CHAPTER FIFTEEN
( WANT YOU BACK )

     CARMEN SMILES TO herself. Zach helps her into his jacket, careful not to hurt her broken arm. Within the past day, Carmen had gotten a cast, and news got out that she would be released early in the morning. And lucky for her, the day started earlier than she had expected.

She grabs her phone- which a nurse had received after the crash- and slips it into Zach's back pocket. Zach helps her over to a wheelchair that her mother had gotten moments ago, before Carmen stops and frowns.

"What is it?" Zach asks softly, looking down at her. "Are you okay? Do I need to get the nurse?"

"Can I walk?" She asks him. "I don't want to be helpless."

"Carmen, I don't think-"

"Please?" She tries again, her voice more pleading this time. "I promise I can handle it. There's nothing wrong with my legs."

"Fine," He caves. "But I'll only allow it if I can carry you."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't get hurt, Zach. I'm completely f-"

Before Carmen could finish her sentence, Zach had already picked her up bridal style, and began walking away from the hospital room.

---

Carmen grins as she gets out of the car, seeing Aurora from the kitchen window of the Why Don't We house. Zach is immediately by her side, his arm wrapped around her waist to keep her from falling.

"Zach, I'm fine," She assures him, trying to move from his grip.

"I just don't want you-"

"To get hurt, I know." She chuckles. "Alright, fine."

Once at the door of the house, Carmen twists the knob, and opens it widely. Almost as soon as it happened, Aurora was at the entrance with an armful of orange balloons.

"WELCOME HOME, CARAMEL!"

A wide smile lights up Carmen's face as she takes in the scene around her. She opened her mouth to say something, but Aurora cut her off.

"Caramel," She warns. "If you're about to say something along the lines of 'you shouldn't have', don't even bother."

Carmen glances at her, giving Aurora an odd look, but doesn't say anything. Once Aurora notices that Zach was supporting her, she snaps her fingers and turns to Jonah.

"Help get Caramel settled into the living room. She needs to rest."

Zach gives her a questioning look as Jonah moves forward, and picks Carmen up bridal style. He then proceeds to carry her away, and into the living room.

"I could've handled that just fine myself," Zach says.

"No offense, Heroine," Aurora says, pinching one of his cheeks as if she were his grandmother. "But I seriously doubt your strength, and I'm not adding to the girl's injuries because you wanted to be the knight in shining armor."

Not waiting for his response, Aurora skips into the living room with Zach close behind. There, Carmen was already stretched out, and being tended to by the boys. There were multiple pillows under her head, and she was nearly drowning in blankets.

"Are you comfortable?" Zach asks, rushing to sit on the floor in front of her.

"Very," She nods. "But when are we moving my stuff over here?"

"It's already done," Daniel answers with a warm smile. "Aurora had the idea to do that yesterday."

Jack mutters something unintelligible under his breath, of what Aurora guessed was a sarcastic comment.

"Thanks, Aurora," Carmen says, here voice slightly muffled as she nearly disappears into the mountain of pillows.

Aurora waves her gratitude away. "You must be starving after being force-fed hospital food for two days straight. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Soup," Carmen replies immediately, knowing that's the only thing her diet could now consist of. "Any kind will do. I'm not picky."

Her food choice puzzled everyone in the room- with the exception of Zach- but no one questioned it.

"You heard the girl, Chef Daniel," Aurora says, shooing the boy into the kitchen.

Just as he disappears around the corner, Carmen's phone begins to ring. Seeing as Zach had laid it on the coffee table when he first entered the living room, Aurora snatched it off the table before Carmen could, reading the Caller ID.

"It's an unknown number. Can I answer it?" Aurora asks, grinning mischievously.

"Knock yourself out."

Accepting the call, Aurora puts the phone up to her ear, and answers the phone in an overly peppy voice. "Jim's Whore House. You got the dough, we got the hoe. This is Glitter."

The others laugh at her response, Carmen laying her head on Zach's shoulder as her ribs begin to hurt a bit.

"Just when I thought she couldn't get any weirder," Jack mumbles, shaking his head as he joins Daniel in the kitchen.

A deep voice on the other line chuckles. "I don't know which crazy friend of Carmen's you are, but put her on the phone."

"I'm sorry, but you're being a rude dick right now. You don't get to talk to Caramel until you change that damn tone, and ask nicely," Aurora snaps, taking a disliking to the the boy.

This catches the attention of them all, Zach in particular as he furrows his eyebrows at Carmen.

"Fine," The boy growls. "Can you please put Carmen on the phone?"

"I can. But I won't until you change your tone."

The person at the other end sighs, obviously agitated. In a forced polite tone, he asks, "Are you happy with my tone now?"

Jonah is by her side before she can reply, gently taking the phone from her hands, and tossing it to Carmen. She catches it, shifting as she places the phone at her ear.

"Sorry about Aurora," She says. "Who is this?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already," The familiar voice says, a chuckle rising from the line. "Have you really moved on that fast?"

"N-no, you can't- I got a new phone, I-"

"Did you really think that would stop me from finding you? And it really doesn't take a lot for word to travel fast, seeing how my mother found out about the crash two days ago. Crazy, isn't it?"

"Please stop," She murmers, her eyes filling with tears as she hopes the others don't see. "I left for a reason, Jackson."

"Now I know where you are, and I know exactly where to find you. I will be there, Carmen. I want you back."

The phone falls from Carmen's hand as Aurora and Jonah are about to leave the room. Her eyes widen in pure shock and terror, and her chest begins to rise and fall at a pace too rapid to be normal.

"Carmen," Zach's frantic voice calls out. "What's wrong?"

Grabbing the phone, Aurora proceeds to take over the call.

"How dare you have the nerve to stress her out not even two days after she was in a fucking car crash, you piece of shit." She pauses, expecting a rebuke. "I don't know who you are, or why you called, but if you call my Caramel again, I will find you and the ending won't be pretty."

A heavy sigh comes from the other end. "You're a psychotic bitch, you know that?"

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I know. You're not the first to call me that, and you sure as hell won't be the last."

She ends the call, before checking on Carmen.

Carmen had finally stopped hyperventilating thanks to Corbyn and Zach, and she was now crying into Zach's shoulder. Her shoulders were shaking as wracked sobs left her lips.

Zach looked heartbroken as he held the girl tightly.

It's then that Daniel enters the room, carrying a bowl a bowl of soup as he examines each of them.

"What did I miss?"

_____