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.
Chapter Eight
KAMILA
The rest of the week flew by. After I spoke to Cameron last Tuesday, Levi asked me about our past, and I responded by telling him the very,verybrief version of it: him and my sister dated, we were all friends, it ended badly, we stopped talking, the end.
Of course, he wasn’t happy with my answer, and he does deserve to know the whole story, but I’m still not ready to tell anyone. It’s emotionally draining and I know this because there’s only one person who knows the entire thing other than my sister.
Emma. And the only reason she knows is because I got extremely drunk one night during our freshman year and ended up blacking out. Next thing I knew, I was throwing up on the bathroom floor, pouring my heart out about something that had only happened a couple of months prior. I never drank tequila again.
My class with Cameron on Friday morning was uneventful. He didn’t taunt me and only spoke when the professor made us work together. Even then, his whole demeanor was professional. We finished the work quickly as a team and were able to leave class early. That’s one thing that hasn’t seemed to change. Westill work well together, even if we barely communicate. This past Tuesday and today, Friday, the same thing happened. He barely looked at me, barely spoke; we just did the work and left. He didn’t seem angry, he was…indifferent. I should be relieved. Maybe he put the past behind him, and I can too.
There’s something that doesn’t feel quite right, though. I saw the way he looked at me last week. The way he presented himself and the way he spoke. He’s holding back. All of his emotions are bottled up, and he’s a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. And when that happens, I refuse to be close to the blast.
I finish my makeup and snap out of my haze.
“What do you think?”
Em and I are getting ready for our first night out and I decided to go extra heavy on the eye makeup. It’s a light smokey eye with gray and red eye shadows, along with red glitter and some winged eyeliner. My hair is in small, tight curls that will later turn into large waves.
She studies my face. “It looks perfect. Mine?”
Em’s a minimalist and it suits her. White eyeliner sweeps over her water line, her full lashes are curled and done, and for a final touch, light brown eyeshadow. Meanwhile, she’s also a fan of blush and bronzer, making her already high cheekbones look more defined than usual. All of it complimenting her fair skin and blue eyes.
“Also perfect.”
She nods. “What are you wearing?”
“I’ll be right back to show you.” I’m so damn excited about tonight, to let loose and forget about classes, work, and certain people for a while.
I head to the mirror and am satisfied with my look. The outfit is all black except for a thin red belt around my high-waisted mini leather skirt. The top is a sheer long-sleeved shirt with a solid bralette underneath that my aunt gifted me for my birthday last year. It took me a long time to build up the confidence to wear these types of clothes.
I’ve never been thin. I’ve always had thick thighs, big breasts, wide hips, and a lower tummy. Ana was and still is the thinner one. I constantly compared myself to her in middle school and freshman year of high school. That was until I tried out for the cheerleading team. I became my own person and learned to accept, love, and appreciate my body more and more each day, but the insecurities never fully left. Old thoughts about my weight will still pop up from time to time. However, improvement is improvement, no matter how small.
Picking up my tiny purse to leave, I take one more look in the mirror before opening the door to Em.
“I would totally fuck you in that. Who’s attention are you trying to get tonight?”
