Page 12 of Twisted Desire
Eight
Cam stared at the ceiling not wanting to get up and face the day. All she wanted to do was stay in bed and throw a pity party for herself. She totally deserved it? Right? After all, it wasn’t every day a girl was marked, claimed, and dumped by her mate all within a matter of hours.
If she could go back in time to stop all that had happened between them, she’d do it. In a heartbeat. She would have never stood in the doorway and challenged him like she did. She wouldn’t have pressed for more than just a conversation with him, if she would have had any idea what had really been going on in that mind of his.
Scratch that. She would have tossed his ass from her diner the second he’d walked through the damn door. That’sexactlywhat she should have done.
She threw her legs over the bed and stood, wondering why she just couldn’t call in sick or something. Oh wait! She owned the diner. If she failed to open up, none of her employees would work. She had people that depended on her being able to pull her shit together so they could earn a paycheck and provide for their families. She didn’t get to call in sick just because her mate was a jackass, and her love life sucked balls.
As soon as the breakfast rush passed, Cam ducked into her office to try to catch her breath and maybe clear her mind. One look at her desk, the pile of papers and books scattered across her floor sent herinto a full-blown panic.Her heart raced, perspiration formed on her forehead and upper lip. Christ, she felt like she was about to have a heart attack.
“I can’t handle this.” Cam sobbed as she tried her damnedest to ignore the state of her office. She tried to tell herself it was no big deal, that she had barely known Ethan. To think of their night together as a one night stand. Done.
But something had changed within her when Ethan had claimed her. The claiming had ripped her old self into tiny pieces and scattered those pieces across the planet. They were gone forever, and she had no hope of ever getting them back.
What was left in their place should have been a stronger, more passionate Cam. Instead, Ethan had left, and she found she didn’t even have the strength to make it through a single day without having an emotional breakdown or crying her eyeballs out.
The door to her office slowly creaked open. Callie slid in and quickly closed the door behind her.
“Are you okay?” Callie asked, worried about her best friend and boss.
Cam sighed and leaned her head against the back of her chair. “Not really.” She wiped the tears away.
“You want to talk about it?”
“I don’t even know where to start.” And that was the problem. How was she supposed to tell Callie what Ethan’s problem was with her, when she hadn’t a fucking clue. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear he had some sort of personality disorder. One second he acted like he wanted to fuck her until she screamed for mercy, the next he was filled with sorrow and regret. The back and forth with him was killing her.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to shout.
He was damn lucky she didn’t punch him in the throat for acting like a total ass. Even her wolf was fed up with the back and forth. He either wanted her as a mate or he didn’t. This in-between bullshit had to stop.
“I was at the house last night when Ethan stopped by to tell Wyatt that he was leaving town. I was in the other room, and they were trying to speak quietly, but I still heard every word they said.” Callie took a seat in the chair across from Cam. She glanced around at the mess in the office, but thankfully, decided to keep her mouth shut.
“So, he actually left town?” Cam didn’t know if Ethan leaving town was a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, her heart had been thoroughly broken.
“By the sounds of it, yes. I’m so sorry, Cam. I don’t understand why any of this is happening. You deserve to be happy, to have someone who will love and cherish you forever.”
A new round of tears streamed freely down Cam’s face. She shouldn’t have been surprised when Callie said that her mate had left town, but she was. She’d stayed up all night, hoping and praying that she and Ethan could find a way to work things out. If she could only find out why he felt the way he did about their mating, maybe they could have figured it out. But now, he was gone and she was left to pick up the pieces of her life, and move on.
***
Three weeks later
“I swear Ruby Jean, the next time I open up to someone it will be the fucking coroner.” And she had meant every word of it. Instead of her life getting easier as the days passed, as she had expected, life got a whole hell of a lot harder.
“I don’t know why you’re still moping around here like a lost fucking puppy. You need to get your ass back out there and on the market, and show that asshole exactly what he’s missing. That’s the best advice I can give you.” Ruby Jean pulled Cam close for a hug.
“Thanks, Ruby Jean. I don’t think it’s that easy. I wish it was, but my wolf…well she has no desire to do anything or be around anyone. Even if I wanted to pick somebody up, she’d probably rip his heart out—literally. So I guess I’m stuck figuring this out on my own.”
“Well, if you need me, I’m here. You call me day or night and I’ll be there. I’ll even help you hide a body if you need me to.”
It was the first time Cam had smiled and weeks. “That’s what makes you the best, Ruby Jean.”
