Pieces of Camden (Hole-Hearted #1) (28 page)

“Because I want you to get clean,” I answer simply.

She throws her head back in hysterical laughter, and Yanelys’s hold on my hand tightens as her body stiffens. I squeeze it in reassurance, but her body stays tense next to mine.

“Maureen.” Edward puts a gentle but sturdy hand on her shoulder.

She shrugs it off and directs the same heated eyes of my youth toward him.

He backs away a couple of steps. “What did he do to you?”

“Your brother?” she spits the words at him. “He beat me. He raped me. Every time he remembered how much he hated you, he’d turn his anger on me.”

“And Camden,” Yanelys speaks up. “Don’t act like you’re the only one who knew Herb’s anger.” She steps forward, taking me with her, and we both invade my mom’s personal space. “The difference is that Camden was a child, and it was your job to protect him.”

“I couldn’t protect him from Herb. There is no protection from a man like that.”

“You could’ve left him,” Yanelys presses.

“No!” she shouts, her words echoing against the bare walls. “He would’ve killed us both if I’d tried to leave.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I whisper, pulling Yanelys to me and wrapping my arms around her waist. “All that matters now is you getting clean.”

My mom laughs again, shaking her head at me. “Are you stupid?” she asks.

“I’ll give you half of my inheritance,” I offer.

Her eyes widen in shock. “You got your inheritance?” She licks her lips, her eyes growing hungry at the thought.

“Not yet,” I admit, “but I’m going to. You won’t see a dime of it if you don’t get clean.”

“Camden,” she whines, her hands going to my chest, pawing at me in desperation.

Letting go of Yanelys, I hold my mom at arm’s length. “Get clean,” I say through clenched teeth.

“You worthless piece of shit,” she hisses at me, pushing my chest with the little strength she has. “Herb always said you were worthless. Stupid.” She bites out the words.

I flinch, my stomach dropping, as I listen to her.

“The day you were taken from us was the best day of our lives.”

“Enough!” Edward roars, grabbing her by her shoulders and spinning her around so that she’s facing him. “That is your son! Our son. My son,” he whispers.

My heart drums in my chest at his quick acceptance of me.

“I love you, Maureen. I always will, but I won’t stand by and let you speak to him like that.”

“Yeah?” She narrows her eyes at him. “Where were you to stop me when he was younger? To stop Herb from beating him to near death? You’re too late.” A loud slap resonates in the dark room when her hand makes contact with his cheek.

“No, he’s not,” I admit. “It’s not too late for you either. I’m offering you half of my inheritance right now. When I leave, I won’t be offering it again. I’ll forget you. I won’t worry about you, and I won’t care when you die, and your body rots in this place. It’s up to you.”

“Leave.” Sad eyes meet mine, and my heart hurts for the woman I call Mom. “I don’t want your money. I don’t want you. I never wanted you.” She closes her eyes, pressing her lips together so that the outer edges grow white.

Hurt, I turn around, Yanelys’s hand seeking mine, and I don’t look back.

THIRTY-EIGHT

YANELYS

My body molds against Camden’s as we lie awake in our bed. I kiss his bare shoulder, and he turns on his side so that he’s facing me. His lips touch my temple while my hands run over his back in soothing circles.

He hasn’t spoken since we left Maureen. We drove Edward back home in silence. The only words uttered came when Edward and Camden exchanged phone numbers, and Camden agreed to see Edward on Christmas Day.

It’s been a rough, long day that didn’t exactly end well. I know Camden hoped Maureen would take his offer and seek help, but deep down, I think we both knew she wouldn’t. She couldn’t. She was simply too far gone.

She endured a lot at Herb’s hand, and I shudder at the thought of her being raped by the man she married.

“Do you think Edward will really come over on Christmas?” Camden asks.

My chest tightens at the hope I hear in his voice, and I say a silent prayer that Edward won’t disappoint him.

“Yeah, I think he’ll come,” I reply honestly.

Before he even read Herb’s letter and found out the truth, I saw how much he cared for Camden. After that, remorse and a desperate need to make things right were evident on the planes of his face.

“I think Livvy would like him,” he says. Even with the surrounding darkness of our room, our eyes meet. “I think I could like him, too.”

My chest squeezes tighter, knowing Camden’s still seeking acceptance, still believing he’s unworthy of it.

“I like you.” I lean forward and touch his lips with mine. “I like you a lot.”

“You love me,” he corrects, pressing his mouth to mine, hard and full of emotion.

“I do,” I admit.

“Thank you for coming with me today. I don’t think I could’ve done it without you.”

“Whatever you need, Cam. We’re in this together.”

His fingers find mine beneath the covers, and with our hands connected, we finally fall asleep.

Loud voices and laughter ring in my ear, waking me from a deep sleep. When I open my eyes, Camden kisses my nose and smiles back at me.

“I think your parents brought Livvy over before taking her to school.”

“You think?” I groan, covering my face with the covers.

Camden crawls under the covers with me and pulls my body to him. “Stay in bed, beautiful. I’m gonna see if she wants me to make her an omelet.”

“Great.” I sigh dramatically. “Keep this up, and you’re gonna be her favorite parent before the year’s over.”

Camden laughs at my sarcasm and scrambles off the bed, so he can get dressed and spend time with our daughter before she goes to school.

Through the closed door, I listen to Camden’s and Olivia’s animated voices, and before my parents can rush Olivia to school, I get dressed and go to the kitchen.

“Who wants to miss school today?” I ask.

Four pairs of eyes meet mine in astonishment, their forks full of eggs halted in midair.

“What?” I ask. “She only has a couple of days before school stops for winter break. What’s the big deal?”

“Nothing,” my mom replies. “It’s just that you give her a hard time about missing school when she’s sick, so…” The sides of her lips lift as she trails off.

“Whatever,” I mutter. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Can I miss the rest of the week, too?” she asks, her eyes holding the hope of innocent youth.

“I don’t know. Dad”—my eyes meet Camden’s, and his grin widens—“what do you think?”

“I’m okay with it
if
…” He draws out the last word.

“If what?” Olivia asks, eager to know.

“If you let me read the Star Wars books to you.”

Her nose scrunches up as she weighs her options, and I stifle a laugh.

“Fine,” she huffs, “but I don’t see why we can’t just watch the movies.”

“Better books are,” Camden replies in his best Yoda voice.

Olivia looks back at him in confusion. “You’re so weird sometimes.” She bites her bottom lip when he laughs at her. “Can I put my pajamas back on?”

“Yeah,” Camden replies. Then, he looks back at me in question.

I tuck my head down, giving him control over this simple decision, and from the corner of my eye, I see him smile.

“Just put away your book bag,” he calls after her.

She quickly spins around and runs back to the kitchen where she picks up her bag and runs to her room with Nisa close behind her.

“Good call,” I say when I hear her close her door.

“Eat,” Camden orders, placing a plate with toast and a large omelet in front of me.

Cutting a piece with my fork, I put it in my mouth and hum in pleasure as the egg and cheese melt on my tongue. “This,” I say between bites, “this is heaven.”

On the kitchen counter, my phone vibrates, so I grab it and see a text from Edward flash on the screen, asking Camden how he’s doing.

“We really need to get you your own phone,” I tell Camden, handing him my phone.

His eyes widen when he reads the text, and pleasure crosses his face as he reads it again.

“Who’s it from?” my mom asks.

“Edward,” Camden replies, his nerves making him shift from foot to foot.

“When do we get to meet him?” my dad asks, putting a hand on Camden’s shoulder, making the tension visibly ease away.

“He said he was going to come over on Christmas.” Joy and uncertainty cross his face, and he bites his bottom lip.

“He seems like a good guy,” I offer, remembering how Edward stood up for Camden when his mom verbally attacked him.

“Yeah, he does,” Camden agrees, eyeing my parents for their reaction.

“We’re looking forward to meeting him, Cam, but this doesn’t change anything between us. You’re our son. Nothing will change that. We want you to get to know Edward, and if he’s a good man, we want you to have a relationship with him. If, one day, you see him as your dad, that’s fine with us. It’s fine with me,” my dad emphasizes. “You’ll still be my son.”

Camden releases a long breath and nods. “Do you remember when Yan and I were teenagers, and you told me that, when the time came, you’d give me permission to marry Yan?”

My hands go to my chest, holding my heart in its place, as he looks from my mom to my dad.

“You’re my parents. Yanelys is my heart.”

His eyes meet mine, and I push back the threatening tears.

“She’s my family. I want to marry her. I want to spend the rest of my life loving her and devoting my life to her. I want to give Livvy brothers and sisters.”

Despite my best efforts, tears spill from my eyes, but still, he doesn’t move toward me.

“Mom, Dad”—his voice catches in his throat—“I want your permission to marry my best friend.”

“I told you our answer was yes, that it’d always be yes,” my dad answers while my mom clings to his arm, shedding her own tears.

“Yes.” My mom nods when Camden looks at her.

Camden walks to me, taking my trembling hand in his fingers, and he places a gentle kiss on my knuckles.

“My beautiful girl,” he whispers, his voice shaking.

I sniffle, standing in front of him.

“I don’t have a ring to give you right now, but you have my heart. You’ve always had my heart because you are my heart. I don’t know how I ever survived without you, but I didn’t start living again until the day I almost died in a fire, and you came back into my life. Be my wife,” he says, bringing his lips to my ears, making me tremble when his hot breath touches my skin. “I’ll spend the rest of my life loving and treasuring you.”

“Say yes, Mom!” Olivia shouts, bouncing on the heels of her feet.

I laugh while Camden wipes my tears away. “Yes,” I whisper.

“Yes?” he asks, his eyes widening in shock.

“Of course, yes!” I throw myself into his arms, and Olivia joins us.

Camden picks her up and refuses to put her down as my parents congratulate us through their own tears of joy.

“Dad?” Olivia’s voice comes out shy, not at all like the exuberant girl we all know.

Hearing her call him dad, Camden’s breath hitches, and his throat bobs as he fights back his emotions, but his feelings come through as tears begin to stream down his face.

“Yeah, baby girl?” he whispers into her hair.

“Can I be the flower girl?”

“I’d like that, Livvy.” He chuckles. “I’d actually really love that.”

“Okay,” she says, kissing his tear-streaked cheeks, “Dad.”

EPILOGUE

EDWARD

Nervous energy bounces in my stomach, ricocheting against my ribs, as I ring Yanelys and Camden’s doorbell, holding on to the presents I brought. I’ve spoken several times with Camden since the evening he showed up on my doorstep with a surprise that knocked me on my ass.

I have a son, and not only did I miss his entire upbringing, but I also left him in the hands of a man who abused and tormented him and the woman I loved, so much so that I didn’t even recognize the diseased woman who had taken over Maureen’s mind and body.

But I’m not done with her. I turned away from her once and left her to a fate that destroyed her. Luckily, Camden had Yanelys and her family to help him pull through it. Although from the limited information he’s entrusted me with, it hasn’t been easy.

It won’t be easy with Maureen either, but she’s worth it. If I have to tie her to a chair to get her clean, I’ll do it.

Camden’s face greets me when he opens the door, and he eyes me with the same jumbled nerves tumbling inside me.

“Hey,” I say.

“Hi,” he replies, opening the door wider so that I can go in.

“Dad”—my granddaughter’s voice rings from another room, and Camden’s eyes shine with pride as my heart hammers inside my chest—“is that Pastor Floyd?”

“No, baby girl,” he answers, leading me to their living room that is full of presents. “But it is someone I’d like you to meet.”

Olivia bounces into the room and assesses me. I stand there, awestruck, staring at the little girl who’s the perfect combination of Camden and Yanelys. But her eyes…her eyes and the energy behind them are all Maureen.

“You’re Camden’s real dad.” She twists her mouth.