Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
CAMERON
About three years ago…
K nocking on Ana and Kamila’s front door with a heavy chest, I wait to see who’s home. Their mom opens the door and greets me with a hug.
“Cameron, you know you don’t have to knock. You’re practically family.”
“Sorry, Mrs. Morales, I always feel like I’m intruding whenever I don’t.”
She raises her brows, looking so much like Kamila whenever she gets annoyed. “You also need to start calling me Nora.” I chuckle as she opens the door wider for me to come in. “Kamila is still at cheerleading practice, but Ana is upstairs in her room.” Nora leads me to the kitchen with her hand on my back. Usually, I head straight up to Ana’s or Kami’s room right away. This is new.
“Hey Cam, how have you been?” Rafael, the girl’s stepdad, is standing by the kitchen counter eating a bowl of cereal. Rafael has been married to their mom for the past five years now. He’s been more of a father figure to them than their biological dad ever was. Their bio-dad skipped town, claiming he never wanted a child, let alone two. Kami and Ana were only one year old and he hasn’t been seen or heard from since the divorce was finalized. The house, along with full custody of the girls, was handed over to Nora without any complaints from him. She never asked for any child support. She wanted a clean break, according to her daughter's story.
“Hey Rafael, I’m good. Just here to see Ana.”
“Was she expecting you? She didn’t mention it. Not that she really tells me anything anymore,” Nora mutters.
My eyes cast downwards. “No, this was a last-minute hangout to talk.”
Raising my eyes slowly when Nora doesn’t move or answer, I discover her eyeing me suspiciously. She gives Rafael a look that he picks up on immediately since he excuses himself and goes to the living room, where he can no longer see us.
“Sit down with me for a minute, Cameron. Do you want anything to drink? I have soda, juice, or water?”
I shuffle uncomfortably in the seat. Hell, now I’m scared. “Soda sounds good.”
She rummages through the fridge and hands me an orange colored Colombian soda that Kami introduced me to a while ago.
“Here you go, sweetie.” At least she’s calling me sweetie.
Nora is a sweet but intimidating five-foot-five woman with shoulder-length wavy dark hair, tawny brown skin, and dark eyes that Ana inherited. She was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia and moved here twenty-four years ago when she was only twenty.
Nora takes the seat across from me on the dining room table. “Cameron, I want to ask if you and Ana are okay? I’ve felt some changes in your guys’ dynamic lately, and I’m worried.”
“Mrs. Mora—I mean Nora, have you tried talking to Ana about it? I know it’s not my place, but I believe she would be comfortable enough to have spoken to you about her problems. I know Kamila always has.”
Her shoulders drop, and for a second, since the first time I met her, the exhaustion in her eyes is evident. She straightens back in her chair. “I love both of my daughters very much, and I would do absolutely anything for them. I’m sure that by now you’ve seen they’re completely different people. Which is a great thing; however, Ana barely talks to me about her feelings. She’s simple in many ways and difficult in others. It’s hard to sit down and have a serious conversation with her. Kamila is the opposite. She’s complex, but has always been an open book about everything. So, to answer your question, you’re right about Kami coming to me with her problems when she needs help…Ana hasn’t for a long time now. That’s why I’m asking you if there is something currently wrong in your relationship.”
Taking a sip of my soda to buy me some time, I decide to be honest.
“Ana and I have been fighting more than usual lately.” I look to Nora, who signals to me to keep going. “I spoke to Kami about it yesterday and she told me to be straight up with Ana. If you’re wondering what we have fought about, I honestly can’t remember half of it.”
“Let me ask you this, Cam. Have you even tried to remember what the fights were about? Do you remember who usually started them?” Opening my mouth to answer, she puts a hand up. “Really think about it for a minute before answering.”
I think hard about the arguments we’ve had in the past couple of months. Bits and pieces come back to me. Some of them were about girls she was jealous of that I’d talk to in school or around the pool area, specifically with this girl named Olive. Olive and I’s conversations were only about class projects or the swim team. Okay, so that’s one topic that’s brought up often. Still, I focus on anything else we would have argued about, then a memory comes to me. It was about her canceling our plans too often at the last minute because she decided to hang out with her friends instead. I tried to explain that I didn’t mind her hanging out with her friends, but it was rude and hurtful to cancel so often at the last minute. She then became defensive and started to yell. Looking back, I remember more and realize that almost every fight was initiated by her. It was always her blowing everything out of proportion or not listening to my side of things.
“Mhm, that’s what I thought.” Nora knocks me out of my haze. “I like you, Cameron. I think you’re a good boyfriend and are going to be a great man if you continue to grow the way that you are. I do not think my daughter is a bad person, but she has issues that she needs to work through. Ana does love you, I can see it. If you both decide to end things, I understand. Give her a chance and try to talk to her. Be honest and do not back down no matter what she says, even if she starts yelling at the top of her lungs. That is if you don’t want to end things now.”
Observing Nora’s face, looking for any hints of sarcasm or ill intent, I don’t find any. She’s always been a no-bullshit type of person.
I do love Ana, and even so, I can’t deny that the fights have been completely draining. She isn’t a bad person, maybe we’re just young and need to learn how to communicate better. I want to make this work. I want to fight for us. I want to help her through her issues. I’m not a quitter.
“I don’t want to end things. I want to work it out.”
Nora nods and smiles. “Okay.”
“Thank you, Nora.”
“Thank you for what?”
We both jump at Ana’s voice. She’s smiling at me with curiosity. That same smile I fell in love with.
“We were catching up on how he’s been doing in school and with his family. I have to check in on his life too, as a concerned mother, of course,” Nora lies easily.
Ana rolls her eyes. “Are you done with the interrogation?”
“He’s all yours.”
She smiles and takes my hand. “Come on, babe, let’s go to my room.” We make our way up the stairs.
“No funny business up there, you two. You do plenty of that when Rafael and I are at work,” Nora says loudly from downstairs.
My eyes widen. “How the fuck does your mom know everything?” I whisper.
“I heard that,” Nora says.
“She’s like a hawk, Cam, I don’t know what to tell you.”
Noted.
“Let’s go to your room. We need to talk.”
“Nothing good ever comes from that. You sure you don’t want to make out instead?” She touches my lips, and I grip her wrist lightly to bring it down.
“Just a calm conversation for once. I’m not looking for a fight, babe.” She closes the door to her bedroom and sighs.
“Okay, talk. I promise to listen, not interrupt and not yell,” she explains with no sarcasm.
Wow. I’m surprised. This can actually work if she continues to be this receptive.
“Well, in case you haven’t noticed, we’ve been fighting a lot lately…”
“Earth to Cameron Kahlo?”
Fingers snap together in front of my eyes. Kamila’s voice comes through and breaks me out of reliving the only day that Ana ever took my feelings into consideration, or at least she pretended to. A very talented actress, that one. Which happened to be the day after I told Kamila she was my soulmate. I didn’t have a thing for Kamila back then, I was in love with Ana, unfortunately. Or so I believed.
Being around Kamila has triggered memories that I’ve worked hard to leave in the past. Most of them, anyways. Ultimately, no one can outrun their past. It chases you till you’re face to face with your old demons, forcing you to conquer your feelings and fears and forgive those who have wronged you.
Fuck that.
While she’s around, there’s no forgiving and no forgetting. However, there is something else I never expected to hang in the air. Desire.
“Cameron,” she snaps again. “I need you to focus so that we can finish this damn assignment.”
“Sorry. How many questions do we have left?” I keep my eyes on the textbook in front of me.
Since Friday, our kiss has been replaying in my mind over and over again. I may or may not have fucked my hand to the thought of her and her moans when I got back to my room that night. My orgasm left me feeling lightheaded. That doesn’t happen when I jerk off, only when I fuck, and even then, it’s rare. Afterwards, I felt a weird twinge of guilt over what I did to her after we kissed. I was a dick, but still, she and I can never happen. I haven’t been able to come up with a reason as to why I kissed her in the first place. Too much shit was happening all at once and I was impulsive. It’s better that we both keep our distance. Even then, this class fucks us over in that department.
“Cameron!” She flicks the side of my head, and I turn to her, baring my teeth. “Jesus Christ, pay attention, or I’ll keep flicking you, and I know how much you hate being flicked.” She’s right. I do need to pay attention, and I do hate being flicked.
“You have my full attention,” I snarl.
“About time.” She stabs the work paper with her pencil. “I need help with the last question. I already figured out the other one, no thanks to you,” she mumbles.
“What do you need help with exactly?”
We started studying the different kinds of business contracts this week. It’s been difficult having only a textbook to guide us since Mills repeats exactly what the book already states. I feel bad for the poor bastards who are majoring in Political Science.
Kamila and I finish up the last question and I offer to take the sheet to the professor before heading out. She waves her hand, giving me the blessing to do as I please.
While packing my things, I can’t help but see something glinting underneath the hem of her cropped sweater. It’s a simple round diamond lying on her belly button.
Fuck. That’s new. I can’t help but sweep my eyes over her, from head to toe, wondering if she has anything else pierced. The thought has me discreetly adjusting my pants. She stiffens as if she feels my gaze on her and meets my eyes.
“What?” Her brows furrow in clear confusion.
My mind goes blank. No possible excuse forms for what I was just doing, especially when I don’t know how long I was staring at her for.
“Nothing,” I say nonchalantly .
She takes my answer at face value. Right when I think she’s going to finish packing and leave, her look travels lower and lower until she reaches my crotch. My boner is a lot more prominent than I believed it to be. I stifle a curse, embarrassed and feeling like a creep.
Kamila barely reacts and finishes zipping up her bag. She moves to leave and passes me by.
“Guess you weren’t too sorry about that kiss after all.” My jaw tightens. “See you on Friday, Cameron,” she says mockingly and looks back down at my dick one more time before letting out a quiet condescending laugh.