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: “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: 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: 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: 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: “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
“Oh yeah,” she let out a stifled moan when his girth hit her spot and the sensation almost made her combust instantly. His hand dug into her hair as he drilled into her repeatedly, letting out muffled grunts with each thrust. As she held onto the rippled muscles on his back, drawing him close, Camille knew she shouldn’t be doing this, letting her best friend’s brother use her as his personal toy when she was right in the next room, asleep and completely unaware of everything going on. *** Camille A few weeks before. “I’m so done with this stupid assignment,” Lucia grumbled, coming into the living room of our apartment and tossing her Anatomy textbook on the couch, right next to me. I rolled my eyes and tossed a popcorn into my mouth, unbothered by my roomate’s dramatic entrance. “You could have studied anything, but you chose to study medicine. Don’t blame me for your poor life choices,” I said, bending to the side so I could see the Tv better, since Lucia had
Camille Before my last professor for the day was at the door, my books were already packed in my bag and I was on my feet, ready to go. When I made it out of class without someone calling me back, I heaved a sigh of relief. I had successfully escaped an awkward situation. Carla, my only other friend in this class wasn’t in school that day so I didn’t want to give anyone else the chance to talk to me after what had happened a few days earlier. From school, I went to the book store where I worked and greeted Miss Winston who was the owner and my boss. I had been working there since my first year in college and it was the best decision I had ever made. I only had to work for five hours everyday after school, and all I had to do was sit by the counter to receive payment from the very few people who ever patronized the old store. Miss Winston was nice, the pay was worth it, and the quiet solitude of the store gave me enough time to do my schoolwork and read whatever books I want
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