I’m disappointed that I allowed myself to be fooled by Stone. I fell for his act. That’s all it was, a really well-played game of pretend. It’s my own fault. I used him to trick my parents and allowed myself to believe the lie. After a night full of tossing and turning, I pull myself out of bed and vow to forget Stone Flint.
“MR. FLINT, MAY I SPEAKwith you in the back room?” I ask when he arrives in the morning. He looks to his boss. I don’t know if the look is for help or for permission. After a nod of approval, Stone follows me into the kitchen.
“Cami, there’s something I need to tell you.”
I shake my head. “No need, I already know.”
“You do?” He sounds surprised. “I didn’t want you to know until—”
“I saw you last night at The Mummy’s Tomb.” A look of fear crosses Stone’s face.
“You were there?”
“Didn’t Cayden tell you?”
“No. The fucker didn’t. But why didn’t you come over and say something?”
“Like what? I don’t need to make a fool out of myself.”
“I would have been happy to see you.”
“Don’t drag this out and make it any more difficult than it needs to be. I get it. I didn’t give you the answer you wanted the other night, and you decided to move on. I appreciate all that you did to help me get to this point, but now, it’s time to make a clean break and go our separate ways.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb.” I hand Stone a check for ten thousand dollars that I wrote out early this morning, before he arrived.“This should cover the work you’ve done up to this point as well as the supplies you bought.”
He stares at the check, clenching his jaw. “I didn’t ask you for money.”
I nod. “I know. But now that you’ve been compensated, we can make a clean break without any sort of obligation.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“You don’t have to pretend anymore. In fact, I think it’s best that you leave and don’t return.”
“Cami, please, don’t do this.” He doesn’t sound upset; instead, what I’m picking up is irritation. Like he somehow has a right to be angry with me.
“I just wish you had the courage to do this yourself.”
“Cami—”
“When I come back down, I expect you to be gone.” I don’t wait for a response. I walk through the door leading to my apartment, rush up the stairs, and don’t allow myself to cry until I’m in my bedroom.
Chapter 27
