AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Some people would define what we did as lying by omission.”
“I’m not some people. I have a pretty limited definition of lying.”
Jackpot returns to the bed. On my hip, she massages the area before settling in a sphinx-like pose and staring at me. She hasn’t been her usual self since Cameron left, either. Her stare is full of concern and she’s never far from me, even when I do activities she hates.
“Are you sure you can’t forgive him?” G-mama breaks the quiet.
“I don’t know.” I scratch behind Jackpot’s ear. “Do you think I can ever move on if I don’t?”
I would laugh at myself for the boasts I made to Cameron about getting over him. I don’t think I ever will.
No shit, Sherlocke.
Keating, who’s been absent since I chose to gamble on Cameron comes in hot and vicious.
I leave you alone for two months and you royally fucked up a good thing! Why do I even bother with you?
He lied to me!
She rolls her eyes in disgust.I don’t know what your problem is. The biggest liar in your relationship was you. But I guess Ms. High and Mighty doesn’t count lying to herself as a reason to live up to her own ideals.
Are you saying I should ghost myself?
Don’t be obtuse. I’m saying you need to grow up and be an adult. His intentions matter. And if you want to get technical, he fessed up, but you were too busy using him for comfort that you slept through his first confession.
Why don’t you go back to the days when you stayed quiet?
And let you fuck up our lives even more? I don’t think so. I’m going to ride you hard until you fix what you broke.
I glare at her. How am I supposed to fix anything when I’m a little broken myself?
CHAPTER 35
Cameron
My life is shit.
Every day is a reminder that Kenya hasn’t forgiven me. It hurts, but I must endure. In my darkest moments, feelings from my past life with the Norwicks resurface, but I stomp them into the ground, reburying the painful abandonment I’ve carried with me for most of my life.
A thick fog fills my head, weighing my thoughts down and making it hard to think. But I can’t focus on my muddle-headedness. I have to have faith that the path I’m on won’t see Kenya abandon what we have. She loves me, even if she can’t recognize it right now. I do. It’s in the way she draws me with such detail, the way she looks at me like I’m the only one that can make her smile. I won’t give up on us.
But then the cluttered room reminds me I haven’t earned her forgiveness without inviting her ire. Since our performance at Mayor Salas’ home, I rarely have reason to leave Khadijah’s place. When he calls, I ignore the phone.
The text he sent explaining that he didn’t think Kenya would recognize me isn’t enough to dull the pain in my heart. He’s getting his dream fulfilled, but what about mine?
The door opens behind me, but I’m not interested in my sister’s new attempt to get me outside.
“I know you’re not about to ruin my big plans for a New Year’s Eve wedding,” Onyx’s familiar voice sounds from the door.
My reflexes are slow, which is why I don’t register her words until after I try to find an escape route where one doesn’t exist. The only thought running through my mind is the threat she issued if I ever hurt Kenya, and there’s no hiding that I have.
“Sorry, Cam. She barged in here like she owns the building,” Khadijah rushes to apologize.
“That’s because I own the building. And this man owes me a happy granddaughter.” Onyx enters the room and shuts the door in my sister’s face.
I follow her with my eyes as she tiptoes through the mess I’ve made.
“You two are a fine pair,” she sneers. “How you’ve survived this long is a mystery.” She glares at me as if knowing I have a comeback about her and Pedro on my tongue. “Don’t you open your mouth to bring my relationship into this. That doesn’t need fixing. I can’t say the same for you.”
