In a small way he did look at me differently, but it wasn’t as I feared. He knew the whole story now and that did change us.
For the better.
I was more of myself, the way I was before. I even went to a party thrown at Jase’s last weekend. There’d been moments of unease there, but Cam had been there to help me through it instead of dealing with it on my own. I had danced with Cam.
He’d really enjoyed that.
There weren’t any secrets between us and we had the whole summer ahead of us to explore, but there were things on my mind. Resolving the issues with Cam had been important and a much needed step, but there were still things I needed to face, still needed to take care of and they were big things.
Rolling on top of Cam, I straddled his hips. “Hey.”
His eyes got that heavy, sensual look to them as he placed his hands on my waist. “Hey there.”
“So I’ve been doing some thinking.”
“Oh God.”
“Shut up.” I laughed and then lowered my head, kissing his lips. “Actually, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. There’s something I want to do.”
“What?” His hands slid down over my shorts and rested on my thighs.
I bit my lip. “I want to go home.”
Cam’s brows shot up. “Like back to Texas?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
Placing my hands on his stomach, I sat back. A flicker of tension ricocheted across his face as I pressed down on him. Part of it was on purpose. “You’re not getting rid of me that easy. For just a day or two.”
His grip tightened. “Damn. There goes my master plan of spending the summer like a sex-crazed bachelor.”
I rolled my eyes.
“What do you want to do if you go back there?” he asked, smoothing his hands over my thighs.
“I want to see my parents,” I admitted. “I need to talk to them.”
“About what happened?”
“I’ve never talked to them about what happened, not since that night.” I tapped my fingers along his chest. “I need to talk to them. I know this sounds like it being a bitch fest, but I need to tell them that what they did was wrong.”
Cam let go of my thighs and placed his hands over mine. “It doesn’t sound like a bitch fest, but do you think it’s wise? I mean, do you think it’s going to help you and not…”
“Hurt me?” I smiled softly. “There’s really nothing more my parents can do that will hurt me, but I feel like I need to confront them. Does that make me a bad person?”
“No.”
“I need to do this.” I took a deep breath. “I also need to talk to Molly.”
“What?”
“I need to talk to her and try to explain why I did what I did. I know it’s risky and if it comes back and bites me in the ass with the non-disclosure, then it does, but if I can get her to understand just a little a bit, then maybe it will help her and she’ll stop contacting me.” And that would be a hell of a nice change. Since we talked, she still sent me messages. Sporadic ones, so I guess that was an improvement, but I wanted them to end.
I wanted to move on completely.
Cam eyes met mine. “I don’t know about that. The girl seems like she’s not the most stable person out there.”
“She’s not crazy. She’s just mad and she has a reason to be.”
“And you’re not the reason why it happened to her. You know that, right? You’re not responsible.”
I didn’t say anything, because I wasn’t sure if that was the truth. If I hadn’t dropped the charges, Blaine wouldn’t have gotten away with what he’d done and that may have been enough to stop him from doing it again. Or not. That would be a great unknown.
“I need to do this for myself and for Molly,” I said finally. It wasn’t going to be pretty. “I don’t want to run anymore, Cam. And I know I can never really put this behind me. What happened… well, it will always be a part of me, but it won’t be me. Not anymore.”
Cam was silent for a moment. “You know what I think?”
“I’m awesome?”
“Besides that.”
“What?”
“I think you’ve already made it that far, Avery. I think you have accepted it will be part of you, but it’s not you. You just haven’t realized that.” His hands moved to my hips. “But if you want to do this, then you’ll do this and I’ll be there with you.”
“You want to go with—” I squealed as Cam rolled suddenly and I was on my back and he was above me.
“You’re not doing this by yourself. Hell to the mother fucking no,” he said, resting his weight on his arm. “I’m going with you. And you’re not talking me out of it. When do you want to do this?”
“Got any plans this weekend?”
A silent laugh shook his shoulders. “Jesus.”
“I need to do this.”
He dropped a kiss to the tip of my nose. “I don’t think you do, sweetheart, but if you think you do, then that’s what matters.”
I loved his belief in me. It was beautiful. “You really want to come with me?”
“That’s a stupid question, Avery. And yes, there is such a thing as stupid questions. That was one of them. Of course I’m going to be there with you.”
My lips spread in a smile. “I love you.”
“I know.”
“Cocky.”
“Confident,” he replied, lowering his head to mine. He kissed me softly, but my body stirred to life. “I love you, sweetheart.”
I started to wrap my arms around him, but he rocked off me and grabbed my hand. “Hey! Get back here.”
“Nope. We got stuff to do.” He hauled me off the bed. “And if you start feeling me up, we aren’t going to get anything done.”
“What are we doing it?”
Dipping down suddenly, he picked me up over one shoulder and spun toward the door. “We got some tickets to book.”
It seemed absolutely insane that we were Texas two days later, but here we were, checking into a hotel not too far from my parents’ house. Not wanting to delay what I needed to do today, as soon as we dropped off our luggage, we hit the road. I didn’t tell my parents I was coming to Texas, so I had no idea if they’d actually be home.
Cam let out a low whistle as he followed the winding road around the bend and my parents’ estate came into view. “Good Lord, that’s a house.”
“It’s really not,” I said as my gaze crawled over the manicured, bare lawn and then the massive brick structure. “Your parents have a home. This is just a really big shell.”
He parked the rental in the center of the circular driveway, near the marble fountain that bubbled with water. Eyeing it, he smiled slightly. “I don’t think I’ve actually seen a house with a fountain in front of it in real life.”
I took a deep breath, nervous but determined. “I can do this.”
“You can.” He squeezed my knee gently. “You sure you don’t want me to come inside?”
“Yes.” I looked at him, smiling. Of course I wanted him in there with me. “I need to do this by myself.”
He settled back in the seat. “If you change your mind, text me and I’ll be right there.”
I leaned over, kissing him softly. “You’re amazing.”
His lips curved against mine. “So are you.”
Kissing him once more, I then opened the door and climbed out. If I stayed a moment longer, I would change my mind. As I shut the door, Cam stopped me.
“Just remember that whatever they say doesn’t change the fact that you’re a beautifully strong woman and nothing that happened was your fault.”
Tears filled my eyes and a steely resolve fortified my spine. “Thank you.”
Cam winked. “Now go do good things.”
Giving him a watery smile, I turned and headed up the wide stairs and across the porch. A fan in the ceiling stirred hot air and lifted a few strands of my hair. I raised my hand to knock and then shook my head. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the key. I didn’t need to knock.
The lock gave and with one more glance back at where Cam waited, I stepped inside my parents’ house.
Nothing had changed. That was my first impression as I quietly shut the door behind me. Everything was clean and shiny. There was no smell or sounds. Nothing welcoming about the cold foyer.
I walked under the golden chandelier and entered the former sitting room. “Dad? Mom?”
Silence.
I sighed as I passed white furniture my mom would have a shit fit over if anyone dared to sit in. I checked the dining room and then the living room. Finally, after checking out the study and then the kitchen, I headed upstairs.
The steps made no sound.
On the second floor, I headed toward the end of the hall, to the last door and pushed it open.
It was my bedroom—keyword being was.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
All my stuff was gone—my books, my desk, the posters and other little odds and ends I’d left behind. Not that it really mattered, but geez, nothing about this room would make anyone think I used to live in it.
“We packed your stuff up.”
I jumped and spun around. She stood in the doorway to what used to be my bedroom, dressed in beige, linen slacks and a white blouse tucked in. Her strawberry-blonde hair was coifed, her face void of any line or physical imperfection.
“Mom.”
A delicate eyebrow arched. “Your stuff is in the attic if that is what you’re here for. We had the help move it up there after I spoke with you in the fall.”
“You forgot my birthday,” I blurted out.
She tilted her head to the side in a smooth, elegant movement. “We did?”
I stared at her a moment and all I could think was what a bitch. Anger rose, but I pushed it down. Anger got you nowhere with Mrs. Morgansten. You had to beat her at her own game—stay calm, stay collected. “I’m not here for my stuff.”
“Are you here to move back in?” she asked, and she didn’t sound hopeful. She sounded like nothing. I wondered if she got plastic surgery for her voice. It was as expressive as her face.
“No.” I almost snorted. “I’m here to talk to you and Dad. Is he home?”
She didn’t answer immediately. “He’s out on the veranda.”
Most folk would call that a covered porch, but not Mom. “Well, let’s go.”
Not waiting for an answer, I brushed past her and headed downstairs. She trailed slightly behind and I could feel her eyes boring into the back of me. I started counting. I made it to five and the bottom step before she opened her mouth.
“Have you’ve gotten a haircut recently?”
“No.”
There was a slight huff. “I can tell.”
I sighed. “Then why did you ask?”
Mom didn’t respond until we reached the den that led out to the porch. “What are you wearing by the way?”
“Thrift store shit,” I replied, even though that wasn’t true.
