As she landed, she noticed a pair of steel-toed Timbland work boots and her heart completely stopped. Her entire body froze. She could only look up at him in complete terror, defenseless, helpless.
This was it. She’d caused too much trouble and he was going to kill her for it. He made this clear when he took a slow, taunting step toward her, brandishing a silver pocket knife.
Her entire body soaked with sweat, Cameron bolted straight up and scrambled out of bed before she realized she’d only had a nightmare. Another one.
Taking a slow look around yet another foreign bedroom, she tried to slow her pulsing heart rate, but she couldn’t calm down. She reached over and turned on her lamp, then sat down at the edge of the bed. Leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees, she repeated what she’d been telling herself the last few days. Everything was okay. She’d survived.He couldn’t hurt her anymore. But even as she tried to take the message to heart, she knew her escape had come with a cost.
Now she was on the run, married to a person she despised, and hiding from the cops while trying to live with one. Something told her it wouldn’t be easy to lie to Sam, so she needed to be careful not to raise his suspicions in the first place. And crashing her car into the town’s welcome wagon wasn’t a good way to start.
At least her presence seemed to trump the car accident for now. She wondered how long it would be before she screwed up yet again. Unable to take the inner ping-pong anymore, she reached to the floor and grabbed her duffel bag. Ripping it open, she dumped the contents onto her bed and began to rifle through them, searching for any bottles of alcohol she might’ve stashed. She moved around a few outfits, shook out a few pairs of jeans. But she found nothing that would ease her worried mind.
So she decided to do the next best thing: keep moving so she didn’t have time to think. Tuning her radio into Southern Comfort with Sadie, she let the host’s friendly and cheerful voice distract her while she revamped her room. She started by hanging her clothes in the closet. Then she took down the cartoon poster and gathered up the stuffed animals, shoving them on the shelf in her closet. Then she flipped the pink bed spread over to the white side and tried to lie down again.
Instead of getting a restful night’s sleep, she tossed around in bed until the sun started to peek over the mountains. Then she finally crawled out of bed and changed her clothes.
Leaving her bedroom, she saw Sam at the coffee pot, pouring a cup. He glanced over his shoulder at her. “You’re up early,” he commented. “Want a cup?”
“I’d love one, thanks,” she said, taking a seat at the table.
As Sam was pouring a cup, a woman came down the stairs. She was thin and pretty, with brunette hair already styled with wide, bouncy curls. Seeing Cameron, her face lit up with a smile. “Cameron, it’s so good to see you again,” she said in a sweet, friendly voice that through the girl off guard.
“Um…do I know you?” Cameron asked slowly, trying to place her.
Sam turned from the counter, offering a cup of coffee to Cameron. “You remember Bela, right? I brought her to Christmas dinner a few years back. Or was it Thanksgiving?”
“It was Christmas,” Bela said, not seeming to mind that Cameron hadn’t remembered. “But we barely saw each other. You were gone most of the time.”
“Right,” Cameron said, even though she still didn’t remember. “My brain must still be asleep.”
Bela went to the fridge, took out a carton of eggs and a package of bacon. As she began to cook, she spoke a mile a minute. “I was really surprised when Sam told me you were going to be staying with us. I’m glad you came, I know Sam regrets...”
In the middle of taking a sip of coffee, she looked over the rim of the cup at Bela as her words trailed off.
“Well, I mean I know how much he missed you,” Bela continued. “Now you guys can catch up. Do you have any big plans for the fall? Like college or an exciting job?”
Before Cameron could answer, the side door opened and Chad came in, headed straight to the coffee pot and poured a cup before he acknowledged anybody.
“Morning,” he said after swallowing.
“Morning,” Sam replied as he took a seat next to Cameron.
“Oh, before I forget.” Chad set his coffee cup on the table and dug into his pocket, coming out with Cameron’s cell phone. “I found this in your car last night. It’d gotten wedged under the passenger seat.”
“Thanks,” Cameron said, taking the phone from him.
“Oh, and some guy called.”
Without moving a muscle Cameron lifted her gaze to look at Chad. “What?”
“I think your phone said it was someone named…Julian? Or Julius? I didn’t get a good look.”
“But…you answered it?”
Clueless, he only nodded and moved to look at what Bela was cooking. “Yeah, I told him you weren’t available.”
That’s not so bad, she thought. Unless… “Did you say anything else?”
He glanced over at her, finally noticing how uneasy she was. He raised an eyebrow. “Just that I was your brother. Why?”
“No reason,” she said, even though she felt faint. Julian knew where her brothers lived—he’d listened to her talk about them a hundred times—so now he knew where to find her. She only wondered how long it would take him to show up. For all she knew, he was making the drive at this very moment.
“Someone special?” Bela asked, turning from the stove.
“Just a friend,” Cameron said, wanting so badly to give this woman one of her signature glares and make her back off. She’d had enough mindless chatter already and it wasn’t even eight o’clock yet. “Probably just making sure I got here okay.”
She shifted in her seat, looking down in her coffee, while every instinct told her to run as far as she could. But her car was out of commission right now, so short of stealing one she was stranded. She felt like she was being scrutinized. There were too many ears around, too many eyes that might notice the signs of panic. So she picked up her coffee and phone and stood up. “I’m just gonna go outside and have a cigarette,” she explained, moving toward the door.
“Wait, you smoke?” Chad asked as she left, but she purposefully ignored him.
Stepping outside, the crisp morning air surrounded her, making her feel instantly awake and temporarily refreshed. Taking a drink of her coffee, she circled around to the front of the house and found a set of wicker chairs and a small patio table. She took a seat and turned her phone on, dreading what she’d find.
While she waited for her phone to power up, she pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one up. Finally, she had the guts to look at her phone’s screen. But instead of the slew of messages she’d expected, there was only a single voicemail.
“Game on, Cammi.”
Chapter Three
Dressed in a denim skirt and a tank-top, Cameron entered a bar called The Tavern. It’d taken her a good hour and a half to cover up the bruises from the car accident, but after some top-of-the-line make up and a clever flat-ironed side-swept bang, she looked normal.
She’d told her brothers she just wanted some time alone, and had them drop her off downtown. They’d tried to convince her to let them give her the grand tour, but she made up some excuse and eventually they’d gotten the message.
She felt a little guilty about ditching them, especially since she’d been so distant and withdrawn all day. Julian’s threat never left her mind. No matter how hard she tried, all she could do was obsess about it. She desperately needed to unwind, and the perfect way to do it was a stiff drink and a hot guy.
Pulling her fake ID out of her pocket, she walked up to the bartender and slid it across the counter. “Two shots of Tequila and a Long Island Iced Tea.”
The man picked up her ID and studied it for a second. “Star White? Really?”
She gave him a smile. “What can I say? My parents were hippies.”
He chuckled, handed her ID back and began to work
on getting the drinks. “That’ll be twelve bucks.”
She pulled a twenty out of her pocket and helped herself to the two shots while he counted out her change. Picking up the drink and stuffing her change back in her pocket, she turned and surveyed the bar scene.
Smoke hung in the dimly lit room as thick as fog, and country music blasted from an old-fashioned Jukebox. It was a little different from the college bars she’d frequented in Baltimore, but there were still plenty of young drunken guys acting like idiots, looking for someone to spend their night with.
A group of people gathered around a table in the back, playing a game of quarters. Among them, she spotted a tall guy with broad shoulders and thick, sexy locks of blond hair. He stood at the end of the rectangular table, laughing and talking to the rest of the people.
Cameron took a sip from the straw, feeling a glimmer of satisfaction when the guy looked up at her. When their gazes met, he grinned and thrust his chin in the air to nod her over. A playful smirk curved his lips as she crossed the room to join the table. He kept this eye contact as the guy standing next to him attempted to bounce the quarter, but it spun on the table until it finally flopped over on tails.
The blond guy took the quarter and held eye contact with her in a seductive challenge as he positioned it between his pointer finger and index finger, then tossed it onto the table with surprising force. It bounced off the wood and straight into the shot glass with a SWOOSH.
Smiling triumphantly, he slid the shot glass over to her. As she reached out to take the glass, her fingers brushed against his class ring.
Taking the shot glass, she stared down into it. The quarter lay in the bottom, heads up, surrounded by what looked like vodka.
Bringing the glass to her lips, she yanked her head back and the bitter liquor ran down her throat. An echoing ‘whoa’ roared from the buzzed crowd as she caught the quarter in her teeth and slid the shot glass down the table for a refill.
She smiled triumphantly as she pulled the quarter from her teeth. “Beat that,” she said to no one in particular, the effects of the alcohol kicking in. Lifting her glass, she took a drink of her cocktail, but it backfired. Instead of the alcohol numbing her problems, it was magnifying them, as it tended to do.
Suddenly, she felt cramped in the tiny room. People bumped into her, adding to the sensation, and she struggled to breathe, while her mind gurgled up images she didn’t want to see.
Her brothers standing alone in a rainy cemetery as Anne took her away.
Blood swirling down a shower drain.
Julian stuffing a blood-drenched outfit into a paper bag.
The silver blade of the knife, glinting in the dull light of the forest. Then later, she ran for dear life, pushing her way through branches...
Cameron pushes her way through the crowd, making it to a corner in the back of the bar, behind a set of empty booths. In the small space, she turned toward the wall, covering her face as she fought to catch her breath. Fighting to get those images out of her head. But the torment only continued.
She felt a body move up behind her. Not too close, but close enough to raise the hair on her arms. Taking another long drink, she hoped she could subdue the painful memories that’d decided to pop up out of nowhere, but it didn’t work.
“Hey…you okay?” a male’s voice asked.
Taking a peek over her shoulder, she saw the blond guy from the game. He looked genuinely concerned, but she figured he was just trying to play the hero, so she didn’t answer him.
“You need some water or something?” he asked.
As more images of the forest tried to pierce through her mind, she mumbled, “Or something.”
Turning, she wrapped one arm around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss, and finally found what she’d been searching for.
The quiet.
That peaceful moment where her mind didn’t torture her, where all that mattered was the physical sensation a man could give. The second his lips touched hers, a serene stillness washed over her, finally freeing her mind. It was such a welcome relief and she wanted more, needed more.
Kissing him harder, she pressed her body against his. One hand landed on her hip like it belonged there, and the other arm curled around her waist, holding her close as his tongue probed deeper inside her mouth.
The kiss intensifying, their bodies fell against the wall. She knew she could have him if she wanted, and she needed this feeling, this quiet to last. For the next few hours, she could forget about everything that had driven her to this town in the first place, and the temptation to do that was beckoning her. But as their kiss slowed, she knew she wanted to change. She didn’t want to be this pathetic girl, looking for relief in a stranger’s arms. Not anymore.
Pulling away, she looked into her partner’s eyes, noticing for the first time that they were so blue, almost unnaturally blue, like the cleanest, purest water.
A type of purity she’d lost long ago. Opening her mouth, she attempted to apologize or reject him, but no words came out. She pushed at his chest, squeezing past him. He was staring at her, lust fading from his expression and curiosity emerging.
Looking him up and down, her body begged to kiss him again, find a bedroom, but she stumbled back, away from him instead. She guzzled her drink as she headed to the door, while he called out behind her.
“Wait,” he said, starting after her. “Hold on.”
She dropped her empty glass on a table she passed and then darted out the doors and into the cool summer night. She was already halfway across the parking lot when the guy came out of the bar.
“At least give me your name,” he called.
But she crossed the street without answering him, disappearing into the night.
***
Returning to the house, Cameron sat down on the porch steps and let out a slow breath of relief. She couldn’t believe how close she’d come to making another one-night mistake, and was grateful she’d had the presence of mind to bolt.
The guy at the bar was one thing she wouldn’t regret in the morning, at least. That list was already too full.
“Enjoy your walk?”
Sam’s voice came from behind her, scaring the living daylights out of her. Stifling a scream, she jumped and spun around, searching the porch for the source of his voice.
He sat on the porch swing, masked by the shadow of the roof, barely noticeable.
She pressed a hand against her chest and let out a nervous laugh. “Jesus, Sam. Scare the hell outta someone why don’t you?”
“I didn’t mean to spook you.” He stood up, walking into a stream of light coming from the window.
“Were you waiting on me?” she asked, crossing her arms defensively. This was a habit, which she awkwardly tried to correct by sliding her hands into her back pockets instead.
“No,” he said, leaning against one of the beams. “It’s just a beautiful night, that’s all. I like to come out here and listen to the crickets sometimes.”
Cameron looked around, not seeing anything particularly beautiful. She didn’t really hear any crickets, either. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“So…is everything okay?” he asked slowly. “You seem pretty jumpy.”
“I’m fine,” she said, smiling to drive the point home.
“It’s just…I noticed you got pretty…evasive after learning about that phone call.”
“Really?” she asked, struggling to keep her voice casual. “I didn’t mean to be.”
He shrugged. “Maybe I was looking for a red flag where there wasn’t one.”
“Must’ve been.”
He waited, as if he expected her to say something more, but she had no idea what he would want to hear, so she said nothing.
“It’s kind of weird, isn’t it?” he asked, looking back at the house. “To think we all lived here as a family once. I remember it, but you probably don’t. You were only six when they died.”
“It was a long time ago,” she said with a nod. Normally she
would’ve avoided this subject. Talking about her parents only brought back painful memories she’d tried hard to keep buried. But now, she found herself wondering about them. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” he said.
“How did they die?” she asked. He looked a little confused, so she continued. “I know there was a robbery. But what happened?”
It took him a minute to answer. Sitting down next to her on the step, he rested his elbows on his knees and looked out across the front yard. “It was their weekly date night,” he said finally. “They went out of town to see some play. On their way home, they stopped for gas and walked into a holdup.”
Looking down at her fingernails, she drew in a shaky breath as she pictured them, all dressed up and giddy, walking into a situation so unexpected and horrible. It gave her cold chills to think about it.
“I guess the robber got spooked and open-fired,” he said. “Dad died on the scene, but Mom was in the hospital for a day before we lost her. I remember it felt like the longest day ever…just waiting around in the hospital. Waiting for a miracle.”
She crossed her arms, looking up at the sky. She found herself wondering if God even handed out miracles anymore, or if he thought humans no longer deserved them. She wouldn’t blame Him for losing faith in humans…she’d lost hers a long time ago.
Later that night, she expected Julian to call again. Knowing he’d love nothing more than to twist her in his web of words and threats. But he didn’t send anything, didn’t call even once. It made her uneasy, like she had her back to him. If she didn’t know what he was up to, it meant he could be doing anything. Like taking that bag to the police, or parading into town to tell her brothers what she was running from.
That’s when she decided she’d do whatever it took to keep them from finding out what she was hiding. As far as they knew, she wasn’t much different than the innocent girl they’d once shared a home with, and she wanted to keep it that way at all costs.
Another Life: Another Life Series #1 Page 3