by Twyla T
We Both Can’t Be Bae 2
By:
Twyla T
COPYRIGHT NOTE
© Copyright March 2016 Twyla T.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without prior written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention Permission Request”.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Published by Cole Hart Presents
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are strictly the product of the author or used fictitiously. Any similarities between actual persons, living or dead, events, settings, or locations are entirely coincidental.
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DEDICATION
This series is dedicated in memory of my baby brother, Hassan Turner. I have been reading since I was a teenager, and in the back of my mind I always said I should write a book one day. I never found or made time to write until after I lost my baby brother at the tender age of 23 in a tragic drowning accident July 19, 2015. To make matters worse, my mom had a massive stroke the day before my brother’s funeral. I didn’t know how to go on, but I knew I had to because so many people depend on me. My closest family and friends encouraged me every day to find an outlet and it was then that I finally MADE time to write. I sat down on November 6, 2015, and I have been writing daily since then. Writing has become therapeutic for me and has kept me sane. It is my hope that you enjoy the ride in this series, which I have created for you during my therapy. Keep resting baby brother. I love and miss you dearly!!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Writing this book has been a dream come true to me. It has been an exciting and satisfying journey all because of God and my awesome support system. I feel so grateful to be able to finally do what I absolutely love. I have far too many people who have encouraged and inspired me to name one by one, but each and every one of you know how much I love and appreciate you. It’s more than words can even describe. I hope that each of you enjoy this series as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks so much for taking a chance on me. Enjoy and be blessed!!
Prologue
Cameron left work at twelve o’clock on Friday and headed to her mom’s house to pick her up for the trip her mom had planned against her wishes. She had kissed Kingston this morning and told him that she would call him later. He was excited to be staying with his grandpa for the whole weekend. He knew that he would be able to do any and everything that he wanted to do. Cameron was still hesitant about the trip. She just didn’t have a good feeling about it. She had tried to talk her mom out of it, but her mom wasn’t hearing any of it. She was adamant about making the trip. Cameron and Malcolm had argued pretty much every day this week so she didn’t even bother to tell him that she was going out of town. Because of the arguing, Cameron remembered to drop the papers, increasing the life insurance policies, in the mail. Keith had texted several times, but she had only replied a few times. She was still trying to process everything that had been going on between them. It made her sad to think about, and this week had been extremely hard. She really needed a getaway to clear her mind and this weekend would be perfect if she knew it was a trip she would enjoy. She just couldn’t be so sure of that though.
Cameron had never been to visit her sister in North Carolina, but her parents had made the trip twice. She was thankful that her mom was no stranger to the highway so they could easily split the nine-hour drive. Cameron made the first part of the drive. As she was adjusting her seat for her mom; before she got out to pump gas, she reached under the seat and felt something. When she pulled it out, she realized it was her gun. She had forgotten to take it back in the house after her last target practice session. Cameron put the gun in her purse. It was small so it would be fine. She didn’t want her mom to reach under the seat and grab it and get scared. Malcolm still had no idea that she had a gun or that she had been practicing. She knew that he would go crazy if she told him, so she kept it to herself. Besides, it was really bought to protect herself from him. Her parents knew because they had gifted her with the gun as a Christmas present.
Cameron got her fast driving from her mom. When Cameron’s mom called her name to wake her up from her nap, she noticed that her mom had cut off almost forty-five minutes from her part of the trip according to the GPS. “Dang mom, you must be best friends with all the state troopers; driving like a mad woman,” Cameron said. Her mom ignored her comment and told her that they were about to pull up at Charlotte’s house. “Lord, please let us have a nice time,” Cameron said.
As her mom was turning into the driveway they both noticed an eighteen wheeler parked on the side of the road. “Looks like she has company, mom. You still don’t want to call before ringing the doorbell?” Cameron said to her mom.
“We’re here now, Cameron. She’s not going to turn us away just because she has company. That truck could be visiting someone next door anyway. We are family sweetheart, everything will be OK,” her mom said to her.
“OK mom, but I’m leaving my bags in the car. I will come back and get them once she welcomes us inside,” Cameron said while grabbing her purse.
Cameron let her mom walk in front of her and she followed behind slowly. After her mom rang the doorbell they only stood there about thirty seconds before the door opened up. When they heard the knob twisting Cameron said Charlotte must be expecting company because she didn’t even ask who it was. Cameron and her mom were both shocked to see Malcolm standing there with a facial expression more shocked than theirs.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Cameron said while staring at Malcom with pure rage in her eyes. “I I I was just passing through North Carolina so I I decided to to stop by and visit my my sister-in-law,” Malcolm said while stuttering. Cameron looked down and noticed that Malcolm didn’t have any shoes on, his pants were unbuckled; showing his red and black boxers, and he only had on a black wife-beater. Before anyone knew what was going on, Cameron had pulled the gun from her purse and fired. Malcolm ducked just in time to keep his head from being blown off when she fired the first shot. He fell into Cameron as he hit the floor, which caused her to lose her balance momentarily. Charlotte screamed from the kitchen and Cameron aimed and fired the gun at her; missing her by a hair and hitting the wall. Charlotte ran into her den and hid in the closet because she had nowhere else to go at that moment. Malcolm got up and took off running down the hall. Cameron shot twice, grazing his left arm with one of the bullets. He ran and locked himself in the bathroom. Cameron’s mom was crying and screaming the entire time, but after Cameron fired that last shot and Malcolm screamed, she gained her composure and slapped Cameron and took the gun out of her hand. “Snap out of it Cameron. We didn’t drive all the way up here for you to go to jail, and that’s exactly what is going to happen if this continues. I agree that something here isn’t right, but you can’t kill anybody,” her mom said to her through tears. Lucky for them, Charlotte didn’t live in one of the nicest neighborhoods so no one called the cops.
Cameron was lying on the floor numb; not able to move. Her thought process was fucked up and her brain couldn’t channel what had just happened. While she was lying there, the only thing she could think about was Malcolm opening up her sister’s door like he was at home. Thoughts entered her mind about how her sister had betrayed her; how she had started confiding in
her, only for her to tell Malcolm and Phebe her darkest secrets. She thought about the time Charlotte rode with Malcolm to their parent’s house; the time Kingston said he saw his auntie at the store. She even thought about how uncomfortable Malcolm and Charlotte acted around each other, arguing and acting like they couldn’t stand each other. It all had to be a big front. Her mother had taken the gun but she couldn’t take Cameron’s hands. She hopped off the floor and stormed towards the kitchen. She had no idea where anything was in that house, but she had her mind set on finding Charlotte and beating the fuck out of her.
Cameron screamed Charlotte’s name repeatedly while ignoring her mother’s hysterical cries and pleas. She opened the pantry door, but Charlotte wasn’t there. Cameron walked the other way towards the den and dining room which was connected to the kitchen. She twisted the knob to the door she saw in the den but something was keeping it from opening all the way. It didn’t feel locked so Cameron kicked and kicked it until there were holes in the door and she was able to open it. She had a feeling that’s where Charlotte was, and she was right. She grabbed Charlotte by the hair and pulled her out of the closet, wanting to have full access for the ass whooping she was about to deliver. Charlotte kicked and screamed, but she was no match for Cameron’s rage. All of the built-up anger Cameron held onto for her sister was released and there was nothing their mother could do to stop it. She tried to pull Cameron off of her sister, to no avail. The only thing Charlotte could do was ball up into a fetal position and take what Cameron was dishing out. There were no words that could be said that would make this situation better.
Cameron was fighting and crying uncontrollably and had no idea that Malcolm had come and pulled her off of Charlotte, until she felt him squeezing her arms. She scratched, kicked, and gave him the same treatment she had given Charlotte. She didn’t know that her mom had went and threatened Malcolm by pointing the gun at him, saying that if Cameron killed Charlotte she was going to kill him, so he was forced to come out of the bathroom.
After Malcolm had taken several punches, kicks, and scratches from Cameron, he pushed her off of him to keep from hitting her in front of her mom. Mrs. Miller didn’t like the way he shoved her and pointed the pistol she was holding right at his head. “Don’t you ever put your hands on my daughter again you sick bastard!” Mrs. Miller said to Malcolm.
Three Days Ago
The next morning Cameron woke up with a banging headache, along with being nauseous. She felt like shit. She was barely able to get Kingston ready for school, but that was all. She called and asked one of her cousins to come and pick him up and drop him off for her, and then she got back in bed. She called her boss and left a voice message saying that she was sick and couldn’t make it in today. This was her second time having to call in and she felt terrible about it, but there was no way she could make it to work with how she currently felt.
She went right back to sleep and woke up at about eleven o’clock feeling somewhat better. She rolled out of bed and her phone beeped with a text message. She picked it up and noticed that she had ten missed calls from Keith and several text messages. “I thought he said it was over,” she said while rolling her eyes. She dragged herself to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and got in, with hopes that the hot water would bring her back to herself and relieve some of the nausea.
As soon as she got out of the shower her phone started ringing again. She knew that it was Keith by the ringtone because she hadn’t changed it yet. She wanted to, but couldn’t bring herself to do it because she actually missed him. In the midst of her thoughts, she realized that she hadn’t heard from or called Malcolm back. Strange that he hasn’t called, she thought. Just as she was about to check his text messages from last night, Keith started calling back again. “I thought you said we needed to chill out for a while,” Cameron said, as she answered the phone.
“Look, now is not the time for all that so listen up. I overheard ole girl on the phone with Charlotte. She had it on speaker and it seems like they reconnected or some shit around Thanksgiving. Anyways, your trifling-ass sister gave her Malcolm’s number and she sent him those pictures last night that you sent her,” Keith said. Cameron couldn’t move because she was in shock. “So I don’t know what’s gonna become of all this, but Malcolm knows. Has he called you?” Keith asked.
“He texted me and called but I didn’t answer or check the messages,” Cameron said while finally finding her voice. “You need to be careful bae,” Keith said.
“So now I’m your bae again?” Cameron snapped.
“Look, focus and kill the dumb shit. Be safe and keep in touch. I don’t have a good feeling about this shit,” Keith said. Cameron told him OK and hung up. She glanced at the clock and noticed that it was 11:43. She finally opened Malcolm’s text messages from the night before:
Malcolm: ANSWER THE GOTDAMN PHONE!!
Malcolm: I’M GON KILL YO MOTHERFUCKING ASS!!!
Malcolm: AND THAT NIGGA TOO IF I SEE HIM! WHO IS HE?
Cameron’s knees went weak. She called Malcolm’s phone but he didn’t answer. She tried again and he still didn’t answer. All of sudden she felt sicker than she had felt earlier. Her phone beeped and she checked it. It was a message from the group chat:
Sonya: Malcolm left from up here about fifteen minutes ago looking for you. I guess he’s trying to surprise you but he looked pissed off. What’s going on?
Cameron didn’t bother replying at the moment. She hurried up and finished slipping on some clothes. She threw on the quickest thing possible which was a pair of skinny jeans that were almost too little and a Hollister tee. Her sneakers were right by the bed so she threw them on without socks. She grabbed her phone, purse and keys and headed for her car. Once she pulled out of the driveway she picked her phone up and texted back:
Cameron: A whole bunch of shit has happened but I don’t have time to text it all right now.
Just as she sent that text, she met Malcolm down the street in a curve, flying. She sped her car up and panicked even more.
Cameron: He’s chasing me. I can’t text and drive this fast. Talk to y’all later.
Cameron sped down the highway, driving ninety plus miles per hour, trying to get away from the lunatic who was chasing behind her. She gripped the steering wheel tight as her heart beat rapidly and tears streamed down her face. She could not believe she had been so stupid and sent those pictures. Not thinking had most definitely backfired on her. One part of her wanted to just let go of the wheel and let her Camaro crash so that this chase would end, however, her sane conscience thought about her son Kingston. Not to mention the child she recently found out she was carrying. With that second thought, she quickly cast her impractical thinking aside and regained her composure. The black car behind her was closing in and all she could do was pray. The expectant mother had ignored the beeping noises until her car began to slow down. She then realized she was running out of gas, but the crash that came from behind sent her car flipping violently off of the highway.
Malcolm had really lost his mind this time. He couldn’t believe what he had just done, but at the same time he wished he could have done more. After he ran Cameron off the road, he didn’t even stop to check on her. He went to the store and made an anonymous 911 phone call saying that someone had just run off the road and their car had flipped a couple of times. He hung up before the operator could ask if he was still on the scene. Malcolm’s car had a few scratches so he decided he would take it and put in the shop to kill time until someone called about Cameron. He got a rental which wasn’t out of the norm because he sometimes rented cars for his trips home from work so no should question that. His plan was to act like he was still at work whenever the call came through. I hope they don’t call my boss since I told him I was going home, he said to himself while trying to figure out a plan.
After he got his story together the phone call came through about Cameron’s accident. He told them that he was actually close to home and would be there as soon
as he could. He didn’t know if her parents had been called or how she was doing. Mentally, he was a complete mess.
Malcolm finished off the last beer out of the twelve-pack he had bought before heading to the hospital two hours later. He almost wrecked a couple of times before he got there because he was so out of it. Cars were blowing at him the entire time. Once he got to the hospital and was told that Cameron was in coma, he went ballistic and started cussing the doctors and nurses while telling them that they better save his wife. He told the doctors that he was not leaving her side no matter what. When he saw her parents walk in, he went numb. He had no idea how much they knew and when he saw two police officers walking closely behind them he fainted.
When he woke up he was in a room and the same two officers he saw before he passed out were there. “Mr. Price, how are you feeling?” asked the first officer.
“I…I don’t know. What happened? Where am I?” Malcolm replied, trying to act as if he was still out of it.
“You fainted when you saw us walking toward you,” said the second officer. Malcolm began to fake a hysterical cry as he asked, “WHERE IS SHE?! WHERE IS MY WIFE?! WHAT HAVE Y’ALL DONE TO HER? I NEED MY WIFE!!” The second officer asked Malcolm to calm down several times before he actually did so, but it was obvious that the officer was not falling for Malcolm’s bullshit. “We need to ask you a few questions Mr. Price,” said the first officer. Malcolm immediately began to become defensive, asking the officer, “You think I had something to do with this? WHERE IS MY WIFE?!”
In reality, Malcolm was afraid of what the officers may already know. He began to become fidgety and he broke out into a nervous sweat. The second officer said, “Mr. Price, no one is saying that you had anything to do with what happened to your wife, this is just routine protocol,” while side-eyeing the first officer. Malcolm realized that he needed to calm down and cooperate with the officers to keep the heat off of him. “Go ahead officer, I’m just so stressed out and worried about my wife,” said Malcolm.