She made her roll on her back and winced, when she saw the hickeys on Shane’s neck and the scratches on her collarbone. Then she just pursed her lips, stubbornly, her breath uneven and shaking, and lovingly caressed Shane’s pale face.

“Shane…”, she murmured, “…Shane, babe, wake up, please, wake up, I’m here…”.

Finally, Shane opened her eyes and grimaced, struggling against the faint light of the room. She blinked her eyelids repeatedly, her eyebrows furrowed, dark circles under her bloodshot eyes.

She opened her mouth and then closed it, then she reopened again, as her eyes finally focused on Carmen, whose face was slowly falling to pieces.

“Shane…”, Carmen repeated under her breath, and Shane’s hands grabbed her shirt.

“Ca…Carmen?”, she just said. Croakily, weakly.

Carmen chocked a bittersweet laugh.

“Yes…”.

Shane winced again and started to cry. Tears started rolling down her cheeks and Carmen just hugged her, with no further words, and cradled and rocked her whispering reassurances in Spanish into her ear.

“What are you doing here?”, Shane asked, feebly, her fingers moving across Carmen’s hair.

“I’m here for you…”, Carmen replied, repressing another sob, “…Please Shane, come home with me, will you?”.

Carmen pulled back and Shane stared at her with glassy eyes, her lips parted. Carmen’s face looked begging.

“Please…?”, she just whispered, making it sound like a question.

Shane jerked, abruptly, her left hand plunging in the water again, and then struggled to sit up.

“Carm… Carmen, please, don’t cry…”, she moaned, her face paler and paler.

Carmen shook her head, trying to reassure her, and grabbed her shirt from the floor. Thank God, it was still dry.

“There…”, she whispered, “…Put this on… Let’s get out of here”.

“How romantic…”, Cherie scoffed from the threshold.

Carmen looked back, furiously, pointing her finger.

“Shut the fuck up! Or I swear I’ll drown you in your fucking pool!”, she admonished her.

Right then, Shane threw up in the above-mentioned pool, retching silently, painfully. Carmen placed her cool, soft palm on Shane’s forehead and massaged her back.

“Holy Christ…”, she whispered, excruciatingly, seeing Shane’s knuckles becoming white, desperately clinging to the border of the pool.

Shane coughed and bent forward, gritting her teeth. Her eyes were still watering.

“It’s okay…”, Carmen murmured, “…It’s okay, babe, I am here with you”.

She smoothed Shane’s hair and kissed the top of her head, silently waiting for her to stop trembling.

”I know that living with you baby was sometimes hard
But I’m willing to give it another try
‘Cause nothing compares …
Nothing compares to you”*

TBC

***
* “Nothing Compares To You” (Sinead O’Connor)