A Little More Than Convenient

|Trent Remington|
I threw the first punch. But, in my defense, Christian provoked me. And, he called Carmen a bitch! She didn’t deserve that.
“You stupid son of a bitch!” I screamed at him, throwing punch after punch at his face.
Christian put his hands up in front of his face, and aimed his leg at my shin. He missed.
“Trent, stop!” Carmen exclaimed, “You-you’re going to get in trouble!”
I ignored her and slammed his head onto the concrete lot. He cried out in pain.
“You bastard, get the hell offa me!” Christian yelled at me.
“Trent, please!” Carmen cried out. There was desperation in her voice.
It made me crack. I don’t know why. But, it got through to me, and I dropped Christian’s body to the ground.
Carmen rushed to my side and hugged me. “Thank you,” she whispered. There was relief in her voice.
Christian groaned and got to his feet. “You crazy son of a bitch. I’m going to-”
“Christian, please!” Carmen exclaimed, “Don’t call the police, there’s nothing to report!”
“Too late,” a deep voice that I didn’t recognize, announced.
I spun around. There was a security guard in a blue uniform running up to us. He had dark brown skin, and he was very overweight, meaty, even.
“You sir, are under arrest for assault.”
“But-” I started.
“Anything you say, can and will be used against you. I can’t read you all of your rights because I’m not an actual cop. But they’ll be here any minute.”
As if on cue, I heard a police siren and a squad car sped into the parking lot. Two policemen shot out of the car and ran toward me.
“Cuff him, Gannon,” one said to the other.
“You’re under arrest for aggravated assault. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to a lawyer. If you can’t afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to you.”
“No!” Carmen exclaimed, running to the policeman, “He was defending me! This stupid bastard was going to do who knows what. Besides, he’s okay!”
“Ma’am-”
“Shut the hell up!” she snapped at him, “You have no idea how to do your job! And you,” she pointed at the security guard, “have no idea what crime is. Those shoes are a crime!”
He looked at his feet. “Th-they’re loafers,” he defended, “and you can’t speak to me that way.”
“Or me!” the policeman said, “Ma’am, I suggest you shut your mouth before we take you in, too.”
“Christian,” she begged, “do something.”
He glared at her. “Like hell I will. He tried to kill me!”
“That’s bullshit and you know it!”
“Carmen,” I interrupted, “one of my credit cards is on my dresser in the bedroom. Get it and bring it to the police station.”
They led me to the car. “Watch your head,” one said as he guided me into the backseat.
Carmen started to cry. I could understand. She was pregnant, after all.
“It’s gonna be okay,” I mouthed, settling into the car with a grimace on my face.
|Carmen Remington|
“You’re going to have to come down to the station to make a statement, both of you,” one of the policeman said.
“No! I’m not making any statements! I’m not going against Trent. Are you stupid?”
The other officer glared at me. “Ma’am, watch your mouth.”
“I’m not apologizing,” I snapped back.
The officer bit his tongue but glared at me again. I could tell that I wasn’t his favorite person.
“Well, I’m not going right now. You can forget that,” I sassed.
The more calm officer said, “You don’t have to come right now. But we are expecting you.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Sir, are you going to be okay?” one asked.
“I should be,” Christian replied, “I’ll go to the hospital after a while.”
“All right then.”
They got into the car and drove off. The security guard went back inside.
As soon as he was out of sight, I flew at Christian. “I’m gonna kill you!”
“Whoa, whoa, watch the brat inside of you, Carmen,” he said smugly.
I pulled back. “I suspect you’ll press charges.”
Hs shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.”
I glared at him. “It’s a yes or no question, Christian. So answer it with yes or no.”
“I don’t know if I will, Carmen,” he replied, smirking.
I rolled my eyes. “What’s the motherfucking catch?”
“Not a catch, really,” he replied, “just a favor.”
“What favor?” I asked, my stomach lurching.
“Okay, listen up,” he instructed, “I won’t press charges against your precious Trent if and only if....you leave him.”
My heart sank. I couldn’t leave him. There was the baby to think of and my debt, and....
And what? Why did leaving make me feel so desolate on the inside? It didn’t make sense.
“B-but I can’t leave him!” I protested, “I’m having his baby.”
He shrugged. “Lie.”
“He’ll fight me for custody! And why would I leave him? Where would I go?”
He smirked. “You’d come live with me.”
No. No, no, no. I couldn’t go back to Christian. Not after what happened last time. No!
“No,” I snapped, “after what you did, you don’t get another chance.”
“Fine,” he said shrugging, “I guess Trent will just go to prison. Your baby will grow up without a father.
“They’ll go without a father either way!” I shot back.
“Okay, whatever,” he turned to leave.
“Wait!” I shouted, my voice cracking.
“Yes,” he said smugly.
“Wha-what would this require?”
He shrugged. “I guess you’d have to tell him that you lied. The baby’s not his, it’s mine. But first, you would leave him by let’s say...by next month. Then, you’d move in with me.”
“Bu-but why?” I asked. I could feel tears pricking into my eyes.
“I love you, Carmen. We belong together.”
I looked at him. He didn’t love me, he wanted to possess me. I saw so many different things in Christian’s eyes than Trent’s. In Christian’s, I saw greed, lust, and narcissism. In Trent’s, I saw, honesty, integrity, and love, maybe. I didn’t know. But by now, I could tell that I was not just “friends” with Trent Remington.
I was in love with him.
“S-so, you won’t press charges?” I asked.
“That’s right,” he replied.
I thought for a moment. “Okay,” I replied, my voice cracking, “but not until next month. I won’t go until then. I need time.”
He nodded. “When I go to the police station, I’ll drop the charges. You should go pay his bail.”
I nodded.
Christian walked off.
I sighed, thought, fuck my life, and burst into tears.