Control You (22 page)

All too soon, Cameron’s touch was gone and I was left standing at the edge of the parking lot, wishing he would come back. My hands curled inward; my fingernails dug deep crescent shapes into my palms as I watched his retreating form. He walked back into the shop, and through the windows, I could see him lift Craig up by the front of his shirt and get in his face. Icy tendrils of panic slithered through me. I feared he would beat Craig like he had before.

Closing my eyes, I turned my head away, not wanting to watch what I’d caused to happen all over again.

“You deserve better than this, than him…”

Cameron’s words fluttered through my mind once more, and I realized with certainty that I
had
become
that girl
, the one I never thought I would be. The one who blamed herself for the way her asshat of a boyfriend treated her. The one who, over time, would lose every piece that made her who she was, all for the sake of keeping the peace.

“If you were mine, I’d never hurt you the way that asshole does. Ever.”

I latched on to the final snippet Cameron had said to me as though it were my life raft. I was done with Craig, and while I wasn’t going to jump right into a relationship with Cameron, I was incredibly grateful he had walked into my life. Feeling more empowered than I ever had before, I started across the parking lot to dump the asshole who’d tried to physically hurt me for a second time, and move on with my life.

CAMERON

“What do you think?” Richard, the guy I’d hired to paint the inside of my house, asked as I walked out from the kitchen and into the living room. He was painting the walls the shade of taupe I’d picked out.

The paint had actually been called Melodious Mushroom. I didn’t fully understand the reasoning behind the name—using the term mellow where melodious was would have made more sense—but whatever. Either way, I loved that it had the word mushroom in it. Not only was it a fun word to say, but it had also been my drug of choice—when I could find them.

“Looks good, right?” Richard rephrased his question when I didn’t answer the first time.

I pulled myself from my thoughts and nodded. “Yeah, very tranquil and neutral-looking, just the way I want it.”

My mom had painted the room sage green. I’d vowed to avoid repainting anything the same shade she had, even though some of them I enjoyed. Melodious Mushroom was splashed throughout the entire house. It was a bland and boring color to choose for an entire house to be painted on the inside, but it was a tad better than white and nothing like the lively colors my mother had. It suited me fine. Besides, I’d add color elsewhere.

As I walked out to the back deck, my thoughts shifted to where they’d been for most of the day—back to Paige. The moment I’d asked her to step outside with me flickered through my mind, just as it had so many times since it happened. I could still feel her warm, soft bottom lip pressed beneath my thumb. What possessed me to do such a thing, I didn’t know, but I didn’t regret it at all. The image of her closing her eyes and remaining where she stood would be forever etched in my memory.

I pulled my cell from my back pocket and scrolled through my contacts list until I spotted her name. The sad part was that I’d done this a million times over the last four days, but still couldn’t gain the courage to call or text her to see if she was all right. What the hell was wrong with me? This was all so unlike me. Eva would laugh if she knew what had been going on inside my head lately. She’d tease me about being in love and not knowing how to handle it.

While it was still too early for me to even think about the term love and Paige in the same sentence, something was happening. I couldn’t deny it. There was something there; I felt for her what I’d never felt for anyone before. I truly cared for her. I cared for her like I cared for Eva, but with Paige, it was something more and I couldn’t even wrap my head around it.

Pulling the canvas from yesterday off the easel, I stared at its harsh reds and brilliant oranges. Even the sunset yesterday looked angry to me. It was reflected in this painting. Leaning it against the rail beside all the other images I’d created over the last few days, I walked to the little speaker system I’d hauled outside and placed my phone right in the center. Clicking on my newest music app, I got some tunes going before I rolled up my sleeves and decided what size canvas I wanted to use today.

Colors
by Crossfade came on as I was choosing a smaller canvas. I grinned, loving how there were times when the perfect song—one that would tie into everything you were feeling, everything that was going on in your life at that precise moment—came on. It made me believe I was where I needed to be, right where I was
supposed
to be, even for a moment.

I set the canvas on the easel, and moved to grab my palette. Staring at the colors before me in their tubes lined up on the banister, I picked up black first and squirted a little out. Dabbing my large sponge brush through it, I laid into the canvas, letting the beat of the music move me and the lyrics help guide my strokes.

If music was the expression of my soul, then my paintings were snapshots of certain moments taken of my soul.

When I finished with that painting, I moved on to another one without taking a break, without breathing. This moment was my release. This was where I needed to be and what I needed to be doing right now. After working through my third canvas, the music stopped as a phone call came through. Flicking the ashes off my cigarette, I wiped my messy hands on the old towel I’d been using for such things and picked up my phone. It was Eva.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Well hello there, Picasso, planning on coming up for air and getting your ass over here to eat lunch with me?” Eva asked.

Shit. I’d completely forgotten I’d agreed to meet her for lunch today at The Point. “Jesus, I’m sorry. I forgot, but I’ll be there in about ten, all right?”

She laughed. “No worries. Don’t die trying to race over here. I’ll just go ahead and order, so when you get here we can eat. What do you want? A sub, a salad, some wings?”

“A Philly cheese steak would be nice.”

“All right, see you soon.” She hung up before I could respond.

I slipped my phone into my back pocket and sighed. Capping all my tubes of paint, I scooped up the brushes I’d been using and rushed inside to wash them. In about fifteen minutes, I was pulling into the teeny parking lot of The Point. I hated keeping Eva waiting, because unlike me, I knew her time was limited. She always had so much shit to do. Between work and school her schedule had been slammed lately.

Walking inside The Point’s door, I glanced around at the few tables and booths lining the walls until I spotted her. She was sitting alone at a booth along the back wall.

“Hey, sorry I’m late.” I slid into the seat across from her. “I got caught up in a few paintings.”

“I figured as much. You’re like an obsessed crazy person when you’re in the zone.” She grinned and set her cell on the tabletop. “Created any masterpiece you’re willing to give up?” Her right brow raised and her grin grew.

I shook my head. “Nope, not yet. They’re all made for rooms in the house.”

“Right, because without them your walls would look like shit. Seriously.”

I laughed. She hadn’t been a fan of my paint color for the place. “True.”

Our food came then and I ordered a sweet tea to go along with it.

“Perfect timing.” Eva flipped her hair over her shoulders and picked up the sandwich she’d ordered. “So, tell me about Paige, any news?” she asked around a mouthful of food.

I picked up my Philly and popped a green pepper coated with cheese that had fallen out into my mouth. “What do you mean? News about what?”

“Have you talked to her since you nearly kicked Craig’s ass over the weekend? Do you know if she was stupid enough to give him another chance? Have you tried to talk some sense into her, if so?” She glared at me as if I should have known this was what she’d been asking all along.

“Umm, no…I don’t know…and no, not really.” I took a large bite of my sub. It was like sex in my mouth—all the cheesy meat goodness mixed with peppers and onions. Pure bliss.

Eva set her sandwich down and focused her incredible eyes on me. “Are you freaking kidding me?”

“Well that wasn’t what I expected to come out of your mouth, that’s for sure.” I chuckled.

“Cam, what the hell?”

“What?” I widened my eyes and shrugged.

“You like her! You’ve saved her from the manhandling that douche put her through twice now!”

“I’d do it for any female out there and you know it. It wasn’t just because there’s something about her I can’t shake.”

Eva nodded and took a sip of her soda. “I know that, but still. Why don’t you at least text her and see if she’s all right?”

“Because if she wasn’t, she would have contacted me by now,” I countered as I wiped the grease from my sub dripping down my wrist onto a napkin.

“Right.” She rolled her eyes. “Because that’s always the first thing we do in those situations—call someone who’s seen us when we’re the most humiliated we’ve ever felt twice to come save us for a third time.”

My stomach churned at the thought of Paige still being hurt and talked down to by Craig without me knowing. I’d called Scott after the last incident and told him I thought Craig might need to get some anger management classes under his belt, but hadn’t heard back from him on the subject, even though he’d agreed. In fact, the last time we’d spoken was Tuesday, and even then, he’d only called to ask me how the renovations on my parents’ old place were coming.

“So what, oh-wise-one, do you suggest I say to her?” I leaned on my elbows and stared at her, waiting for her to spew some genius excuse I could use.

“Invite her to your Halloween party this weekend.”

“That I can do.” I set the remaining piece of my sub down and wiped off my fingers to retrieve my phone.

PAIGE

The picture I was trying to hang would not stay straight. I grabbed at the edges and shifted it to the side once more. When I released my grip, it slid cockeyed again. Pulling the picture off the nail and laying it on the desk beside my computer screen, I picked up the hammer Jason had let me borrow and ripped the nail out of the damn wall.

“Screw this. I’m buying some freaking Command strip hangers for this thing tomorrow,” I muttered to myself.

My phone went off on the desk and I reached for it, praying it was Lauren asking me again where the hangers were inside Walmart and not another text from Craig. It wasn’t from either; it was a text from Cameron instead. My heart leapt up to my throat when I saw his name on the screen.

So, I’m having a Halloween party Sunday night, think you and your friends can make it?

I’d already decided to go to a party at some frat place across from the college with everyone. It was the same party we went to every year, but we could shake it up a bit. It could be fun.

Hey! I’ll see what everyone is doing and then get back to you later. ~ Paige

I hit send and waited to see if he’d say anything else, while I chastised myself for the
hey!
at the beginning of my text. It sounded too eager—especially since he hadn’t started with a greeting of his own.

If they all have plans, you’re more than welcome to drop by yourself. There will be plenty of booze and loads of people to mingle with. Oh, and me.

I broke out into a wide smile. A knock on the shop door startled me. I spun around, nearly dropping my phone in the process, to see Lauren standing at the door with her arms loaded down by shopping bags. Walking over, I unlocked the door to let her in.

“All right, so they only had black, white, and those crappy wire hangers at Walmart. So, I went to the dollar store beside it and look at what I found!” She dumped the contents of one bag out onto the floor. There were purple, robin egg blue, and spring-looking green hangers. “Aren’t they cute?”

“Perfect!” I couldn’t wait to get some clothes on them and hang merchandise up on the racks. The place would practically be finished then, and just in time for my grand opening on Monday morning.

Glancing back to my cell screen, I reread Cameron’s last text with a smile. I typed out a quick, simple message.

Thanks for the invite. ~ Paige

After tapping send, I crammed my cell into the back pocket of my jeans, and scooped up a package of purple hangers to open.

“What happened to the picture you were hanging behind the desk?” Lauren asked. She flopped down on the carpeted floor and dumped out the other three bags she had. “I really liked that one there. It looked cute.”

I moved to sit beside her. “I couldn’t get it straight. I’m just going to buy some of those Command sticky things and pray they work better.”

“You mean these?” She arched an eyebrow and held out a package of the exact thing I was talking about.

“Oh my God, how did you know to get these?” I was baffled.

She popped her bubble gum. “Eh, I just figured you might do better with these than a hammer and nail. I know I would. My entire apartment is decorated using their genius products.” She took the package from my hand and opened it. “All you have to do is peel off the little papers on them, slap them on the back of the frame, and then stick it to the wall.”

“Sounds so much easier.”

“Here, hand me the picture.”

I stood and retrieved it off the desk. Lauren peeled off all the stickers and placed them on the back, and within seconds, the picture I’d bought off Etsy of vintage-looking birds printed on some funky paper was hanging on my wall right where I’d wanted it.

“Done!” Lauren clapped her hands together, and then headed to the back room.

I sat down at the stack of hangers and opened up the last pack. Lauren came out of the back room with her arms full of the clothes we’d already priced, tagged, and entered into the system. She set them down beside me.