Cameron

It was the last day at the job site. After clean-up, I had sent the crew home, gave them the rest of the day off.

It got dark faster now. The weather couldn't seem to decide whether it was going to freeze my balls or make them sweat. Right now, it was the former. The breeze blew cold, making me put on the jacket I removed when I got hot from pulling old, warped wood.

I stayed away from Kara. It seemed that was what she wanted. So, I just looked. I still got eyes. And it made the day bearable every time I saw her. Pretty pathetic existence, but it was all that I got.

I knew she still had strong feelings for me. It was the uncertainty of whether she wanted to keep them or throw them away that scared the hell out of me.

Sure, she didn't look at that guy at the restaurant the way she looked at me, but that didn't mean that couldn't change. She didn't look at me like that in the beginning either. If she asked me to let her go again, could I? What would I fucking do if she decided she was really done with me? Fuck.

She didn't drop by today. Before Mike left for his church meeting, he said Kara was helping her cousin with an emergency at the gift shop. What gift shop? I wanted to ask more but stopped myself.

Dylan was usually home at this time, and I was planning on talking to him, repair what I could between us. It wasn't only Kara I had hurt when I left. I fucked up a lot, but I was willing to put in the work to fix it.

I drilled holes in the concrete, blew the dust off, cursed when I got some in my eye, thought for a moment whether to get my safety goggles or not, then kept drilling again.

I noticed that day when I followed Kara at her dad's house that the stairs were creaky and old, the railing loose. I had leftover materials from other projects, some wood, some steel, and used that to fix their front stairs. Mike was getting older and didn't need to break his hip climbing up and down the stairs, especially when it was getting colder now. Snow would cover everything soon enough.

I looked up to the trees, appreciated the sound they made when a breeze passed, the scent they brought in the air. We still got time for warm weather, but not too long now. Fall was coming so soon, then winter where everything would be cold and looked lifeless. I lined up the railing, screwed it in, wiggled to test it. Good. Done.

The other day I saw Kara climbing the stairs in a hurry and nearly falling on her face. Maybe I shouldn't have finished it all in one shot. What kind of excuse could I pull out of my ass to see her again?

I rose, dust myself off, reached for a bottled water and drank. I looked at the shiny railing and the new wood stairs, wondered for a second if I should pull some out so I could have an excuse to come over tomorrow.

Like I said, pretty pathetic existence. I let out a loud sigh, put away my tools. If she wanted to come to me she would. I was sweeping the dust off the stairs when my phone rang. I answered without looking.

"Saint Laurent."

"Cameron?"

I looked at my phone. It was Dylan's number, but it didn't sound like him.

"Who is this?"

"It's... It's Thomas. Kara's friend."

Shit. I scowled. "Is Kara okay?"

"Yeah, no, I mean, Kara's fine. Dylan isn't."

The fear in his voice came through the speaker.

"What happened?"

"I didn't know who else to call. Damon isn't answering. I can't call Kara or Mike. They can't know. Please," he begged. "I need your help."

*

I parked my work truck in front of a sprawling mansion. Tucked in a piece of private land in the city, it glowed like a disco ball. There were fake palm trees lining the driveway and super cars and classic trucks in the open garage.

The music boomed loud as I opened the double doors to a massive living room decorated with sports memorabilia and photos and tiny models of classic trucks. The music was pulsing so hard through the floor it was a wonder they didn't bounce off the shelves. There was nobody here, but as my eyes tracked the gaudy marble floors to the closed glass doors leading to the backyard, I spotted a party crowd.

Flashing lights, smoke, alcohol. People. I gritted my teeth.

"Hi." A girl sidled up to me, hooked her hands with long sharp nails around my arm. "Didn't know they hired a stripper. I love your construction theme. Very sexy." I would've laughed if it weren't for the situation. I was still in my work gear, forgot all about it. "Wanna take a dip in the pool with me?"

I shook her off. "No, thanks."

"I'll give you a good tip!"

I kept going as she flashed me a pouty lip.

In a huge, kidney-shaped, blue pool, girls in tiny bikinis danced around a guy no older than Dylan. He had blond hair, shades that covered his eyes even at night. A Rolex decorated his hand that held a glass of alcohol. Pretty much what I expected. He signalled with his hand to someone behind me.

"You Cameron?"

I turned. A skinny guy with a goatee grinned at me. I nodded.

"Follow me."

He led me back to the living room, passed several rooms then down to the basement where we stopped in front of a thick wood door.

"He's in there."

He opened the door and I followed him inside. At first, I thought the room was empty. A huge round poker table was in the middle of the room with comfortable leather chairs tucked under it. Like the living room, the panelled walls were decorated with pictures of classic trucks. There was a bar where expensive bottles of alcohol were displayed in a glass shelf on the back wall. The carpet was dark blue. It looked like an exclusive card room.

Sitting on the right side of the room was Dylan. He was cowering in the corner and didn't even look up. I couldn't see his face in the muted lighting, but I thought I'd seen a bruise on his cheek.

A vein throbbed at my temple. Before I could get to Dylan, the door opened.

The guy at the pool, now covered in a maroon bathrobe, entered the room. Following him were two more guys. One in a green hoodie, the other in a printed shirt of a goat with sunglasses. The former strutted toward Dylan and bounced on the couch beside him.

"Hi there, little buddy!" Green Hoodie raised his hand to smack the back of Dylan's head.

"The fuck do you think you're doing!" I snarled.

He froze at the snap of my voice, at the unmistakable violence behind it. He gave me a measuring look. When he realized I would break his neck in two if he hurt Dylan, he backed away. The smack he was going to deliver turned into a hard pat on Dylan's shoulder instead.

Four of them against the two of us. Three of them looked my age. The youngest of them was Bathrobe. I could handle all of them, but I needed Dylan to escape. Worrying about him getting hurt would hinder me. There was only one exit and it was blocked by three of them. There were no windows.

"You're not getting him until he pays up," Green Hoodie said, licking at his crusty lips and looking at me nervously.

"Fuck off," I said and dismissed him.

I turned to Bathrobe. He was the one in-charge. From behind him, Goat swung a baseball bat in the air. "That's nothing. We can rough him up some more. He owes us a lot of money. Kid's pretty stupid."

Bathrobe pushed him away and glared at him. "Calm down, idiot."

When he turned to look at me, his smile was slick and slimy as a snake. "We don't want any trouble, big guy, but let me make this perfectly clear so we're on the same page, yeah? You might bust some noses and smash a lot of shit up getting out of here with your prized little girlfriend" —he pointed a thumb at Dylan who was still cowering in the corner— "but just remember before you start swinging those guns around, it may not turn out that way tomorrow, or the day after that, or the day after that. We're on the same page, yeah?"

I let out a deep breath. I clearly understood about the long haul he was talking about. It was not even close to being worth a few broken noses and a torn-up room. But the thought that they'd hurt Dylan filled me inside with rage I was having a hard time controlling.

I lowered my head for a moment, squeezing the back of my neck, and tried to calm down. When I had a better grip on my temper, I crossed my arms across my chest and stared at him, my lip curled in disgust. He fidgeted under my gaze, looked to his friends worriedly. After a moment, I gave him a nod. There was relief on his face.

"I guess this is for you." He handed me a piece of paper and backed away. "That's how much he owes us."

"What the fuck?" Five figures Dylan owed them. The amount deeply worrying for the reason that Dylan would be reckless and stupid enough to think he could handle it.

"When will I get my money?" Bathrobe demanded.

"You'll get it tonight."

"You sure you don't need a couple of days to get all of it? It's a lot, and I only accept cash, my brother."

"Tonight. I want this done and over with tonight."

"Works for me." He shrugged. "Well, then. As you can see, I'm all smiles. So, it's true what I heard about you, Cameron."

"And what's that?

"That you can fix anything," he said as his thinly stretched grin creeped across his face again. "You look like a high roller. Wanna play?"

"I'm not a bottom feeder. I don't play with low lives."

"Ouch," Bathrobe said, clutching his chest for effect. "Fair enough. You make your living your way, I make mine my way."

"Oh, and if we don't hear from you," Green Hoodie chimed in, "we know where to find Dylan, don't we, Dyl?" The threat was ripe in his voice. "You have a sister, don't you?"

"The fuck did you say?"

I wasn't even aware I was charging toward him until all three of them blocked me. My vision turned red, my fists flying to get to him. I was an arm's length away from his mug when they barely managed to pull me back.

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down! What the fuck? You look like you're ready to murder. As long as we get paid, we won't bother him or his family. You have my word."

"Get the fuck off me," I hissed.

They released me, hands up as they backed away, their eyes wary and edgy.

"We cool?" Bathrobe asked carefully.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Tell your dog to shut the fuck up."

"Shut the fuck up, Kurt," he snapped at Green Hoodie.

"If this gets out, you're going to drag your father's name in this filth," I said.

As far as I know, Bathrobe's dad was a well-known politician. His jaw fell open. A second later when it registered, horror bloomed in his eyes. When he recovered, he started cursing.

"Y-you!" he sputtered. "Better be careful who you're pushing around, fucker."

"Leave Dylan and his family alone and you can forget we exist. But if you don't..." I let the sentence hang.

"Get the fuck out of my house! You keep that fucking idiot out of here."

"As long as we're on the same page." I waited until he met my gaze. "Yeah?"

He glowered at me for a moment, not too happy I was throwing his favourite line to his face, then nodded grudgingly.

I stalked the room to where Dylan was still cowering. Green Hoodie flinched and recoiled as I passed by him, but before he could step away, I rammed my shoulder against him. He whined like a coward as he fell back, nursing his shoulder, but kept silent when I scowled murderously at him.

Grabbing Dylan by the collar, I pulled him up and dragged him outside, opened the passenger door of my truck and threw him inside. I jumped in and drove us out far and fast before I pulled on the side of the road.

"What the fuck, Dylan! What the fuck? Do you know what you got us into?"

"I'm sorry! I didn't know it was going to... to..."

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

He sniffed. "Just... just slapped my face, pushed me around some. I'm o-okay."

I gripped the steering wheel hard until my knuckles turned white.

"Thanks, Cameron. Thanks for coming."

"I don't need your thanks. I need you safe." The bruise on his cheek was starting to swell. "They're a bunch of rich, bored college assholes who have something to prove. They're not pros and they're reckless. That makes them stupid. And stupid makes you do stupid things. You really wanna hang around those rich psychos?"

He shook his head vehemently. "I pimped a classic truck for Freddie, the one in the pool with all the chicks. I did a great job and he was really happy with it, so, he let me play. Not just anyone can play there. It's a private club. He said I can win easy money, big money. One thing led to another so... whatever." He started crying. "I wanted to... I wanted to help Dad with the shop. The expenses. I just wanted to... help."

I rubbed my palm against my face, exhausted. "I can't get you out of this if you do it again, Dylan. If I call his bluff and it's not true, we're both going to end up in the river. Didn't you think about that?"

"I won't do it again," he hiccupped. "I swear I won't."

"Damn right you're not going to do it again! They can make your life a living hell. Don't fuck around. I don't know these guys. I don't know what they're capable of. Think about your dad, your sister."

Fear shone in his eyes.

"If I even hear you say the word gambling, I'll kick your ass," I said. "You call me right away if they even so much as blink at you. You find me. Understood?"

Dylan wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. His smile was shaky. "You want me around now?"

That got me. I propped my elbow on the window, looked outside, and fell silent. When I heard him sniff and try to hide his tears, I broke.

"I'm sorry," I said, voice gruff. "For leaving."

"I went to see you. In BC. Damon drove us."

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that."

He turned his eyes away, but not before I caught the hurt in them.

"I don't remember a lot of it. I was barely sober most of the time." I hated going back, talking about it. "Thanks for coming to see me."

I heard him swallow before he said in a small voice, "I wanted to know if... I wanted to know if you left and broke up with Kara because my uncle tried to kill you."

"No." I clamped my eyes shut. "What the hell?"

"And I wanted to apologize to you because of that. And... and..."

"It's not because of that, alright? I have my own shit I gotta deal with. It doesn't have anything to do with you or your family."

He nodded silently.

"I fucked up, Dylan. I fucked up so hard I hurt the people who are important to me, including you."

The smile on his face wobbled. "Including me?"

"Yeah," I said. "Including you. I'm trying to fix it, trying to be better. I hope she sees that."

"You want to be back together with Kara?" I heard the hope in his voice.

"It killed me to be away from her." I dragged a hand in my hair, sighed. "Like I said, trying to fix it."

"I'm glad." The wobbly smile turned bigger, then melted. His face paled. "What should I tell my dad and Kara? They're going to see my face. They'll know something's up. I don't want to tell them about this. Please don't tell them, Cam."

I thought about it. "I don't want you to tell them." Especially Kara. I don't want her to find out. "Your dad has enough on his plate. Just stay out of that place. You hear me?"

"I hear you, Cam."

"If you go back again, I'll have to get your dad involved."

"I won't go back." He hung his head. "I'm really sorry, Cam. I'm really ashamed of myself. I know it's a lot, but I will pay you back. I swear."

I sighed. When would he have that much money? "Let me know when you win the lottery."

"If Kara ever finds out, because she usually does, I'll tell her it was only two thousand. Something believable. That's believable, right?"

"I rather you didn't tell her I paid it. If she finds out, tell her a friend helped you out."

He sighed, then his brow furrowed with concern. "So, are you really going to go back there tonight to pay them?"

"I'll drop you off first. Don't worry about it. I'll handle it from here."

"Thanks, Cam. I should go with you—"

"No."

"But—"

"I said no." My tone brooked no argument. "I got it, Dylan."

"Okay." I heard the smile in his voice. "I was mad at you for leaving. Kara was really sad and angry for a long time when you left. She got so busy, but also, like, she checked out, you know? Like someone died. She wasn't herself at all. It felt like I lost both of you at the same time."

My stomach churned at his words.

"But I'm okay now." He straightened his back, grinned again. "Kara already talked to me. I just needed to talk to you too. You know, to get closure and everything. Thanks for talking to me. It's hard to be an adult. Do I have to?"

"If I have to, you have to."

He looked down on his hands. He clasped and unclasped them. "Cam?"

"What?"

"I just wanted you to know that I haven't played cards in a while. I stopped going there, but it was too late. I already racked up a lot of debt. I used all my savings to pay them, and I'm trying really hard to find a way to pay the rest. They said I still have a few weeks to come up with the money, but... but... this happened. I didn't know what to do." He sobbed. "If you didn't come, if you..."

"I did and now it's over. Stop thinking about it and focus how to move forward. Got it?"

He wiped his face with the back of his hands. "Got it. That was so, so dope, Cam!" The optimistic voice, the puppy-look in his eyes were back. It was considerably better than the cowering figure earlier.

"You were so cool. I wanna be like you when I grow up!" He sobered, a haunted look in his eyes. "How do I do that? I seem to fail at everything. I can't seem to do anything right. And now I'm scared that I'll make it even worse just by trying."

I knew what he meant. Deep in my bones, I knew a part of me was just like what he described.

My chest grew heavy, my throat felt tight. "The monster in your head you're running away from—every time that monster shows up, telling you that you're weak, that you're no good, you look at that fucker in the eye and you fight it with all you got. You stand your ground. You let it know that you're not going down without a fight. The moment you decide this, you will feel stronger. You won't run away anymore."

"Is that what you decided to do?"

"It took a while, but yeah," I said. "That's what I'm doing right now."

"What if I stay and fight but it doesn't go well?"

"There's always that possibility, isn't it? But where's running got you so far? The more you run away, the more that monster eats you up bit by bit until you lose yourself completely." I nearly did. "How will you protect yourself? More importantly, how will you protect the people you care about after that?"

He nodded earnestly. "If I stayed and fight, I'd keep adding onto myself bit by bit. I'll keep levelling up. I'll gain another skill, another ability, and I can equip with better armour when I couldn't handle it before because I hadn't gained enough experiences yet. It's just like a video game."

I let out a small laugh. It sounded rough.

"You're a lot tougher than you think, kid. You were trying to help your family. A lot of people just leave, but you stayed and tried to fix it, didn't you? Yeah, it wasn't the best way to go about it, but I get it. Who doesn't screw up in life? Be smart about it next time."

"Thanks, Cam. Thanks for saving me. Really. Thanks so much. You're awesome, Cam." He shifted in his seat. "Are you going home after you dropped off the money?"

"I need to drive to my cabin, check the materials that came in."

"You have a cabin? Cool. Can you text me when you get there? Otherwise, I'll be worried. Just this one time. Please."

I nodded. Kid was as caring as his sister. "Put your seat belt on. I'll drive you home."

I headed back to the highway. It was dark now, the heavy clouds barring any light in the sky. It looked like a storm was coming.

"Hey Dylan."

"Yes?" But he was still looking out the window, shoulders drooping, looking like his mind was filled with heavy thoughts.

"Call me next time before you do anything stupid." When he didn't say anything, I threw him a glance and said, "All right?"

"You'll be there?"

"I'll be there."

"How do I know if I'm doing something stupid?"

"The first hint is that it's your idea."

He crossed his arms in front of him and sulked. "Not all my ideas are stupid."

"Yeah? Name one."

"Knocking over your bike and not telling you about it."

Silence filled the truck. I could tell without looking at his face that he now had a self-satisfied smirk on his mug.

"You met Kara because of me, didn't you?" he gloated, just for the hell of it.

Damn. He got me there.

I turned to look at him. His eyes were shining, grateful, smile up to his scalp, nodding enthusiastically. I couldn't help it. I laughed.

A/N: Hi loves, dropping this update early because I finished editing it! I'm obsessed with Kara and Cameron and eager to write the rest of their love story. Aaah! Can't wait for you to read what's to come. See you next week for the next chapter. Love, Isabelle