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I spread my hands to either side. “She lost her apartment. She didn’t have anyplace else to stay, so--”
“So you pounced on her in a time of need?” Mark shoved me again, almost knocking me off my feet. “God, you make me sick. She didn’t have any place else to go, so you tell her there’s room in your bed, right? That’s disgusting.”
“Mark, I keep telling you, it’s not like that! I didn’t even ask her to sleep with me at first. She’s the one who--”
“Don’t you dare talk about my sister like that.” Mark set his jaw, staring me down.
“Look, man, I--”
“I don’t want to hear it.” Mark shoved past me, ramming his shoulder into mine. He knocked me back against a parked car. “Stay the hell away from me. I’m going to get my sister and keep her safe from you.”
“Mark, don’t do this. Mark!” I called after him as he stalked off. I considered following him, but at this point, I knew how that would end. He’d throw a punch, and I’d have to knock him on his ass to defend myself. I didn’t know if Ami would ever forgive me for that. I didn’t know if I’d be able to forgive myself.
I headed for my car. I sat inside for a few minutes, trying to get my hands to stop shaking. Part of me wanted to clock Mark upside the head, just to knock some sense into him. Maybe back in high school, I would have done it. But my dad had always taught me that a real man didn’t solve problems with his fists. It had taken me a long time to understand what he meant, but now I thought I finally got it.
I took a few breaths to steady myself. I started the car, heading back home. This whole trip had been a disaster. I’d been trying to set things right, but it was starting to look like I’d just made everything worse.
Chapter 7
Ami
I paced around the apartment, not sure what to do. Cam had been gone for hours, but I had the feeling he was going to be home soon. Especially considering the phone call I’d just gotten.
I nearly jumped when I heard the keys in the lock. I stood in the living room, hugging my arms around myself. I’d tried to dry the tears from my eyes, but I was sure it would be obvious that I’d been crying. I did my best to maintain my composure as the door opened and Cam walked inside.
He paused by the door, putting his keys on the little table there. He looked at me and immediately asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” I said with a touch of snark in my voice. “What do you think is wrong?”
“Ami, look…”
He stepped towards me, but I backed away. “Damn it, Cam! I can’t believe you.”
He frowned in confusion. “Ami, I don’t know what you think--”
“Don’t give me that crap, Cam. Or are you still going to tell me you were just out ‘running errands’?”
He sighed, hanging his head. “It’s not what you think. I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”
I crossed my arms, raising my chin and glaring at him. “Oh really?”
He nodded. “I promise. It’s nothing bad.”
I scoffed, flicking my head to get my hair out of my face. “Mark called me, Cam.”
His eyes widened. He scrubbed a hand across his face. “He...he did? What did he say?”
“That you stalked him and tracked him down at his hotel. That you almost got into a fight with him.” I smacked Cam in the chest. “I can’t believe you! Why would you do something like that?”
“It’s not like that, Ami,” Cam said. “I was trying to fix things. I thought I could talk to him. Make it right.”
“Make it right?” I laughed without humor. “By getting into a fight with my brother?”
“It wasn’t a fight,” he said. “Not really.”
“Then, what, really?”
“Look, Ami, I don’t know what you want me to say.” He stepped closer, trying to put his hands on my shoulders. I stepped back, pushing his hands away. I didn’t want to be touched right then.
“Well, if you’ve got some kind of problem with Mark, you can work it out when he gets here.”
“What?” Cam grabbed my arm to keep me from walking away. “Ami, what did you do?”
“Let go of me,” I snapped, yanking my arm away. I was so angry that I wanted to hit someone. “Just leave me alone, Cam.”
“Why is Mark coming here?” he asked.
I dropped my arms to my sides, tilting my head back and staring at the ceiling. “Because he called me. He was so mad. He thinks I’m in trouble or something.”
“And what did you tell him?”
I shrugged, trying to replay the conversation with Mark in my mind. I’d been so upset that I wasn’t sure what I’d even said. “I don’t know. I told him everything was fine, but he wasn’t listening. He insisted on coming over here. He wouldn’t hang up until I gave him the address.”
