“Oh hell, you are just the same as every other girl. All about Fate,” he yells back, then turns and walks out of our apartment, slamming the door closed.
What did I just do?
I want to go after him, but I know it won’t change anything. He’s probably like me, he just needs to cool off and we can talk about this again tomorrow. I turn, going back to my room, but I leave my door open. I want to talk to him. We can’t leave it this way.
Hours go by and it’s after midnight when I hear people coming back. They are all loud and clearly intoxicated. It’s the first week so this is what some of us do. But that’s not me. I’ve never even had a drink or smoked a cigarette. Drugs, not ever going to happen, being in my own head is bad enough without added influences. I hear a slam and I look out of my room to see if it’s Cameron. It isn’t. The neighbor just got in. I go back to my reading and I’m startled when I feel the wall behind me bang.
It’s steady and consistent, proceeded with lots of moaning from a clearly happy girl on the other side. I’m not a prude, I just…I just don’t. I hear mumbling words, but I try to block them out and go back to my book. The banging and moaning only continues to get louder. At least someone is having fun. The picture that is hanging above my bed on the wall falls down and that is the last straw. I bang and bang on the wall. “Can you please move the bed away? I would like to not get killed by my pictures,” I yell at the wall. For a moment the noises dissipate, but then they are back to it again.
“Oh, yea.” I hear and my heart stops. “Say it, baby, say my name.”
“Ah…oh…” she says between moaning.
“Cam,” she says and just like that, everything I felt is gone as the walls go back up around me. The banging and noise from them picks up pace and I hear her yell out. Just like that, it’s done. No sounds. They’re finished. Five minutes later, he is stumbling through the door. Walking up to my bedroom doorframe, I lean against the door.
“What, no cuddling or sleep over?” I say sarcastically.
“Sorry, ice princess, this ain’t a fairytale,” he slurs out. Great, he’s loaded. He uses the back of the chair to hold himself up.
“Some fairytale that would be, getting it on when she didn’t even know your name. That just sounds magical. It’s what I’ve always dreamed of,” I groan.
“Cut the cute crap, Fate. It’s only going to lead where you don’t want to go. Or do you?” he says, raising his eyebrow.
“Is it so bad that I just want to be your friend? I don’t need to screw you to prove that, do I? Didn’t know that was a requirement, but I do know as a friend I didn’t deserve to hear that,” I say firmly.
“Why do you even care, Fate?” He walks toward me and my hands automatically go up as a barrier between us. His chest is right against my hands. I don’t flinch, I don’t pull away. “Hear something you’d want to try?” Something in me snaps. I push him as hard as I can.
“Just because I wasn’t trying to get you into bed after knowing you for all of five minutes doesn’t mean I needed to hear that. I’ve never even done most of that. You didn’t have to prove anything by taking our neighbor home,” I say quietly.
“Next time I will put music on so you don’t hear.” His words are like ice running through my veins. “Did we interrupt your sleep, princess?”
“No, you didn’t. I don’t sleep at night, only during the day. And no, don’t put music on. That’s what he did,” I say without thinking. His words have me unable to think.
“Fate.” Looking in his eyes, I see he’s trying to see into me. My walls are too thick and I’ve already let him in too much with my words.
“As soon as you walked out that door, I wanted to go after you, and I’m glad I didn’t. You just proved you are exactly what those articles said you were. You don’t want to be judged, Cameron McAlister. Then don’t do those exact things. I don’t need to judge you, you did that one all by yourself,” I say, closing my door.
Chapter Five
Cameron
Watching her close that door on me, damn. Hard shit right there. Not that I didn’t deserve that. I was an idiot. I wouldn’t blame her if she never talks to me again. Where did half that crap I said even come from? Oh hell, that would be the whiskey. She just had me so riled up I had to get out of the apartment. When I got here, I expected to have some roommate who was either a guy who wanted to get in on this wingman action, or a girl trying to get me into the sack. Never did I think that Fate would be the one to come walking into my life, and I royally screwed that shit up. Not saying I’m trying to get in her pants, but I’m not saying I’m not either. That whole night I was talking out my ass about not wanting a girl like her. She’s fricking beautiful but someone got there first. Instead of showing her every damn day how amazing she is, they fucking destroyed her.