Chapter Fifteen
Cami woke up, squinting against the sunlight flooding her bedroom at the beach house. What had she been thinking, drinking a bottle of wine the previous night? She groaned, pressing a hand to her pounding head. You’d think she would’ve learned her lesson after what happened the last time. It was how she’d ended up with a broken arm… and ruined her relationship with Flynn.
She raised her arm, studying her cast. Her friends’ names, written in colored markers and accompanied by stick-figure drawings to cheer her up, were missing. Just like three decades of her memories. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she stared at the plain, white cast. She felt as if she was losing her mind.
Yesterday had been the worst. She hadn’t recognized half the stores on Main Street, and then she’d seen that boy. He looked just like Flynn. The boy she’d loved. The boy who’d broken her heart. A boy who was now a man, and she was still seventeen, stuck in the body of a forty-seven-year-old woman.
It was easier being seventeen, easier not to open the door to her memories. She’d tried. She really had. Even when the pain in her head nearly brought her to her knees, she’d tried to remember. But it wasn’t pain that kept her from opening the door to her memories, it was fear. It was like when she was a little girl and had been afraid to open her closet door at night, positive there was a monster inside. Something warned her that there was a monster lurking behind the door where her memories were stored, and she wasn’t about to let it out.
She shot out of bed, ignoring the pounding in her head as she ran for the bedroom door and pulled it open. “Riley! Where are you?”
“In my bedroom!”
Her panic subsided at the reassuring sound of Riley’s voice.
Riley poked her head out of her room and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Cami smiled with a shrug. “Just looking for you.” She joined Riley in her room and looked around. It was spotless. The only thing out of place was the box on Riley’s bed. “What are you doing?”
“Remember I told you I wanted to find some of my mom’s stuff?” Riley asked while walking back to her bed. “I found this box of photos from when my mom was young.” She held one up. “Come see.”
Cami’s vision blurred around the edges, and she took a step back, and then another and another until she was standing in the hall. “No.” She shook her head. “No.”
“Cami, what is it? What’s wrong?”
She pressed a hand against her stomach. “I don’t know. I’m not feeling so good.”
Riley sighed. “That’s what you get for drinking almost an entire bottle of wine.” She returned the photo to the box. “I’ll make you some toast.”
Cami gave Riley a shaky smile when she reached her side, and pulled her in for a hug. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”
“Really?”
Cami nodded. “Really.”
Riley gave her a shy smile. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had too.”
“You’re sure you’re not mad at me for dyeing your hair pink or getting you in trouble with Noah?” Cami asked, following her down the stairs.
“A whole head of pink hair was a bit much, but I like the streaks,” Riley said, holding out the pink-streaked curly locks that framed her face before letting them go and walking to the kitchen. “And it’s not like you made me drink the wine.”
“Yeah, but I don’t think Noah cares whether I made you drink it or not. I’m pretty sure he hates me.” She looked around the kitchen. “Where are they, anyway?”
“At the station for a meeting. Willow said they’ll be home around noon. And my brother doesn’t hate you, Cami. He’s just not used to having anyone living with him, especially, uh, teenage girls. He likes everything nice and orderly, and he likes his quiet.” Riley grinned. “And you’re like having a tornado in the house.”
“It’s not just that. He thinks I’m a bad influence. He’s your brother, and he’s protective. I’m pretty sure if it wasn’t for you and Willow, he would’ve kicked me out of the beach house last night. But I get it. If I were him, I’d want to kick me out too. I’ll apologize when he gets home. I won’t do anything else to get us in trouble, Riley. Promise.”
Riley turned from putting four slices of bread into the toaster. “You don’t seem like yourself. Are you sure you’re okay? Other than being hungover, I mean.”
She lifted a shoulder. “I don’t like people being mad at me.”
“I know what would make Noah happy.”
“What?”
“After we have some toast, we’ll go up and clean your room. Then I’ll take a pic and send it to Noah. I guarantee that’ll put him in a good mood before he comes home.”
“I guess. If you think it’ll work.”
“I know it will. And I bet you’ll feel better too.”
An hour and a half later, they stood in the middle of Cami’s spotlessly clean bedroom. Not a thing was out of place. They’d even vacuumed and dusted.
“Noah had better appreciate this. I’m exhausted.” Cami sniffed herself and made a face. “I think I sweated out the wine. I’m going to take a shower.”
“How are you exhausted? You sat on the bed and bossed me around.”
“My arm’s in a cast, Riley. It’s not like I could pick up anything too heavy.”
“Clothes aren’t heavy, and they’re not that difficult to hold, even one-handed.”
Cami grinned as she walked to the bathroom, feeling a lot better than she had earlier that morning. Maybe Riley was right: having a clean room worked wonders. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“How are you going to do that?” Riley grumbled from where she sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for a response from Noah to her email. She’d sent him a pic of Cami pretending to vacuum her room.
“I’ll think about it when I’m in the shower.”
“Well, it better be good.” Riley grinned, holding up her iPad. “Noah’s so happy that you cleaned your room, he’s picking up lobster rolls for lunch.”
“Woo-hoo!” Cami cried. “This is going to be the best day!”
Forty minutes later, Cami watched as Riley stood at the foot of the dock, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “This is a really bad idea.”
“No,” Cami said. “It’s a great idea. You’re spending your summer at the beach, and you don’t know how to swim. I bet Noah will be even happier with me than he is now if I teach you.” Cami raised herself out of the water and rested her arms on the end of the dock. “I’m a really good swimmer, Riley. You’re safe with me. I promise.”
“You won’t throw me in or do anything crazy?” Riley asked, taking tentative steps along the dock toward her.
“Cross my heart.” She drew an x on her chest. “You can hold on to the ladder. You don’t have to let go unless you want to.”
“Okay. I guess I can do that.” Riley slipped off her denim shorts to reveal a navy one-piece bathing suit, dropping her beach towel on top of them.
Once she’d taught her to swim, Cami decided she was going to take Riley bathing suit shopping. “All we’re going to do is practice kicking for now,” she told Riley, who climbed down the ladder as if she were going to her execution.
As the water lapped at her calves, Riley shrieked, “It’s freezing!”
“Go fast and get it over with. You’ll get used to it,” Cami said, treading water beside the ladder.
Riley shot her a dirty look but did as she said.
“Now hang on to the bottom rungs and let your legs float out behind you and then start kicking.”
After about ten minutes of kicking, Riley glanced at her. “Is this all I’m going to do?”
“Would you be okay letting go of the ladder? Just try one hand for now if you’re not.”
“Okay.” Riley nodded and took her left hand off the bottom rung. “Now what?”
“Just keep kicking, and once you’re comfortable, we’ll tread water. Like this.” She showed Riley how. “Trust me, you’ll be fine. You’ve got a strong kick. But if you get nervous, you can just grab the ladder.”
Riley nodded. “I’m going to let go now.”
“Just keep kicking and move your arms,” Cami instructed, keeping a close eye on her.
Riley’s eyes got big. “Look, Cami. I’m doing it.”
“You are, and you’re doing great.”
“Can you teach me to swim now?”
“Let’s practice treading water for a while longer. It’s one of the most important things to learn. We’ll try floating next, and then we’ll go closer to shore, and I’ll teach you how to do the dog paddle.”
“The dog paddle?” Riley groaned, making a face.
“Hey, that’s the first stroke I learned.”
In the end, Riley didn’t care that she was doing the dog paddle. All she cared about was that she was able to swim six feet to where Cami stood in four feet of water. “You did it!” Cami cheered.
“I did it! I can swim!” Riley threw herself at Cami and hugged her. “Can you teach me how to swim like you now?”
“We’ll practice what you’ve learned for the next couple of days, and then you can try the front crawl. Okay?”
Riley sighed. “Okay.” Then her face lit up at the sounds of car doors shutting, and seconds later, Noah and Willow rounded the side of the beach house. Riley waved her arms. “Noah, Willow, come here! Come watch me swim.”
Cami felt like a proud mother watching Riley show Noah and Willow what she’d learned, but nothing compared to the feeling she got when they hugged and praised her for teaching Riley to swim. She didn’t think the day could get much better, but it did.
They had a picnic on the beach, and the lobster rolls were as amazing as Cami remembered. After they ate, they played beach volleyball. Noah had found a net in the garage. He’d found horseshoes too, and they played that later. Mostly because Cami and Riley got tired of Noah and Willow beating them at beach volleyball. They were so competitive!
The way they kept smiling at each other was annoying too. Cami didn’t know why, but she had the weirdest urge to pull Willow away from Noah every time they hugged after winning a game. Maybe she was just jealous that Willow had a boyfriend and she didn’t.
Cami watched Willow bend over to throw her horseshoe, and she wasn’t the only one watching. She narrowed her eyes at Noah. “Dude, stop checking out her butt.”
“I wasn’t checking out her butt. I was checking out her, uh, form.” Noah cleared his throat. “Her throwing form. Stance. Whatever.”
“Why? It’s not like you need any pointers, and Willow hasn’t come close to the stake with any of her throws,” Cami said, nodding to where Willow’s horseshoe had landed, almost a foot from the stake.
“Which is why I was checking out her form. To give her pointers.”
Willow grinned at Noah as she walked toward him. “You can give me pointers anytime,” she said, and then she went up on her toes and whispered something in his ear.
Cami rolled her eyes at the expression on Noah’s face. He looked as if he wanted to throw Willow over his shoulder and run into the house. “You two are so annoying,” she said, walking away to collect the horseshoes.
“Why are they annoying?” Riley asked, joining them with a can of soda for herself and one for Cami.
“They’re flirting again.” She didn’t expect any support from Riley. She practically beamed every time she caught Noah and Willow giving each other goo-goo eyes.
Totally called it, Cami thought when Riley’s face split in an ear-to-ear grin.
At a chiming sound coming from the back pocket of her denim shorts, Willow pulled out her phone and made a face. “I hate to bail on you, guys, but I have a Zoom call. Wish me luck,” she said to Noah.
He tucked Willow’s hair behind her ear. “It’ll be fine,” he said, and then he pulled his phone from the pocket of his board shorts and held it up. “Text me if you need backup.”
“What’s a Zoom call, and why would you need backup?” Cami asked, looking from Willow to Noah. She didn’t miss their shared glance.
I shouldn’t have asked, she thought when Willow explained that she’d be talking to people on her laptop and how it worked. It made Cami’s head hurt.
“It’s just a meeting about Channel 5 stuff,” Willow added before sharing another glance with Noah.
He nodded and smiled at Cami and Riley. “Come on, you two. Best three out of five. The loser does the dishes tonight.”
“No way,” Cami said as Willow jogged up the steps to the beach house. “Cooks don’t clean. It’s a rule.”
“It’s between you and Riley, then. I’m cooking tonight.”
Riley snorted. “You don’t cook. Mrs. D does.”
“Yeah, but this is different. I’m grilling. Prepare to be amazed, Tink.”
“It sounds like I’d better prepare a backup dinner,” Cami quipped, and she and Riley discussed what she was going to make in between throwing horseshoes and trying to distract Noah. It didn’t work. He still beat them, and Cami and Riley were tied for cleanup duty.
Noah glanced at his phone and then at the beach house. “How about another game of beach volleyball? I’ll take on the two of you.”
“I’m in. Cami?” Riley asked.
“Sure. I just have to go to the bathroom.”
“Are you sure you can’t wait?” Noah asked, looking uncomfortable. “Willow should be off her call in a few minutes.”
“Uh, no, I can’t.” She shook her head and walked away, wondering what the big deal was.
“Be quiet and be quick, Cami. Don’t disturb Willow,” Noah called after her.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said as she ran up the stairs and hurried across the deck, opening the door and closing it quietly behind her. She heard Willow’s voice as soon as she walked into the house and stopped in her tracks.
“Of course I want her to get her memory back, Sage. The last thing I want is for Cami to face Nonna, Zia, and Mom with no idea that she’s been estranged from the family for twenty-five years.”
Cami pressed a hand to her mouth, muffling her cry. Her knees went weak, and she leaned against the door. It couldn’t be true. There had to be some mistake. She eased away from the door, tiptoeing closer to the kitchen, where Willow sat at the table with her back to her. Cami stayed out of view behind the wall separating the kitchen and living room.
“Maybe you should’ve thought about that before you contacted Cami behind the family’s back,” a woman said.
Cami didn’t like the way the woman spoke to Willow, and she peeked around the edge of the wall. She could see two women on the laptop’s screen. The one on the left had auburn hair and looked as if she was sitting in an office. Cami could see her sister Gia in the woman’s features. The woman on the right, despite her blond hair, looked enough like Cami’s sister Eva that there was no denying they were related. Cami drew her head back, leaning against the wall for support. They really were her nieces.
“I know, Sage. We’ve gone over this already, and I’ve apologized.”
“Willow’s right, Sage. Let it go. Cami’s here, and now we just have to figure out a way to reunite her with the family without making things worse,” the other woman said.
“Easy for you to say, Lila. You and Zia Eva won’t be here.”
Cami decided Sage was a pain in the ass. She’d inherited that particular gene from her grandmother, not her mother, that was for sure. Her grandmother and mother who, from the sounds of it, no longer loved Cami. She squeezed her eyes closed to keep the tears at bay, wondering what she could’ve done that was so bad they’d cut her off from the family. It had to be her mother and sisters who’d cut her out of their lives because Cami loved her family too much to be separated from them for weeks, let alone decades.
“Really, Sage? You’re not being helpful at all. Did you have a bad day in court or what?” Willow asked.
Cami wondered if Sage was a lawyer. It wouldn’t surprise her if she was. She had a tough, know-it-all voice. But maybe she was a judge. She sounded judge-y.
“Sorry, Lila. It’s been a stressful week.”
Cami peeked around the wall. Sage was pushing her fingers through her hair. She looked stressed, and Cami felt a little bad for judging her. She knew only too well what it felt like to have a tough week.
Well, she felt bad until Sage continued talking. “Look, I know that you don’t want to hear this, Will, but if we don’t want to have World War Three on our hands, and you don’t want Cami to get hurt, you have to help her regain her memory. Stop tiptoeing around. Give it to her straight. Ask the hard questions.”
“The doctor said not to pressure her, Sage. I don’t want to upset her. I did that yesterday when I had to explain to her that the boy she was chasing down Main Street wasn’t Flynn, and she wasn’t seventeen.”
Cami winced at the memory.
“Poor kid. She must have terrified him,” Sage said.
Seriously? Cami knew who had inherited her sister Gia’s compassionate nature, and it sure as heck wasn’t Sage.
“But Will, if we’re going to break the news to the family on Monday, you’re going to have to toughen up. I reached out to a former client. She specializes in traumatic brain injuries and amnesia, and she thinks it’s possible Cami has a painful memory that she’s blocking. So start asking her questions about what was going on that summer. There’s a reason she’s stuck at seventeen.”
“I think it’s because she broke her arm that summer too,” Willow said. “And broke up with Flynn.”
“Or maybe she’s stuck at seventeen because those are some of her happiest memories,” Lila suggested.
Okay, Lila sounded nice, but if Cami breaking her arm and breaking up with her boyfriend were her happiest memories, her life must really suck.
“You might be right. She has every reason to want to forget this past year, what with her husband cheating on her and then ending up having to pay him alimony, not to mention her career has tanked,” Willow said.
Cami covered her ears, chanting, Yadda, yadda, yadda in her head. She had to get out of there. Why had she listened, anyway? She lowered her hands from her ears, slowly backing away from the wall before turning and tiptoeing to the powder room. She had her hand on the knob when the door to the beach house opened and Noah and Riley walked inside.
Noah glanced her way and frowned. She had to pretend she was coming out of the bathroom, not going in. She walked over to them with a smile and whispered, “I thought we were playing beach volleyball.”
“Okay. That sounds like a plan,” they heard Willow say. “Send pics of the wedding, Lila. Give our love to everyone. And Sage, I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”
Oh no, they’d made a plan. Cami didn’t like the sound of that, especially if Sage was involved with said plan.
“We were worried about you,” Riley said to Cami. “Are you okay?”
“Better now, thanks.” She nodded, thinking that was as good an excuse as any for why she’d been MIA.
Willow walked out of the kitchen, and her eyes shot to Cami. “Uh, is everything okay?”
“Yeah.” Cami nodded. She didn’t want Willow to guess she’d overheard her. “Come on, we’re going to play beach volleyball. Let’s go.” She sounded manic. Like she had something to hide. And the way Noah’s narrowed eyes moved over her face, she worried he’d figured it out.
“It’s almost four. I should probably get organized for my broadcast,” Willow said.
“Okay, but first come upstairs. I want to show you guys something. I found a box of pictures. Wait until you see Uncle Will.”
Cami’s heart began to race. Will. Will… Bennett. She knew that name.
“You won’t believe how much he looks like Noah, Willow. Well, except he has fair hair, not dark,” Riley said as she ran upstairs.
She expected them to follow but Cami couldn’t move. She didn’t only recognize his name, she remembered him. Will was the boy she’d flirted with at the dunes. The boy who… She staggered, clutching her head, moaning as the door to her memories opened.
“I can’t, Will. I have to go home. It’s late.”
“I got us a hotel room, Cami. I’m beat. We’ll leave first thing in the morning. I promise. Your mom won’t even know you’ve been gone.”
“You don’t know my mother.” She put the blame on her mother but it was more than that. Cami didn’t want to stay in a hotel room with Will. She liked him a lot, but she didn’t love him. She loved Flynn, and she felt guilty enough.
Last week, she’d had sex with Will. She hadn’t meant for it to happen, but he was hot, and he was sweet, and he made her feel beautiful, and she’d missed Flynn. She’d been angry at him too.
“She’ll ground me for the rest of the summer, Will. We’ll drive home with the windows open, we’ll get some coffee, and I’ll talk to you the entire way back to Sunshine Bay. I won’t let you fall asleep. I promise I won’t. It’s an hour drive. It’ll be fine.”
“Whatever,” he said, taking his car keys out of his pocket. His strides were long and angry as he led the way to his red Corvette.
She hurried to catch up with him. “Don’t be mad at me, Will.” She felt like crying, and from the way Will’s expression softened, she had a feeling that he’d read the emotion on her face.
“As if I could stay mad at you for long.” He opened the car door for her and smirked. “Guess what we’re listening to all the way home.”
“No, not Smashing Pumpkins!”
“Yep. That’s your payback for ruining the night I had planned. You’re missing out, babe. Big-time.”
She was about to promise she’d make it up to him but didn’t want to lie to him. She wanted to stay friends, just not friends who had sex. “You’re a great guy, Will Bennett.”
He frowned as he got behind the wheel. “This isn’t you giving me the brush-off, is it?”
“No, of course not.”
“So we’re still on for kitesurfing tomorrow?”
“As long as my mother doesn’t discover I snuck out, we are.”
“Then we’d better get you home.”
“Cami?”
Willow’s voice jerked Cami from the memory, and she lifted her gaze to where Willow stood with Noah, looking concerned. Cami remembered. She remembered everything. Drawing on her acting abilities, she forced a smile. She couldn’t tell them she’d gotten her memory back. Not yet. Not until she made amends for everything she’d done.