Cammie Healy - Jennifer Foor Page 0,79
on the window to the kitchen door. Cammie shoved me away and covered both breasts with her hands. With a face full of chocolate, I grabbed my towel and hurried to see who it could have been. It wasn’t like I got a lot of visitors.
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Standing there, looking through the glass at me was Mr. Healy, Callie, her mother, and their cop sister, Cassie.
“Oh shit!” I backed away from the door, refusing to let them in. With one swift kick her father had busted the latch, and he was coming at me like a bat out of hell. I heard commotion and then felt his hands around my throat. “What have you done? I trusted you.”
Cammie was at my side, holding a towel up and begging him to let me go. I could feel the oxygen leaving my lungs as he held onto me threatening to end me.
“Daddy, please. Let him go.”
At the same time I watched her younger sister push her. “How could you? You slut! You couldn’t have your teacher so you steal my man?”
Cammie wasn’t having it. Something inside of her snapped. She shoved her sister back, her towel falling to the floor. Her mom rushed over and covered her, standing in between the two girls. “Stop it! All of you. Please stop this.”
Everyone in the room froze in place. I felt Mr. Healy’s hold loosening. Finally my feet were back on the ground, and I was coughing and trying to breathe normally.
“What the hell is going on? We’ve been worried sick and you’ve been here screwing around with him this whole time?” I’d never seen her mother so angry before, not even when she caught Josh smoking pot in his room when we were teens.
Cammie was crying. Callie was crying. Their mother looked like she was going to be sick, and their father was still contemplating ending my life. “It’s not what you think,” Cammie cried. “Wes was helping me.”
“Helping you what? This ain’t helping you,” her father offered.
“I needed to get away. He let me stay here with him. He’s been kind to me. What you saw…”
“What we saw was how easy you are,” Callie snapped. “You disgust me. I thought I looked up to you. I felt sorry for you, and you’ve been here screwing Wes. You know how I felt about him.”
“Callie, please. We didn’t plan this.”
“I did,” I spoke up. “I planned it all.” I knew it was possible I might be murdered, but I couldn’t let them treat her like trash. “I’ve been in love with your daughter since we were teens. She was hurting and none of you understood. I took her from your house and offered a safe place to rest her heart. What happened after that is all on me. Don’t call her names. She doesn’t deserve it. If you have something to say, say it to me. Leave her alone.”
“Wes, it’s fine. I chose to run. You don’t need to fight my battles.”
“Cammie, you’re coming home. Get dressed,” her mother ordered.
I kept my hands up as I spoke directly to her dad. “Mr. Healy, I’d never hurt her. I swear it.”
He pointed at my face. “You’re not welcome in my home anymore, Wes. Don’t come anywhere near my daughters or Josh for that matter.”
“You can’t do this,” Cammie cried. “Please, daddy. He cares about me. You can’t shut him out. It’s my life.”
“You have enough to worry about, young lady.”
“I’m not a child. You can’t dictate my life. I’m staying with Wes.”
Her mother took her by the arm and led her into the living room, I suppose to find something to cover her body other than a towel. With mine tied around my waist, I crossed my arms and stood my ground. “You can’t keep us apart.”
I turned to Callie. “I’m sorry, Cal. I should have told you why I wasn’t interested. I didn’t want to lead you on or hurt your feelings. It’s always been about her though. I can’t make it go away. Trust me, I tried for a long time. The second she walked into the room I was a goner. I never meant to cause trouble, and neither did Cammie. It just happened.”
“Screw you,” she yelled while gritting her teeth. “I hate you both.”
Callie ran out of the house, her police officer sister catching her and leading her the rest of the way. I knew why she hadn’t come inside. She knew if I pressed charges she’d get in