Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Liam texts that he arrived in my penthouse’s underground parking and I grab my jacket before heading down the elevator. With all the insanity of the last two months, I shouldn’t have been surprised when Liam called me last week.
It was strange when he asked if I was alone and then told me to sit down because we needed to talk.
Understatement of the year.
But surprise doesn’t even adequately describe the emotions of that phone call.
Furious? Flabbergasted? Dumfounded?
I still don’t know. We’ve had multiple conversations since the initial call about all of it, and I’m still just …
overwhelmed. We managed to find a brief window for a private face-to-face discussion while we were at Savannah and Theo’s engagement party last night, and both agreed we needed to address this as soon as possible.
We may not have any idea how this is going to go, but it’s going to be complicated and emotional, and putting it off only adds to potential pain.
Liam’s black SUV is idling as he waits for me.
I once asked him how many vehicles he owned and he asked in what state.
I clarified with anywhere he owns a vehicle.
He then asked about street legality and vehicle classes, so I gave up and told him to forget it.
They always smell new, and sometimes I think they might be, but some days, I don’t think I’d be surprised if he told me he owned a tank.
Nothing surprises me when it comes to my brother—well, outside of the phone call from last week that is.
“Hey.” His solemn greeting is appropriate. “Are you ready for this?” He shifts the car into drive as soon as I buckle my seatbelt.
“Hey, man. No? Are you?” I turn to him as he shakes his head.
“I’m just … Fuck, I don’t even know. I just feel so...” Liam trails off without finishing.
“Gobsmacked? Furious?” I supply.
“Yeah, fucking pissed is definitely one of the plethora of emotions I’ve been dealing with.
” Liam isn’t one to show a lot of emotions, much like myself, but that doesn’t mean we don’t feel them.
In fact, sometimes I wonder if out of all of us, Liam is the one that actually feels emotions the most. He’s just better at controlling his expressions than the rest of us—like ions better.
I know him better than most, and even I can’t always get a read on the guy.
“I still think we approach it like we talked about last night. Ease into it, read the vibes, and go from there. Unless you changed your mind?” I look over as I ask my brother.
He exhales as his grip tightens on the steering wheel. “No, I still think that’s the best approach. But…”
I look back at his face as his jaw clenches, just slightly. “What is it?”
“What if … what if forgiveness isn’t possible?” Liam’s question is more than valid, but I don’t have an answer to it.
“One step at a time, brother. That’s all we can do, alright?” That’s not a scenario I want to dwell on, even if it’s one I’ve wondered about as well, but hopefully this will be the last time either of us has that concern.
Liam takes the turn and follows the path. “Taylor said it’s the fourth spot after the second right. Did you even know this campground was here?” Liam asks as he makes the second right turn and we count the spots.
“No, not until last week.”
Liam pulls up next to the spot and puts his car in park.
And we sit there in silence for a moment.
I clear my throat and take a deep breath.
“Follow my lead, and if necessary, I can do most of the talking, alright?” Liam nods in agreement, and we step out of the SUV and into the night.
It’s not that Liam can’t lead this, but the emotions are just so big to him—especially when he prides himself on knowing what’s going on and having all the necessary information.
“It’s fucking freezing tonight. Does this thing even withstand the wind or let it blow right through?” Liam glares at the RV as we walk up to the front door. “This thing has to be close to forty years old.”
“We’re both over forty years old, and we aren’t here to judge, alright? Try not to be an asshole, at least at first. And focus those emotions where they belong. It’s not at her.”
My brother hums in agreement as I raise my hand and briskly knock twice on a screen door that might actually be older than I am.
The inside door’s deadbolt turns, and I hear Liam take a deep breath.
She opens the door, but instead of the usual cheerful disposition, she is frozen in shock. Liam and I both raise our hands in an awkward wave that somehow feels choreographed in our simultaneous movement.
“Hey, Cami, sorry to drop by unannounced,” I cautiously say while trying to telepathically tell my brother to act normal. “Can you come out and talk to us for a moment? I can understand not wanting to invite two men you barely know into your living space.”
If Liam is going for a casual or natural look, he is failing marvelously at hiding the look of disdain he gives Cami’s RV.
I clear my throat, hoping to pull him out of it.
I also know that Liam knows every detail that he could find on Cameron Walsh, and unfortunately, some of those discoveries were less than ideal.
“Uh, no, yeah, I mean. Of course. And you guys can come in, it’s okay. I trust you.” She looks as though she’s considering something and doesn’t move to open what I hope is a locked screen door.
Liam clears his throat, shaking her from her thoughts. “Are you sure? We could’ve come to talk to you at work, but we both felt like it was better to have this conversation between just us initially.”
She startles at that suggestion and quickly flips the lock on the screen door to push it open.
While Forrest Falls is usually safe, I’m grateful to see she has a few locks on her door.
And while the gossip hens of town would have loved to witness this conversation at Java Jive, it’s better that it’s here instead of at her work.
She nods. “I’m sure, come on in, guys. It’s not much, but it’s out of the wind, at least.” Cami is usually cheerful from what Liam gathered and what we’ve both experienced, but her voice is unnaturally high.
Her word choice causes Liam to relax slightly, until we step into her RV.
Tonight is going to dip into the thirties, and despite now being indoors, there isn’t that much reprieve from the brisk wind howling outside.
Cami gestures to a tiny table that looks like it was designed to fit one and a half people on each side.
“It’ll be a cozy fit but that’s part of the experience.” She slides into one side and her eyes dart around her RV.
I was adamant with Liam that I did not want it to come off like we were judging her, but clearly, we are not putting her at ease. Although the fact that it is fucking freezing in here isn’t helping anything.
I look around, trying to figure out where her heat source—or lack of—is located. “It’s a bit chilly in here. Is your heat working okay?”
She bites her lip and looks apologetic before responding, “Cherry is a bit of a relic, and her heat has been, uh … optional, lately.” She brushes a rogue hair from her face before looking back at her hands.
“Unfortunately, she has been opting to not have it work. It’s been okay with a space heater but that seems to be on vacation right now as well. ”
Sitting this close to her, I can see it—and I don’t know how we missed it.
“Cherry?” Liam raises an eyebrow at her, finally functioning somewhat normal.
Cami smiles tightly before raising her mitten-clad hands and twisting them like jazz hands. “Ta-da! When I bought her, there was a tape stuck in the cassette player, and it only contained and played one mainstream metal song: ‘Cherry Pie.’” She shrugs as the name is quite obvious.
She knows why we’re here, and she’s still being strong and keeping her head—mostly—held high, except for the occasional glance at her mittened hands fidgeting on the table.
I can’t help but smile at the idea of Cami singing along at the top of her lungs to the same song over and over while driving down the highway. “And how long have you and Cherry been together?”
She nods. “I bought her the week after I turned eighteen, so just over three years.”
For the last three years, Cami has been living in the RV she lovingly calls Cherry. I can tell she’s done her best to take care of it, but calling it a safe and reliable place to live is a stretch, and judging by the wind I can still feel even though we are inside, that’s being quite generous.
I look at Liam, leaning my head slightly to Cami, silently asking if he wants to take the lead here.
Liam shakes his head no, and I hum in acknowledgment before turning back to Cami.
I lean slightly forward and fold my hands on the table, trying to look as least intimidating as possible, but at just shy of six-four, that’s not easy.
I soften my tone intentionally as I ask my next question. “And … how long have you known that you’re our sister?”
Putting it out there, even if we all likely knew where this conversation was going, causes Cami's eyebrows to shoot up and her eyes to widen like an owl’s.
“Uh … um, I suppose, a smidge longer than that. To be fair, I didn’t initially know about all of you. More broad strokes. There are a lot of you, after all,” she replies in a hushed tone before staring at her mittens like they hold all the answers.
I don’t think anyone expected this conversation, let alone in a cold RV on a random Wednesday evening.
“How long, Cami?” Liam asks gently. I glance at him and his entire demeanor has softened from when we first sat down.
Cami takes a massive breath, exhaling a sigh that is even louder than the wind. She briefly closes her eyes before looking back up at Liam.
“I’ve known that my father was a man named Murphy Callahan basically my entire life.” She glances at me as my jaw is dropped in shock. She knew her entire life? That doesn’t make any sense.
I look at my brother, who looks furious at her answer.