Seven

The sunlight seeped through the gaps in the curtains, shining directly onto her face. Camille groaned, half awake, she rolled over and raised her pillow to bury her head under it. As she placed her head on what was supposed to be her blanket, she heard something rustle and felt a nylon material rubbing against her face.

Camille paused. With blurry eyes, she raised her pillow up and pulled out a half eaten candy that was stuck to the side of her face.

“Ugh!” She groaned. “Why am I such a messy sleeper?” She asked rhetorically, rubbing her exhausted hands over her eyes to remove the grit on them.

She sat up on her bed and reached to massage her scalp. Her hair was open.

“Shit!” Camille cussed, reasking herself the rhetorical question she asked earlier.

Her face fell as she heaved a heavy sigh.

“I had plans for this hair”

Camille looked at her hands and discovered they were stained with mascara. “Ugh!” She groaned again, staring at the mess her face had done on her pillow… and the entire bed.

She hadn't removed her makeup the previous night, and it had messed up the whole place. Her white cased pillow had a faint imprint of a face, and it wasn't pretty to look at.

Camille wasn't really a makeup person, that was the main reason she forgot to take it off the previous night.

She had put on makeup the previous day because of the business deal she had, which ended up a horrible disaster.

Camille’s mood turned sour on the memory.

As she ruffled through her blanket to get out of bed, her door opened and the beautiful smell of freshly fried bacon hit her nostrils.

Camille fell back on her bed, stopping her attempts to get out. How could she forget the special treatment she always got when she was at home? Her lips curled up in a small smile and her sour mood softened in the beautiful scenario Camille began anticipating.

The door opened wider and revealed Bernard, with a tray of delicacies in his hand. His hands gripped the tray tightly and he moved slowly, almost as if he was coerced to do what he was doing.

Or maybe he was. Camille didn't care.

“Is that my breakfast?” Camille asked the obvious. Her mouth was watering because she couldn't remember the last time she had a decent meal in two days.

“Good morning to you too, fucktard,” Bernard scoffed with an angry scowl on his face. He took calculated steps towards Camille's nightstand eyeing her carefully, not trusting any thing that his only sister upheld. For all he knew, she could just kill him and leave his mother devastated like she did the last time.

“Bernard…” Camille trailed, regretting all the actions she had taken against her family and also wondering what on earth ‘fucktard’ meant. She continued, “you wanted to check up on me, right? That's why you didn't send any maid to serve me breakfast.”

Bernard scoffed. “I'm the least person that gives a shit about you, Mrs Sanchez”. He said the last part with a really pained expression and through gritted teeth.

Camille sighed and watched him leave.

He slammed her door with so much force that she thought it would come off its hinge.

On a normal occasion, Camille would have lost her appetite, but this tray held so much beauty that she could not resist the way her stomach clenched from hunger and the way her mouth watered.

Camille reached to lift up the tray from her nightstand and placed it carefully on her lap. She picked up her cutleries and began eating, playing the scene where she left her only home in her head.

And she did that with utter regret.

*Flashback*

“I love you, Vincent” Camille sobbed quietly, and touched Vincent’s arm. He took his eyes off the road and turned to glare at her, shaking her hand off his with so much violence.

“Then show it,” Vincent barked. “Fucking show it!”

Camille sobbed harder. “What do you expect me to do, Vincent? It's my Mom, it's not me!” She cried and cradled her wet face in her palm.

“Tell her how much you love me, tell her how much you can't live without me! Maybe she'll agree to our wedding if you just fucking do that!” Vincent yelled, swerving carelessly away from a car that approached them.

“Vincent…” Camille trailed, feeling really scared by his violent actions. “Stop the car, please.”

“Oh?” He glanced at her. She nodded.

“No.” He breathed and smiled maniacally. He scoffed and faced the road again.

“I don't know what else you want me to do.” Camille sighed, feeling bile rise up her throat at the speed he was going. She gripped her seat belt tightly, putting all her almost-lost hopes in it.

“Cut off from them.” Vincent dropped the bomb on Camille. It completely devastated her.

“What?” She scoffed in utter disbelief. “Do you realize what you're saying? What you're asking me to do?” Her eyes that were drained of life and energy brimmed with tears.

Vincent slowed down the car and sighed. “Camy, you know the reality of this situation. It's either Amelia and I, or them.” He paused to study her reaction, and then continued. “You know Amelia and I are the ones responsible for your position today, right?” His eyebrows rose and his expression softened.

Camille sniffed, and started sobbing violently, contemplating who she'd have to choose.

“You've always been there for me, Vincent,” Camille began, “what could I do without you?” Camille asked almost rhetorically, staring into space.

“Nothing babe. Nothing.” Vincent breathed, smiling inwardly at how he had been able to win the very successful Camille to his side.

Camille sighed again and kept a blank face, putting an abrupt end to her sobbing and wiping her mascara smeared eyes.

“Take me home.” She whispered. She loosened her grip from her seatbelt and took a composed posture.

“Are- are you sure?” Vincent put up an act, he turned to look at her and her facial expression told him to shut his mouth before she would take back her decision.

“Isn't this what you want?” Camille glared at him, “turn around and take me home.”

“Home? You mean where they-” Vincent was cut off by Camille's reluctant words.

“Take me where Dolores and Bernard Salvatore live.” Camille paused, reasoning her choice of words. She sighed for the third time and glanced out the window, watching the neighborhood she grew in appear before her.

Ten minutes after Camille made her horrible decision, Vincent's car stopped at the Salvatore's mansion. The house door was slightly open and Camille could hear an argument going on inside.

“Do you want to go in now or…” Vincent trailed, shuffling his hands through the files at his front seat to reach Camille's.

He grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, giving her a ‘heartwarming’ smile when she looked up at him.

Camille wiped off the tears that escaped her eyes and released a breath she didn't know she was holding. She gave Vincent back a squeeze and that seemed to put a hold to her fears and insecurities.

“I'm going in” Camille released another breath and smiled slightly, glancing at herself in the car mirror.

She looked horrible. Really horrible. But she didn't care. She had to do what had to be done.

“Come in when I call your name. If I don't, do not come in.” Camille said and exited the car. He followed her and they took a two-minute walk to the front door of her house.

Vincent stood at the front porch, waiting for her to call him.

“Mom, don't you get it?” Camille heard Bernard ask, he ask-yelled. “She's obviously head over heels over that motherfucker who only gives a shit about her money!”

“Bernard, you have to talk to her. Please, you have to. We can't let her get married to him” Dolores said with a broken voice, she was crying.

“She's made her decision, Mom. It'll only be a matter of time before she comes to cut ties with us.” Bernard said through gritted teeth. “The problem here is that motherfucker, Vincent. He's brainwashed her!” Bernard yelled the last part, making little to no effort to keep his voice and temper down.

Dolores sniffed, turning her head away from Bernard, whose facial expression gave her his intentions.

“Mom, I have to fucking kill him”.

Camille stormed in on hearing her brother's choice of words. Hearing bad things about Vincent seemed to strike a very tense cord in her. She lost control. All her reasoning was lost.

She cut ties with her family, despite the sorrowful pleas from her mother.

“You are going to regret this, Camille,” Bernard whispered, he was trying to keep his pained tears at bay. Watching his best and only sibling finally leave him was not something he could emotionally control, hence, he proceeded to storm out of the house.

Bernard stopped at the door when he heard what he thought was going to be the last from his sister, “I am Mrs Sanchez now, fuck you both.”

Camille scoffed on seeing her mother's pathetic and defeated expression. Her mother's body emitted so much pain and sadness from the sudden betrayal.

“Alright then, Mrs Sanchez” Dolores smiled a small smile, letting out an also small breath in the process. “Have a nice life.”

“Alright, Mrs Salvatore. Go fuck yourself.” Camille turned to storm out, shoving the frozen-still Bernard out of her way in the process.

She walked out of the front door and Vincent stood there. She wanted to hug him, but she needed to get out of there as soon and as fast as possible. She took the hand of the man she thought she was going to spend the rest of her beautiful life with, and entered his car with a smile.

“It was successful, let's go.”

*Flashback ends*

Camille pushed her memories out of her head, the same way she pushed her tray off her lap. She had lost her appetite this time.

She thought of all the pain her mother and brother went through because of her decision to stay with Vincent, and her hatred for him and Amelia intensified.

“I'm just gonna take a walk,” she breathed and exited her room.