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“Cam was awake with him as he passed, so he wasn’t alone,” Hunter told me, but that didn’t ease the agony tearing through me as I shook with sobs. Both guys held me as I cried hard for the boy I loved. He had deserved so much more in life.
“Cam’s just lost without him,” Kai said after a while. “He just needs to find his way again. We’re kind of hoping you can help us do that.”
“I’ll try,” I assured them. “Whatever he needs.” I looked for Sam, but he was gone, the kitchen spotless where he had been working before. I figured he probably headed home since it was getting late.
“You have to be patient with him. He’s not the guy you knew, Maddie. He’ll probably bite your head off when you try to speak to him,” Hunter warned.
“I can handle it. I’m not going to give up on him,” I promised. No matter how much I resented what the four of them did to me thirteen years ago, it wasn’t enough anger to stop me trying to help Cameron with his loss. He was hurting and broken. I knew plenty about that.
CHAPTER 8
MADDIE
“Willow! Come away from the pool!” I yelled loudly from where I had been reclining on a lounger in the bright afternoon sun. We had been out in the yard since after lunch. Willow had a huge tub full of bath toys, which Kai had bought for her, spread all around the small toddler pool Sam had brought out and filled up for her. She was desperate to go in the swimming pool, but I had flat out refused, feeling way too sore and bruised to go in myself, and not willing to let her in without me when she couldn’t swim. No amount of floaties would reassure me.
It had been two days since we arrived there and mostly I had been trying to keep Willow from bothering Kai and Hunter too much, busying her with all of her new toys and ‘adventures’ around the huge grounds that surrounded the house. She seemed to have settled in really well there and she was always laughing and smiling, which settled me no end.
Kai and Hunter seemed to have backed off a little, obviously sensing that I needed some time and space, but they were always close, making sure I knew they were there if I needed anything.
Cameron had been like a ghost. Apart from the night he came in through the kitchen, I hadn’t even laid eyes on him. I knew he wandered in and out of his workshop, which was right at the back of the large property, because Sam had mentioned a couple of times that he’d been to grab food and drinks, but I never saw him. I wanted to try and track him down so we could talk a little, but I was being a coward too. I just wasn’t sure I was ready to face the full emotional assault I knew it would be to talk to him about his brother, who we had both loved very much.
“But Mommy…” Willow whined as she looked up to me from where she had been gazing at the sparkling blue water. Her face filled with a frown as she started stomping her way back towards me. “It’s soooo hot! Why can’t I gets in the pool? That’s what it’s for, you know?” she sassed.
“I know what it’s for, young lady,” I replied with raised eyebrows, warning her to tone it down. “I already told you; you can’t go in without an adult, and Kai is busy on a call for work. As soon as he’s done we’ll see if he has time to go in with you, okay?”
“But I’m hot!” she pouted.
“Then get into the little pool and play with your toys,” I laughed as I pointed to the small inflatable pool beside me.
“Fine,” she huffed as she stormed to my side and stepped into the pool, plonking down onto her butt with attitude I tried hard not to laugh at.
I laid back again, keeping one eye on her as she busied herself filling a small neon yellow watering can and then used it to fill small plastic teacups, pretending she was making potions as she chatted away to herself.
It was a scorching day – she wasn’t wrong about that. Even in the thin cotton sundress I had pulled on that morning, I was covered with the sheen of sweat. I would have happily jumped in the pool if I wasn’t so stiff from all of my bruising, that I could barely move. Add to that the way the entire world tilted beneath me every time I got to my feet, due to my constant low blood pressure, and I was pretty much stuck where I laid.
Thankfully, Sam had been bringing us both cold drinks and snacks regularly, and Willow was happy playing where we sat, so I had no cause to move.
“Dozy!” Willow squealed and when I looked up, she was jumping from the pool and running to greet the little dog who was barreling down the lawn towards her. Thankfully, the lazy little dog seemed to have taken to my daughter, and he happily sat and let her clumsily stroke and poke him without any fuss whenever she saw him.
I laughed when she reached him, only for him to dodge her arms and run circles around her excitedly. She laughed, thrilled as she started chasing after him.
I looked across the lawn, hoping the appearance of his dog meant Cameron was coming out after him. Maybe I could get him to sit with me for a while and talk a little. I wouldn’t interrogate him. I just wanted the chance to talk a little and to see how he was really doing. I wanted to find a way to help him and I couldn’t do that if he continued avoiding me.
A small, nervous smile spread across my face when I saw him coming towards me from the direction of his workshop. He was dressed in khaki cargo shorts and a white t-shirt, his broad chest stretching the fabric to its limit. His hair was wild and it was obvious as he got closer, he was trying hard not to meet my eyes.
I sat up and readied myself, determined he wasn’t getting away from me this time. I was going to make him speak to me, even if it was just pleasantries. I smiled and raised a hand to catch his attention, just as Dozy barked loudly, followed by Willow squealing. I turned, alarmed, and watched in horror as Willow disappeared from sight, falling back into the pool with a loud splash.
“WILLOW!” I screamed as I struggled to get to my feet faster than I ever had before. My heart was pounding so hard I could barely breathe as my worst nightmares all came to life at once.
Dozy stood at the edge of the pool barking as I ran towards it as fast as I could, but before I got there, Cam was shooting past me, and he leapt from several feet away from the edge, straight into the water.
Willow popped up to the surface, waving her arms and trying to cry out between gasps, when I reached the edge, but before she sank again Cam was there, scooping her up and pressing her to his chest. He pushed her wild hair from her face and patted her back gently as she spluttered and cried hysterically.
I dropped to my knees at the pools edge, my whole body trembling with adrenaline.
“Willow!” I cried as Sam ran out of the house and dropped to his knees at my side.
“What happened?” he asked.
