Dealing with Mr fucking right. のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 10

Clara's POV The gymnasium was so loud with sneakers shrieking against polished floors, parents on their feet, a buzzer that went off like a small explosion every few minutes. It was exactly the kind of noise I needed. Noise meant I didn't have to think.Emma found me in the bleachers before I even spotted her, appearing at my side with two paper cups of terrible hot chocolate and the kind of look on her face that told me she was choosing, with every fibre in her, not to ask questions.“Why the fuck won't you just leave that motherfucker and get a divorce?” Emma asked, peering at me closely.Emma, let's just drop it okay and focus on why we're here.*Ohh please, Clara, why do you keep punishing yourself? You're beautiful, you're smart, you've got your certificate, you fucking don't need that asshole.” “It's not as easy as you think, Emma. I don't want to have a broken home.”“Ughhh, that's bullshit girl. Anyways, let's enjoy my son's game and we'll discuss more on drinks.”******Aft

Clara's POV I arrived ten minutes early and sat in the third row of the bleachers.The community centre court was smaller than Bryan's gymnasium, scuffed floors, faded three-point lines, a scoreboard with a broken digit that perpetually read 8 regardless of what anyone scored. A handful of other parents and observers dotted the bleachers. I had worn jeans again, and a soft navy top, and my hair down, and I had told myself twice in the car that this was nothing. It was just a friendly invitation, something to make me smile, like the message said.Cameron came through the side door at exactly three o'clock with nine fourth-graders trailing behind him like a comet tail, all noise and elbows and mismatched trainers, arguing already about who was going to be on whose team. He was in grey sweats and a white t-shirt and he had a basketball tucked under one arm, and he was laughing at something one of the kids had said before he'd even crossed the half-court line.I felt it the moment I saw

Clara's POV The car was quiet.Cameron had one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the console between us, close enough that I could feel the warmth coming off his skin. "I'll take you home," he said. I looked at his profile, the clean line of his jaw and the steadiness and confidence in him."I don't want to go home." The words came out quietly. "There's nothing waiting for me there, Cameron. Just pain and regrets and a bed I've been sleeping on the wrong side of for four years." I looked down at my hands, the left one bare now, the skin slightly pale where the ring used to sit. "I can't go back there tonight. I can't."He was quiet for a moment. Then he signaled, changed lanes, and drove in the opposite direction without another word.I looked at him.He glanced at me sideways, and the corner of his mouth lifted. "You can see my place," he said simply. "I've been meaning to have you over."Something warm and almost unbearably tender moved through my chest."Cameron Tucker

Clara's POV I was sitting by the window when my phone finally rang.I let it ring twice before answering, still curled in the window seat with my knees tucked under me and Cameron’s shirt soft against my skin. Outside, the city hummed, cars crawling like ants, sunlight bouncing off glass towers. I’d been staring at it for nearly an hour, not thinking about much of anything, just letting the view hold me.I looked at the screen. EMMA, 6 missed calls.I picked it up."HEY." Emma's voice came through like a small explosion. "Baby girl. I have been trying your number since last night. Last night, Clara. Where have you been? You just went completely MIA on me, not a text, not a call, nothing…. Do you know what I have been imagining? Do you have any idea….""Emma…."“Clara.” Emma’s voice came out in a rush, equal parts relief and panic. “God, finally. I’ve been calling for days. Where are you? Are you okay?”“I’m okay,” I told her. It didn’t feel like a lie. “I’m… good, actually.”"I went

Chapter TenClara's POV"Cheers to a fresh start," Emma said, clinking her glass against mine with a wide grin. The bar was lively with dim lights and low Afrobeat pulsing in the background. She'd picked this place, of course. "No sad vibes tonight, babe. We're celebrating freedom."I stared at her for a second, glass halfway to my lips, then smiled despite myself. "You're impossible.""Come on, Missy." Emma narrowed her eyes at my expression. "What's wrong with you? Are you missing your hubby? Because if you like I can take you right back there. I'll even carry the suitcase back up.""Oh, shut up, madam," I said and we both laughed loudly without a care in the world. The couple at the next table glanced over and I didn't even care.When it faded I turned my glass slowly on the table and looked at the wine moving inside it."I'm relieved," I said. "I really am. I meant every word I said in that hallway and I don't regret any of it." I paused. "I just can't help mourning the years. Yo