Finally alone, his composure began to crumble. With clenched teeth, he slammed his fist against the steering wheel. So maybe he wasn’t over what happened with Amy, but what was wrong with that?
***
It was around noon when Cameron finally woke up. The second she opened her eyes, the brightness of the sunlight sent spears of sharp pain piercing through her head. Squeezing them shut again, she brought a hand to her head and groaned in discomfort. Rolling over, she went to cover her head with the pillow when something caught her eye.
A glass of water and two Alka-Seltzer tablets sitting on her nightstand. Wondering who had left them there, she reached over and tore open the medicine, then dropped the tablets into the water and watched them fizz. Once it was ready, she sat up and took a small drink. She grimaced at the taste as she left her room and went to the kitchen, expecting the house to be empty at this hour.
But Sam was in the kitchen, cooking. “I hope you’re hungry,” he said, “Because I’m making BLT’s.”
“Shouldn’t you be at work?” Cameron asked, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes.
“I called in,” he said. “For you, too.”
“Really?” she asked, placing a hand on her hip. “Why is that?”
He glanced over his shoulder at her. “I thought we could hang out.” Turning to the table, he brought a loaf of bread and a plate of bacon. Making another trip, he set out some sliced tomato and chopped lettuce. “You like mayonnaise or mustard?”
The smells were making her stomach growl. She hadn’t even realized she’d been so hungry. But she had to admit it was a little weird, considering she’d assumed she’d be waking up to a lot of screaming about ‘irresponsible actions’ after last night. Sam was constantly surprising her, and she never knew what to make of him. “Mayo,” she said finally.
Going to the fridge, he took out the mayonnaise and set it on the table, too.
Following the line he set up, she began to make her sandwich. Sam joined her, spreading mustard over his bread as he said, “Are you doing okay?”
She nodded as she picked out a few pieces of bacon. “Yeah. A little embarrassed,” she admitted. “I’ll be lucky if I don’t lose my job.”
He gave her a proud grin, and then turned back to his food. “I wouldn’t worry about that,” Sam said. “I’ve had to carry Shane through that same door a time or two.”
That came as a surprise to her. “Really?”
“Yep. Used to be a real pain in the ass,” he said with a chuckle.
She laughed. “Is that what I am?”
“Nah.”
But while the subject was open, she was a little curious about Shane’s history. After all, she’d been completely wasted last night, even passed out on him, and all he did was bring her home. That gave him major points in her book. “So what changed, with Shane I mean?”
“A couple years ago, he went on a weeklong bender and wound up overdosing,” Sam said, “had to have his stomach pumped and everything. We thought we were gonna lose him, but he pulled through.”
She wondered what would push Shane to do such a thing, when so far she’d seen not even a hint of a dark side.
“It gave him a good scare,” Sam said. “He got help after that.”
“Help?” Cameron asked. “Like…Bela’s kind of help?”
“NA,” Sam explained. “Still goes, too. Twice a week.”
So maybe she and Shane had gotten off on the wrong foot, she realized. Maybe he was actually…a good guy. Was that even possible? “It sounds like he had a lot of support,” she said, not really meaning anything by it.
But Sam noticed something, because he said, “We’d help you, too. If you wanted it.”
Cameron took her sandwich and sat down in a chair. “Is that why you got me that job with him? To push this whole AA thing?”
“No, of course not,” he said, taking the seat across from her. “But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hope he’d be a good influence.”
She chuckled lightly. “We’ll see.”
***
Sprawled out across his bed, Chad tossed a small rubber ball at the ceiling and caught it again. Working out his frustration with angry throws. Outside, he heard a car pull up. Then stomping on the stairs, which could only mean Sadie had come to yell at him for walking out on the date.
She barged right in the door, her cheeks flushed. Hands on her hips, she shot him one of her scolding looks. “I cannot believe you just ditched Lana like that. She’s one of my best friends!”
He tossed the ball again. It bounced off the ceiling with a soft thud and fell back into his open hand. “I wasn’t having a good time.”
“So you stay and stick it out, you say you’ll call her and don’t. That’s the acceptable way to blow a girl off. But you don’t bail mid-date. That’s worse than standing her up!”
He scoffed. “She’ll be fine.”
She hesitated, then, letting her hands fall from her hips, she moved forward. “Okay, so this one was a miss. First dates usually are, especially after a breakup. Next time—”
Chad sat up and leveled his gaze with Sadie’s. “There’s no next time. Why’d you put me through this?”
She blinked in surprise. “What?”
“Why do you care if I go out on a date or know how to flirt with a girl? You’re being a little pushy about it. What are you trying to prove?”
“Pushy? It’s been five years, and you’ve been alone since Amy left. It’s sad…it’s like you’re still hung up on her or something.”
“I like being alone. It works for me.”
“As one of your closest friends, it’s my duty to tell you that eventually…you have to let someone in. I’m just trying to help.”
“I don’t want this kind of help. I mean this whole…love story, happy ending crap comes from Shakespeare and fairy tales. It never really happens. You bring Amy up, then talk me into that stupid movie and expect me to feel like dating? You didn’t think it might stir up some crap for me?”
She sighed in defeat. “I didn’t know the movie was going to be like that…and I’m sorry that my every thought isn’t about what happened to Amy.”
“Maybe a psycho stalking a girl in the woods should make you think of your cousin.”
“She’s fine, Chad. She’s fine.”
He threw his hands in the air. “How would we even know? Like she let us in after…”
“You really sound like you’re over what happened.”
Beaten, he fell silent for a minute. Finally, he stood, shaking his head and turned from her. “Okay, so maybe I’m not. Why does it matter?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just keep hoping…eventually…” she trailed off, prompting Chad to turn and look at her.
Her green eyes glistened, which was the only sign of tears Sadie ever showed.
“What?” he prodded.
“I guess I just keep hoping that you’ll realize, even though Amy’s gone, there are people who’ve been right here for you the whole time.”
The tenderness, the insecurity in her voice made him listen to a statement he normally would’ve over looked. It was almost as if she was saying something else, something a little more personal. “Sadie…”
Stepping back, she shook her head, retreating toward the door. “No, it’s okay. You’re right. This whole thing was just…stupid, anyway.”
Moving to the front window, Chad watched Sadie as she left, but he didn’t try to say anything, or stop her. It was easier for him to let her go.
Later that night, Chad sat alone, in his dimly lit loft, deep in thought. His face solemn as he opened up the old shoe box that he’d kept safely stashed under his couch ever since Cameron had found it. Drawing in a tentative breath, he looked inside the box…for the first time in years.
Slowly, he lifted out a stack of letters, leafing through them. Some were in envelopes, but older ones were folded and weathered pieces of paper. Notes passed in the hallways, or left inside lockers.
Amy’s parents hadn’t wanted her to date anyone, especially a kid with no parents, so they’d had to sneak around. The letters were their only real way to communicate, since they hadn’t been able to talk on the phone.
Taking out a picture of Amy, he gazed at it. She was everything to him once, and was it so wrong to hang on to that? To hope that someday she would come back, and they would finally have their happy ending? After everything they’d been through, didn’t they deserve that? And he wasn’t going to give up, forget about her, until he knew for sure it was over. Five years wasn’t enough time to convince him it was, in fact it was nothing compared to the years they’d talked about spending together. He’d rather hang on to the memories, than forge a new future other than the one he and Amy had planned. With a heavyhearted sigh, he set the photo down.
Walking across the room to the entertainment center, he lifted up a stack of DVDS to reveal a homemade DVD hidden underneath. Across it, reads police evidence, 2009. Slowly, he put the DVD in and picked up the remote, turning the television on.
Amy appeared on the screen, sitting in an interrogation room. Looking tired and upset, wearing an oversized flannel shirt of Chad’s. It was wrapped around her, as if she was hiding in it. And even though she was facing one of the most gruesome situations of her life, she looked beautiful and dignified.
Beside her, Chad sat with his arm on the back of her chair and his hand clutched over hers. Across the table, Sam sat down. In a voice that was eerily professional, he said, “Please state your name and the date.”
She sounded so young and scared when she said, “Amy Chapman, December 16th 2009.”
“Amy, I’ve read your written statement and I just need to go over it with you again. Can you tell me, in your own words, what happened on Halloween?”
She looked down at the table, at Chad’s hand. And he remembered, even now, how tightly she’d squeezed it as she started talking slowly, stumbling on her words. “Chad and I were on a date. My car, it broke down in his driveway, so he took me home. We didn’t want my parents to see, so he… he dropped me off at the end of the driveway.”
“What time was this?” Sam interrupted.
“Um…around 10:30, maybe closer to 11:00.”
“It’s just a little hill. The length of a football field,” she said, as if this is what confused her the most. “I didn’t think anything about it. I’d just reached the top, when he grabbed me…”
With tears in his eyes, Chad listened intently, and this wasn’t the first time. And as he watched Amy’s statement yet again, he hated himself even more. With every time, each passing moment, he despised himself more.
Chapter Six
After thinking it over, Cameron decided that Shane was right. If a complete stranger could have faith that she was capable of being more than a chronic disappointment, then why couldn’t she believe it herself? So she made a conscious decision to try to do better. And she was going to start by going one day without alcohol. She’d made it through her shift, but when she got into her car, there was another surprise waiting for her.
There had been nothing around the rearview mirror when she went to work, but now a thin, gold chain dangled from it. And on that chainwas her wedding band.
She quickly jerked it down and clutched it in her hand. Looking down at it, she was certain it was the same one she’d been wearing the morning she woke up married to Julian. She remembered that ring in vivid detail, the solid gold band, the tiny little diamond in the center. And she remembered how it’d felt like a chokehold around her neck, trapping her into a life she never wanted. Quickly, she shoved the ring into her glove box and looked around, searching for a sign of Julian.
He was in town, he must be, but why hadn’t he approached her yet? Was he just lurking around, waiting to make his move? Was he watching her? And how did he keep getting into her car when she’d left it locked ever since she’d found that stick?
Unable to tolerate the feeling of not knowing, she finally succumbed to her weakness. She drove herself to the Tavern.
Being late afternoon, the place was nearly empty. Taking a seat at the bar alone, Cameron ordered a drink and a shot.
Quickly downing the vodka in the shotglass, she said, “Keep ‘em coming.”
“Awful early for that, ain’t it?” he responded, looking unsure.
She gave him a warning look, and he poured another shot.
Cameron pulled out her cell phone—it was new but she’d programmed Julian’s number into it. She wasn’t sure why she’d done it, exactly. As she scrolled down to his name, her finger hesitated on the send button. She wanted so badly to call and confront him, but she didn’t have the guts. Part of her hoped he would go away if she ignored him.
She chewed on her bottom lip, took another drink, and lit a cigarette. Put the phone down. Picked it up again. She couldn’t make up her mind.
But she wasn’t crazy, she knew that now. Julian had left both things in her car on purpose, and she knew it was only a matter of time before he barged into her life, and destroyed what little she had left. Thinking of this, she sat there for another hour, staring down at her cell phone, trying to decide if she should call him. She couldn’t figure out if she should confront him or beg him to back off. Either way, he would only wrap her in his word games and put her down.
She was in the middle of taking another shot when she saw Chad and Shane walk inside the bar. They spotted her immediately and headed over.
“Oh no,” she muttered. She gave bolting a thought before she decided she was probably too drunk to make it to the door before Chad caught her.
“You have your car back two days, so imagine my shock when I see it parked outside.” Chad leaned against the counter, swiping the drink out of her hand. Her eyes bulged and her mouth dropped in indignation when he handed it to the bartender, saying, “She’s underage.”
The bartender gave Cameron a scolding look and thrust a thumb over his shoulder, motioning to the door. “Outta here.”
Cameron turned a glare to Chad. “Thanks a lot.”
“You’re welcome.” Moving to stand behind her, he ushered her out of her seat and to the door.
Outside, Cameron stopped as Shane and Chad headed for the truck. Hands on her hips, she gave Chad a rage-filled scowl. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
They both turned to look at her. Shane stepped back, trying to stay out of the fight, trying not to watch.
“Your brother, that’s who.”
“Oh, please!” she shouted, throwing her hands in the air. “Like you had anything to do with me before two weeks ago. Like you’ve even been nice to me since I got here!”
He stepped up, his disappointed gaze driving straight into her. “Because since you got here all you’ve done is drink yourself into car accidents and hookups with strangers.”
Shane shifted uncomfortably and tilted his head to look at the darkening sky, avoiding Cameron’s glare.
“Look, this is the way I’ve lived for the last five years. Except I usually get the advantage of being left alone. Why can’t you mind your own business?”
“And let you end up where? Where is any of this getting you, Cameron? Or are you so far gone that you don’t even care?”
Turning to walk away, she muttered, “Just stay away from me.”
“Where are you going? Get in the truck.”
“No way!”
“You’re not driving,” he said, following her. “You’ll get yourself killed.”
“Chad,” she exclaimed, spinning to face him. “I’m not drunk. I just had a few drinks because it’s been a really bad day, okay?”
“That’s no excuse,” he snapped. “I have bad days all the time and I don’t go around doing stupid things like this.”
“Go to hell!” She turned away from him again.
“If you get behind the wheel, I’ll call Sam,” he warned, his voice sounding dead serious. “We’ll see if he makes it go away this time.”
Cameron sto
pped, keeping her back to him. The last thing she wanted right now was both of them on her case. Rolling her eyes, she turned to face him. “Fine. You can take me home on the condition you don’t say another word,” she said. “Not a single word.”
“Fine.” He rolled his eyes and held out his hand. “Keys.”
Reluctantly, she dug into her purse, found her keys and handed them over.
Chad turned to Shane. “Guess that game of pool’s gonna have to wait.”
“Looks like,” he said, watching as Cameron tried to open the passenger side door. When it didn’t, she kicked the tire and then hopped around like she hurt her foot. As if deciding it was safer to stand still, she crossed her arms, turned and leaned against the car. “Listen, try not to be—”
“Man, don’t start,” Chad interrupted.
“It’s just... she wasn’t even doing anything that bad.”
“Yet,” he said. “But, it’s only six o’clock.”
“Okay, fine.” Seeing the flashes of anger in Chad’s expression, he took a step back. “None of my business.”
“I’ll see you later.” Turning, he headed toward Cameron’s car and unlocked the door. Stooping to sit inside, he reached across the car and unlocked her door, too.
She climbed in while he adjusted the seat. Starting the car, he headed toward their house.
“I just want to get one thing straight,” she said suddenly. “This is the last time you’re ever going to pull a stunt like this. You don’t get to pull that stupid brother card and act like it means something.”
He glanced at her, one eyebrow raised, looking kind of cocky. Like he was dealing with a child.
She didn’t know how he could irritate her so much with just one look, especially so soon after she’d met him again. Somehow, he just got under her skin and rubbed her the wrong way. “Because it doesn’t mean anything, Chad. You don’t have any right to tell me what to do, or act like you know me, or—”
“You done?” he asked with a sigh.
“So done.” Letting out a shaky breath, she fixed her gaze ahead and refused to look at him, not even out of the corner of her eye. She was too afraid of the disappointment she knew she’d see, of the questions she couldn’t answer. So she let that uncomfortable silence settle once again, and she wondered if it would ever lift.
Another Life: Another Life Series #1 Page 8
