And also, she was being a bitch with everyone… With Bette and Tina, and Alice… Alice!”, Shane patted her forehead, as the whole jigsaw was finally outlining in her mind, “…Jenny had stolen Alice’s idea about a screenplay and she had sold it for half a million dollars. And Al was so pissed off, everyone was angry, they… we all had a reason to be mad at her… Even Max and Helena…”.

Next to her, Carmen sighed.

“…And then, Jenny was dead. She was floating in Bette’s pool and she was dead. My best friend was dead and you were gone and I was alone”.

Shane’s voice broke, and Carmen pulled her into an embrace.

“Come here, honey…”, she whispered into Shane’s ear, and closed her eyes feeling Shane holding her tight, almost leaving her breathless.

“Nothing happened. It was just a nightmare, babe. A chimera. Nothing real. I am here, you never left me at the altar, we’re happily married, Jenny’s never been so ecstatic, with her movie and her love story with Nikki and everything… And Al…”, she giggled, “…I don’t even know if Alice would be able to write a screenplay, or if she ever thought about it…”.

“I know, I know…”, Shane replied.

“…Relax, babe. Take it easy. It was just a bad dream”, Carmen repeated gently.

Shane smiled.

“You know what?”, she muttered, her forehead pressed on Carmen’s shoulder.

“What?”, Carmen giggled silently.

“…I’m so glad to have you”, Shane confessed in a whisper.

Carmen’s smile softened even more.

“I know. I’m so glad you never let me go”.

“How could I? I love you so much…”, Shane murmured, honestly.

Carmen pressed the butterfly of a kiss on her lips.

“I love you, too. I always loved you”.

Shane’s green eyes glimmered with an almost childish joy.

“God… are you really here with me?”.

Carmen sighed.

“Yes, Shane. I promise I won’t disappear in the morning…”, she replied softly, starting to take off her t-shirt.

Her naked body illuminated the whole night.

“…And if you’re not too tired, now I’m gonna show you how real I am…”.

“…Yeah, show me, Miss Morales-McCutcheon”, Shane smiled.

The end