* * *
I spotted her right away from where I was hiding out, just around the corner from the diner. She looked thinner than the last time I saw her, deep bags sitting underneath her eyes, and her clothes seemed to be swallowing her up. She was looking down at her feet the entire time she trekked across the sidewalk that led to the diner, her dark hair hanging in a veil to hide her face. I knew she hadn’t seen me, but she was definitely hiding from something.
Only minutes passed before she was coming back out the door with two bags in her hand. She was just slipping in the other direction, when I yanked on her free arm and pulled her into the empty alleyway. She screeched and I placed a hand over her mouth, twisting her around until I had her pinned against the brick wall. “Lawson,” she breathed out, some of the tension releasing. “What the hell are you doing? You scared the shit out of me.” Her erratic heartbeat agreed and I loosened my hold, but kept my arms by her sides to make sure she couldn’t run.
“I’m making sure you can’t keep avoiding me. What’s going on, Cam?”
“Nothing,” she answered too quickly, turning her head to avoid my eyes. “I’ve just been really busy.”
“Bullshit. Is it Conner? Does he not want you around me?” she visibly stiffened and I knew I’d hit the nail right on the head. “Really, Campbell? You’re gonna let a man dictate who you’re friends with? That’s not you, not at all. The Campbell I know wouldn’t put up with that shit.”
“Well maybe you don’t know me, then.” She answered quietly, still looking away. She squirmed from underneath me, ducking down to break free from the cage of my arms. Not so fast, there’s no way in hell I could let her get away. Who knew when I’d have this chance again? I grabbed onto the bottom of her shirt and pulled her back to me, sucking in a breath when I saw a smattering of bruises on the sliver of stomach that had become exposed. “What the fuck, Campbell?”
She hurried to cover back up, crossing her arms over her chest. “Who did that to you?”
“No one, you know I’m a klutz. I ran into the edge of my desk. That’s all.”
“Bullshit. Did Conner do that to you?” I asked between clenched teeth. My blood was boiling at the thought of him putting his hands on her, hurting her in ways that no one should ever hurt a human being, accident or not.
She didn’t answer me, but her silence was enough. Her silence was deafening.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I yelled, slamming my fist into my open palm. “He’ll regret ever laying one hand on you when I’m finished with him.”
She snorted and shook her head. “Drop the tough guy act, Lawson. You and I both know you’re a lover not a fighter.” A glimpse of the old Campbell shone through. It should have made me happy, but I didn’t think anything could make me happy about this situation.
“This isn’t funny, Campbell. I’ll beat the shit out of anyone for you.”
She blew out a shaky breath. “He didn’t mean for it to happen. Those marks are old. He hasn’t done it again and he won’t. He’s just been having some problems.”
“Problems? Please tell me what kind of problems make it okay for you to hit your wife?” I asked dryly. I figured she wouldn’t answer me with the way she was chewing on her lip and looking at her feet, but she opened her mouth and everything fell into place—The whole reason Campbell didn’t leave his ass the second it happened, and why she had been avoiding me.
“He has a bit of a drinking problem.”
Chapter 21
I wanted to take away all of her pain and I would do anything to make that happen.
Lawson
I WAS SURPRISING Campbell by showing up at her house a couple of days early. I knew she was home because I had Intel from Tess. I had missed Campbell like hell and I needed to see her as soon as I drove into town. The house was dark when I got there and when I knocked on the door, it creaked open. “Campbell?” I called from the doorway, walking inside when I didn’t hear an answer. The living room and kitchen were empty so I headed towards her room, grinning when I saw the light filtering out from the bottom. I knocked lightly on the door but pushed it open when I didn’t get answer. I found Campbell passed out on the bed, lying flat on her stomach. My eyes were instantly drawn the shorts she was wearing, or lack thereof, and the rounded globes of her ass that were calling to me.
Campbell and that ass. God, I think it was the first thing I fell in love with. But I had to resist my urges. Campbell deserved a guy that could be there for her all the time, one that could take her out on dates, one that could hold her hand whenever she needed it. Right now, I couldn’t be that guy. I was always a phone call away, but that wasn’t enough.
But I was here now.
I forced my eyes to pull away from her ass and her smooth deeply tanned legs that were calling me, instead focusing on the empty bottle of tequila that was lying on its side beneath her dangling feet. I took a step forward and picked it up, examining it. I thought maybe it was her dad’s, that she had confiscated it from him, trying to stop him from drinking—But then I saw the faint pink mark around the rim and knew that unless Mr. Wynn has recently started wearing lipstick, this wasn’t his bottle.
I squinted my eyes at Campbell, her long dark hair fanned out around her. Campbell wasn’t a big drinker, she hated the stuff. Then I spotted a stack of papers that were piled on the end of her bed. I scooped them up and started rifling through them. Past due notice after past due notice appeared, credit cards, utilities, mortgage—the list was endless. I’d lost count of what all was due and my head was swimming when I set the papers back down. Campbell was in over her head, and apparently her dad wasn’t doing shit about the bills. He probably didn’t even know about them or he didn’t care—which only pissed me off more. Why didn’t he see what he was doing to her? Why wasn’t he taking care of her like a father should? He had a good job, a great job, he could afford to pay his bills plus some.
I moved to wake Campbell up, to make sure she was okay after drinking so much, but then I figured I might as well get her a tall glass of water and some aspirin first so I headed towards the kitchen. When I got there, my anger just rose. Cabinet after cabinet I opened was empty. I turned towards the refrigerator, knowing what I was going to see, but needing to look at it anyway.
Bare.
Fuck.
Why the hell was she living like this when she knew I could help her? I laughed dryly, already knowing the answer to that question. Pride. Campbell was scraping by, surviving on barely nothing, but she was too damn stubborn to ask for help. I wondered if Tess knew how bad it had gotten. I needed to have a talk with her. There was no way in hell I was going to let this continue, no matter how hard Campbell fought with me on this. Someway, somehow, I would be taking care of her.
I slipped back into her room. She hadn’t budged an inch, but I needed to wake her up and make sure she was still alive. I grabbed onto her shoulder and shook her gently, she didn’t stir at all. I flipped her over and she groaned in her sleep, tensing for just a second before her face smoothed and her light snores started up again. It was then when I noticed her cheek, a faint bruise that I think she tried to cover up with makeup, but most of it had worn off onto her bedspread. “What the hell?” my fists clenched as I looked at her smooth skin marred by the bruise.
“Campbell, wake up,” I splashed some of the cold water from the glass onto her face and she groaned, her eyes squeezing before she slowly started to peel them open.
She blinked furiously, patting at the wetness on her face before she attempted to sit up, pushing up on her elbows. “Lawson?” She asked, her voice laced with confusion, fully sitting up and swinging her legs around to dangle over the side of the bed. “Are you really here? Or am I dreaming?” she rubbed at her eyes and I dropped down to my knees, situating myself between her legs.
“Nope, I’m here.” I squeezed her bare thighs and she let out an involuntary moan before covering it up with a cough.
“What are you doing here? Why didn�
�t you call?”
“Well, I planned on surprising you, but I think I was the one in for the surprise. What the hell is going on? What’s this?” I reached up, gingerly touching her cheek and she sucked in a breath, turning her eyes away.
“It was just an accident, it’s not a big deal.”
“Yes it is,” I argued through clenched teeth. “What happened?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “The usual. I got a call from Nancy up at The Dive, telling me I needed to come get my dad. He was drunk off his ass and he accidently elbowed me in the face when I was trying to help him into the car.”
“You shouldn’t have to do that shit. He’s a grown man, Campbell. Why didn’t you tell me? And about this too?” I pointed to the stack of bills that were crumpled, like as if she had been clutching them between her fingers for a while.
“Because I knew this is how you would react,” she grumbled, rubbing at her head. I raised my eyebrows.
“Got a headache? Did you really think that would help?”
“I don’t know, it seems to help my dad forget. I thought maybe it would help me forget, too. I needed to get rid of the stress.”
“You don’t need the stress, I can help. Please?”
She shook her head. “I’m not a charity case, Lawson. I’ll figure it out somehow.” Her stomach grumbled and I pursed my lips.
“I didn’t say you were. Let me put that a little differently—I could care less what you want or how stubborn you’re gonna be, I am helping you, whether you like it or not. End of discussion. Now, get dressed, I’m taking you out for dinner.”
“Oh, you are, are you? And I guess I don’t have a say in that either?” She scowled when I remained silent. She sighed as she pushed to her feet, her knees wobbling slightly before heading towards her closet to pull out a sundress. “I really don’t know what I would do without you, Lawson Reynolds,” she whispered, a slight smile playing on her lips.
“And I don’t know what I would do without you, Campbell Wynn, so let’s not find out.”
Chapter 22
Campbell
MY EYES WERE bouncing back and forth between Conner and Lawson and panic began to clutch at my chest. They were both standing defensively, legs spread slightly apart, fists clenched at their sides, and nostrils flaring as they glared at each other with narrowed eyes. I didn’t mean for them to run into each other. I had been distancing myself from Lawson, only communicating through short, impersonal emails. Conner never came right out and said it, but Lawson’s sudden move to our neighborhood, was putting a lot of tension on our relationship; so I decided that I needed to cut off contact with Lawson. It was for the best, really, even though I missed my best friend.
I should’ve known that he wouldn’t let go of me so easily.
“Lawson, haven’t seen you around lately,” Conner commented with a hint of smugness. “We were just heading to the park for lunch.” Conner tugged on my arm, while Lawson grabbed onto the other one.
“I wasn’t finished talking to Campbell, could you give us a minute?” he pulled me in his direction, and I felt as if I was caught in the middle of a game of tug of war.
“Actually, no. Whatever you need to say to Campbell, you can say with me here. Right, baby?”
“Lawson, we were on our way to lunch, which is why I have those.” My eyes darted to the bags that were now sitting on the concrete. “We can catch up later, alright?”
“Really?” he said, obviously not convinced. “Because I haven’t been able to get a hold of you in a while¸ Campbell. Why is that? Are you hiding something?”
“No, of course not.”
“What would she be hiding?” Conner’s jaw was tensed, but his grip had loosened. “She’s just been busy. Why don’t you come over for dinner Lawson? We can have a beer and we can all catch up.”
I winced when Conner mentioned beer. Conner wasn’t lying when he said I’d been busy, between working and trying to get Conner back on the straight and narrow without it affecting his job, I had been. His drinking had seemed to be starting to get under control, and I was relieved. He had been turning into my dad; the drinking, the anger issues. I didn’t think I could handle that all over again. I wasn’t strong enough.
Lawson tensed, but I think we all relaxed slightly when Conner laughed and said, “Well, I’ll just have a water, but we can grab a case of beer for you on the way home.” The tension in the air seemed to fizzle just a little, and I pushed a smile on to my face.
“Yeah, you should come over. We’ll throw some steaks on the grill. I’ll even make my potato salad.”
“You don’t have to convince me, Campbell,” Lawson forced a laugh. “I’ll be there, no matter what.”
“Alright, is Caiden at your place?”
“Nah, he’s with Chloe. He’ll be in town next weekend.”
“Oh okay, we’ll see you around six then?”
“Yeah, that’ll work.”
I laced my fingers through Conner’s as he bent down to pick up our bags, but Lawson stopped me from leaving, grabbing onto my shoulder. His eyes searched mine before he spoke, “You’re sure you’re alright, Campbell?” he asked in a whisper.
“Of course, I’m fine.”
He pursed his lips at me before giving a quick nod of his head. “Alright, I’ll see you in a few hours, then.”
Chapter 23
Lawson
“TESS, WHAT THE HELL is going on?” I barked into the phone, tossing my keys onto the table as I kicked of my shoes.
“You probably know more than me. I haven’t talked to Campbell in weeks. Is she okay?”
I sighed, glad that Tess knew exactly who I was talking about without me even having to explain. “I don’t know if okay would really describe it. I saw bruises on her, Tess.”
“What?” she sucked in a breath. “Why the hell did you let her out of your sight? Bruises? From Conner? What the fuck? I’m gonna come kill that bastard with my bare hands.” I heard a baby start to cry in the background.
“Calm down, mama. I’m going over there tonight. I need to figure out what’s going on before I act.”
“How in the world are you keeping a level head about this?” She screeched.
“I have no fucking clue.” I collapsed onto the couch and stared at the blank TV. “You know how stubborn she is. She said it was an accident, that he’s been having drinking problems. It sounds like her dad all over again.”
“Oh,” she answered simply, her tone empty and filled with sadness.
Tess had held onto some guilt over that whole situation. When I confronted her about not watching out for Campbell, for not seeing the signs of what was going on right next door, she was crushed. She blamed herself for not knowing how much Campbell had been struggling to make ends meet, to keep up on bills, and juggle school and a job. Not to mention the fact that she had been eating crumbs for who knows how long.
Once I stepped in, the problems were gone for the most part. I had a few talks with her dad and talked to the owner of The Dive who was given strict instructions to never call Campbell again to pick up her father. They say we shouldn’t have to change the ones we love, but sometimes that’s not the case. No matter how hard I tried to get help for Mr. Wynn, he never changed. I hated that for Campbell. Family is supposed to stick by you and none of hers had. She was alone in the world, so I was determined to be the family she needed. I made a promise to protect her and that’s exactly what I did. Now, it didn’t seem like I was doing that great of a job. That would be changing real quick.
I finished talking to Tess, promising that I’d catch up with her tomorrow and fill her in with details from dinner. She also demanded that Campbell called her right away. I couldn’t promise her that, but I could at least try.
I changed my clothes before scooping my keys back up and heading in the direction of Campbell’s house for dinner. This should be interesting.
Chapter 24
Campbell
“MMM, BABY, THAT SMELLS GOOD.”
I slapped at Conner’s hand that was inching towards the cherry pie that I had just pulled out of the oven. “You’ll burn your mouth, and that’s for dessert, not now.”
He twisted my body around and kissed the corner of my mouth. “Then I guess I could just have you for dessert right now.”
I squealed when he hoisted me up onto the counter and wedged himself between my legs. His eyes glittered back at me as he took a step backwards, drinking me in. His face was relaxed as he took a lazy step towards me and I felt another bit of stress slowly melt away. In fact, it was almost completely gone. The past two months had been unimaginable. Conner’s behavior had started to change—from uptight, to controlling, to a constant anger. I could honestly say I was scared of my husband.
Then we got to the root of the problem. His job had been stressing him out, which was understandable, so he would have a beer here and a beer there, and then that would lead to another and then another. Beer turned into hard liquor, and then money started to filter out. He got caught up in gambling and our savings rapidly diminished. When I happened to check our balance one day, I panicked. When I went to Conner, he admitted everything. I’m not sure how I didn’t recognize the signs sooner. My dad had been a damn alcoholic. How had I not seen it? Maybe it was because I didn’t want to.
Somehow, Conner didn’t lose his job, though he did take a couple of weeks vacation; and together, we powered through it, though it wasn’t easy. The past week, it was as if we were finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. His moods were better and he hadn’t touched a drink in weeks—But my nerves were frayed about tonight. I’d been shutting Lawson out because I didn’t need him to step in to save me like the white knight that he thought he was. I would forever be grateful for his help with my dad, but I had my own life now. Conner was my husband. If Lawson knew everything that Conner had done when he was in a drunk stupor, Conner probably wouldn’t be alive to talk about it. Although Conner was bigger and more physically fit than Lawson, I knew the fierce protective streak he had when it came to me.
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