Page 42 of Dirty Little Mistake

"Yeah, she was standing outside when I got there. She was worried but fine." Jax's voice softened slightly.

I paced to the window, pressing my forehead against the cool glass. "Did you take her home?"

"She left with Owen." Jax's words hit like a punch to the gut, and it was suddenly hard to form a coherent thought. "Have you called her?"

"Uh, no."

I sank onto the edge of the king-sized bed, the pristine white duvet crinkling under my weight. The room tilted and swayed, the abstract art on the walls bleeding into the cream-colored paint. From this angle, the city lights beyond the window seemed to pulse in time with my heartbeat, each flash a reminder of how far I was from home.

The wall around my heart that Cam had busted through knocking it down had just gone back up, and my instinct to protect myself and my heart was pounding in my head. "I think it's best if we move on with our lives."

"She..."

"Hey, bro." My thumb hovered over the end call button, already retreating. "I have to go. I'll try to call tomorrow."

I ended the call and clicked on Jazz's contact.

Trystan: I'm in.

I let the hurt swirling through me take over; the hurt that I avoided for years was because I always put up a wall until Cam. I needed to worry about myself and the band right now and let Cam move on with her life. If dating the influencer was what was best, then that's what I needed to do.

Chapter 20

Camryn

Laying in my bed, I stared silently up at the ceiling. It had been a few days since the Cages, and no one but Kaia would talk to me. I knew I fucked up, but the pain of being exiled from the only family I really had was excruciating. What was worse was that I didn't know how to fix it or if they even cared. Thankfully, I hadn't lost Kaia too.

Picking up my phone, I scrolled through my contacts until Trystan's name appeared. I knew he was angry with me, too, even though we hadn't spoken for him to tell me so. Jax would have told him what happened. I clicked on messages.

I typed out 'I'm sorry,' but then deleted it. I blew out a loud, exaggerated growl. I just wanted to fix this. I wanted things to go back to the way they were.

I scrolled back up my contact list and hit Jax's name. It rang three times before he sent the call to voicemail. I released a long sigh as I ended the call without leaving a message. Jax was in love with Kaia even if he struggled to admit it to himself. When he showed up at the Cages, I saw the fear in his eyes. The fearof losing her. I didn't blame him for being angry with me; I just didn't think he would never talk to me again.

My phone chirped.

Owen: Are you home?

The corners of my lips curved into a grin. Owen was the only one other than Kaia still talking to me. So we'd texted several times a day and even FaceTime a couple of times.

I was lonely.

Camryn: Yes

My heart raced as the bubble popped up, indicating he was responding.

Owen: Can you come outside? We need to talk.

Camryn: On my way

I flew out of my bed, raced down the stairs, and was walking out the front door and stepping out onto the dark porch when Owen swerved his white car into my driveway.

Owen stepped out of his car, and I couldn't help but smile. He was gorgeous in a completely different way than Trystan. Trystan was tall and lean, and Owen wasn't as tall, but he was thick with bulging muscles from his thighs to his massive biceps. He was built like an athlete, and dressed in his usual black joggers, a white team t-shirt, and his black baseball cap on backward.

"Hey." Owen smiled, but it wasn't his normal smile. It felt forced, even a little awkward.

"Hey." I crossed my arms around me as a cool breeze blew through the porch. "Is everything okay?"

"Should we sit?" He pointed to the porch swing, and I nodded. A sense of unease wrapped around me, squeezing so tightly it was hard to breathe.

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