Camille: Although my eyes were still watery after my coughing fit, I felt much better. I still kept gulping down more water though, just to distract myself from the Daniel’s intense stare. That faraway look was on his face again, but I couldn’t be fooled by that. That had been the same way he had watched me those days ago and somehow managed to learn an entire recipe without me even realizing it. I kept drinking more water, because I knew every single action of mine was being imprinted in his mind and at that point, it was the least embarrassing thing I could do. Okay, maybe I was making an overstatement, probably even exaggerating my worth in his eyes above other women he had been with, but when he looked at me like that, I knew he wasn’t thinking about anyone else at the moment but me. I eventually dropped the big glass of water on the table when my stomach began to feel like it would tear open if I didn’t stop over hydrating myself. I looked back at him, trying to
Camille: I swallowed, trying my hardest to look as innocent as possible but failing. "I forgot my keys," she said, going to the room divider and picking up the godforsaken keys that had made her return and disrupt what had been going on between her brother and me. "Why do you look like you want to throw up?" she asked me with a raised brow after studying me for some seconds. Despite my fear of being caught, I felt a bit insulted. Was that how I looked to her? I had just had the best make-out session of my life and she thought I looked like I wanted to throw up? Seriously? Deep down, I wished I could tell her the truth about what had happened. I pursed my lips and looked away, torn between feeling bad about myself after what had just happened and angry at my roommate for coming back when she did. “I was just going to my room,” I said and left the dining without sparing one last glance at either of them. The first thing I did when I entered my room was lock the door
Camille: “You missed me?” I repeated, staring at the ground to prevent him from seeing the stupid blush on my face. “Of course I did,” he said like it was common knowledge for him to miss me. “Come on in.” “Really? But you didn’t talk to me throughout yesterday and even this morning. You obviously were avoiding me.” I was going with total honesty now. There was no need to beat around the bush concerning how I truly felt. I was much too eager to think of self-respect now. He gave me a confused look. “I didn’t think you wanted me to talk to you,” he said, following me into the living room. “You locked your door all through the night and this morning, you kept banging the dishes around. It was obvious you were mad about something. I believed I would be the last person you would have wanted to see then.” I chuckled, because I didn’t know how else to react to that. From his own perspective, everything was different, yet somehow it all made sense. I didn’t tell him I ha
Camille: If someone were to ask me when I realized just how smart Daniel was, the answer wouldn’t be when I heard he was the top of his law class back at Oxford, the fact that he had so many successful cases to his name in two countries nor the fact that he had learned an entire recipe from watching me once. I realized just how smart Daniel was on that fateful night we sat down to see a horror movie in the living room together. “Oh my god!” I yelled, jumping and hiding my face in Daniel’s chest when the deadly looking villain appeared behind the main character on Tv holding a chainsaw. “Ssh shh,” Daniel placated me, rubbing my back slightly. “It’s just a movie.” I could hear the silent laughter he was holding back. “How are you not moved by any of this?” I asked, peeking out from his chest but burying my face back there when that creature from hell appeared back on the screen once again. “If I’m moved by any of this, how on earth would I protect you?” He asked me, th
Camille: I bit my lip and stared at a spot behind him when Daniel lifted the night dress over my head. Why did I still feel slightly self-conscious? Maybe I needed another drink… For a short while, Daniel did nothing. Confused, I pulled my gaze away from the spot I had been staring at and found him watching my body with the unmistakeable look of pure lust in his eyes. I felt his cock twitch under me and it was enough to make my core tighten. I had never been this turned on in my life. His hand reached out to palm one of breasts in his hand. He tugged at it lightly, as if he was testing the waters, careful to cause any damage to me. Soon, his both hands were fondling my breasts, tugging at my nipple while his eyes remained completely focused on them. His hand cupped my buttocks, pulling me closer to him without warning. The action placed one of my breasts directly on his mouth and he started to suckle at it, angling his head in different positions as he ran his tongue ove
Camille: “I…I…” I stammered, unsure of exactly what to say. Was I supposed to apologize for my status? “Are you a freaking virgin?” He asked me in a sharper tone this time, pulling every part of his body away from me. “I am…” I finally answered. “Shit,” he groaned before running his hand through his hair. “And you never seemed it fit to tell me before anything happened?” I studied his face which was a mix of anger, frustration and disappointment. I still didn’t understand why finding out I had never had sex would elicit such reaction from him. “I didn’t think it mattered,” I said. “You didn’t think it mattered? Seriously?” He snapped, standing up from where he had been kneeling to eat me out. “Tell me. What did you think was going to happen?” To be honest, I didn’t fully understand why he was making such a big deal about this. What did it matter if he was the first or not? I was tired of waiting to make it special. Since when did he make a distinction about who
Camille: “Daniel, just leave me alone,” I screamed before pulling away from the man who had grabbed me by my shoulder. I felt dumb. After my tactical escape, he had still managed to find me out here. It didn’t matter though. I wasn’t going down without a fight. I rolled my eyes as I walked away, waiting for him to apologize for what he had done to me. He rarely did, but recently, he had become more sensitive to my feelings. A part of me was hoping this would happen. A part of me had left the apartment, hoping he would come after me, but I was too proud to admit that. When the man pulled me back so roughly, I swear I heard my wrist crack. My eyes widened as I looked very well at him, realizing he wasn’t Daniel. This man was way bigger and scarier. I couldn’t make out his face in the dark, but all I saw was the faint glow coming from a stick in his mouth, a cigarette, and the stench I had assumed was coming from the alleyway, but was actually from this man. My heart started to po
Camille: Daniel held my hand all the way back through the tunnel. I didn’t breathe until I was back inside our apartment building. My entire body was shaking, as I imagined the several horrific things that crazy man in the alley could have done to me if Daniel hadn’t shown up when he did. Daniel let me go once we were in the elevator, but immediately started turning me around and checking for any signs of violence on my body. “Did he hurt you?” He asked with a voice that was a mix of tenderness and anger. “Not physically,” I answered, not trying to stop him when he raised my cheek slightly to check for any bruises on my neck. When he was sure I was in good condition, he finally let out a deep breath and relaxed against the wall. The rest of the ride went on in silence until we got to our floor. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” He asked me when we got out. I stood awkwardly by his side with my head facing the floor and my hand holding my elbow as he unlocked the d
Camille: “What the hell!” My peaceful sleep was interrupted by the loudest screech I had ever heard. I opened my eyes slightly and looked around. Thankfully, my head didn’t hurt as much as it had the night before, but if she kept screaming like that, the headache would be sure to return. “You? Him? Get up right now!” Lucia continued, her face reddening as the words left her lips. She was livid. If looks could kill, there would have been two bodies on my bed. “Hmm,” Daniel grumbled, half-asleep, as he burrowed his head deeper into my neck. “What the fuck is going on? Cam? You slept with him? Is that it?” She yelled, turning her attention to me. I could feel the warmth from Daniel’s body where he had fallen asleep behind me. His left arm was wedged under my neck and his right arm wrapped around my waist. One of my legs was draped over his and one of his was lazily hanging over mine. He was topless and it appeared as though I was wearing nothing but his shirt which he
Camille: That face. The one I thought I would never see again. He was glaring at me, the lines on his cheeks on the same spots they had been more than a decade ago. No matter how much I kept running, I would never be free from him. “Come here!” He groaned, his voice sounding as close as if I had never even started to run off in the first place. His big burly hands caught my shoulder and spun me around, while he laughed in my face, his cigarette flavored breath choking me. “How many times have I asked you to stop being a pain in the a*s and do as you’re f*cking told?” He yelled, before shoving me forward, and catching me by my hand which was now so tiny, right before I hit the ground. I heard a crack and I was so sure it was from my now dislocated shoulder. I cried, but my cries only seemed to fuel him. He laughed some more, as his minions who looked just like him, joined in. I cried, physical pain and humiliation clouding my brain. I hated it here. I wanted out, no matter what.
Camille: Hearing him say that just confirmed my suspicions. I was confused. Lucia was my best friend. She always meant well for me. Why would she purposely try to worsen the situation between her brother and me? And if she knew I had been in the closet and had said those things just to ensure I heard them, then it made even less sense. Did she really think we would never talk to each other again and figure it out? I felt a pang in my stomach and swallowed. Daniel seemed to notice. “Sorry,” he said softly. I nodded. “Thanks. You can leave now,” I responded, looking at the door. He looked surprised. “But…” he started to say. “You asked me to yell at you, I did. You asked me to tell you all the hurtful things I thought about you and I did. You asked me to ask you questions and I did. I feel much better, thanks, but I don’t need you again,” I said, wrapping the duvet over my stomach. His lips pressed into a thin line, but he didn’t make any move to leave.
Camille: For what felt like eons, time seemed to stand still. Daniel successfully hid his amusement as he watched me process what he had just told me, his eyes trained on nothing else but me. One would wonder why I was reacting so dramatically over being reminded I had my period, but it was much deeper than that. I was being bombarded with several emotions at once, which had begun even before now. Everything was confusing. Just when I thought I had it all under control, he had to go and say something like this to remind me that I was currently not the one calling the shots in my own life. Lucia, my own best friend was lying behind my back for some reason, Reggie was putting so much pressure on me even though we hadn’t started dating yet, school wasn’t going so great, and greatest of all, Daniel who was like hot water one day and cold water the next, constantly reminded me of how unstable I was, that a seemingly harmless truth he had said could elicit such a reaction from m
Camille: “You don’t have to watch me the whole time I eat. I’m not judging your meal. I’m just hungry,” I said sharply. I was nervous, but I wasn’t about to let him meander back into my life like he always did after hurting me. I wasn’t about to make the same mistake for the fifth time in a row. “Sorry,” he said, clearing his throat. He started to eat his meal instead. He was silent until I finished my meal and all he did was look at me for a while, before going back to eating his own meal. Was I crazy for hating the fact that he listened to me and kept to himself? I mean, it wasn’t my fault. I had nothing else to do. I had no desire to go through my phone or read and it was still too early for me to sleep. A part of me had become accustomed to listening to the stupid things he said and reacting to them that I had even began to indirectly yearn for them. No matter how messed up that sounded. “I want more,” I said, giving him my plate. “Oh,” he said and happily
Camille: “I think I should be going now,” I said, getting up. Reggie pulled me back. “So soon?” I showed him the time on my phone. “It’s already after six,” I said. “I better get going. I have to prepare for my other tests at home.” He frowned. “Why can’t you just read at my place instead? It’ll be more convenient for you to be honest.” “I just…I’m just used to my room,” I explained, wishing he would just let me go. I was really tired of being here. I just wanted to be alone. “You don’t even close from work till eight in the evening and you never get home until after eight. Why don’t you just stay here till then?” Why was he making this difficult? “Miss Winston gave me the day off so why don’t I make use of it…?” “She gave you the day off so you could spend it with me,” he said abruptly, shocking me. “Sorry,” he apologized when he saw my expression. “I just really want to spend some time with you.” “We have all the time in the world,” I said,
Camille: I was breathing fast. This was too much. Reggie was glaring at me, obviously mad that I had answered Daniel’s call in front of him, or was it because he realized I had his number? Daniel’s voice sounded equally mad on the phone. Wait a minute. Neither of them had any right to be mad at me. I was the one who was having a bad day and yet somehow without being in each other’s presence, both of them had managed to make it about them. I frowned. “What kind of question is that?” I snapped at Daniel over the phone. “What’s your business with where I am?” There was silence. I held the phone with both hands, slightly shaking, but I didn’t take back my words. I heard him sigh over the phone. “Just be careful,” he said and hung up. “What was that?” Reggie asked, taking the phone from me and growing when he saw the call was already ended. “I was talking to Daniel,” I said. “That much was clear. What did he want?” I stared at him. “I don’t think that’
Camille: At school, there was no sign of Carla anywhere. She still hadn’t been regular in school for the past few weeks no matter how often I begged her to come , but I was sure that my friend would come to her senses and at least show up when we had a test. We had a free period just before the test, so everyone was studying seriously, since we had been told beforehand that it was going to be worth over fifty percent of our total score. Frantically, I dialed my friend, Carla’s number over and over again but got no response. Was she seriously going to dump her education because of that stupid boyfriend of hers who clearly didn’t even like her? I mean, what kind of boyfriend uploads dirty pictures of the girl he claims to love just to spite her because they had some silly argument? “Hey,” Ezekiel, the most annoying boy in my class said to me, before pulling his seat closer to mine. “Wanna study together like old times? With me on your side, you could smash this.” “Thanks,”I s
Camille: That Tuesday morning, all I wanted to do was throw myself against my bed and sleep until the next day. This would be the third night of sleep Daniel had stolen from me because of another one of his stupid parties. Staying at Reggie’s hadn’t been all that bad, but I hadn’t been able to sleep there either for reasons I was yet to revisit. When I heard yelling from the living room, I was not the least bit surprised. When Reggie insisted to ride with me up the elevator to my apartment after dropping me off in his car that morning, I had known that if they eventually met face to face, there would be a clash. I wished they would just stop it already. What pissed me off the most about their sudden resentment for each other was the fact that neither of them would tell me the reason behind it. They had been great friends at the beginning and abruptly started hating each other. No matter how much I had pressured Reggie the night before, he still wouldn’t tell me what had to