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Cam sank down onto the couch, burying his face in his hands. “Oh dear God.”
I leaned against the wall, rubbing my hands against my thighs. I didn’t want to fight. I didn’t want Mark to come over here, and I didn’t want him and Cam to get into a fight over me. But I felt caught in the middle, and I didn’t know what to do.
Before I could figure it out, there was a pounding on the door.
Cam and I both looked over at the door. There was another thump, thump, thump of a fist pounding on the door. I worried for a moment that Mark might try to break the door down.
“What do you want me to do?” Cam asked, standing up. He held himself tensely, like he was ready for a fight.
That was the last thing I wanted.
“Just...just go in the other room,” I said, heading for the door.
“What?” Cam frowned at me.
I paused with my hand on the door knob. “Just go, Cam. I’ll talk to him.”
He didn’t move.
“Cam, this will go better if you’re not here. Trust me. He’s my brother.” I knew Cam was just trying to help. But sometimes, I didn't need anyone's help. I was a big girl, and I could handle my own problems. Sure, I'd had to lean on Cam for some things, and he'd saved me from ending up out on the streets. But I didn't need him to save me from family drama.
Cam nodded, sighing. I could tell he didn’t want to leave. He was worried about me, and he wanted to protect me. But I didn’t need protection.
I needed to explain things to my brother and get him to calm down.
Mark pounded on the door again. Cam headed into the other room. Once the bedroom door was shut, I opened the front door.
Mark was standing right up against the door. He was red in the face, and sweating. He looked like he was ready to burst through the door. Before he could move, I pushed him back and stepped outside, pulling the door shut behind me. Mark tried peering over my shoulder into the apartment, no doubt looking for Cam.
“Is he here?” Mark asked. “I swear to God, Ami, if he hurt you…”
“Mark, stop.” I put a hand on my brother’s chest. “Just stop.”
“But Ami--”
“No buts, Mark.” I sighed, running my hands through my hair. “You’re not helping anything. You need to calm down, and listen to me.”
He crossed his arms, pacing back and forth on the second floor landing of our apartment. I glanced down the stairs and saw his car in the parking lot. Someone was sitting in the passenger seat. I didn't recognize who it was, but I remembered he had said something about wanting me to meet someone.
“Who is that?” I asked, nodding to the car. “Your new girlfriend, or something?”
“What?” He followed my gaze. “Uhh, yeah. I told her to wait in the car.”
“You haven’t introduced me to her yet,” I said. “Wish it could be under better circumstances.” My brother hadn't had a serious relationship in his entire life. I'd never even met any of the girls he'd dated in college. Though under the circumstances, I wasn't too worried about his love life right now. I was more worried about my own, and Mark was in the middle of ruining it.
Mark waved his hands in frustration. “Ami, this isn’t about my girlfriend right now. It’s about you and Cam.”
I crossed my arms, staring him down. I’d grown up a lot since college, and I didn't need him treating me like I was just his little sister anymore. I wasn’t going to let my brother tell me what to do. “Mark, you need to settle down. My relationship with Cam is none of your business.”
“But Ami, he’s taking advantage of you.” Mark gestured to the apartment door. “You were so desperate for a place to stay that he made you move in with him, all so he could get what he wanted.”
“That’s not how it happened, Mark.”
“But--”
“No, you shut up.” I jabbed a finger against his chest. He took a step backwards. “Cam is a sweetheart. He offered me a place to stay, no strings attached. I wanted something more between us, Mark. He was a perfect gentleman until I asked him not to be.”
Mark frowned, shaking his head. “Ami, I know you think that, but you don’t know how guys can be. They’ll tell you anything…”
I hesitated, worry seeping into me. I knew Mark was right, at least about some guys. I’d known guys before who would do anything in order to try to get into a girl’s pants. Part of the reason I’d never slept with anyone else in four years was because I’d always suspected that any time a guy was being nice to me was because he was just using me. Pretending to be a good guy in order to get what he wanted.
