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I choose to sass Camden, reverting to my default setting where he's concerned.
Me: It’s no longer Friday. I don't have to let you know shit.
Never mind that my reply actually answers his question.
To Pauline, I send a picture of my room along with a long line of shocked emojis.
Toni's message intrigues me the most. I'm not exactly surprised about the abs—Adrian did father Camden, after all—but he lives next door? That makes little sense. He’s the mayor of Thorn Falls.
I'm about to answer her when Willow videocalls me.
I hesitate to accept it. On one hand, I haven't seen her face in ages and I miss her, but on the other hand, she's not going to miss the fact that I'm in pain if she looks at me. The meds haven't kicked in yet.
I consider my options, and decide to take the call. It's not like Willow's an innocent little flower. She knows the kind of person our mother is. I don't have to hide what happened from her. I don't particularly want to. Willow's a lot kinder to our parents than I am, because she doesn't fully understand the extent of their neglect toward us. She's rarely been hungry, or lacked care. I saw to it. Letting her know that our mother yet again messed up without a thought as to what the consequences would be for her children isn't the worst idea. Maybe she'll stop nagging me to take our mother’s calls after.
"Hey, carrot."
"Hey, buttercup."
Other than the color of our hair, we look almost exactly alike—the upturned nose, the wide mouth and grayish-blue eyes. In the last four months, Willow seems to have aged, and our similarities are stronger than ever.
"Oh my god, where are you?" Her eyes widen. "Is that your dorm?"
"It is!" I rise from the bed with a wince, to give her a tour of the place. "Isn't it insane?"
"Gorgeous." She's frowning now. "But tell me why you're cringing like an eighty-year-old getting out of bed."
So I do tell her about the debt, the threats, the gang coming after me and Toni's daring rescue. I don't even skip the house fire, though I fail to mention Camden started it. "I was screwed," I sum up. "So I asked a friend for help."
I'm not quite sure how to explain Camden to her when I haven't mentioned a word about him before.
"Erica, you mean? Otherwise, what kind of a friend would have fifty grand lying around?"
"The riverside kind." Worry etches on her features as I gather my thoughts. "Technically, he's more Erica's friend than mine." I bite my lower lip. "You've met him at the wedding. He was Chase's best man."
"Camden fucking Hunt?" my little sister practically screams. She's jumping up and down in her bedroom, beside herself. I don't think I've ever seen her this excited, even on Christmas morning."You asked money from the prince of Thorn Falls? And he gave it to you?"
"It's not what you think."
She snorts out a laugh. "Please. If it wasn't what I thought, you would have asked Erica. You're seeing him."
I sigh. "A little bit?"
She screeches, just as my door opens in front of the man himself.
Then my sister completely loses her shit. "Ohmygodohmygodohmygod, Morgan! That's Camden Hunt! Camden Hunt is in your room. Ohmygod, how can you not have told me that—"
I hang up on her and glare at the newcomer.I should thank him for breakfast. For bribing Skylar to help me, and for so many things. But he's just so arrogant, self-centered, and smug, I can't bring myself to."Ever heard of knocking?"
"Why would I do that when I have a key?" he grins. "I guess I don't need to worry about your little sister approving of me."
I narrow my eyes. "Any reason why you're barging in? This isn't your day."
"You wanted to talk about birth control, remember? We have an appointment."
Oh. Well, that's certainly important enough to warrant a visit. I look down at myself, in PJ shorts and a loose cropped top. I haven't even showered or brushed my teeth yet.
"Give me fifteen."
