Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
KAMILA
C ameron’s standing in the doorway to his room shirtless, and for a moment, I’m face to face with his abs. Abs that weren’t as prominent the last time I saw him half-naked.
“What the fuck could you possibly want?” His words cause me to flinch. “Haven’t you done enough for today?”
Uh-oh. I did leave a bruise, and there’s some swelling. Honestly, it could’ve been worse if I had put my full strength behind it.
“And who the hell are they, your bodyguards?” he mocks.
Em and Levi are standing on either side of me. They both have their arms crossed over their chest, trying to look as intimidating as possible. Levi is tall and muscular. Meanwhile, Em is only five feet tall, but the girl can deliver a death stare that I would never want to be on the receiving end of, which she is now giving Cameron.
Not helping.
“We’re her friends, and we came as a precaution,” Levi warns.
Cameron laughs humorlessly. “Seriously? If anything, you should be worried about her attacking me.”
He’s not wrong .
“I deserved that and a lot more,” I admit, twisting my fingers together.
“A hell of a lot more,” he says.
Ignoring his snarky comment, I focus on what I had come here to do. “Look, Cameron, I’m here to apologize. Please just hear me out even though I know I don’t deserve it.”
He looks up at the ceiling, closes his eyes, and lets out a deep breath. “Make them leave and I’ll give you five minutes of my time.”
“Oh, hell no,” Em sasses. “I do not trust you at all, not with the way you greeted her.”
“Agreed,” Levi says in a deep voice.
“Fine, then goodbye.”
Cameron starts to shut the door, and I intercept it by jamming my foot before it’s able to. “Cameron, wait.” He looks at me skeptically. “Guys, go, I’ll be fine. He won’t hurt me.”
“Kami, no, not?—”
“Levi, trust me, please.” His jaw ticks, giving me a curt nod. “He said five minutes, if I’m not back in ten, just knock, okay?” I whisper to them.
“Okay,” they say in unison. Both of them make their way down the hall. I look back at Cameron, and he opens the door wider so that I can come in. When I step into his room, I notice that he doesn’t have a roommate. It's a spacious room with two twin-sized beds pushed together, making a king-sized bed. There’s a blue comforter and standard white pillows. Then, a desk with a chair, a closet, and a mini-fridge. It looks like every other guy’s room I’ve seen on campus, but neater.
Cameron sits while doing something on his phone. “Your five minutes start, now.” He taps his wrist and crosses his arms over his chest.
He’s timing me. He’s actually timing me. What an asshole.
Time to put on the performance of a lifetime. Deep breath in and out.
“Cameron, I am so sorry for hitting you. I don’t know what the hell came over me. I was frustrated and had all this pent-up anger from shit that happened years ago. There’s no good excuse. It was immature and stupid. I should’ve never resorted to violence.”
Oddly enough, I do mean it. I should’ve yelled at him or picked a fight, not hit him square in the face. No matter how long I’ve wanted to.
His face remains stoic. I hate myself for what I’m about to do, but it’s necessary. “Please don’t report me,” I beg, trying my hardest not to grit my teeth. “I’m not sure if you already have, but if you haven’t, please don’t. My dreams from high school haven’t changed. You know we used to talk about going to Driscoll together?—”
“No. You’re not allowed to do that.” His eyes darken, and I take a step back. Flashbacks of David pour in before I do a quick breathing technique I learned from my therapist.
“Do what?” I breathe.
“You can’t bring up our old conversations to gain sympathy points. We were completely different people back then, in a completely different situation.” He grinds his teeth.
My heartbeat quickens, and I have to keep reminding myself that he isn’t David.
“You’re right. We were different people. We are different people.” I shift my eyes downwards, still trying to calm my small heart.
He’s not David. You know how to protect yourself now. You’re fine, he’s not here.
We remain silent. I’m staring at the ground while Cameron is looking directly at me. He’s going to report me, I know it, or he already has. Tears collect behind my eyes, but I don’t allow them to fall.
“Look, I don't know what else to say. Can you just tell me if you’ve told anyone or are going to so it doesn't catch me by surprise?”
More silence. I finally look up and see his head tilted. He’s trying to get a read on me, like the first day we met. Except now, I find no feeling of comfort or safety in his eyes.
“That was the worst apology I’ve ever heard,” he says flatly.
My shoulders fall in defeat because some of the things I said, I meant.
“I didn’t report you, Kamila.” His confession allows me a moment of relief. “The nurse thinks that I ran into a pole while I was texting.”
“Thank you,” I whisper sincerely.
He lifts himself from the chair and saunters to me till our bodies are a couple of inches apart. My smile fades at the sudden change of air in the room. He tips my chin and looks me in the eye. His expression is unreadable. We stay in that position for what feels like forever, just staring. The only sounds in the room are of us breathing slowly and deeply.
What is this feeling? Nerves? Anger? Nostalgia? Resentment? All of the above?
“I’m not going to report you, Kamila.” His voice is the deepest I’ve ever heard it to be. “It’s not because I still care about you.” His lips turn upwards. “I’m simply a better person than you are.” Anger. This is definitely anger. I narrow my eyes. “In truth, you’re punishing yourself enough as it is.”
“And how exactly am I doing that?” We still haven’t moved, and I’m doing everything in my power to hold myself back from exploding.
He puts his mouth right next to my ear, and I suck in a breath.
“You’re turning into your sister.”
“Leave my sister out of this.” I shove him away.
A deep, taunting laugh rumbles from his chest. “Ah, still very protective of Ana, I see.”
My palms itch to even out the swelling on his face. “Of course I am, she’s my sister. My family.”
The alarm on his phone goes off, interrupting what was probably going to turn into yet another fight .
“Five minutes are up.” And just like that, his entire demeanor changes, his stoic expression back on full display. “You got what you came here for.”
He shoos me away with his hand like I’m a dog. Son of a bitch.
“Now go back to your guards and tell them you’re fine. Although they probably have their ears up against my door right now.”
Flexing my sweaty palms, I stomp to the exit. My face and neck are probably the color of a tomato with how hard I’ve been holding back the frustration that’s building.
I’m about three feet away when I feel Cameron’s hand on my forearm. “One last thing.”
“What?” I grit through clenched teeth.
“How the fuck did you find out where I live?”
It’s my turn to smile now. Not bothering to answer his question, I pull my arm out of his grasp before walking the rest of the way to the door. Once I open it, Levi and Emma almost fall into the room. I take one look at Cameron, who rolls his eyes and stares at us till we leave. Closing the door, I feel a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders.