Brides and Brothers by Anneka R. Walker
Chapter 39
Camille
“Camille! Ca-mille!”
Camille peeled her eyes open to view the dark cabin bedroom. Despite the strong emotions raging through her, she’d actually fallen asleep for a moment. She opened her mouth to respond to Amy, her voice groggy. “Go away! I’m sleeping!”
“Camille, it’s Amy! I need to talk to you.”
This was why Aiden’s idea to kidnap the girls was the worst ever. Camille couldn’t be expected to solve everyone’s problems when she couldn’t even fix her own. She threw back the covers, her body instantly registering the cold in the room, and let her feet land on the worn Berber carpet. Pulling the door open, Camille saw Benson standing next to Amy, and she didn’t bother hiding her mood from either of them.
“You look terrible,” Amy said.
Camille rolled her eyes. “What do you two want? Do you know what time it is?”
“You went to bed ten minutes ago,” Amy said. “Let us in. We have some serious business to discuss.”
Aiden should be handling their issues, not her. Camille flipped on her light and padded over to her bed. She sat down hard. “Make it fast.”
Benson stepped just inside the room to the side of Amy, his arms folding over his chest. “Amy and I are concerned because we saw Aiden leave.”
Camille’s frown deepened. “Leave? Like leave, leave? Where did he go?”
Benson paused and looked to Amy for help. Amy looked back, helpless, so he said, “He left on the snowmobile to our friends’ house about six or seven miles away. They’ll take Aiden back to Cherish in the morning.”
Camille’s stomach clenched. “In this weather? What is he thinking?” A lot could happen in six or seven miles.
Amy threw up her hands. “You told him to leave, so he left. Sorry, but if you didn’t want me to overhear your fight, you should have picked a less crowded location.”
What was said had needed to be said, but now the whole situation was out of control. “I didn’t mean for him to run off into a snowstorm! Just for him to leave me alone.” Camille put her hand over her mouth, willing herself not to cry again.
Benson pulled out his phone. “Just call him and tell him to come back.”
Camille’s despair turned to anger as fast as the flick of a match. “I’m not asking him to come back. He thinks he can just run out on me and I’ll forgive everything. Well, I don’t work like that. He can come back when he’s ready to apologize.”
Amy rubbed her temples. “Camille, don’t let history repeat itself.”
No explanation was needed for Camille to interpret the warning. Amy meant Camille was acting like their mother—letting her relationships shrivel and die because of pride and neglect.
“Thank you for coming to tell me.” Camille stared at her hands, the hurt inside her solidifying. “I appreciate your concern, but it’s none of your business. Benson, send the girls upstairs to the loft so they can get settled. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to sleep.”
Benson took several steps backward and quietly walked away.
Amy wasn’t so easily deterred. “Camille, what’s going on? This isn’t you. You don’t yell at people. You don’t toss them out of the house. And you certainly aren’t a relationship killer.”
“Stop, Amy!” Camille’s face crumbled, and the moment of weakness unleashed her tears. “That’s enough.”
A flash of guilt crossed Amy’s face, and she closed the door, shutting herself and Camille in the room. Why wasn’t she leaving Camille alone? Never in her life had Camille wanted so badly to just be alone.
Amy came and sat by her, and Camille stiffened when her sister slid an arm around her shoulders. “I said you’re not a relationship killer. And that’s why you’re going to fix this.”
What if she didn’t want to fix this? This was all on Aiden, not her. Camille took a long, deep breath. “I need time first.”
“I think that’s reasonable, but I’m going to stay with you tonight. I don’t think you should be alone.”
Camille shrugged off Amy’s arm and crawled back under the covers. Amy could stay if she wanted to, but Camille wasn’t up for talking anymore. She turned her back on Amy and closed her eyes.