by Twyla T
When Cameron made it to her parent’s house and walked in, the smell of food made her stomach growl; she didn’t even realize that she was hungry. Her mom told her to have a seat and fixed her a plate. When Mrs. Edwards sat the plate in front of her, Cameron immediately dived in. One of her favorite meals was place in front of her. Cabbage, fried pork chops, macaroni and cheese, corn bread, and peach cobbler. “Where’s Kingston and dad?” Cameron asked while talking with her mouth full. “They went to the store,” her mom replied.
“We’re going to make our trip this weekend. I know if I leave it up to you, we will never go and I feel like this is something we need to do. Bonding with my daughters is going to be priceless,” her mom said.
“Do you think it’s a good idea to surprise her, mom? We don’t need to run up on anything we don’t need to see. It’s not like she really likes me and is going to be happy to see me,” Cameron said.
“I think it will be a great surprise. I have mentioned to her about us coming, but I’ve never said when. She was fine with it. Besides, if I let her know when we plan to come she will only make an excuse like you and I am tired of the excuses,” Cameron’s mom said.
“Well, if you think this is a good idea; then fine. But, if anything crazy happens just know that it is all your fault,” Cameron said. Mrs. Miller started to say something else but Cameron cut her off. “I am going to get my life together, mom. I promise I am. You don’t have to lecture me today,” Cameron said while looking down.
“You’ve told me this countless times before Cameron. Why should I believe you now? I have already lost one child. I’m not trying to lose another one. Is that man hitting on you? I know exactly how to put a stop to that if he is,” her mom said while continuing to mumble under her breath. She had become very angry all of a sudden. “No mom, he’s not hitting me. I’m really at fault when it comes to all of that, but it’s under control now. I won’t be seeing him anymore,” Cameron said. Just as Cameron’s mom was about to say something else, her dad walked in with Kingston around his neck. Cameron was thankful for the distraction. “Mommy where is Unk?” Kingston asked after his grandpa put him down. Her dad looked at her and Cameron was forced to feed him the same lie she had told Malcolm about one of their cousins telling Kingston to call him that. She whispered and told Kingston that Unk was gone when her dad turned his back. Cameron talked to her parents for about fifteen more minutes. She got up and fixed her a plate for lunch tomorrow, then decided that it was time to head on home. She told her parents “good night” and left. “Be ready to leave Friday around noon,” her mom said to her. Cameron rolled her eyes since her back was turned to her mom. There was no way in hell she could get away with it otherwise.
When Cameron made it home she decided to check the mail. She couldn’t remember the last time she had checked the mail. Most of their bills were on automatic draft so there wasn’t really a need. When Cameron made it in the house she decided to sit down and sort through everything. She opened up a letter about their current life insurance policies. She and Malcolm were currently covered for two hundred thousand dollars each and Kingston had one hundred thousand dollars worth of coverage. As she continued to read she decided that she would increase the policies. She was still pissed off at Malcolm, but decided to call him anyway while she was filling out the paperwork. He fussed with her about her thoughts, but when he realized she was mad, he gave in. He was trying to get back on her good side. She filled out the paperwork and increased her policy by only fifty thousand dollars and increased Malcolm’s to five hundred thousand dollars. “You just never know when an accident is going to happen,” Cameron said to herself once she finished up with the paperwork and placed it in the envelope.
Chapter 17
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 to increase 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 would have 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 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 and that 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. Malc
olm 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 door 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.
“That’s right, take up for little Miss Cameron like you always do,” Charlotte said through tears from the floor. “What do you mean by that, sweetheart?” Mrs. Miller asked.
“Oh mom, come on! Everything has always been about Cameron. Always has and always will. My real mom contacted me a few weeks ago,” Charlotte said, sounding defeated. Mrs. Miller’s mouth flew wide open. Cameron’s face was more shocked than her mom’s but Malcolm seemed calmer than everyone. “What are you talking about Charlotte?” Her mom said. “I have always wondered why you treated me different than Cameron. All of these years I have tried to figure it out, and it took Malcolm to help me piece the puzzle together. I know I’m wrong for what I did to you Cameron, but I was angry. I’m still angry. My whole life has been a lie and I still don’t have all of the answers,” Charlotte said.
“What the fuck did Malcolm lie about now?” What is she talking about mom?” Cameron asked while moving closer to her mom who appeared to be in shock. No one noticed Malcolm walk out of the room and out of the front door. He used the moment to escape because he wasn’t ready to explain the real reason behind Mr. Miller making Cameron marry him. Mrs. Miller fell to the floor and started thinking back to all of those years ago.
Three months after I got married, I was at home putting Fred down for a nap because I had just finished feeding him. It was a warm spring day in March. Charles was in the back room on the computer checking emails and working from home. The doorbell rang and I wanted to ignore it because I was ready to take a nap myself. Fred was an active little fifteen- month- old so I tried to take everyone’s advice and rest while he was sleeping. When I opened the door, I was very shocked to see Crystal, my sister, standing there. I hadn’t seen or spoken to her in almost a whole year. She refused to be in my wedding and I was still upset with her about it. When I looked down and saw a baby lying in a car seat beside her feet, I was even more shocked. “You had a baby?” That was the only thing I could think to say because I was really pissed at her for running off to only God knows where and ignoring me. “Is Charles here?” Crystal asked. “Umm, what do you need with Charles? I’m standing right here and I’m your sister. Shouldn’t you be looking for me?” I replied. “Well Carla, it would be best if we could just kill two birds with one stone, so why don’t you go back there and get him,” Crystal said with a little too much attitude.
I hesitantly walked away from her and headed to the back With the attitude she was displaying, I wanted her to disappear again before I would have to kick her ass. “Charles, Crystal is here to talk to us!” He never answered so I went on and walked into his office. “You didn’t hear me?” Crystal is up there to see us and she has a baby with her. That’s so strange,” I said to my husband. “Honey, I think I should talk to you before we go back up there,” he told me while trying to grab me. Before I could respond, Crystal had made her way to the back and was walking into the office like she owned the place. “No, I don’t need you to try and feed her some bullshit story before you face me. I’m sick of this shit. I can’t believe you went ahead and married her after all that we shared,” Crystal said.
“What the hell are you talking about Crystal?” I asked.
“I’m talking about the fact that I love Charles and he married you, knowing I was pregnant with his child,” Crystal said. I felt dizzy and I began to stumble.
“Crystal, you know I was drunk and you caught me when I was vulnerable. I’ve never told you that I love you. What we did was wrong and…” Crystal cut him off. “If it was so wrong then why did you do it again? You made love to me after you married my sister too; Charlotte is three months old,” Crystal said. Before anyone could get another word out, I hit Crystal so hard that one of her front teeth went down her throat. She fell to the floor yelling and screaming and I jumped down on her; beating her ferociously. I didn’t hear any of the words that she was saying because all of my energy was focused on punching every part of her body that her hands weren’t covering. “Carla! Stop it before you kill her!” Charles kept saying while trying to pull me off of her. I tried to punch him in the face, but my strength, even with my anger level on ten thousand, was no match for him. “I’m sorry Carla, but please calm down,” Charles pleaded.
“Let me go! Get your hands off of me, you cheating bastard!” I screamed. Charles wouldn’t let me go. He calmly started talking to Crystal like she was a little kid. “Crystal, if this is my baby, then I will do the right thing and take care of her. You knew I didn’t love you. How could I love you when you slept with everyone at my job? I fell victim to an immature game the guys came up with. I was wrong and I do apologize, but I am not leaving my wife to b
e with you. Not today, tomorrow, or ever. I will arrange for a DNA test, but for right now, you need to take the baby and leave,” Charles was still holding me and I couldn’t move one inch. As bad as I wanted to get away from him, I couldn’t; the grip he had on me was too strong. “Fuck you Charles! You think you can just play with people’s emotions and cut them off when you get ready? You blocked me so I couldn’t call you. You would have known about the baby if you would have continued talking to me. I’m not raising a baby by myself and sit back and watch you two live happily ever after! Since you two are so well put together, y’all can raise Charlotte! I’m out of here!” Crystal said, and left without looking back. She didn’t leave clothes, shoes, milk, or anything. The car seat that Charlotte was sitting in was all that she had at that moment. Crystal was always in competition with me and to this day, I still don’t know why.