Chapter 30 #2
“Cammy,” I whisper, stroking her arm. “Why don’t you tell us about what you did with your dad yesterday? Did you have a good time?”
Camila looks down and captures my wrist, her fingers tracing the gold charm bracelet she bought me. “Glad to see this is still on your wrist, where it belongs.”
I can’t help eyeing Yvie, whose eyes are darting for any chance to make amends with Cammy.
Camila steps away from us, smoothing down her dark, silky hair as she takes a settling breath. “Hmm, what happened yesterday? Well, of course, Daddy spoiled me, as he should. Then he took me to Logan’s Point.”
“Whoa, you actually went?” I ask, sitting on the floor and leaning against the bed with Yvie. “I thought you said you’d never step foot in that place.”
She shrugs, checking her reflection in her vanity mirror. “Daddy wanted to show me where the redevelopment is happening. I couldn’t disappoint him.”
“Is there anything to do in Logan’s Point?” Yvie asks, nose wrinkling at the edges. “I feel like I’d need to get a tetanus shot if I stood in that town for over thirty-seconds.”
“Oh my gosh, girls.” Cammy's mouth falls open, and she plants her hands on her belly like she’s about to laugh. “How did I forget about this?”
I sit on my knees. “What is it, Cammy?”
“Oh, this is too good,” Cammy says, pulling a folded yet crumpled poster from between her perfumes and makeup brushes. “Girls, you will not believe what I found.”
Yvie bounces in place. “What is it?”
“Remember what you told us about Jamie West’s mother?” Cammy asks Yvie.
Jamie? Are you serious? Geez, can’t we have one nice day?
Behind a cupped hand, Yvie sniggers while her shoulders jiggle. “Oh my gosh. You mean, the stripper?”
Cammy’s eyes light up. “Exactly.”
My stomach swirls, wanting to expel its contents.
Cammy unfolds the poster, and I gasp at the display. A blonde of about twenty-years-old, poses against a stripper pole, wearing a silver bikini. I’ve seen an identical smile to this one, worn by someone directing it at Kai. There’s no doubt it’s Jamie’s mother.
“Where did you find that?” Yvie asks, barely containing her laughter.
“My dad took me to one of his buildings in Logan’s Point,” Cammy explains.
“There were scraps of these posters amongst garbage and decay. This chick looked so familiar. I explored behind the old bar, and I found a ledger. And there it was in black and white. One employee was named Lily West. Coincidence? I think not.”
Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.
This is bad.
This is so very, very bad.
“Eww.” Yvie squirms. “Like, I knew this was true, but to see it in real life… eww.”
Cammy cackles. “I know, right?”
Yvie tilts her head, studying the poster. “She’s kinda hot, though. How did Jamie turn out to be such a little tomboy?”
Cammy taps the poster. “Maybe her goal was to avoid this line of work.”
Yvie squirms again, laughing. “Eww.”
Unable to help it, my breath becomes labored. I pant, taking in the girls' movements as I figure out how the heck I'll get the poster out of their grip.
This spells the end of me and Kai. If this goes around the school, humiliates his best friend, then that’s it. He’ll never trust me.
I glare at Cammy. Because she’ll blame this on me. No matter what happens, somehow, she’ll weave a tale of how I first came into possession of the poster and brought it to her.
No. I’m not having it.
Cammy sets the poster on the carpet and does her best to smooth out the wrinkles from the decade-old poster. She then angles her phone above the poster and takes a photo.
She grimaces. “Ugh. The lighting in here is terrible.”
I stand on my knees and blurt, “What about the desk lamp from your mom’s study? Remember when we took selfies in front of it? They looked incredible.”
Cammy shrugs and moves toward her bedroom doorway. “Worth a try.”
My heartbeat is in my throat. Okay, got one out of the room. Now, how do I distract Yvette?
I almost laugh out loud, but swallow it. She’s basically a parrot in a cage. I could give her a mirror, and it’d enamor her for hours.
“Yvie?” I hand her my phone. “Can you look at the settings on my camera? I don’t think the portrait mode is working. My photos never look as good as yours.”
She takes my phone and taps on the screen. “Girl, it’ll be your lighting setup more than the camera settings.”
I edge toward the poster and gently lift it up. I hover it only an inch above the carpet, checking I won’t get caught. “I know,” I tell Yvie, lifting inch by inch toward myself. “But can you still check? You’re better at it than me.”
Yvie shrugs and sits back against the bed frame, glued to the screen.
With the poster clutched against my front, I slide it around my middle until it’s hidden behind my back. I haphazardly fold it in half and tuck it into the back of my jeans. With a quick flip, I let my clingy T-shirt conceal the top half of the poster, letting my sweater fall over the top.
Pretending I’m not doing anything suss, I launch onto Cammy’s bed and watch over Yvie’s shoulder.
“Oh!” I overemphasize the vowel. “Dang, I never thought to check that setting. See? Told ya I needed you.”
Yvie blushes at the compliments, like putty in my hand.
Cammy enters the room and stops dead. “Where is it?”
We both look up at her, holding the desk lamp in her hand. “Where’s what?”
Cammy groans. “Are you two complete morons? The poster!”
Yvie tilts her head, confused, and I blurt, “Duh, Cammy. You took it with you.”
Cammy flinches. “I, what?”
I point at the doorway. “We both watched you. I suggested the desk lamp, and then you picked up the poster and left.”
Cammy sets the lamp on her vanity with a thud. “No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did,” I say as casually as I can manage. “Oh my gosh, Cammy, you’re tripping. I think finally getting that red dress in your wardrobe has sent you flying high.”
Cammy smirks. “You think I’m high on my dress?”
I giggle and gush, like the follower she wants me to be. “Who wouldn’t be? It’s gorgeous. You’re gonna knock ‘em dead at the next school dance.”
At that, Yvie perks up. “Oooh. Who are you gonna take with you?”
Cammy clicks her tongue. “As if I’m gonna ask a guy. Someone amazing will ask me.”
“Yeah, Clint who?” I say, digging into her insecurity so she’s distracted from the vanishing poster.
As predicted, her eyes blaze with fire. “At least me and Clint worked. Better than whatever it is between you and Kai.”
I sit up on her bed, twisting a curl around my index finger. “Did Clint ever hold you up against a goal post as he made out with you?”
Yvie swivels around in my direction with a lung-filled gasp. “You and Kai did that?”
My cheeks burn brightly, but I don’t care as I giddily nod at Yvie.
Cammy crosses her arms, and her hip pops. “I hope you went to your dad afterwards to get antibiotics.”
Yvie laughs, looking over her shoulder at Cammy. “Not all of us run to our daddies after we kiss a boy.”
A full belly laugh tumbles out of me, and I quickly slap a hand over my open mouth.
Dang it. We took it too far.
Cammy balls her fists and stomps her foot. “Get out! Both of you!”
Yvie whimpers. “But, we…”
“Now!” Cammy shrieks.
Sheepishly, I get off her bed. I can’t have her suspecting I took her poster. I need to get on her good side before she completely spirals.
“Cammy, I’m sorry,” I whisper, edging toward her. “I’m like, freaking out about being with Kai. It’s making me crazy.”
Cammy pouts. “You are crazy.”
“Do you have any pointers for me? I’m going into dating totally blind. You’ve got experience.”
The sucking up sheds some of her tension. “I’m actually surprised you didn’t come to me for advice before you kissed him.”
I gently palm my forehead. “I know. So stupid.”
Cammy sniggers. “Well, he looks like he’s a bad kisser, so you’re probably not the problem on your dates.”
Oh, she could not be more wrong.
I bat my eyelashes and give her my most sickly sweet smile. “So, you think I’m doing okay?”
Cammy uncrosses her arms, her hands landing on her hips. “I’ve already taught you how to do your hair and makeup, plus you’ve got an attitude to boot.”
“Thanks, Cammy.” I scoop up my phone, which Yvie dropped mid-gasp. “Shoot. I didn’t realize the time. I’m supposed to meet Freddy.”
On instinct, the girls lean in. “Freddy?”
“He’s just picking me up.”
They step back. “Oh.”
Yvie grabs her bag. “Maybe he can take me home too? If I’m still getting kicked out.”
Cammy glares at her. “Are you still gonna be a little backstabber?”
Yvie’s hand lands above her heart. “I would never.”
Perfect. I literally stole something, which is behind my back, and Cammy’s attacking Yvie.
My work is done.
“Sorry, Yvie.” I scoop up my clutch. “Freddy and I have to meet our parents. We don’t have time to take you home.”
I dart out of the room before the name-calling and hair pulling get underway.
I’m panting when I reach the sidewalk. I pace at least three houses away from Cammy’s before I slow down.
No way can I let the girls catch me. I doubt I’ve gotten away with taking the poster.
There’s a chance Yvie wasn’t entirely living in her head and will remember the poster on the carpet when Cammy left the room.
Hopefully, Cammy’s rage continues, and they never have time to discuss it further.
Ugh. Cammy.
Why did I think she’d change? I’m so stupid. Why do I keep falling for it?
But I have to be grateful. If I hadn’t gone to her place, she’d currently be ruining Jamie’s life.
I sigh with relief, feeling the scratchy and dirty poster against my skin. I reach behind me and yank it out. Without giving it a second look, I rip it into a hundred pieces. If I were home, I’d swipe Drew’s lighter and destroy this poster for good.
I dash to a nearby trash can and dump the scraps of paper inside and slam the lid closed. With a heaving chest, I mutter in victory, “You don’t get to win this time, Cammy.”
Mocking me, the shiny bracelet clings to my wrist. With a guttural scream, I claw at the bracelet, ripping it against my skin until it snaps in half. High on adrenaline, I dump the broken pieces into the trash.
I pull out my phone and call Freddy. It rings out the first time, and he answers on the second call.
“Can you pick me up?” I ask, still catching my breath.
“No, I’m waiting for Simon,” Freddy replies. “Although Amber’s about to leave.”
No, not Amber.
Away from the phone, Freddy calls out, “Hey Amber! Can you give my sister a ride?”
“Freddy,” I whisper harshly into the phone. “Freddy, don’t. It’s cool.”
There’s some chatter in the background, and then Freddy’s voice comes clear through the receiver. “She’ll swing by. Where are you?”
“Okay, fine. I’m at Cammy’s. Actually, I started walking along the street. Can you ask her to pick me up at the corner of Gardener and Clive Street?”
“I’ll let her know,” Freddy replies, and then the line goes dead.
With a huff, I lower the phone.
Great.
My stomach churns at the thought of a car ride filled with Amber gushing about my brother. The last time that happened, she was giving me a ride home from dance class. Yet another good reason I quit dancing.
Twelve minutes later, Amber’s red hatchback pulls up against the curb. I open the passenger door and first notice her long and sleek black hair cascading over her shoulder.
“Hi, Amber.”
“Yo,” Amber says dryly, her eyes shaded by aviators. “Where are you headed?”
I get in and buckle myself into the passenger seat. “The skatepark near Main Street.”
She lifts her sunglasses, her almond eyes narrowing at me. “Come again?”
I shrug shyly. “I’m meeting a friend near there. That’s all.”
“Mm-hmm.” She doesn’t buy it, but she pulls the car off the curb, regardless. “What kind of friend?”
“Like it’s your business.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Amber says, slowing the car to a crawl. “I thought you wanted a ride.”
I click my tongue and roll it into a grunt. “Okay, okay. It’s a guy.”
She waits for more. “Uh-huh?”
I lift my palms up. “A guy I like.”
She speeds up a little more. “How serious is it?”
“Getting pretty serious. It’s his birthday today.”
“Cute. What’d you get him?”
“Oh, umm, I…” I got nothing because I was railroaded by the fakest friend on the planet.
Amber splutters a laugh. “Don’t tell me, you are the gift?”
I sigh, looking out the window. “Don’t be gross, Amber.”
It’s not a bad idea, though. I’m sure he’d love it.