“Baby?” I asked not wanting to push her but desperately wanting to know if she was okay. She lifted her head from her hands and finally looked at me. Her cheeks sticky and cold, her eyes unbearably wet and her face heart wrenchingly beautiful.

“I have to tell them,” her words were as soft as feathers and I tilted my head gently to hear her. I didn’t know what she was talking about still, though I knew I should. She had to tell them. I tried to be rational and think it through, but the force was not with me and I came up blank.

“I’m sorry sweetheart, tell who, what?” She looked over at me again, and said her words slower, looking deeply into my eyes, and suddenly I knew.

“I have to tell them Shane, it’s time,” My own eyes went wide and I tried to hold back my shock.

“Okay, so we will. We’ll tell them, to-together,” Just the thought of the daunting task alone was making me nervous. I itched at my forearms and averted eyes as Carmen’s head was turned. The thought of telling her family she was ***** and that I was her girlfriend, must have been tearing her apart. I didn’t know what it was like to have a blood family, but I knew what it was like to have a family. And the thought of ever doing anything that would put me anywhere close to losing them, made my stomach sick. I pulled Carmen as close to me as I possibly could, giving us both barely enough room to breath. It seemed to be exactly what she needed.

“I love you Carmen. That will always be, no matter what happens. But I also know something, I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes. Your mother loves you. Your family? They love you. They aren’t going to do anything they’d regret. You don’t ever have to be scared about not being loved, not while your family’s here, and not while I’m here. They will understand Carmen, you know that. They love you too much not to,” It was all I could think of to say. I knew they were true words, so I hoped that helped. I rubbed her back with my right hand as my cheek pressed against the back of her head. I heard her breath catch and I thought maybe she had stopped crying suddenly. Then I realized she wasn’t breathing. I sat up and grabbed her shoulders so she was facing me. Her face was all scrunched up like she would burst into tears at any moment.

“Thank you,” She said and my stomach wrenched. I reached for her and pulled her to me again. All I could do was whisper words of comfort and love into her ear as she cried again. Shane wasn’t sure how long she sat there comforting her girlfriend, all she knew was that when it was over, it had only just begun.