Page 32 of Property of Camo

“Oh, fuck off, you coward. Come say that to my face,bitch.” With that I hang up, then finish off my drink.

Who the fucking hell do they think they are to call and threaten me over a phone call? Fucking pussy.

“Skyla, what the fuck?” Clark calls.

“Who was that?” Rocky asks, his voice showing his concern.

I look at my friends, who are looking at me with both shock and concerned faces.

“No fucking clue. It was heavy breathing, and a male voice said, ‘beware, bitch.’ They hung up.” I shrug.

“What the fuck? Did you recognize the voice?” Clark asks.

I am already shaking my head. “No, it was distorted.”

“So it could have been a female?” Eva asks.

Her words make me think. Is Camo seeing someone else and she found out about me, or got jealous when she found out? Maybe he has met someone else and told her about me, but she needed to warn me off as an added measure.

My mind reels as to why someone would threaten me. I tend to not piss people off if I can help it, but I also will not be walked over.

“Do you think it could be linked to Camo? Or the club maybe?” Rocky edges.

I shrug again. “I have no idea. We have not spoken in a few days. It is not like we were exclusive, and if he is sleeping with other women and they know about me they might feel threatened, but clearly I am no longer a threat to any other woman he has sex with.”

Even as I say and think the words, my heart hurts. I know that things cannot work out between Camo and me, but that does not mean that I do not miss him. Feeling his hands on me, the way he kisses me.

“You need to tell him, Sky. It is bullshit if his whores are now threatening you,” Clark states.

“We do not know if it is linked to him, honey. For all we know it could be?—”

My words stop.

My heart stops.

My eyes widen as I look at my friends one at a time.

It all forms in my head.

The caller said to stay away from ‘him,’ and we thought that he had to mean Camo, but what if they meant Aston?

“What is it?” Eva takes my hand in hers.

I look at her with wide eyes.

“What if the warning was not to stay away from Camo, but to stay away from Aston?”

“Has he said anything when he comes into the gym?” Clark asks, looking between Rocky and me.

We both shake our heads.

“No, he comes in, tucks his bag under the reception desk. Goes into the staff room, helps himself to a snack, then starts cleaning until the class starts. He smiles more, I have noticed,” Rocky adds.

“I have seen that. It is like he belongs at the gym. He is making new friends; he said yesterday that one of the other kids asked him to go to the ballpark with him and his friends,” I say.

It has been very heartwarming seeing him smile and being more talkative. I have not seen any new bruises on him but that does not mean that they aren’t some on his body that I cannot see.

I know how good people, especially kids, can get at masking the bad things.

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