Chapter 416: Carmen’s Thanks
"You are done for, Hadi."
Hadi stayed on the pavement with his face turned against the cracked stone. The anger had drained out of him now that the gun was gone and he had somebody stronger holding him down. His breathing came fast, and his eyes kept moving between me and the weapon lying near the fountain.
"Being high as fuck does not excuse what you were trying to do. Especially to Carmen."
"Yeah. You will have to explain the drugs to Marlon too."
After I got Hadi under control, I had called over the closest people around and told them what happened. Carmen explained it from the beginning as well. She had been watering the flowers when Hadi came up to her. At first, he had acted normal. Then he started insisting on helping, would not take no for an answer, and grabbed her when she tried to get away.
That was when I showed up.
Even if I had earned some trust from Marlon’s people after helping take the Golden Nugget, it was still better for Carmen to explain it herself. I was the one who had knocked Hadi down, and people could easily assume I had started a fight if they only heard my side.
One of the men crouched beside Hadi and grabbed his arm.
"Sorry you had to deal with that, Carmen," he said. "Do not worry. He will be handled."
The other man nodded toward me.
"Yeah. Thanks, Ryan. Damn, you are something else for someone your age."
I gave a small nod.
"It is fine," I said. "Just... take care of him."
I looked down at Hadi while I said it.
He avoided my eyes.
There was something especially disgusting about him trying to force himself on Carmen in the middle of a place where everyone was supposed to be surviving together. The world outside was already bad enough. People did not need to start treating each other like that inside the only safe places they had left.
The two men nodded and pulled Hadi up from the ground.
He stumbled when they forced him to his feet. One of them took hold of each of Hadi’s arms, and they marched him away from the fountain toward the Boardwalk.
I watched until they disappeared around the path.
Hopefully I would never have to see Hadi again.
More importantly, I hoped Carmen would never have to see him again.
"You okay, Carmen?" I asked, turning toward her.
She was standing beside the flowerbed with one hand on her upper arm. The red marks from Hadi’s grip were still visible against her skin.
"Oh, yes," she replied. She tried to smile. "Thank you, Ryan. You really came at the right time."
"No, do not worry about it. It is normal..." I looked down at the spilled water darkening the dirt around her flowers. "I guess this place is not all rainbows and flowers after all."
Marlon had a strong grip on the Boardwalk. Everyone knew that. He kept people working, kept supplies organized, and made sure Callighan’s men could not simply walk in and take whatever they wanted.
That did not mean every person here was good.
It did not mean everyone was moving in the same direction or wanted the same thing. There would always be people like Hadi. Angry people. Desperate people. People who let the end of the world become an excuse to show what they were really like.
Carmen gave a quiet chuckle.
"Nothing is perfect."
"Yeah," I said. "Nothing."
She looked toward the path Hadi had been taken down.
"It feels like I keep getting helped by you. First Shannon, and now me."
"It is nothing compared to the meals you let me eat at your place," I said with a crooked smile.
Carmen shook her head.
"That should not count. You are always welcome at our home, Ryan. Do not hesitate."
"I know."
"You will be there for Shannon’s birthday tonight, right?"
"Of course," I said. "Otherwise, she might kill me."
Shannon had practically been begging me to come every time I saw her. If I somehow missed her birthday after all that, she would probably be furious for the rest of the week.
Carmen giggled and nodded.
Then she bent down, picked up the watering can Hadi had knocked over, and walked toward the next flowerbed. I noticed another can sitting beside the path, already filled with water.
"Want some help?" I asked.
Carmen looked over at me.
"If you have time."
"I do. Marlon is still busy interrogating Lucy."
I picked up the second watering can.
Carmen’s expression changed slightly when she heard Lucy’s name. She looked down at the flowers rather than at me.
"Lucy," she said slowly. "The woman who held that hotel for Callighan?"
"Her brother was being kept hostage," I replied. "She did not have many choices except obey them."
The words sounded weak even to me.
Lucy had done things for Gaspar. She had stood on the other side while Callighan’s people hurt this community. Being forced did not erase any of that. At the same time, I knew what it was like to have someone you cared about trapped somewhere you could not reach.
Carmen walked along the flowerbed and poured water around the base of the plants.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
"Do you trust her, Ryan?" she asked.
"I do," I said. "She helped us take the Golden Nugget. She is cooperating with us now too, because she wants to get her brother back from Callighan."
Carmen nodded slowly.
"I see." She looked at the flowers as water soaked into the dry ground. "I suppose there are strange circumstances behind a lot of things. Nothing is simple anymore, is it?"
"No," I replied. "Nothing is."
I tipped the watering can over another patch, careful not to drown the smaller flowers.
"I was angry at Lucy when I first met her," I continued. "I thought she was just another one of Gaspar’s people. Then I got to know more about what happened to her. My view changed."
Carmen looked at me.
"You are a good person, Ryan," she said with a small smile.
I did not know what to say to that.
The water can felt heavier in my hand as I looked down at the flowers, then started toward the next patch beside Carmen.
"You are a better person," I replied awkwardly.
Carmen laughed softly at that while she tipped her watering can over a patch of small purple flowers. The water ran dark through the dry soil, disappearing around their stems.
"Are you shy when people compliment you?" she asked.
"I am just being honest," I said.
I moved to the next patch and poured water around the flowers there. I did not really know what else to say. Being called a good person never felt right to me. I had done things I regretted. I had lied to people, hurt people, and made choices that had gotten others caught in dangerous situations.
Saving Carmen from Hadi did not erase any of that.
Carmen watched me for a second before shaking her head.
"You are too modest. In the last week alone, you have helped a lot of people around here. Everyone thinks highly of you, you know."
I glanced at her.
"Really?"
"Really." Her smile turned teasing. "Some girls even came to our house looking for you."
My hand stopped halfway through lifting the watering can.
"What?"
Carmen laughed at my face.
"I see..." I said after a second, trying to act like that did not embarrass me.
It clearly did not work.
"You do not have to look so nervous," Carmen said. "Nobody is going to bite you."
"I was not nervous."
"Sure."
I looked back down at the flowers and continued watering them, giving her no answer. Carmen kept smiling to herself while she moved farther along the path.
After a while, her expression changed.
"Thank you for being there for Shannon," she said.
"It is nothing."
"It is not nothing." She lowered the watering can and looked toward me. "I have not seen her this happy in a long time. Since you came here, she has been brighter. She is glad you are around."
I did not know how to answer that either.
Shannon was easy to be around. She was loud, energetic, and always seemed to have something she wanted to say. In a world where most people had become tired, guarded, or quiet, she still had that kind of energy that made a room feel less empty.
"If being around makes her happy," I said, "then I can always be there."
Carmen’s face softened.
"It would be a pleasure." She gave me a small nod. "And stop being awkward about it. You are always welcome in our home."
"Yes," I said, smiling a little. "I know. Thank you."
I would have been lying if I said I did not enjoy going to Carmen’s place.
The meals alone were enough reason to show up. Real cooked food was not something anyone could take for granted anymore, and Carmen always found a way to make even scavenged ingredients taste better than they should.
But it was more than that.
Sometimes Maribel came by. Sometimes Summer was there too. Shannon would be talking about something with way too much excitement while Carmen tried to keep her from making a mess. It had a warmth to it that reminded me a little of home.
For a while, I could sit at their table and forget that the city outside was ruined, that Infected still wandered through parts of Atlantic City, and that Callighan’s people were never far away.
"How many guests are coming tonight?" I asked.
Carmen thought about it while she adjusted the handle of the watering can.
"Hmm. I invited Marlon, Molly, Maribel, and Summer. I did not want to invite everyone and turn it into something too big."
"That sounds better anyway," I said. "No intention of keeping the party going until late, right?"
"Of course not." Carmen smiled. "The light will not last long, and I do not want to waste too many batteries either. We are starting at eight. You should come earlier and help out a little with the decorations."
"I do not know what help I can actually give," I said, "but yeah. I have nothing else planned."
Carmen laughed.
"That is very kind of you."
We finished watering the remaining flowerbeds together.
By the time the last patch had been watered, my hand was sore from carrying the can, and the sun had moved farther across the sky. I lowered it beside the others and rolled one shoulder, trying to loosen the stiffness there.
Carmen and I talked for a little longer about small things around the Boardwalk: repairs that still needed doing, how hot it had gotten lately, and how people were already trying to figure out what food they could use for Shannon’s birthday.
Eventually, I figured I should leave.
"Ryan."
I had only taken a few steps away when Carmen called after me.
I turned around.
She was standing beside the flowers with both hands around the handle of her watering can. Her face was calmer now than when I had first found her, though the marks on her arm had not disappeared.
"Thank you again," she said. "For helping me."
I nodded and glanced at her wrist.
"Just get that treated."
"I will. And please do not tell Shannon about it."
I nodded.
She gave me a small smile before turning back toward the flowerbeds. I left Brighton Park and headed back toward the Boardwalk, hoping Marlon had finished speaking with Lucy by now.