Camille giggled. “Reminds me of the Harry Potter stuff I do with Bertha.” She waved her hand like she was carrying a wand. “Expellia-start-my-car-mus!”
Sarah rolled her eyes as they got in the car. “You REALLY need a new car. Really. We gotta work on that tightwaditis!”
Camille shook her head and laughed. “Nah, Bertha is solid. I like her. We have history.”
Sarah started the car. “See? A new car starts just like that, and yes, the two of you have history... It's that she's fucking old and needs to be retired!”
“Yeah, but they aren't heavy duty, and damn it, Bertha has feelings.” She crossed her arms and gave Sarah a dirty look.
“What are you looking for? A tank?” Sarah laughed as she put it in drive and pulled out on the street. “And inanimate objects don't have feelings!” Camille played with her fingers.Yeah, if it would keep me safe.
Sarah was humming as they weaved through traffic. Camille was getting panicky and she tightened her seat belt across her lap.“Sarah, can you slow down?”Her voice came out way panickier than she intended. It was close to a squeal as Sarah narrowly missed rear-ending a guy in a little red car.
She shot Camille a quick look.“Um, okay, sure. I'm only five over the speed limit, though. You okay?”
“Yeah. No, I'm sorry. No problem.”Camille turned to look out the window and tried not to focus on the street speeding by.
“Dude, are you okay? I mean you are kind of green. If my driving you is killing you that bad I'll slow down a little.” Sarah reached over and touched Camille's arm.
“My parents died in an accident. I was in the car with them when it happened. I watched them both die and I lived. So yeah, I'm freaking out.” She fought against the panic creeping into her voice again.
Sarah let off the gas. “Fuck man. I... Shit. I'm sorry. I... Oh hell. You need cheese fries and a big damn chocolate shake. I'm so sorry. Okay, we are at speed limit. Is that better? Do you need me to pull over?” She was stealing quick glances at Camille.
Camille took a slow breath. “No, slower is a little better. Thanks for slowing down.”
“Do you want to talk about it? I mean, I'm here if you need to.”
“No.” Camille said abruptly. Sarah shot a quick glance over that looked hurt. “I just can't. Not yet.”
“Oh. No, I get it. I wasn't ready to talk about my bad junk for a long time either. Can I ask how long it's been? If you want me to shut the fuck up, please tell me. I will. Really.” She kept sneaking looks over nervously.
Camille sighed sadly. “Keep your eyes on the road. I'm not going to spontaneously blow up or anything. They died right before Christmas.”
“Well that explains the aura. Dude, I'm so sorry. Really. I tend to forget I have a filter that should be put to use and I can be an ass. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.” Sarah's voice was full of remorse and concern.
Camille shrugged. “It's okay. Not like you knew, right?”
“No,” she replied quietly. She put her blinker on. “Look, there is the restaurant.” She pointed really quick before making the turn.
Camille laughed at the huge smiling hamburger on the sign. “I thought you said they have vegan food!” She felt herself relax a little as they pulled in.
“Yeah, they do. But they also have fantastic burgers. Not that I would know. I like animals.” She bit her lip guiltily and looked around shiftily.
“You can still like animals and eat a burger, you do know that, right Sarah?”
“Nope. They were tortured. I don't support torture of anything, man or beast.” Sarah shook her head as they parked. She turned the car off. “But they do have great quinoa red pepper burgers.”
Camille stuck her tongue out and gagged. “Ew. I don't get quinoa. It tastes like grass and dirt and it feels weird in my mouth.”
Sarah's eyes danced. “That's what she said!” She laughed and opened her door. “Let's get some thing to put in your mouth that doesn't feel weird!”
Camille's mouth fell open and she blushed. “That's not what I meant and you know it!”
Sarah looked over her shoulder saucily. “Do I?”
The diner was cute, black and white tile, red hot seats and white tables. It was kitschy and neat. Camille instantly loved it. They sat in a booth and a waitress wearing a black and white polka dot shirt dress came up to their table. “Hey guys, what can I do you for?”
Sarah smiled. “Can you find my friend here something to put in her mouth that doesn't make it feel weird? Ask Big Al if he's got some salami back there or something.”
Camille's mouth dropped open and she laughed so hard she snorted. The waitress named Barb smirked. “Yeah, I can ask Big Al, you know he likes being asked about his sausage. You want the usual, Sarah?” Sarah nodded. The waitress turned to Camille with a big grin. “So chick. You want some meat in your mouth or are you going for meat free? I mean, I don't know what makes your mouth feel weird.”
Camille was blushing to the roots of her hair and laughing still. “I want meat in my mouth, damn it! I want a burger, with cheese!” She took a breath and tried to stop laughing. “Some cheese fries and a chocolate shake.”
“What size shake?” The waitress smirked as she wrote the order down.
“What size you got?” Camille wiggled her eyebrows.
“I'll get you a big one. You look like you could handle it.” The waitress grinned and stuck the notepad in the pocket of her skirt before turning to go to the kitchen. Sarah was howling on her side of the booth, laughing so hard she could barely breathe. Camille started laughing again, and the other customers were looking at them like they were nuts.
“Oh God!” Sarah exclaimed, wiping her eyes with her napkin. “That was hilarious!” Camille was catching her breath but she nodded.
The waitress brought their drinks, Sarah had a soda and then she put this huge chocolate shake in front of Camille that was covered in whipped cream and three cherries. “Here you go, babe. A big fat chocolate shake with plenty of cream and you even get the cherry!” Camille lost it again, laughing uncontrollably. Sarah happened to be taking a drink of Coke and it came through her nose. That made Camille laugh even harder.
After they quieted, Camille said, “So, you know what's bad? I don't even like cherries.”
Sarah snorted. “Yeah, taking a guy's cherry sucks. Really. Go for an experienced dude.”
Camille leaned forward. “Seriously? Can't be much worse than my last boyfriend. One pump, two pumps, orgasm.”
Sarah laughed again and then squealed, “Well slap my ass and call me Sally! That has to be worse than being a virgin.”
“Tell me about it, it was always horrible.” She rolled her eyes in disgust and stuck her tongue out.
“Holy shit. Then you definitely don't want a green boy poking and prodding next time. We need like a survey to give out to boys you'd consider boinking. Have you had more than one sexual partner, yes or no. Do you like cherries? Yes or no. Do you think that orgasms are important, yes or no?” She was making check marks in the air with her arm.
Camille laughed. “You make it sound like he's going to be cleaning my chimney or something and we are looking for references!”
Sarah giggled. “He will be dusting out the cobwebs, that's for sure. You want a good sweeper to really get in all of those nooks and crannies.” She turned around to an older gentleman a couple of booths back. “You sir, can you tell me of any chimney sweeping services around here? My friend here needs her chimney cleaned badly. Do you know of one with good references?”
Camille was laughing and blushing at the same time. She leaned over the table, trying to catch her breath. The old man just shook his head with a smile and didn't answer. Sarah's dark eyes were dancing and in that moment, Camille sobered. “You are awful, Sarah. You know, your eyes remind me of someone I used to know.”
Sarah paused and replied, “Yeah? Who?”
Camille shrugged. “I can't place it.”
The waitress came ba
ck with their plates. “You two are so bad, Big Al is back there laughing his ass off. Sarah, what am I going to do with you?”
Sarah grinned cheekily. “Spank me?”
She laughed. “No, you slut, you'd like it too much.” She left and Sarah grabbed the ketchup before shaking a liberal amount on her fries.
Camille picked up her burger. “Sure you don't want a bite?”
“Don't make me bitch slap you with a fry.” She held up a dripping fry.
“It wouldn't hurt.” Camille shrugged.
“But it would make you break out. You'd never get this much vegan cheese and ketchup out of your pores.” Sarah waved the wet fry like a sword.
“Eww. Keep that thing over there.” Camille grinned. “It's all wet and gross.”
Sarah sighed, popping the fry in her mouth. “That's another thing she said.” Camille laughed and took another bite of her burger.
They ate pretty much in silence, unless you count Sarah's groans over her quinoa red pepper burger and fries talking. On her final bite she rolled her eyes up to heaven and groaned like a wild animal. “Oh dear GOD that burger is amazing.” She slurped her Coke then sat back and rubbed her flat stomach happily. “That was a good food baby!”
“You really are loud, has anyone told you that?” Camille smiled and drank her milkshake.
“Yeah, I usually am told that. But I'm fun.” She smirked.
“True, you are definitely that.”
The waitress brought the check. “You two want this split or how are we doing this?”
Camille pulled out her wallet. “I think I need to pay for my cream and cherries. Let me get this, Sarah.”
Sarah frowned. “You sure? I can get it.”
“Yeah, let me get it this time.” She pulled a twenty out of her wallet. “Here, keep the change for the laughs.”
The waitress stuck it in her bra casually. “Thanks sweets!” She replied and bounced off.
“Um. Did she just stick the money in her bra?” Camille asked incredulously.
“Yep, she boinks Big Al, she's married to him, so he doesn't get any of the money anyway. She's got the puss so she makes the rules! She's the one that made him turn this from a greaser into a real restaurant.” Sarah took one last drag of her Coke and slid out of the booth. “Okay chick, let me get you home. I had a blast but I pull a long and early shift tomorrow.”
Camille slid out of the booth and stood. “Okay. I had fun. Thank you for understanding and making me laugh. And for being the best friend I've had in the past few months.”
Sarah smiled as she walked to the door. “Yeah, of course.”
Chapter Twelve – Devotion
The drive was short back home. Strange I never knew about that restaurant, she mused to herself. She was tingling at the thought of meeting Casey in her dreams. She didn't know if she'd be able to sleep at all. Sarah pulled up in her driveway. “Okay girl, we gotta do this again. Wanna get together this weekend maybe?”
“Yeah, sure, we could do that. What do you want to do?” Camille popped the door open.
“Oh you know, the usual, serial killing.” She said it with a still face.
Camille laughed. “What kind, Cocoa Krisp?”
Sarah grinned. “Yeah! With a movie. I really love movies. I have the perfect one! Wanna meet at my place?”
Camille stepped out of the car. “Okay, that sounds like a blast, you want to call me?”
“Yeah, I'll call you.” Camille closed the door and Sarah rolled the window down.
“Sleep tight!” She backed out of the driveway and drove away.
Camille looked at the sky and just simply stood for a few minutes looking at the stars in the sky. A star shot across the sky and her heart tripped, just like it did as a little girl. She made a wish. It wasn't for a prince with a big castle. It was for a certain angel.
She unlocked the door and closed it behind her with a sigh. The high of being out with Sarah was wearing off and the grey fog of depression was sliding back in. This time, depression, it is war. She dropped her purse on the kitchen table and went through to the laundry room to unload the washer and put the wet clothes in the dryer. She started the dryer and decided to wash another load of laundry. She poured the detergent into the drum of the washer while water ran and filled it with more stinky outfits. Mom would die if she knew I wasn't separating by whites and colors... Instead of the thought filling her with an overwhelming sadness, it just kissed on the edge of hurt, creating a twinge instead of cutting the hole in her chest open wide again.
She reached behind her back and undid the ties of her halter top, finding a old tee sitting in the laundry room that smelled clean. She tossed the halter in the wash too before closing the lid. She pulled the tee over her head and kicked the sneakers off, wiggling her toes in happiness. The floor felt gritty and gross. She reached between the fridge and the wall until she found the broom. It was covered in cobwebs. She shook them off onto the floor then swept the kitchen. It was a start. She got a glass of water from the sink and went upstairs to her room. She switched her bedside lamp on and took a slow breath. Her room was a mess and she couldn't take it anymore.
She started with her sheets. They hadn't been changed in forever. She stripped the bed and ran the sheets downstairs to the laundry room. She saw a rose scented spray her mom used to put on their beds when they changed sheets. With a rueful smile, she grabbed it and ran back up stairs, saturating her bed and pillow with it before grabbing clean sheets and putting them on the bed. She ran the comforter downstairs and put a thin blanket from the closet on it instead. The bed looked good. She straightened up all of her books on her shelf and charged her laptop. She picked up trash off the floor and filled her bathroom trashcan to over full, which she ran back downstairs. While down there she pulled the clothes out of the dryer, stuffed them in a basket, switched the wet laundry to the dryer and got more going. She ran the basket upstairs and then decided it was as good a time as any to dust and vacuum. Half an hour later she looked at the bathroom, which was swimming in soap scum and started cleaning that too. Another hour later, she was exhausted and covered in sweat, but her room and her bathroom were completely spotless. She fell into bed and her eyes closed almost instantly.
The air was warm, the sky was azure and clear. The sun was warm and golden and dappled through the trees to touch her skin. She was wearing shorts and a tank top. She tipped her face up to the sun peeking through the emerald leaves of the trees and suddenly he was there, just like he always was.
“Hi,” he said simply, standing over her, the sun gilding his body. He wore only denim cut off shorts. She bit her lip in anticipation.
“Hi,” she murmured, ogling him.
“I thought we would be somewhere else this time. I'm proud of you, you know.” He held his hand out to her, his dark eyes smiling, dimples at the corners of his mouth peeking.
“Proud of me?” She breathed. “For what?” She put her hand in his and he pulled her to standing.
“I'm proud of you for putting yourself out there today. For meeting Sarah. For laughing. For giving your soul away at that poetry reading. For being... simply, you.” He still held her hand.
“Thank you,” she said simply. She bit her bottom lip, her little white teeth leaving an indention in her full lower lip that begged to be kissed. So he leaned forward and followed the urge.
His lips gently touched hers and moved slowly. She kissed back, bringing her arms around his neck. She tasted like springtime and desire, a heady sweet combination. Her lips were softer than he had remembered. He grabbed her hips and pulled her to him tightly. She groaned against his mouth and he slipped his tongue between her satiny lips to tangle with hers.
He broke the kiss slowly and rested his forehead against hers. His breath came fast. She smiled softly. “Camille, you realize we won't be able to keep this charade up forever, right?” His gut twisted saying the words.
“I know. But I don't like it.” Her voice came out panicked and she
gripped his hand tight, trying with all her might to keep him from going. “You can't leave me yet, Casey. I need you too damn much.” He felt solid, alive, and warm. She pressed her cheek to his chest and marveled at hearing his heartbeat.
“I won't leave you until I can no longer hide this from The Big Man. He knows my thoughts. He will figure it out eventually. But you are also moving forward, Camille. You are making progress. You are getting out, meeting people. My job is almost done. I'd have to leave then anyway.” She looked up into his dark eyes, her green ones full of tears.
“But you can't leave me,” was all she could whisper. She rested her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her.
“I don't want to leave you, Cami. There are things you need to know about my situation before anything goes further. It wouldn't be fair to you if you didn't know. There is much you don't know about me. Once I tell you, then you can decide if you still want me to stay with you. Because if after all of this, you still want me to stay, I'll fight Heaven and Earth to be with you.” He pulled back slightly and she dropped her arms.
“Casey, you are an angel. How bad can you be?” She shrugged.
He smiled at her softly and ran his hand through her soft hair before turning. “Come here, let's sit down and talk.” A blanket had appeared on a grassy knoll a few steps away. He took her hand and led her over. She sat down and he reclined beside her, his long legs taking up the rest of the space. “Camille, I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. I didn't have a great life. My mom was a crack head. She started prostituting when she was young, then when her body wasn't as marketable anymore, she sold me and my sister out for whatever she could get in payment, money and drugs usually. I was eight, and she was five.” He looked away for a few minutes and was silent. Camille gently took his hand to reassure him. When he turned back to look at her, his dark eyes were wet with tears.
“When I got a little older, I joined a gang because I figured if I was bigger and stronger, no one could ever hurt me again. I was fifteen, and I got handed a pistol. I thought I was a bad ass. I was told to shoot anyone that looked at me wrong. I shot a guy in the arm my first week, spent some time in juvie.” He took a breath and ran his hand through his hair. “I got off light, only a few months, then I was back on the streets.”
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