Page 81 of Hot Damn
I hate it even more when they act that way and they’re too dumb to see they’re doing it.
Beckett
I’ve always liked silence. My own company. Whether that’s because it’s what I grew up with and was used to or my nature, I don’t know.
But the silence that has hung in the air in my house the last few hours has been deafening.
The two females sharing the space have been uncharacteristically quiet. We’ve prepared dinner. Eaten dinner. Cleaned up after dinner.
Even those were done in silence.
I’m a little shocked. I’ve heard about teenagers giving their parents the silent treatment but I’ve never been subjected to it.
Until today.
It makes me wonder what’s going on with Whit. I sensed something earlier, even asked Cami if she noticed but after Whit told me about her suspicions of being followed, I thought that was it.
Realizing she’s seen the man who attacked her and Cami yesterday multiple times in recent weeks must be playing on her mind. It has to be scary. It sure as hell is for me because he could have cornered Whit at any one of those times and no one would have been there to help her.
And I all but yelled at her for not telling me.
I don’t know if I should apologize or let her work her way out of her feelings on her own.
Except I can’t stand that she won’t even look at me. Can’t stand getting the cold shoulder.
And it’s not only Whit I’m getting it from.
Although at least Cami will look at me, even if it’s only to shoot me dirty looks I can’t decipher.
Whit didn’t even say goodnight when she headed upstairs to bed.
At least I think she’s gone to bed. Hard to tell when she’s managed to move around the house without a sound while awake.
Honestly, it’s a skill I didn’t know she possessed. Her silent movements and cold shoulder would be admirable if I wasn’t on the receiving end of them.
With a sigh, I turn to Cami. “I get that you’re mad at me, that Whit is mad at me, but I can’t stand this quiet. Talk to me. Tell me what you think I did wrong?”
“What I think you did wrong?” The look on her face tells me I’ve fucked up again.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” Scrubbing a hand over my face I suck in a deep breath and blow it out. “I don’t like fighting with Whit and this doesn’t really feel like a fight. Well, not our usual kind anyway.”
Cami remains tight lipped.
“And I hate being at odds with you too.”
“Isn’t that how we started? At odds? There’s nothing new happening between us.”
Her words bring me up short.
Yes, I didn’t like her to begin with, but it wasn’t personal, not really, and since then I’ve found myself somehow tethered to this woman I barely know. She’s still pretty much a stranger and yet I told her my deepest darkest secret.
“What you need to do is worry about patching things up with Whitney.” Cami’s shoulders hunch as she wraps her arms aroundher waist. “I hate conflict. I lived it every day for the first eight years of my life. I avoid it at all costs now.”
My gaze is glued to her and I hold my breath, wait for her to say more.
“I think you need to apologize to Whitney. I think you both overreacted to the situation. Maybe it was because of yesterday. Fear and concern can make things seem worse than they are. Maybe it’s because I’m here, in your space. Whatever it is, she didn’t do anything wrong, didn’t lie, and didn’t really keep anything from you.”
As soon as she says those last words I know what ticked her off earlier. “But I’m keeping something from her.”
