*Faith POV*
Noah and Mia have tried relentlessly to pull me from my depressed state for a week. I didn't have the heart to talk about what happened, that Izzy was actually Cameron. Every time I thought about it I would cry. I stayed home all week from school telling mom I didn't feel good, and with how much I was sleeping I knew she believed it. But today she is forcing me to go to school. Today, I have to walk through the hallways and pretend that being there causes an unbearable ache.
I come to the finish line lagging behind Mariah and Ari who are both looking back at me with concerned faces. Who knew a whole week of laying around, eating terribly, and sleeping would get me this out of shape. Geez. I can see them both waiting for me as we come closer to the weight room doors. I hesitate in my step for a moment taking a deep breath. I can do this. He w
Mia and Noah just stare at me with crazy eyes. I can tell Mia is angry by the rigidness of her body, while Noah has taken on a more gentle concern. I know I should have filled them in sooner. I had locked myself away in my own mind by keeping them out of the loop, but if I'm being perfectly honest I was upset with them at the time. They haven't done anything to warrant my mood other than dote on each other. But I also never claimed to be of sound mind when it comes to my emotions or control of them. More than likely I also just didn't want their input on something I was sure I couldn’t explain. I’m also not positive that I had fully admitted to myself the extent of my own crush on Cameron and Izzy. How do you put into words what you can't even process in your own mind? And now here we are. Sitting in a stare-down with Mia trying to control her hurt feelings as I try to verbalize it when I know that words
*Cameron POV* -You can call whenever you are free tonight- Faith. My phone sits in my hand as I stare at it. I can call whenever I am free. I breathe deep. I'm free now. But now I'm panicking, which is a new sensation. I've never wanted to fix something so bad. What if she doesn't believe me? It all seems so soap opera-like. Blurting out I was tricked wont work, though it's true, it's not detailed enough. And kind of sounds like a criminal on his way to prison. I run my free hand through my freshly showered hair. Shit. here goes. 3 minutes after receiving her text I hit the dial button. I'm such a sucker for her. Each and every ring feels like an eternity of torture. By the third ring I am holding my breath, squeezing my eyes shut and saying a prayer. And that's when I hear her voice. I had convinced myself
*Faith POV* I put my phone down and wipe a stray tear from my eye. That was so much more complex than I could have ever imagined. Having a terrible parent I understand, I have one too but having one who emotionally abuses you and manipulates you for the good of only herself? That's something I can't quite wrap my head around. Camerons mother had essentially become his pimp, withholding the only thing of value from him. The only person who had ever really shown him any love. Falling back onto my bed I stare up at the little glow-in-the-dark stars and I smile softly remembering the day I put them up with dad. The dad who doted on me and told me I was his little star. The same dad who when I was sad or heartbroken over some trivial thing he would tell me it would get better and that I would get better at discerning how to do hard things. When I asked him h
I angrily toss around in my bed as I cover my head with my pillow. The muffled sounds of yelling still permeate the flimsy cotton material as I grunt in anger throwing my blankets getting ready to throw down with whoever interrupted my excellent dream. I grab a sweater on my way out my bedroom door pounding down the stairs angrily. Mia comes to the base of the stairs looking white as a ghost and I know something is wrong. “Mia, what the hell is going on?” “I don’t know what happened,” she says tearfully. “What do you mean you don’t know what happened?” I move around her walking out the front door and following the voices. As I walk further, faster down the sidewalk I see Noah standing silently as a man berates him, hurling every curse word in the English langu
“Everything ok?” Cameron asks as we stroll down the sidewalk heading to the movie. I turn to him, offer a smile, and nod. “Yeah, just had an eventful morning. Mia’s mom stopped by.” “The one that abandoned her?” he asks, as though searching his memory. “The one and the same. She’s a real piece of work.” “Think she could give my mom a run for her money?” he jibs. “I think she would probably enjoy trying,” I laugh out loud. We approach the ticket booth and Cameron grabs our tickets while I slip away, claiming the need to use the restroom so I can buy us the popcorn. Right as I’m about to pay, a hand takes hold of mine, a tingle of warm heat running along my arm, as he moves it and places his money in the concession worker’s hand. I put my money away. Sighing heavily as he leans down and whispers in my ear. “I have been waiting to take you on a date for far too long. You are not paying for a single thing.” H
“Ok then start.” I declare. She turns to look at dad who is refusing to make eye contact with me. “Now please!” Cameron's hand runs the length of my forearm, finding my hand and entwining his finger with mine. I shy away, gently untangling our fingers and pulling my hands to my chest. I know he only wants to support me, but right now I’m feeling lost in my mind, and I need to be there alone to process everything. He doesn’t give up as he takes a step closer to me; he doesn’t reach out to touch me but I can feel his presence and it helps calm me. Looking over my shoulder at him, he offers me a sweet smile of encouragement, and I match him with my own sad smile of thanks. Mom’s sigh captures my attention, and I look to see her focusing on the tiled floor, her face full of guilt. A sarcastic laugh leaves my throat while I wait for an answer that seems to be stuck between us all. The tension is thick, almost suffocating, and I’m
“I saw it.” Noah rushes out “Witnessed him hurting you. I tried to protect you, threatened him, and told him if he didn’t stop I would hurt him. But I was a kid, Faith. I didn’t know what to do. Who would believe me when you always appeared so perfect and happy all the time?” The only thing I can do is stand and stare. There is no one emotion that can embody my feeling of just complete emotional defeat. All these lies of omission eventually added up. Building until it grew so big it all just explodes at one momentous occasion in my kitchen. “I-I told him he wasn’t a man. That he was a lowlife for hitting a child and that no wonder your mom was sleeping with my dad. Because at least he was a real man.” Noah is talking fast, hands flying about in a frenzied state, trying to drive his explanations home. I close my eyes tight, shaking my head, willing my mind to wrap itself around what the hell is happening. Did my mom really ha
*Cameron POV* The entire house is illuminated when I walk through the front door. I hesitate for a moment, looking around to see if I can find the butler who normally greets me, but he is out of sight. Walking cautiously, I enter the living room and I am surprised to find my dad, my mother, and Angela sitting on the couch, waiting in a deafening silence. In an instant, all happy feelings I had when I walked in vanish and my stomach falls. Something has to be horribly wrong if the three of them are sitting in the same room. My father ignores my presence, sitting emotionless, facing forward while both my mother and Angela smirk at me in an unsettling manner. A door opens and closes behind me and I see Frank, Angela’s rat of a father, walkout from the bathroom. He smiles devilishly and claps his hands together in excitement. “Ah! And the daddy is here finally” My eyes fly open as I turn to everyone else, looking for an explanation. Angela si