120. Into the Fire

Bridgeport, present day

Michaela sat in her car, unable to bring it to life.

She knew coming there was a mistake, but when Cam missed band practice again, she’d worried.

Krisis wasn’t impressed with him, throughout practice he’d kept swearing and kicking his drum set, talking about replacing him and that’s when she’d decided to sneak out and tell Cam to get his shit together.

They’d grown close over the past few weeks and she didn’t want the band to replace him. He was her friend, he understood her, and she liked him.

The truth was though, what she felt for him was much stronger than ‘like’. A mere look from him made her legs all wobbly, his smile filled her tummy with butterflies and his touch, as innocent as it may have been in the past, always left her hot and bothered and confused. Like now, when he’d pushed her away after he’d almost kissed her.

She knew she hadn’t imagined their moment, the electricity between them. She’d never felt anything like it before, not for Jett Atkins and definitely not for Leo, she’d never wanted anyone to kiss her as much as she’d wanted Cam’s kiss.

A burgundy Audi Q7 pulled up a few parking spots away from her, stopping all thoughts of the kiss that never was.

Liza, Cameron’s ex, seemingly back in his life again, jumped out.

Michaela watched her grab an overnight bag from the backseat of her car, disliking her all over again with each step she took towards the building, hating every moment she’d spend with Cam doing things she only read about in her romance novels.

“Bitch,” Michaela cussed under her breath and started her car.

At the door, Liza turned around just in time to see her drive off. She waved at her, but Michaela ignored her, hitting her foot hard on the accelerator.

She didn’t want to go home. She couldn’t deal with her parents. Her mom was in a funk lately, she was constantly mad at her father, she could hear them arguing late into the night. Something about SWAT and Barnacle Bay. She hoped they’d sort it out soon, before her eighteen birthday in a few weeks. She wanted no ill feelings at her party.

She was glad to see Leigh’s old wreck in the driveway when she got to Krisis’ place on the cliff. They hadn’t moved to their new house yet, they were waiting for the sale to be finalized. She knew her aunt couldn’t wait; she was itching to start decorating the nursery and prepare for the birth of the triplets.

“Aunt Leigh?” She yelled from the entrance. It was becoming a habit, letting herself into other people’s homes. She hoped Leigh wouldn’t chase her away like Cameron had.

“In here,” Leigh called out from Lily’s room.

They were on the floor, reading some fairytale or other and she walked in just in time to catch her aunt finish off with the famous, “and they lived happily ever after!”

 “Moar!” Lily squealed at Leigh to keep reading, clapping her chubby little hands.

“Again? Okay, okay. For the last time though, I still have laundry to do and it’s late, you should be sleeping,” Leigh dropped a quick kiss on Lily’s forehead, before reading through the book again.

Michaela left her aunt and cousin and wandered through the house.

She had no interest in listening to fairytales. She’d found her Prince Charming, but he was out of reach, so way out of her league and if he was serious about her staying away from him, she’d have no happily ever after.

A little while later, with Lily sleeping and the laundry done, they sat down for a late supper.

Leigh asked her about Leo.

Michaela made it clear she didn’t want to discuss him. They were over. She’d been stupid to even think he was the one.

She remembered the first few weeks after their breakup. She’d never felt such heartache and she didn’t want to go through it again, she’d been so sure the hole in her heart would never close. But then Cameron came along with his goofy jokes, and his harsh, unsolicited words of wisdom. He’d told it like it was, and made her see there was so much more to life than being sad over a guy who’d cheated on her with one of her best friends because she wasn’t putting out for him.

He’d listened when she’d needed to cry, but he’d never coddled her, not even once, and she knew it was his tough love attitude that had gotten her through everything.

“Can I ask you something?” Michaela asked Leigh as she cleared the dishes on the table.

“Sure,” Leigh replied casually.

“Do you think age can be a problem in a relationship?”

Leigh sagged against the sink, wishing she could stop Michaela. She didn’t want to hear it. It was about Cameron. Krisis was right. And she wanted no part of it.

She was about to tell her niece to stop when she caught the look in her eyes. She seemed so vulnerable and confused.

Her heart went out to her, she really wanted to help her, but she was the last person to give advice. Hell, her own relationship was in tatters and she had no clue why or how to fix it. Krisis was blowing hot and cold, and he was driving her insane. One minute he wanted to be close to her, and the next he’d suddenly withdraw and shut down.

“So?” Michaela prodded, reminding Leigh this wasn’t about her. Her own problems could take the back burner for a while.

“This is about Cameron isn’t it?” Leigh decided to cut to the chase. No use in beating around the bush. She saw the look in Michaela’s eyes. She was caught out, on the spot and she couldn’t deny it.

 “Maybe,” Michaela replied in a small voice.

Leigh closed her eyes, waiting for the shock to pass; she knew the ‘maybe’ was definitely a 'yes'. Michaela was asking for trouble, she’d get burned. Badly. And she had no clue how to tell her to let Cameron go without sounding like Devon.

“Look. It isn’t my place, and I can’t tell you what to do. But the age difference between you two is really huge,” Leigh began, but Michaela was ready for her.

“Not as huge as it is between you and Krisis. He’s exactly 187 years older than you, and there’s just 115 years between me and Cam.”

“It’s not the same thing Michaela. You’re still underage.” Leigh tried to explain, but her niece cut her off again.

“I’ll be eighteen in six weeks.”

“It sounds like you’ve already decided what to do about him,” Leigh snapped.

“Of course not! And it’s not Cameron in any case,” Michaela lied.

They fell into an uncomfortable silence, both tried to fill it up with uncertain smiles and frustrated sighs.

“Let him go. Your parents won’t allow it. Krisis won’t.” Leigh murmured at last. She busied herself by packing away the dishes.

“I’ll be eighteen soon. I won’t need their permission then,” Michaela hissed.

Leigh stared at her, trying to figure out this stranger in front of her. She’d changed. She seemed to know what she wanted and how to get it. There was a calm, self-assurance about her that wasn’t there before. And it broke Leigh’s heart to see she was no longer a child, she was no longer the sweet, teenage girl she remembered. But she wasn’t an adult either. She was caught in between and about to jump head on into the fire.

How did she stop her and make her see?

“Cameron won’t entertain it either,” Leigh added, hoping it would shock Michaela back to her senses.

Michaela didn’t reply. Her silence spoke volumes. Something had happened between them, but she would never say what. On second thought Leigh thought it was better she didn’t know, that way when the shit hit the fan and Krisis found out, she’d be able to deny knowing anything.

Lily’s screams in the baby monitor on the counter broke some of the tension. Leigh was grateful for the distraction; she went to check on her. Michaela decided to leave then. Leigh wished she wouldn’t. There was a lot that was still unsaid between them, a lot left unresolved.