Page 87 of Stanton Adore

17

Joshua

As I pull into my driveway my mother’s happy mood is sickening. I don’t have the strength to keep quiet much longer. I climb out and hit the lock button as she links arms with Will and begins to walk inside.

“A night of cocktails with my sons, how exciting,” she purrs. I roll my eyes at Cameron who puts a reassuring arm around my neck.

“Just keep quiet and don’t fight with her. You will only make it worse,” he whispers. I walk in behind them and head straight into the master suite shower. I can’t be around her at the moment. She makes me sick. How can she be in such a good mood after speaking to Natasha like that? She really does hate her. I blow out a breath as I put my head under the water. I hear the door shut and my eyes shoot up to see Cam sitting on the side of the bath with a beer in his hand. I turn my back to him and start to soap up.

“Do you mind?” I snap. I’m not in the mood for his shit either. He takes another swig of his beer but stays silent. He comes over to the walk-in shower and leans on the wall of the entrance with his shoulder, his face impassive. Obviously, he has something to say to me but is trying to word it correctly in his head.

“How long?” he asks. I drop my head and continue washing my legs, deliberately ignoring his question.

“All along…have you always been seeing her?” My eyes shoot up. “Fuck, no,” I snap.

“Since when then?” he questions. “Why didn’t you tell me? I thought we told each other everything.”

“Cam,” I sigh. “This is fucked-up shit that I don’t want anybody to know about.”

He sits back on the side of the bath and takes another sip of his beer. “I want to know since when?”

I sigh and drop my head. “Since we had that fight at the fight night.” He nods and takes another sip of his beer. I stay silent as I wait for him to start going off at me, but he doesn’t. He stays silent, which is worse…much worse. I turn the water off and get out and start drying myself while he sits in silence watching me.

“Do you love her?” He takes another sip of his beer.

I wrap the towel around my hips. “What do you reckon?”

He raises his eyebrows and smirks. “Well, as I sit here and read her name written down the fucking length of your body, I would say yes.” I raise my eyebrows at him and shake my head. “It’s not that bad you know.” He sighs.

“Huh, what do you mean?” I walk into my room. He follows me and sits on my bed. I drop the towel and head into my walk-in closet.

“Being with her, it’s not that bad.”

“Fuck off,” I snap. “It’s woeful.”

“Twenty percent of marriages worldwide are between first cousins, you know.”

I frown. “How do you know that? That’s bullshit,” I snap.

“Seriously, it’s not that bad.”

I shake my head. “No, it is that bad, you are just desensitized to this shit like her because you’re a doctor, well soon-to-be doctor, whatever.”

“What does she say about it?” he asks.

I shrug. “She wants to come out and move back to America with me.”

He raises his eyebrows and takes another swig of his beer. “Shit. Have you forgiven her?” I frown, unsure what he is talking about. “For cheating on you.”

I smirk a sad smile as I pull my jeans up. “She didn’t. She lied so I would go to America and not throw away the opportunity.”

His eyes widen. “Fuck,” he whispers.

“I know.” I sit on the bed to put my shoes on.

“Are you going out?” He frowns.

I nod. “Yeah, I have to see her. I have some serious explaining to do.”