A Twist of Fate (10 page)

I could just imagine what I had said.  “You’re mad because
of a dream?”

When he chuckled, it rolled over my ribs and stole my air
supply.  "My love can only stretch so far.  You really need to figure out
who's most important to you, before
someone else
gets hurt."

"So, now this is about Pheobe too?  Do you really think
I'd do anything intentionally to hurt her?"

"Don't you worry about
my
daughter.  I can take
care of her myself.  I've been doing just fine all this time without you.  I
don't know why I thought you'd make it any different."

His clipped tone hacked off a piece of my heart.  My anger
had faded and was quickly being replaced by a hollow gloom. 
Where was this
coming from?

I hesitantly stepped toward him.  "I think we can work
through this, if you're willing to give me a chance.  But Cameron, you have to
trust that it’s over between me and Edwin.  And there was never anything with
Owen."

"You might be blinded by your friendship, but I can
tell Edwin sees it a little differently.  Open your eyes, Abby."

My eyes
were
open, and they were focused on the
crevices in Cam's forehead as they deepened.  "You know what,” he said,
coming to a decision.  “I think it’s over.  This thing that we have going on,
it's obviously not working anymore.”

"Please don't do this, Cameron,” I begged.  “I love
you.  We can fix this."

“I’m far too broken to be fixed, I’m afraid."

I shook my head no, hating the way he shut down our
communication channels.

Cameron turned his weary gaze on me, tired yet wrathful. 
"You should go."  His words were cold and sharp, and cut me like a
scalding knife.  It wasn't up for debate.  Cameron was over it.  Over me.

I couldn’t hide that having him talk to me that way hurt,
but I tucked that away and pulled out some sarcasm.  "I guess now would be
a bad time to bring up the baby thing then."

“Get out,” he ordered.

I was too choked up to argue and too upset to fight.  My
voice was shaky and desolate.  “Fine.”  I strode past Cam and retrieved my
purse, only to find that Cam had already packed my bags.

I shoved my arms through the sleeves of my heavy jacket,
pulled open his front door, then violently pitched my bags out into the snowy
yard.  Cam stood sideways, a mere four paces away from me, his gaze burning a
hole in the wall across from him.  He wasn't changing his mind.  He wasn't
stopping me.  My heart split into pieces.

"We’re done," he said, marking the end of our
relationship.

As if my bags sitting at the door hadn't gotten his point
across already.  But we couldn't be done.  I wasn’t done.  He had to come
around.  But he just continued to stare into space, unwilling to let me in, barricaded
inside his own hard, hollow shell of a body.

An exaggerated intake of breath left my mouth dry and
tight.  He wanted me gone.  Now.  Forever.  As in never again.  I knew that
wasn’t him talking.

“I’m still going to love you," I said, my voice quiet,
scratchy and profound.

He didn’t flinch - didn't do a damn thing - just kept on
staring.  Saddened and frustrated, I hurried out the door, slamming it behind
me.  I took one step off his porch and my knees gave out, dropping me onto my
hands and knees into a snow bank.  I couldn't seem to catch my breath, being panic-stricken,
shaken and distraught.  I gasped for air as my tears spilled onto the drifting
snow.

The winter chill began to eat away at me.  I forced myself
to regain my footing and lugged my snow covered bags to my car.  I had to get
out of there before Pheobe came home.  Pheobe.  God.  This would break her
little heart.

I drove straight home, my eyes cold as ice, my heart sharp
as glass.  There
would
have to be a small, red sports car parked in
my spot when I got there. 
Just my luck. 
I let myself into the house
with the key Edwin insisted that I keep, fully expecting unwanted company, but
not expecting to find Edwin lying on the couch with a woman.

Sure, they were only watching a movie, but I was intruding. 
A date?  Sure looked like it.  The look of shock on Edwin's face when he
realized I was back, was enough to make me shudder.  Feeling pale and numb, I
dropped my bags, spun on my heel and rushed back to my car.

"No, wait!" Edwin hollered to me, but there was no
way I would turn back.

I sped off, before Edwin could chase me down barefoot in the
snow.  I turned the corner, feeling lost and light headed, so I pulled my car
over to the side of the road.  No tears came and that only frustrated me more.

My phone started buzzing, so I dug through my purse and
stared blankly at the gorgeous face plastered on the screen. 
Cameron Clarke
calling.

What could he possibly want?  To remind me how disappointed
he is in me?  How much I annoy him?  How unreasonable I can be sometimes?  I
wanted to answer it, but I couldn't handle more of his resentment.  I slid my
finger across the screen. 
Ignore.

The call ended and I dropped my phone back in my purse, as
thunder literally rolled.  Such wicked weather for this time of year, but we
were having an actual thunderstorm in the dead of winter.  Then my phone buzzed
again.  A flash of lightening brightened the sky.  I dove into my purse,
expecting it to be Edwin this time.

Cameron Clarke calling.
  Again?  Must be important. 
Ignore.

I threw my phone onto the seat next to me.  It bounced off
the seat and smashed into the passenger door.  "Oh, shit!" I said to
myself, as I tried to retrieve it from the dark floor.

Once I located it, I placed it a little more carefully into
my purse and then focused on the dark, roiling clouds.  I had no one.  Edwin
had a girlfriend.  Cam had Pheobe.  And I was all alone.

As if the strange weather wasn't any indication of how my
life was going, I glared at the stop light up the street as it flashed red. 
Somehow it felt like a sign.  My life had come to an abrupt stop, and I was no
better off now than I was over a year ago with Edwin.

Swiping away the tears, I told myself I couldn’t keep hiding
from reality.  Enough blubbering like a fool; it was time to get back to
reality. 
Edwin has a girlfriend?
  So what.  It's my house too.  I needed
to feel the comfort that only my own bed could offer me.

Settling my mind, I slammed my car back into drive and hit
the gas with a heavy foot.  My tires spun around until they finally made
contact with the wet pavement and took me as fast as they could back to my
house. 
My
house.

I was surprised to find no cherry red car in my driveway
when I pulled in.  It was bad enough I would have to face Edwin and his pity
party, I certainly didn't want to hear it in front of his new girlfriend.  Finding
my nerve, I decided to deal with all of my problems at once.

I pulled out my smart phone and set it to voice dial. 
"Call Cameron Clarke," I said, then cleared my scratchy voice. 
I
can do this.

I pressed the speaker button and stared at the photo that
would haunt my dreams this night and every night for the next lifetime.  I
tried to find comfort in the ring.  One.  Two.  Three. 
What the hell was
taking him so long? 
It didn't help that scary shadows flickered around the
yard with every flash of freak lightening.  My eyes darted around the car, then
I clicked the lock button on my door.

When Cam finally answered the phone, a loud crack of thunder
startled me and I watched the hydro flash out in my house.  "Hello?"
he repeated.

Still choking on my lack of air, I struggled to find the
right words.  The lights in the house flickered back on and gave me the courage
to speak.  "Cam, it's me."

"Abby?  Oh, thank God.  I was worried about you."

I ignored his bogus concern.  Like I’d believe that after he
ripped me a new one.  "What did you want, Cam?"

He cleared his own throat.  "I meant to tell you this
earlier, but we got a little sidetracked."

"What is it?" I asked, without inflection. 
That
you’re a total ass for breaking my heart and then stomping on it?

"I've been thinking about opening my own practice.  It
was a long-term goal of mine, but after what Owen did, I’ve decided to put my
plan into action sooner.  Like now."

The storm forged on, while one brewed itself in my mind.  “Hmm,”
I responded, indifferently.  
How can he care about that at a time like this?

Cam continued.  "I've always wanted to be my own boss. 
What better time than now?"

Really? 
"You're definitely assertive enough to
go it alone," I said, keeping all emotion at bay.  This had nothing to do
with me after all.

"I can definitely handle it on my own, but I think you
would prove to be a valuable asset to me."

Is he kidding?
  I could barely stand to talk to him through
the phone.  He broke my heart.  Oh, but I still loved him, no matter how hard I
tried not to.  "You know I can't do that to Owen.  He's been good to me
all these years."  And I didn’t care what he thought about that.

"A little too good, if you ask me,” Cam mumbled.

I knew exactly what to say to make this conversation end and
I had to say it, even if it was rude at best.  "What is your policy going
to be for maternity leave?"

His sharp intake of breath was enough to stab me in the
gut. 
He did care.

"You're still on that?" he asked, when he knew damn
well that I was.

"Cam, I will always be on that."  I watched the
lights in the house flash off, one after the other.  Edwin must have been
heading upstairs.  What a relief that was.

"You don't love me anymore?" Cam asked, snapping
me back into the here and now.

Yes, I love you, dammit!  Why can't you get that into
your thick skull?
  "It's not about that, Cam.  Children are my reason
for living."

His sigh of disappointment was heart wrenching and the gaping
hole in my heart seemed to ooze a cold, petrifying liquid into my chest cavity.

"You need to hear it?  I'll tell you again.  There is
no doubt in my mind that I am utterly and completely in love with you, Cam.  But…"

"But?" he snapped.  “I delivered up my heart to
you on a silver platter and you can't just give it to me straight?  You’re
either in love with me or you're not.  There’s nothing in between.  So, what's
it going to be?"

Another crack of thunder boomed, and it sounded as intense
as Cam’s voice.  "Don't misunderstand me.  I do love you.  More than you
can imagine…" I admitted.

"But," he inserted, rudely.

"But I don't see how we can move forward together when
we can't agree on the same future.  I want a family."

"And I have a family," he replied.

"This is one matter I can't budge on, Cam.  I'm sorry."

"It doesn't have to be this way," he said, making
my heart shatter into a million pieces.  "We could have such an amazing
life together."

"We
could
, if you would give me a family.”  I
was holding my breath to stop the onslaught of sobbing, knowing what his answer
to that would be.

“Not happening.”

I swallowed back my emotion.  "Please tell Pheobe I
love her."  I sniffled on an intake of breath.

"Don't think this isn't hurting me too," Cam said,
acknowledging my emotion.  "You took my heart with you when you left
tonight."

I was glad I didn't have to respond because the call ended. 
Cam either hung up or the hydro killed his line.  I would never know.  Either
way it was over.

I wiped my nose with my sleeve, slipped my keys out of the
ignition and prepared myself for a fast entry.  I ran up to my dark house and
the wind whipped my hair in my face.  I couldn't tell whether we had hydro or
not, but I didn’t care.  I quietly opened the door and snuck inside.  When I
kicked my shoes off, they hit the closet door in the entrance making a loud
clunking noise.

"Shit!" I whispered to myself, desperate not to
attract Edwin’s attention.

The house creaked from the storm as I tiptoed upstairs.  Only
two more steps and I was home free.  But the dangling lights flickered on and a
bright, white light blinded me.  I crouched on the stairs, feeling like a
substandard criminal.

Edwin cleared his throat, but his voice stayed low. 
"I'm sorry, but I have to ask.  Why are you sneaking around your own
house?"

I straightened myself up and spun around to find Edwin
standing at the base of the stairs, his finger still on the light switch. 
"I didn’t want to bother you," I whispered.

He started up the stairs, then paused.  "Why are you
whispering?" he whispered back.  "We're the only ones here."

I wasn't at all creeped out by the fact that Edwin had been
sitting in the dark, stalking me as I entered the door, and I certainly
shouldn't have felt relieved.  But I did.  I cleared the rasp from my throat,
but my voice was still scratchy.  "I thought you might have had company.”

“I sent her home.  It looks like your night went about as
good as mine."

I tried to hide my depression, but I was a mess and not
capable of concealing my mental anguish.  I inhaled a shaky, exaggerated
breath.  "Could my night get any worse?  Not likely,” I admitted.  “What
happened to your date?"  Not that I cared.  I just had to say something to
take the conversation off of me.

I should have been bolting to my room to be alone, but my
feet didn't move.  And that was because I didn't tell them to.

"It was hardly a date.  It was more like a favour,”
Edwin said.  “Hunter suggested I have her over for a movie night and, since I
owed him one, like a chump, I agreed.  Turns out she only wanted me for my pimp
juice, so I sent her packing."