"So, what? You two stopped fooling around, so now you're fucking Lucas? That’s a little low even for you, don’t you think?" I knew my words would hurt her, but I was so damn angry. I didn’t even know what the hell I believed, but I was still angry over what she told Josie. Over what she made her believe. Over her making Josie question herself even more.
Cami waved her hand in my direction. "Says the guy who’s been fucking Lucas’s sister, for what? Revenge? And you couldn’t even pull it off. You try to act like you’re so fucking hard, but you got pussy-whipped by the goody two-shoes."
"I know you didn’t post the video." I shook off her words.
"I did." She stood from her bed and made her way toward me. "Lucas showed me the video when you sent it to him, and I knew that meant that you
couldn’t go through with it. I knew your plan to ruin his family would do nothing but ruin you."
I stared up at her, only a foot or so away from me, and searched her face.
"Why were you with Lucas? After everything he did to Frankie?"
Pure regret took over her face, but she quickly hid it. "Is this really what you came here for?" She leaned forward, placing her hands on the arms of the chair. Her mouth was so damn close to mine, and once upon a time, it wouldn’t have taken anything for me to lean forward and close the space between us.
But I couldn’t.
Not anymore.
Not after Josie.
"Yes." I nodded and didn’t take my eyes off of her. "I want to know what the hell is going through your head."
"I’m not your little watchdog, Beck. If you get to be with whoever the fuck you want, then so do I."
"I think you’ve made that abundantly clear."
"Are you jealous?" There was a smirk on her face as she leaned forward and whispered in my ear. "Does it drive you crazy thinking about him touching me?"
It did, but not for the reason she thought. It drove me mad thinking about him touching anything that belonged to me, and even though Cami wasn’t my girl, not anymore, she had been my friend for a long time.
"Cami." I pushed on her shoulders, and she didn’t fight as I pushed her away from me.
"Yeah?" She dropped to her knees in front of me before I could utter another word and gripped my knees in her hands. "What do you want from me, Beck?"
"Not this." I leaned forward and pushed her hands from my thighs. "I want to know why you’re trying to take the blame for Lucas."
"I’m not taking the blame." She pushed forward and blocked me in with her body. "I’m telling you the truth. I posted that video because all you’ve talked about since Frankie is getting revenge on Lucas. Then when it’s right there in front of you, you puss out." She shook her head like she was disgusted with me. "No fucking way. You’ll thank me once you get over her."
"I’m not going to get over her." My words were firm. "And my plan was
fucked up. It did nothing but hurt Josie. Lucas doesn’t give a shit about her."
"No, but he gives a shit about Joseph Vos. And you successfully pissed him off." She cocked her head to the side and studied me. "Did your little girlfriend tell you that he’s threatened her?"
My body went rigid. "What?"
She nodded her head slowly. "Oh, daddy dearest has threatened to take away everything she has if she doesn’t stay the hell away from you." She dug her fingernails into my thigh. "Apparently something you did worked."
I couldn’t lie and say that it didn’t fuel me to know that he was pissed, but I couldn’t be happy about it at the expense of Josie. It was what I had wanted, but I didn’t think of the risks. I didn’t think that I would fall for the daughter of a monster.
Why wouldn’t Josie tell me about her dad? Why wouldn’t she stay away if she was risking things to be with me?
"Her dad is a piece of shit." I spit out the words, and something I couldn’t place clouded Cami’s expression.
"You cast a lot of stones for a boy who’s made his own mistakes."
I looked at Cami like I hadn’t ever really seen her before. I pushed her off of me and stood.
"What? I was good enough to suck your dick a few weeks ago, but not now? You scared Josie will find out?" She smirked, and I had no idea who this girl was.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, Cami?" I ran my fingers through my hair and grabbed my bag.
"You’re acting like a bitch, Beck. That’s my problem. We’ve had a plan for as long as I can remember, and you are fucking everything up."
"What exactly am I screwing up for you?" I slung my bag over my shoulder and looked at her. "You’ve had this plan stuck in your fucked-up head for as long as I can remember, and in the beginning, it made sense, but now?" I held out my arms and shook my head. "Your dad isn’t going to stop being an asshole because you’re with me, Cami. It may have made him happy for a while, but it isn’t going to magically make him better."
"I’m well aware, Beck." She tugged at the bottom of her shirt and lifted it to expose her stomach.
I stared at the fading bruises that marked her beautiful skin and tried to breathe. "He’s hitting you again?"
She jerked her shirt down so hard that I was worried it would rip. "Don’t
act like you suddenly care, Beck." She climbed off her knees and stood to her full height with that look on her face. That look that I had seen so many times before. The one that tried to pretend that everything in her life was perfect, but I knew better.
"You told me that he stopped." If I had known, if I had seen, fuck. I didn’t know what I would have done. Cami’s father was almost as powerful as my own, but that didn’t give him the right to hit his daughter. Or his wife.
That didn’t give him the power to be a monster that was left completely unchecked.
"Well, he didn’t." She shrugged her shoulders like it wasn’t a big deal, but that was bullshit. I could see it on her face. I knew that every time he touched her or yelled at her or treated her like she wasn’t worth anything it cracked something inside of her.
"Come stay the night at my house tonight." My voice was soft, but her gaze was hard.
"Don’t be ridiculous." She began moving around her room and straightening things that were already in perfect order. "I can handle my father, and you can go right back to your little girlfriend. You’re right, though. You were a good buffer for a while, but it would appear that your allure has worn off."
She stared up and every bit of that hard girl who could cut anyone with a simple look or harsh word was looking back at me.
"If you don’t mind, get the fuck out of my room."
"Cami." I reached out for her, but she backed out of my reach.
"Don’t, Beck. Don’t even try to pretend like I suddenly matter because you can’t take the sight of it. I’ll deal with it just like I always do."
I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to make things better for Cami. She was always the one who had a plan when it came to her father, and for a long time, her father seemed placated that she was with me.
But it seems that had run out.
And I couldn’t run out on her too.
"Then I’ll stay here tonight." I dropped my bag back to the floor and ignored the way she looked at me as I took a seat in her desk chair. "He won’t do a thing while I’m here."
"You don’t have to do that." She shook her head, but I could see the relief in her eyes.
And I hated that the first thing that popped into my head was Josie. I
knew that she would hate that I was here. She would hate it if she knew that I was laying in Cami’s bed and protecting her. She would never understand.