“Your friend here has not only made it his life mission to take down my family, but he’s also broken the heart of one of my friends. He’s not welcome here, but Jane called and said to let him in anyway.”
“I appreciate this,” I tell her honestly.
“Reina will see you both now, Sal,” she says, ignoring me.
He leads me down a hallway, where the doors at the end open automatically for us as we approach. Inside, a very pregnant Reina Corrigan is sitting at a desk with Jane and Matt flanking her. I swallow hard, because I know their welcome is going to be even rougher than the one I got from Alex. Sal rushes over to hug Jane, and her eyes soften for him, before landing back on me. I can’t read what I see in those eyes, but I sit when she motions for me to do so.
“Jane said you needed us to explain things to your friend, Sal, but as he’s been going after me and mine, I’m not feeling too talkative,” Reina says, eyeing me like she’s sizing me up for a kill, which she just might be.
“He was my best friend when everything went down with my dad, and no one told him the truth.”
“You thought I hurt your friend, and your coach,” Jane says, and I see understanding in her eyes now.
“Yes. I vowed to punish you from taking my second family from me.”
“I understand you missed your friend, but this is just ridiculous. You’ve put us in a dangerous position,” Reina says, her eyes cold and hard.
“You’ve certainly given me enough fuel for my fire. Your Foundation and its women are involved in more 911 calls than anyone else in this city. Not to mention how you sent one undercover to seduce me, and try and dissuade me from looking into everything.”
“We help people, and yes, that means we’re often thrown into situations where police or EMTs are needed. As for Camari, I will admit I sent her to get information from you, but anything else that occurred between the two of you was not my doing.”
“Lots of organizations in this city help people, but they’re not showing up at crime scenes regularly.”
Before she can respond to me with the answers I still desperately want, an alarm goes off, and she jumps from her chair. I didn’t know pregnant women could move so fast, but she’s running from her office like it’s on fire.
“Slow down, Rei!” Matt yells, running after her.
“Camari just collapsed!” she yells back, prompting me to vault from my seat and go after them.
I slide into the elevator behind her as the doors close, and while she glares at me, she doesn’t stop us as we descend. “You shouldn’t be here. Once we get where we’re going, someone will escort you back up.”
“You said Camari collapsed. What happened to her?”
“If she wants you to know anything about her, she’ll tell you.”
“I’m not leaving until I know she’s okay.”
“You’ll leave when I tell you to leave.”
“Let him stay,” Matt says, speaking up for the first time.
“His presence is a danger to all of us.”
“Do you love her?” he asks me.
“Yes,” I tell him with no hesitation, because I do. No matter whether I can trust her, or think we can be together again, I love Camari.
“It’s not enough,” Reina insists. “His moral compass is too high to ignore everything for love.”
“Then you’ll erase all this from his memory.”
“What? You can do that?”
“Yes, and it’s the only reason I’m going to let you stay,” she tells me as the elevator doors open onto a medical ward.
I see several of the Foundation employees and interns already gathered here, and the rest exit an elevator to our right immediately after us. Conversation stops when they see me, although nurses are rushing in and out of one of the rooms, and I can hear an African male yelling out orders.
“Rei?” Tegan Hall asks, looking alarmed.
“Don’t worry about him. I want to know how this happened since I saw the orders from Kendrick come through this morning, barring her from the gym today.”
Ainsley Taylor steps forward, a grim look on her face. “She didn’t try to scan in, so I reviewed the tapes, and saw a guy who was leaving let her in.”
“It is against Corrigan policy to let someone else use your access for anything. Why would he risk his job over something like this?”
“She flirted her way in, even kissing him on the cheek.”
“Damn it! I should’ve known she’d try something.”
“Calm down, Rei,” Matt tells her, and now he’s looking alarmed.
“How am I supposed to calm down? She’s one of mine, and I failed her. I’ve behaved badly towards her in the past, making her think I’m still punishing her because of you, and now she’s in that room because I didn’t think I needed to buddy her up. I should’ve assigned someone to stay with her at all times today. Especially after how Matisse found her this morning. She’s in there because of me!”
“She’s in there because she has a problem, and has fought against any and all help we’ve offered her. Even when we demanded, she got around us because she felt she needed to! This is not your fault,” Audrey Edwards tells her.
Reina shakes her head, and then clutches her pregnant belly, doubling over in obvious pain. “Princess!” Matt yells, catching her as she falls. “Help!”
The African doctor runs out of Camari’s room, and upon seeing Reina passed out in Matt’s arms, directs him into the room next door. “Put her on the bed.”
“It’s too early, Kenny.”
“It’s early, but not too early, Matt. The fetus is viable.”
“Reina?”
“You know I’ll do everything I can for both of them.”
That’s the last thing we hear as the door closes. The women around me are all crying, or looking like they’re on the verge of it. I don’t know how I’m still even standing after everything that just went down, but I need to see Camari. I start for her room, where some nurses are still gathered, while others have gone into Reina’s room, but Sierra Taylor steps in front of me, halting my progress.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I need to see Camari, and make sure she’s okay.”
“So now you care about her all of a sudden?”
“She deceived me, but I never stopped caring.”
“I’ll give you the deception part, but you could’ve let her try and explain.”
“She would’ve told me all about this?” I ask, waving my arm around, and already knowing the answer.
“She couldn’t tell you everything, but she’d have told you what she could.”
“Can you please let me just see her?”
“When they tell us it’s okay, then yes, we will let you in,” Audrey says, placing a hand on my shoulder.
I guess that’s the best I can hope for, and I take a seat in one of the empty chairs in this lounge area. I’m nervous about having my memories erased, but I’m not going to leave until I know what happened to Camari, and that she’ll be okay now.
Camari
I know I’m dreaming, because there’s no way Lennon is here, whispering for me to wake up. I don’t want to wake up, and face reality. I know I’m going to be in so much trouble for disobeying Kendrick, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m kicked out of the Society.
“Cam, please wake up,” I hear Lennon urge me once more, and because he sounds real, I do what he asks.
“Are you really here?”
“Yes, I’m here. I need to call one of the nurses, and let her know you’re up.”
“Not Kendrick?”
“He’s with Reina.”
“Is she okay?” I ask, trying to sit up, but failing.
“She was upset, and they’re worried about both her and the baby. I don’t know anything else.”
If I wasn’t afraid of being kicked out already, I would be now. There is no way in hell they’ll let me stay in the Society after I put Reina and her baby at risk
.
“Matt must be a basket case.”
“He looked a little pale when he carried her into the room next door, but I haven’t seen him since.”
“How did you even get here?”
“I ran into Sal when I was shopping earlier, and he told me things weren’t what I thought they were back when we were kids. He brought me here to talk to Jane and Reina, but you collapsed, and I forced my way down here in the elevator with Reina and Matt.”
“You forced your way in?”
“Yeah.”
I shake my head. “I can’t believe they didn’t just stop and throw you out on one of the floors.”
“Reina said something about erasing my memories.”
“Oh.” I should’ve thought of that.
“They can really do that, can’t they?”
“Yes.”
“That means you can tell me everything, because I won’t remember it anyway.”
“Do you really care about knowing it all?”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
Yeah, he is, and it means more than he’ll ever realize. He’s right about me telling him things, and I decide I really want to. My friends know bits and pieces of my story, but no one knows it all. If we’d stayed together, I might have told him one day, or I might have kept it all to myself. Now is as good a time as any to unburden my soul.
15
Camari
“I was born in Greece, and had a pretty great childhood, surrounded by family. I was the baby of the family, and indulged in ways my older sisters weren’t. We were more middle class than rich, but I never wanted for anything, especially food. I loved to eat, and my family encouraged my love, until I got old enough for boys to notice.
“My sisters got the ‘right’ kind of notice, and were both engaged by the time they turned sixteen. Unlike them, I was mocked by the boys in our village; called names and groped, because none of them wanted me, or would defend me. My mother cut back on my portions, but I was hungry, so I snuck food from wherever I could get it. I was caught, and thrown out onto the street.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“I’m not. I couldn’t stay in my village, because no one there had any respect for me, so I begged my way onto a ferry for Athens, and tried to begin a new life. It didn’t work out like I hoped, and I ended up living on the streets, and only eating when my pleading and begging fell on the right ears. Through no plan on my part, I lost all the weight my family wanted me to, but I wasn’t going to go home at that point, because I was too ashamed.”
“Cam, I’m so sorry.”
I ignore him, because if I stop to wallow now, I won’t get it all out. “A woman approached me on the street one day, and told me she could give me a better life. I’d heard stories about kids being taken, and how they were never seen again, but I was dirty, and hungry, so I really didn’t care. The woman turned out to be a high-class madam, and she made me into a high-class escort.
“I followed a strict diet to keep the weight I was at, which she said was perfect for some of her clientele. She taught me how to dress, how to speak, and how to act. I became one of her most successful girls, but I started wanting more. I had money, but I was scared to go out and try to rebuild myself yet again, until Matt Corrigan hired me one day, and changed my life.”
“You slept with Matt?”
“No. He hired me, and I believe he intended to sleep with me, but after one kiss, he apologized and told me he loved someone with all his heart, and even if he couldn’t have her, he didn’t really want anyone else. He said he’d pay me anyway, but as he was reaching for his wallet, a business associate of his came up to us. Apparently, Matt had told him he was engaged, because the guy was trying to push his daughter on him, and this man assumed I was the one, because he saw our kiss. I played along, and the next day, I had a ring on my finger. A beautiful diamond that was worth more than anything I had ever owned.”
“Wow.”
“Our fake engagement lasted for six months, although Matt’s people managed to keep it out of the international press. During that time, he kissed me when he had to, but we never took things further. I wanted more, because I thought I was in love with him, but he never gave in to my attempts at seduction. When the deal was signed with the businessman, we had a public break-up, and I was a millionaire.”
“You loved him?”
“I thought I did, but I realized about a year or so ago that it was just a crush. He literally saved me from a life I chose, but was still slowly killing my soul, and I mistook gratitude for love.”
“Reina said something about being jealous, but I didn’t know exactly what she meant.”
“She hates that he put a ring on me first, even if it was fake, but I like to think we’re moving past it.” Or at least we were.
“What happened to you today?”
This is the hardest part to tell him, but I know we both need me to come completely clean, even if he won’t remember any of it.
“Even after I got out of that life, I was obsessed with staying within what I had been told was the perfect weight and size range. I denied myself, and fooled myself into thinking I was healthy. Right after you invited me to the bar the first time, I met with the doctor here, Kendrick. He told me my weight was bordering on being unhealthy, and said I needed to gain weight.”
“That’s when you ate the burger.”
“Yes, and it was wonderful. I forgot just how much I loved food, and I was happy to indulge with you. I did as I was told, eating more and exercising less. I started seeing a therapist here, and a nutritionist as well. It was glorious, until the night of our last date, when my dress wouldn’t zip up. I panicked, because I’d been ignoring how tight my jeans were getting, and because you said you liked my curves, but I didn’t have any other nice things to wear. Stella’s mom brought me clothes, and tried to calm me down, but I was still on edge. When my former client came to the table, he not only embarrassed me by bringing up my former profession, but also by mentioning my weight game. Then, you said I disgusted you.”
“I didn’t mean your body disgusted me,” he says, a horrified look on his face.
“Rationally, I knew that, but coupled with everything else, it was too much. I started cutting back on food again, and exercising like a maniac. This morning, Kendrick told me he was having Ainsley cut off my gym access.”
“I heard you charmed your way in anyway.”
I nod. “I did, and I worked out for hours, until I started to shake, fell and hit my head, and passed out.”
“Jesus.”
He reaches over, and kisses me on the forehead, wrapping his arms around me. I sink into his embrace, feeling like a giant weight has been lifted off me as I voiced all of the ugliness I’ve been keeping inside of me. I’m not healed, but I’m on my way there.
Lennon
I hold onto Camari, because I need her to feel my love right now. I’m not proud of the fact that my words helped land her in this bed, although I can’t shoulder all the blame. I may have second thoughts about my Corrigan agenda, but there are things going on here, and even if I won’t remember later, I need to know about them now.
“I need to know about all of this, and how you came to be my neighbor.”
“The Foundation is a cover for the Society, which was created by Jane Corrigan and her friends to help protect and save people who were being victimized. Mostly women and children, but they’ve helped plenty of men as well.”
“You’re all part of a vigilante organization?”
“On a high level, I guess you could call us that, although we’re sanctioned by pretty much almost every country on the planet, and often help them as well. We all come from different walks of life, and are trained in every area of life we’ll need to succeed at what we do.”
“That’s why no one would listen to me; the local government supports all of you as well.”
“Yes. Well, except for the Sheriff, apparently.”
“Why
didn’t Reina just have me killed when I started looking into things?”
“Did you miss the part where I said we help people? We don’t kill innocent people, Lennon. You posed a problem for us, but death was never something that was even considered where you were concerned.”
“Reina told me our relationship wasn’t exactly part of your job, either.”
“No. What I feel for you is real. I was told to get close to you, and gain your trust, but sleeping with you, and falling in love with you, weren’t part of my orders.”
“I want to believe you, Cam, but it’s hard. This place, and what you do makes it hard for me to know what’s real, and what’s not.”
“I can understand that.”
“What’s going to happen to you now?”
“I have no idea. I know I need more counseling, even if they don’t let me stay in the Society. My issues are too big for me to handle alone, although I’m finally ready to admit I have a problem.”
“I hope they let you stay,”
“Me, too.”
“I wouldn’t tell anyone, even if they didn’t wipe my mind. I can’t exactly condone what you’re doing, but I believe you’re all doing good things, Sal didn’t go into a lot of details, but he alluded to the fact that his life was better because of Jane Corrigan, and I believe that.”
“I’m glad you reconnected with your friend, and that you understand what we do. I’m sorry I had to tell them about him, but now I know it was the right thing to do.”
“So, it wasn’t a coincidence.”
“No. Reina thought he could help you come to terms with giving up your war against us. Originally, she didn’t think you’d be okay with everything if you were told, which is why I was sent in. I was just supposed to become friends with you, and try to convince you it wasn’t important to look into us. I actually considered it a punishment for everything with Matt, but I’ve since realized it was exactly what I needed.”
“In what way?” I ask, wanting her to tell me she loves me, even as I know I’ll have to reject that love.
“When I left my family, and then the streets, I vowed to never be in a position where I could be hungry, or unwelcome again. I thought that meant wearing designer clothes all the time, and being a bit of a snob. I couldn’t relate to anyone beneath my income level, because I thought it would open a door to me accepting less. What I learned after spending time with you was that less is oftentimes more. I’ve been so happy these past couple of weeks, wearing jeans and eating from the food truck, and the bars. I even enjoyed the softball games. Now I know it’s okay if I don’t always have what others think is a ‘perfect’ life; I just need it to be perfect for me.”
Society Girls: Camari Page 11
