The group breaks apart to prepare for sleep. Blankets rustle. Bodies settle. And whispered good nights float through the dimming light as Cameron blows out all but two candles to conserve them.
Amelia lies down first, turning her back to me. Message received. I swallow hard and cuddle into my blanket.
“She’ll come around,” Sienna whispers, settling beside me. “Give her time.”
I nod, my eyes drifting to my father, who’s finally stopped drinking and now stares at the ceiling, mouth set in a bitter line, while my mother sleeps beside him.
I close my eyes, feigning sleep, because each time I drift off, I see the same scene.
A man holding a knife to my sister’s throat because I wasn’t there. And her fingers curling into Julien’s shirt.
I wake with a jolt. The church is still dark, pre-dawn light barely seeping through the high windows. Most are still asleep, a soft choir of snoring filling the room.
Cameron sits by the door, fire poker balanced across his knees. Sienna and Julien are nowhere in sight—probably checking the perimeter or at least Julien finally catching some sleep himself.
I pick my way across the floor, stepping carefully.
Cameron looks up as I approach, offering a tired smile. “Hey. You okay?”
“Bathroom.” I point toward the corridor.
“Be quick.” He nods, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand. “Don’t go anywhere else.”
I slip through the door into the darkened hallway, guided by the faint glow of the rising sun.
“Dakota, wait.” Cameron’s hushed voice stops me mid-step. “Can we talk for a moment?”
“Sure.” I glance back as he closes the door and jogs to where I stand.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you. About the wedding and everything.”
I cross my arms. “You don’t have to?—”
“I do. I shouldn’t have volunteered for the marriage. The whole thing was fucked up from the start, and I just… I made it worse.”
“Cam—”
“Julien’s always the one fixing everything.” He shifts his weight. “Always swooping in, taking charge, handling the hard stuff. I thought maybe this once, I could be the one to help. To take the burden off him, you know? The family business needed saving, and I figured… Turns out I couldn’t even get through the ceremony without screwing everyone over. You?—”
“Stop.” I drop my arms. “You fell in love. That’s not screwing anyone over. That’s just life.”
He blinks at me. “You’re not mad?”
“We didn’t love each other, Cam.”
“Still. I promised?—”
“A promise made under blackmail isn’t a promise.” I soften my tone. “And honestly? I’m glad you found Sienna. At least one of us got something good out of this mess.”
“I really am sorry.”
“I know.” And I mean it. “But you don’t need to keep beating yourself up about it.”
“Thank you.” He squeezes my shoulder once before returning to the room with the others.
I continue down the corridor. The bathroom is three doors down, but I stop as I hear a soft clink of glass against wood from the direction of the kitchen.
Should I get Cameron?
