Unconditional

by K. S. Kamat

  Miranda had once said that her parents were tired of their son’s behavior. They thought he had surpassed the age of poking fun at his peers and entered a more mature territory, one that did not frequently end up in the dean’s office. That just wasn’t the case. I became accustomed to his behavior by the end of the midterms, but little did I know that it was calm before a major storm. Clearly I underestimated him. The lid flipped when certain boundaries were overstepped.

  I was working on an assignment in the school library with the large encyclopedia and some of the other materials sprawled across the table, including a personal diary. Sherman strode over to my table, giving a slight nudge to his nerdy glasses, he said, “The librarian wants you.”

  I closed the binder and made my way towards the main desk, which was a good distance away from the table I occupied. Mr. Walker appeared to be dozing off on the desk, his head lolled south, the ball-point pen forgotten and the register unattended. I tapped my killer finger nails on the oak desk, trying to get his attention to no avail.

  “Mr. Walker?”

  He didn’t respond. I tried again, this time using a higher pitch. “Mr. Walker?”

  The man’s head snapped up and eyes shot open, the crease above his tired forehead formed a thin dark line as if he’d caught me dozing off on duty and not the other way round. “Do you need anything, Joanna?”

  “You called me?”

  He frowned in confusion, “No. I did not.”

  It was my turn to scowl at him. I passed him a weak smile as I started walking back to my table, deciding it was time for me to wrap it all up and leave. As I neared the table, I noticed something unusual. The diary was gone. I rummaged through my belongings but failed to find the black object. Without further ado, I dashed out the door and into the lobby.

  Have you felt like your insides were crushed and minced into tiny chunks? I got that feeling when I watched Cameron tear each page out of the diary, even worse when he tore it to bits right next to a dumpster. My heart pumped in an excessive overdrive as he retrieved a lighter out of his pocket. I was unable to move, appalled by the sight. The fiery blaze licked the end of the pages. Tears clouded my vision. He had gone too far this time.

  I wasn’t thinking straight when I walked towards him and let my palm strike his face hard. The after effect was a loud booming sound, if nothing else, I had given the school newspaper something to write about. Cameron’s eyes diluted to a deep oceanic blue which showcased fury.

  “Why are you doing this to me?” I looked him dead in the eye. “What have I done to you?”

  Cam seized my arm in his tight painful grip and twisted it making me shriek in agony. “Let go. Let go. Please.”

  “I will do whatever I want and there is nothing that you can do about it, Joanna.” He continued in his soft menacing voice, gritting his teeth. “Never make the mistake of questioning my judgment, unless you’re asking for severe consequences. I will make your life a living hell.”

  “You are nothing but a coward, and all these people that support you are just afraid of you. No fucking body can be your true friend Cameron. They only pretend to like you.”

  His fingers dug deep in my cheeks. “SHUT UP!”

  “This is as far as you go. Do it. Try and break me.” I was blinded by tears but still continued to maintain the strong demeanor. “I want to see how low you can stoop. Every time you pull one of your stunts, it just makes me stronger.”

  “You will pay for opening that ugly mouth.” He spat at me and stormed down the hallway.

  Red angry marks appeared on my arms when he let go off my arm. It hurt like hell. How much longer did I have to tolerate his abuse before I crashed down from the brink of sanity?

  ****

  I thought home was the only place Cam couldn’t reach me, but I was wrong. Cameron found a way to torment me from a distance. I opened my Facebook page and found an Ugliest Whore of Harbor High Fan Club link in my inbox, waiting to be joined. My picture from freshman year stared back at me. Two-hundred people were already members. Obscene questions were already posted. I hit the report button and de-activated my account for the time being. I stared at the screen for a long time, not sure what I was supposed to do until the moisture gathered in the corner of my eyes and I cried, pulling at my hair. I slumped into the warm comfort of my bed and dozed off. I figured sleep was the only escape from the ugly reality.

  I wished I had died that day with Oliver in that car; it would have been so much easier.

  Sometime past noon, I heard a knock on the door. “You haven’t eaten anything, honey. Come downstairs. I’ve fixed you a salad. Don’t force me to drag you down.” My mom warned.

  I was damn sure she would actually do that.

  The television blared from the living area as I trotted downstairs towards the kitchen island. Mom pushed a bowl of fresh salad and dressing on the counter for me. I forked the salad and ate a few mouthfuls when Dad walked into the kitchen.

  “Jo, you know any boy called Cameron Reid in your school?”

  The salad floated in mid-air, I put it back in the bowl. The wheels in my stomach started to turn. So the Ugliest Whore fan stuff had even reached my dad. “Yes, dad, I know him.”

  He rubbed his temples, “Poor boy. He got himself in a freak accident in the evening.”

  I gaped at my dad. “What happened?”

  “There was an accident on my way back from work. A car had driven right into the bridge; it somehow didn’t fall into the water though, but the car is in an ugly shape. The boy luckily survived. ”

  Broken bones. Please, broken bones. I mentally chanted.

  “How…how..is he?” I asked.

  “He is in a coma.” My dad declared. “Kids these days. He was drunk and high on cocaine. You know what the major coincidence is?”

  Mom and I shook our heads.

  “It’s the exact place where Oliver had an accident. That place is like a teenage accident magnet.”

  It was the first time in six months that either of my parents had mentioned Oliver. I chose to remain silent. Oliver was a soft topic. I continued to eat my food as my parents switched to a different subject, one that was likely to make me less depressed. They knew what was forbidden territory.

  For the next few days, I felt like I grew wings. The air around was cleaner and easier for me to breathe. Cameron was still under recovery from his accident. I might sound like a bitch, but I wanted my life to remain the way it was. Cameron free. No arms jutted out from the corridors and groped me. The bully was gone until the fourth day when I heard Miranda mention to one of her classmates that Cameron was showing improvements.

  I was convinced. Life was unfair. Indeed.

  ****

  I successfully ignored him the entire day. His so called friends were giving him the welcome pleasantries while I avoided his eye. My palms became sweaty when I watched him walk into my Biology class and take a seat right behind me. So he was going as far as to even switch to a different class just so he could ruin my year? I ran a hand through my hair several times, to make sure he hadn’t stuck gum in it and spun half-way to check what the hell he was doing. I noticed his eyes were fixated on me.

  What the hell?

  “Jo, I was wondering if you’d lend me your Biology notebook.”

  Dafuq?

  I turned slowly to face him. “And why exactly would I do that?”

  Cam passed me his angelic smile. He looked almost different. “Because I figured my work is incomplete and I needed some help. You are the best and the prettiest option I see.”

  I gaped at him. Cameron and flirting never went together, especially not with me. I knew this was a different game, maybe a nastier one.

  “You sure you came back from a coma? How badly did you hit your head?”

  He chuckled, those blue vibrant eyes seemed cheerful not the usual predatory type. “I’m glad I did. Do you have any idea how happy I am today, Jo?”

  I made a sour face. “You should feel luck
y. People don’t get second chances where life is concerned.”

  “I know. And I plan to make the most out of it.” He said softly.

  I never spoke to him for the entire hour, and refused to give him my Biology notebook. Was the accident so traumatic that it actually changed Cameron’s perspective on life?

  “I’ve missed you, Joanna.” His eyes brimmed with unshed tears.

  I smiled back at him. “I didn’t. I just wish you never came back, but here you are. Guess that’s bad luck for me.”

  He was just a pretty face with an ugly soul, which just meant he had an ugly personality. Vogue cover face, or not.

  Turned out, I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed the change in his attitude. For several days people lived in constant fear that Cameron would strike again, but none of that happened. He’d always pop up in places that I’d least expect him to be in, the way he popped once again near the pool area while I was alone. My last pool encounter came back to me in flashes. All the blood drained out of my system when I watched him flash me his infectious swoon-worthy smile.

  I shook my head in an attempt to stop him. “Stop right there. Don’t come near me, Cameron. I’m warning you.” I took a few steps back and almost tripped over the trail of water I had left behind, and that’s when he snagged me into his strong arms by my waist.

  He’s gonna haul me in the pool. Oh my god!

  He kissed my cheek softly and trailed feather light kisses down my jaw.

  “Why are you doing this to me?” I sobbed. “Please let me go, Cameron. Please don’t hurt me.”

  He wrapped his arms around me and I felt his warm lips touch my forehead. “I’m not going to hurt you, Joanna.”

  I tried to pull away from him, but his hold only became fiercer. “Just listen to me, Jo. Only listen.”

  I remained silent. At least he wasn’t feeling me up. “There were two childhood best friends who loved each other, they grew up together. Stuff surely changes in high school, but their bond remained unbreakable. Everything was going so smoothly and just like every sappy romance story, there was a bad guy in this one too…”

  “Cameron…” I choked a sob. What was he trying to tell me? Why drag Oliver into this?

  “Just let me finish, Jo.” He continued in his soft whisper, which was barely audible. “So the bad guy bullied the girl and the hero always stood up against him. Always protecting his girl, but its life after all, we can’t stop tragic stuff from happening now, can we? The boy was run over by a car on the bridge.”

  That was my undoing, tears teetered my vision. So Cam was going to torture me by narrating my painful past. “Please..stop it. I beg you.”

  “But guess what? The dead boy got another chance.” His hold on me tightened. “He made a promise to the girl, didn’t he? Forever and Always. When he said it, he intended to keep it.”

  My sobs came to an abrupt stop. I looked up to face him; his blue eyes stared longingly at me. I touched his face. There was no way Cam would ever know the Forever and Always promise. “Oliver?”

  “What took you so long to recognize me, baby?”

  “How…how… is it possible?”

  “I was just a wandering soul until last week; I didn’t know what to do. Nobody could hear me, and I couldn’t leave that place. It was like my soul was tied to it.” He continued. “I saw Cameron’s car driving right into the ledge. I went to check on him, but I guess he was already dead. I didn’t know. I just touched his body, thought I could help, but the next thing I know I woke up in a hospital bed and very much alive.”

  “So, you’re trapped in Cameron’s body?” I couldn’t keep the shock from my voice.

  None of this made sense, but it explained Cameron’s behavior, it wasn’t him at all. My Oliver was back.

  “Yes.” Oliver kissed the top of my head. “It’s a gift, Jo. It all depends on you now”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, glancing up at him again. The same face, the one that tormented me for years but a different person within.

  “Will you be able to love the person you’ve hated for so long?” His eyes searched for an answer. “Cameron is going to be a part of me, whether I like it or not. I have to live with this body if I intend to stay.”

  “It’s your soul, I’m in love with.” I touched my lips with his. “The outer cover hardly matters.”

  ****

  Harbor High lived through a shock wave for a few weeks. Cameron Reid, the guy who loathed Joanna Ross with an undying passion, were found cuddling, they could hardly keep their hands off each other. How did that happen? It wasn’t just the shock that Cam seemed in love with the girl, but he’d also apologized to everyone who he’d caused trouble for, including the teachers. It was a miracle, almost a dream come true for the entire school.

  What happened during the accident that straightened him like a damn stick? Cameron’s parents were more than delighted; they even threw a Welcome Home Son party for him. His parents were convinced their son had undergone a change of heart and mended his devilish ways.

  Every time I looked at him, it just reminded me of the horrible things Cameron did to me in the past. But slowly and surely, I knew that would change, and I’d learn to see past him.

  “Always keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Oliver winked at me.

  I playfully poked his ribs. His hand was laced through mine as he walked me to the school parking lot.

  A Note from K.S. Kamat

  Thank you so much for reading Unconditional. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads or on any other site that you have purchased. You can also email me at authorkskamat@gmail.com or even follow me on Twitter @AuthorKSKamat

  Thank you!

  About the Author

  Unconditional is K.S. Kamat’s debut novella. She is an independent writer, and enjoys writing contemporary Romance and cannot resist the temptation of a good Horror novel. She has a B.A degree in Social Science and a keen interest in Psychology. When she is not reading or writing you’ll mostly find her watching cheesy Romance movies, Anime or painting away on a canvas.

  She was raised and currently lives in Muscat, Oman with her family, but wishes to travel to all countries and visit the United States to meet her favorite writers.