Carmen heard a loud thumping sound as she approached her bedroom. She crept silently closer, not knowing what it was, but smart enough from growing up in East LA to know she might not want to be a witness. Her heart beat faster and faster until she could hear it beating along with the incessant thump, thump, thump. She looked through the opened door of her room and saw a woman, a little taller than her with similar, but not the same, brown skin and short, dark brown hair sitting against the wall, throwing a rubber ball at it. She wore ripped jeans and an old band T-shirt from the ‘70’s. Her tongue darted out and ran over a small metal ring that was stuck into her lower lip and she sighed, catching the ball and leaning her head back against the wall. Carmen grinned. She wanted so badly to run over and hug her, but was rather enjoying seeing how long it would take the woman to notice her. After a long while, Carmen finally decided it was time to break the silence.

“Hey.”

The woman’s head snapped up, and she started to chuckle realizing that the Carmen had probably been standing there quite a while.

“Hey.” The woman replied, standing up and walking towards her friend.

“I thought you were supposed to be in Puerto Rico?” Carmen asked, slightly confused as to why the woman would cut such an exotic vacation short.

The woman simply shrugged, then after a pause added, “Your mom said you got fucked over in a relationship.”

Carmen inhaled sharply, and looked away, not expecting the bluntness of the comment. Then again, that was the way she had always been, she was practically raised by Carmen’s mother, and in some respects, they were a lot alike. They even had the same name.

“You didn’t have to do that for me, Mercedes.” Carmen had forgotten what it was like to be around her best friend, both their lives had been incredibly hectic the last year. Carmen, with all the dyke drama that was going on, and Mercedes, with the record deal her band had gotten, and finding out she had family in Puerto Rico and meeting them.