Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
CAMERON
“ W hat are you doing here?” I whisper.
“You stole my girl,” he sneers. “It’s also alumni weekend.” Smith connects his fist to my face, rearing my head backward. “Fucking asshole. You thought you could get away with stealing my girl? You thought that I wouldn’t find out what was happening?”
Smith throws all his weight on top of me and slams me to the floor. While attempting to protect my face from any further damage, I hear somebody gasp.
He then straddles me and throws punches towards my face while I dodge him with my forearms. I’m not hitting him back. I deserve everything coming to me, but I’m not letting him break anything, either.
“Smith, stop so I can explain.”
That seems to piss him off more because one of his fists almost lands on my jaw before I catch it, twisting his wrist slightly, just enough to distract him and get him on his back.
Once I have him pinned, I get a good view of his face. He looks like a stranger to me with the malicious mask he has plastered on .
“I told you I loved her, I told you everything, and this is what you do?” He knees me in the balls. Cheap shot but effective.
I roll over to my side and see his foot coming towards my ribs. Immediately, I go into the fetal position. In a split second, his knees bend, and he falls to the ground with a cry. I look up to see the cause of the pain and it’s Kamila holding a metal baseball bat.
She places it under Smith’s chin, who’s still on the ground whimpering and rubbing the back of his knees.
“Quit your fucking whining. I didn’t break anything,” Kamila says in a sarcastic yet deadly tone that’s new to me.
She squats down and gets close to Smith. “Stop hitting him, or I will mace you. I’ll just say that it was self-defense and it wouldn’t be a complete lie, anyway.”
His eyes widen and so do mine.
“I’ve changed since we last saw each other, David. Do not fucking test me .” Her voice is dripping with revulsion and it shocks me to my very core. However, behind that mask, I can see a sign of fear.
“Now, both of you, get the fuck up,” she seethes. Kami stands and takes a few steps back. From the corner of my eye, I spot Ana sitting on the couch, observing us suspiciously.
Kami cuts her gaze to mine, and although the hatred lessens in her amber eyes, it doesn’t disappear, and I don’t blame her for it.
“How do you know him?”
“We’re close friends?—”
Ana snorts before her sister cuts Smith off. “I’m talking to Cameron.”
This is it. The reason why everything went down the way it did this semester.
“We’re close friends. I met him back home when I moved.” She stops me with her bat when I attempt to step toward her. I feel a heaviness in my chest at the move.
No. Not again .
“Kamila, I can tell you everything after I speak to him. He’s the one who deserves an explanation.”
She lets out a deep, taunting laugh. What the fuck is her deal? I know her and David have a rocky past, but I’ve never seen her this full of detestation.
“After what you just saw, you still think he deserves an explanation?”
Ana sits up on the couch. “Wait, that’s David? Like the guy who called you a bitch, David?” She lets out a whistle. “Well, David, you suck.”
My jaw clenches with a crack. “What is she talking about, Smith?”
“All of you shut up!” Kamila yells, then looks at me. “Why do you keep calling him Smith?”
I wince at the question. “It’s his middle name.”
“Yeah, and only my best friends call me that, so fuck off with?—”
“Shut up!” Kami yells again. “I’m tired of whatever lies and secrets have been going on around here.” She leans against the wall and takes a deep breath, looking dead in the eyes. “From what I heard David say, I’m going to assume that he told you we were dating or fucking, and I broke his heart. Am I right?”
My jaw tightens more, and I nod.
“That I led him on by showing him mixed signals or telling him things I later took back?”
I rock my head once again.
“Babe—” David starts before Kami pulls out the can of pepper spray, and he quickly backs away.
She turns to me again. “Why don’t I enlighten you just like you did me?” She fiddles around with the bottle. “It’s a short story, isn’t that right, hermana?”
“Yep, pretty straightforward,” her sister says happily. If she’s pissed enough to entertain this insane woman, then something really fucked up had to have happened. Kami also seems to be enjoying this like she’s been preparing herself for the moment. She was expecting David’s visit, but why?
Kamila starts speaking and tells me everything. From the moment she and David met until their final seconds together.
When her voice trails off at the final words of the tale, she looks at David and smiles.
“Did I miss anything, Smith ?”
My body moves of its own accord, and I deck him in the face without giving it another thought.
“You called the girl I love a slut?” I pounce again. “You told me you loved her, and I felt bad for you, you motherfucker.”
“Welcome to my world,” Kamila says from the side.
“Kami, I do still love you,” David says, holding onto his soon-to-be bruised eye.
“You really need to shut up,” she says lowly. “You’ve been sending me creepy texts since September. I took self-defense classes this summer because of you.”
It takes every ounce of self-control I have not to kill this man right here, right now. I should’ve realized Kamila never would’ve led a guy on like that, but I took it upon myself to believe that she was exactly like Ana. Manipulative, condescending, and cruel. It was easier to be angry at her for hurting my friend like her sister did me rather than still being devastated about losing her.
“After you leave here, I’m filing a restraining order against you,” Kamila concludes.
My former friend's face reddens with anger while blood drips from his nose.
“You’re a crazy son of a bitch,” I tell him. “Consider yourself lucky that all you’re walking out of here with is a broken nose and black eye. Leave. Now.”
“All of you. Get. Out.” Kami’s voice is stern and strong.
No. I try to get her to look at me, to make her see what I’m feeling, what I have been feeling for weeks and she just stares past me at the wall .
David takes a menacing step towards her. He lifts his hand, and I see the intent behind it. I jump to pull him back till Kamila grabs his forearm before he makes contact, knees him in the groin, and swivels her hips, putting all of her strength into the hit. David’s head rears back and he lets out an animalistic grunt while falling onto his back with a thud. Kamila hauls the bat back over her shoulder while David cups his balls and jaw. Her right knuckles are bloody, but she pays it no mind.
She kicks him lightly and tilts her head, looking inconvenienced, annoyed even. I’m in awe of her and the technique behind the punch that most definitely superseded mine. When I was sick, she had briefly mentioned some sort of classes she and Emma took during the summer. By the look of this, she must’ve been going several times a week to gain that amount of precision and strength.
“I didn’t hit you that hard, baby, and this time it was self-defense.” She pauses, taking in a trembling breath. It isn’t fear that’s fueling her, it’s pent up hatred. “You tried hitting me, you pathetic excuse for a man , so don’t be stupid and go blabbing to anyone, understood?”
David gives her a quick, painful looking nod.
“Good.” She smiles. “Oh, and I wouldn’t take any naps this afternoon if I were you with the possibility of a minor concussion and all.” She swings her bat in the air. “If anyone asks how you got the bruises, you were wrestling a friend for fun, and it went a little too far.” Her smile turns more sinister. “I have the texts and witnesses to prove what you almost did to me tonight, David. There’s the extra insurance I have too.” She points to the TV, coffee table, and shelves. “Emma’s father installed some hidden cameras around the suite after the stunt you pulled last semester. They’re controlled by a simple app on my phone. When my dear sister got here and almost assaulted me, I turned them on.” She gives Ana a wicked smile. “This entire thing was recorded. ”
Her sister gasps, knowing there’s no bullshitting her way out of this.
This amazing, unique, brave, strong woman will never cease to amaze me.
Her smile fades, and she sweeps her eyes over all of us. “All of you out now.”
Ana’s backpack is thrown into the hallway with a loud thud.
“My laptop is in there!” Ana chases after her stuff.
Kami puts the bat between David’s legs with a threatening look before he sprints out the door.
Finally, she turns to me.
My head shakes involuntarily. “Please don’t make me go,” I whisper. “We haven’t spoken about everything else. There’s so much more to say, Kamila, I lo?—.”
“Don’t.” Her mask falls, and tears roll onto her cheeks. “Just go. Get out, Cameron.” When I fail to move she screams. “Now!”
The sound makes my body jerk, and the heaviness in my chest turns to pain, causing an indescribable sound to flee me. My feet move on their own accord, and I slowly step out into the now-empty hallway. The door slams shut the second I’m outside, and that’s when I know I waited too long to admit my feelings about Kamila to myself and to her. The look of hurt and betrayal in her eyes will forever be etched into my brain. Tonight, I might’ve lost the most important person in my life. Again.