Chapter 5
2297 Words
Cameron
You won’t be welcome.
Lucas’ words resonated in my mind. I knew I wouldn’t. Not when Rachel was around. Her parents, though, would love having me around. After all, it’d been five years since I tried to avoid Williams’ family.
But instinct told me to ignore Lucas’ advice and come here.
Now I was, Rachel standing on the stairs frozen in place, I only had one sentence in my mind.
I missed her.
When was the last time I had a proper chat with her? Whenever we met, it was just a simple hi and how were we. I wanted to know every single detail about her life. I was done running away. It was time to fix my mistake. Mistake? I didn’t do anything wrong. Okay, maybe I did. I was so f*****g immature at that time. But I guessed Rachel wouldn’t accept that as a reason. It was stupid. So, “Rachel,” I called her.
“What are you doing here?” she hissed. Well, I wanted to say I missed her.
And I stupidly said, “I missed you.” She scoffed and appeared like she wanted to laugh. The f**k? “What are you laughing about?”
“You. You missed me? You mean missed bullying me.”
You like bullying her. f**k. “Why do you say that, Rachel?”
“Because it’s what you always did every time we met. Since we were younger. What, you don’t have anyone you want to bully with so you came here to taunt me?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“I feel so. Get out, Cameron. You’re not welcome here.” f**k, that hurt.
My eyes fell on her hair. Freshly cut. “Did Aunt Cathy cut your hair?”
“That’s none of your f*****g business.”
“Watch your mouth!” I snapped. Her body twitched at my sudden roar. What the hell was she thinking, cursing while her mom was here? “I’m being nice here.”
“Yeah, because you’re at my parents’ house, so you have to keep your cool image in front of them,” she countered. Goddamn it, this f*****g woman!
“Maybe if you stop being a child, I will start treating you like a woman.”
“I don’t give a shit.”
“Stop cursing in front of your mother, Rachel,” I fired. f**k, this was not my intention to come here. I wanted to see her, not cause a war.
“Fine. I’m out of here.” She maneuvered herself and headed upstairs.
“Rachel—”
“Leave her alone, Cam,” Lucas stopped me. I didn’t even manage to get to the first step. I turned to my mate in the living room already standing. So ready to charge should I pursue his sister.
“Luke, I just wanted to talk to her.”
“Didn’t you see what she did to you? She doesn’t want to talk to you. Just by witnessing how defensive she was, it was so obvious she didn’t want to see you. At least, not like this. Besides, what do you want to talk about with my sister?” Not like I knew what I wanted to talk about with Rachel. I’d been doing a mental pep talk with myself, trying to convince myself to just talk with her. A casual talk. Try to fix things. But like she said, every time we were together, we threw insults at each other. When I tried to be nice, Rachel hissed like an angry kitten immediately and poked me. Being the brat I was, that hit the natural bully switch on me.
It’s your fault, dude. Was it? What, she still thought of what happened five years ago? Couldn’t she let it go? I did something I considered…right. Besides, our families knew what I had done. But it seemed none of them told Rachel what I did right after.
“Cameron,” Aunt Cathy gently called me, turning my attention to the exact copy of Rachel, minus the eyes. I’d seen what she looked like when she was younger. Rachel was like her, only with the matching sets of hair and eyes from Uncle Ricardo. She sweetly smiled and said, “Rachel is spending a night here.”
“Mom!” Lucas argued.
“You should come back in the morning. Maybe at that time, Rachel has cooled down a bit,” she added while ignoring her son. “She was just shocked seeing you here. The last time she saw you was New Year, and you two barely talked.”
“I guess so,” I sighed. “Okay. Then, I’d be here to pick her up. Could you do me a favor and don’t let her run?”
“Sure.”
Leaving the house, f**k, it felt wrong. I didn’t like how it turned out to be. Sometimes listening to my instinct was a blessing and a curse. Right now, they were mixed. I was glad to see her again, but I cursed myself for not being able to hold my mouth. I hated it if Rachel swore. Someone as pure and sweet as her must not curse. I felt like dealing with a w***e. f**k, I was the worst. Ruffling my hair, I got into my Jesko. Opening my phone, I looked for the nearest hotel I could find to crash.
I was not leaving her.
Not now.
Not ever.
***
“Are you freaking serious?” Rachel rudely asked.
“Oh, I freaking am. Good night?” I cheekily asked, but I only earned her scowl.
“I should have grabbed the cream before opening the door.” I smirked, and she abandoned me at the front door. She left the door open. She didn’t slam it right at my face. So, I took it as an invitation to go in.
Rachel went to the living room. “Morning, Cam,” Uncle Ricardo called out.
“Morning, Uncle Ricardo.”
“Coffee?”
“Yes, please.”
I heard a closed door. That was loud. It sounded like haha, I got you. I could feel my eyes expand. She did not! I turned around and found Rachel nowhere. “Damn, my girl was fast,” Uncle Ricardo commented.
I scoffed and turned to him. “Did you do that on purpose?”
“Not exactly. Only I had a thought she would escape. If you chase her now, you could bring her back and properly take her to the shop,” he told me and sipped his coffee. “Still want the coffee?”
“No, thanks. Excuse me.”
“Oh, she’s having her final project now. I would love you to not bother her for now,” he reminded. She was now, huh?
“I wouldn’t.” I left the house. Quickly jumping into my Koenigsegg, I brought the engine to life and chased the little doll. It didn’t take me long to find her. “Does she even know who she’s dealing with? The little scoundrel,” I murmured. I horned her, and without looking, she escaped. I rolled my eyes and followed her, positioning my car right next to her puffing on the sidewalk. What was she expecting? “Rachel,” I called her.
“f**k off!”
“Can you stop swearing for one second?”
“One. f**k off!”
“I swear to God, Rachel if I listen to you saying f**k off again,” I threatened. She finally stopped. I hit the brake.
She looked at me. Sweetly smiled, and she slowly said, “f**k… Off…” She stormed again.
I looked at her back before I parked the car and pushed myself out. If she thought I would be chasing her with my car, she was purely mistaken. Running my long legs, Rachel screeched as I grabbed her around the waist and brought her to my car. “Let go of me!”
“You should’ve behaved and let me bring you to work, brat.”
“I don’t need a ride. I didn’t know you were coming back this morning.”
“What were you expecting I would do after your mother told me to pick you up this morning?”
“Go home. Don’t you get the message? I don’t want you here. I don’t want you to pick me up.”
“Out of f*****g question,” I smirked. “How the hell will you get into town?”
“Uber.”
“Nonsense.” The stupid driver could sexually assault her. With me was safer. Kind of. I opened the passenger door and deposited Rachel there, quickly cuffing her with the seatbelt. She was about to move and argue again, and I immediately raised my finger. “Stay put, or I will f*****g kiss you.” I got her attention immediately. Her chocolate eyes widened. She softly choked a breath. Whether she realized it or not, she wanted me to kiss her. This woman wanted me. Of course, she did. I was not blind and I was not stupid. I knew Rachel wanted him since long ago. I felt how she saw me. Every f*****g time. Just like how I wanted her. How I only desired her. Only Rachel.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she gritted.
I scoffed. I just couldn’t help myself. I liked poking the kitten. What of me, a damn masochist? “Dare me, baby. I miss kissing you.” Rachel threw her face away from me. “Too bad,” I said and slammed the door. I ran to mine and turned the engine on. I drove toward the city where I said, “Your dad told me you’re on your final project now.”
“I am.”
“How is it?”
“Why do you care?”
“Well, I want to help if I can. I will, though.”
“I don’t need your help.”
“Rachel, I’m being generous here and willing to help.”
“I’m sure you’ve got something else to do. I don’t want you to prioritize me more than your work.” You’ve been my priority for so long. f**k, this woman just didn’t get it. I didn’t get myself. Why was it so hard to be nice to this woman? We were not kids anymore. We could properly talk. Our heads were clearer. We didn’t let our tempers get the best of us. I hoped I didn’t. Mostly it did with her. “Thanks for the offer, but I can take care of myself.” Who the f**k was this woman? This was not the Rachel Williams I knew. Do you know her? Of course, I f*****g knew. I knew this woman for my entire life. Okay, but do you know all of her? I remember Chris and Knox told me to be as nice as I could to Rachel. Everybody knew the disastrous day when I cut off her hair like a menace.
All out of jealousy.
Yes, I admitted it. I was f*****g jealous. Happy? I saw red immediately when my Rachel was with somebody else I didn’t even know. A f*****g horny brat who could get his d**k into anyone he wanted.
“I’m trying to help.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Then, will you call me if you need one?”
“Maybe.” Maybe. I didn’t like that word. I never liked it while working, even dealing with Rachel. Maybe meant we were unsure. Uncertain. I didn’t like when someone didn’t have the confidence to say yes or no. Usually, I would tell them to f**k off. f**k, I hated those words even more now.
When we reached Coffee Club, Rachel hastily unclipped herself as I quickly grabbed her waist. “Let me go, Cameron.”
“Do you still have my number?” I ignored her demand.
“No.” Her eyes widened. Ah, I got her. She wanted to lie, but her honesty beat her. Lucky me.
“Give me your phone.”
“For what?”
“For me to store my number so you can call me whenever you want.”
“I don’t need it.” For God’s sake, this woman was ticking me off! I was at the tip right now, ready to explode.
“Give me your phone, Rachel,” I asked again, as nice as I could.
“I don’t need it, Cameron.” f**k nice! I grabbed her purse and checked the inside. Immediately pulled the phone out, “No, stop it!” I ignored Rachel’s angry hiss. I went to the contact immediately and saved my number. I dialed mine so I would know her number.
Done.
I put the phone back in and faced Rachel. Smiling, I put the purse on her thighs. “Have a great day, Rachel.”
“Oh, f**k off.” Dropping my smile, Rachel pushed herself out and smashed the door. Jesus, my poor Jesko. Did she even know this baby cost three million dollars?
I kept looking at Rachel as she opened the shop. She didn’t spare a glance at me. Dammit. This was me eating my own s**t. Pushing my hair to the back, I looked away. Tapping my finger on the wheel, I looked at the shop again. Rachel was gone, maybe in the staff room changing. And then, there she was, standing behind the counter. She looked out as I cheekily waved my hand. Even from afar, I could hear her scowl. “That’s not very nice, Dolly. But well, I’ll be seeing you very soon.”
And I dashed away from my possession.
- Writer
