Confidential (15 page)

"I like them, as far as parents go." I spoke honestly. "I like them a lot more now that I'm gone actually, I didn't realize how much until now. They're still annoying as hell though." I added as an after thought, "But they're not like yours or Marcus'."

"How so?" He asked.

I leaned back against my chair, curling my legs up against my chest. "Well… it's hard to explain, but they always let me have my independence. I don't think they wanted children really, I just kind of happened. Not to say they don't adore me, they totally do."

"So basically, you're really spoiled." Dylan laughed.

"A little." I cracked a smile.

Dylan opened his mouth to say something else, but Anna burst into the living room and instantly began rummaging through stacks of folders and pulled out a file.

"No." She said over the phone curtly. "Everything is fine here."

We could hear the harsh tone of the person on the other line.

"Don't you dare blame me for your mistakes! I've been here this whole time." Anna's eyes widened as she saw us and briskly walked past us outside to the backyard.

"Maybe I should go…" Dylan gingerly crept to the door while I followed Anna outside. After searching for several minutes, I finally found her pacing at the side of our house.

I was just getting close enough to hear more than bits of the conversation when I heard the doorbell ring. I sighed and went back inside.

Thoroughly irritated at whoever it was that had drawn me away from Anna's conversation, I yanked open the door to look up at Camdon.

His eyes never failed to captivate my attention, and the relaxed position his toned body always took made his feel-good attitude almost contagious.

Almost.

"Can I help you with something?" My voice sounded tired and slightly annoyed even to my own ears.

For the first time in a while he wasn't all grins and smiles. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I answered curtly, feeling guilty about my attitude, Camdon being the last person on the planet to deserve it.

"My mom wanted to know if we could borrow your cooking thermometer, apparently, you can't make good turkey without it." He sounded a little annoyed himself.

I couldn't help but smile at the normalcy of this life. I opened the door a little wider and let him in.

"Here I'll go look for it." I was ever aware of how close Camdon walked to me, and how intense his eyes were.

I turned around and I leaned against the counter, tilting my head to the side as I tried to think of where we kept a cooking thermometer, when Camdon took a step forward, tilting his head so his eyes could stare directly at mine, and putting one arm on either side of me. His fingers stroked my arm lightly, coming up to play with my hair.

A smile slowly formed on my lips. "How am I supposed to look for a thermometer, if I can't get out of this little position?" I teased.

He leaned a little closer, lightly pressing his body against mine. Dipping his face down to my lips, he confidently asked, "Do you want to get out of this position?"

I took a moment to steady my breath; two could play this game. I took my hands and slowly ran them up his arms, and wound them around his neck. I gave him a sly smile and pressed myself against him, my smile widening as I felt him tense. "That depends."

"On?" He asked, the strain in his voice evident.

I shrugged my shoulders, and leaned away from him, but he put his hands on my hips, pulling me back towards him. He rested his head in the crook of my neck and I could feel the deepness of his voice with each word he spoke, "I like you Heidi Risler."

My breath caught, but not for the reason he thought. He pressed his lips to my neck and I felt him smile. I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation he had on my body, and focused on the way his lips moved up my neck until finally reaching my own lips. I wound my hands into his hair and pulled myself closer, deepening the kiss, wishing to forget everything else, when he slowly pulled away, resting his forehead against mine.

"What are you doing next Saturday?" He asked, our closeness making it hard to focus.

I opened my eyes and looked at him, wishing to tell him that I would be waiting impatiently around the house, trying to hound out information from Anna. "Nothing." I answered instead.

He grinned, "Perfect. Clarissa is having a Jacuzzi party, and I really don't want to go alone."

I raised an eyebrow. Going somewhere with Camdon wouldn't be so bad. And going with him would drive Clarissa insane. Double bonus.

"It's the end of October." I frowned

"That's the best time to go, when everything is cold, and the Jacuzzi is so warm."

"Alright." I agreed, moving away from him so I wasn't tempted to continue to kiss him, Anna was still somewhere around the house. "Now help me find this thing for your mom."

I began opening random drawers, while Camdon just leaned against the wall, arms folded over his chest, with a cocky smile on his face.

"What?" I glared at him.

"You like me."

I rolled my eyes, "Obviously." I added, on second thought, "You could make a good friend, I guess."

He raised his eyebrows, "Is that what friends do? Because if so, why don't we just become best friends." I threw an oven mitt at him, which did nothing but make him laugh.

I yanked open a drawer, and instantly closed it, but it was too late.

"What the hell was that?" Camdon was instantly at my side as I stepped in front of the drawer.

"What was what?" I asked innocently.

He gently pulled me away and opened the drawer for himself. "Holy shit Heidi. Who keeps a gun unlocked in
a
house? Is this thing loaded?"

Seeing the gun in his hand made
me a
little dizzy, and I had to take deep breaths to calm myself down. I hated when Anna took out those guns in the morning, I had never had a problem with them before, but after Mickey, I never realized how quickly they could end
a
life.

I pulled myself together and silently took the gun from his hands and put it back in the drawer, and grabbed the thermometer that was coincidently next to it, and placed it where the gun had been in his hands.

Camdon just stared at me in disbelief. "Do you know how dangerous that is? Its just sitting in your kitchen drawer."

I tried to rack my brain to come up with a solid explanation, but simply shook my head. "It's just me and Anna around here, and she leaves them around the house just in case."

"Just in case of what?" He frowned, the skepticism clearly written on his face.

"A burglar." My voice had finality to it, demanding that there were to be no more questions.

Camdon, however, did not receive the message, "People don't even lock their doors here, you're not living in a city anymore," He smirked "and I hardly think you lived anyplace that wasn't a wealthy area."

I stood firmly, giving him a completely blank stare, trying to mask my irritation. "Camdon." He looked at me. "If I don't want to tell you something, I won't. So stop prying."

He sighed and leaned towards me, taking my hand. "I know there is something bothering you, I can see it. You can trust me. Come on, I told you about my mother."

If this was meant to be comforting, it was anything but. I yanked my hand from his, "Is the only reason you told me anything because you thought I would tell you some huge secret in return?" I demanded.

"No, it wasn't like that." He tried to speak to me calmly but I just shook my head at him, and took a step back.

"Not every person is going to have some tragic back story. Did you ever think that maybe I just miss my parents? Miss my friends?" I was lying, but it was anything to get him off the subject. "Do you remember how you told me people couldn't deal with the fact that you were just normal? Have you ever thought about taking your own advice for once, and maybe considering that I'm here with my Aunt, missing my old life in Phoenix?"

I could tell that what I had said stung, but he wasn't one to back down. "Actually I have, and it doesn't add up."

"What are you talking about?" I glared.

"Why are there no family photos around? Why do you never hear from your parents? Why do you look absolutely nothing like Anna?"

"You sound ridiculous. And a little crazy. Please shut up, and… and get out of my house." I said curtly.

He blinked. "Are you serious?"

"You sound psychotic. Do you hear yourself? Now leave." I was at a breaking point, and if he didn't leave now, I was going to freak out in front of him. "We just moved in, so excuse me if we don't have family photos. And I don't know why my parents don't bother to check in that much." I could see guilt play across his face, so I ran with it. "Its not easy being here you know. Why would I want to talk about it all the time, if it would just make me feel worse?"

I tried to look as calm as possible, but internally, I was barely holding it together.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Look, Heidi, I'm sorry. Maybe you're right. All I know is something is bothering you. I just wanted to be there for you like you where for me, that's all." He gently gave me a hug before leaving quietly.

As soon as I heard the door shut, I sprinted upstairs and into Anna's room.

"ANNNNNA!" I yelled, more than a little panicked. "ANNA!" I ran back downstairs only to find her instantly at my side.

"What is it? Is everything alright? Did you see someone?" She began berate me with questions, and pulled out a gun stashed somewhere on her body.

"No." I shook my head, "Camdon knows."

Anna's eyes hardened. "How." It wasn't a question; it was a demand.

"He's really perceptive. He called me out on the weirdest shit. Like the fact that we don't have family pictures, and I was looking for something for his mom, and we found one of your guns…" I looked at her with desperation "Its too easy to figure us out."

"Is he still suspicious?" She asked, completely calm.

"No." I sighed at the memory. "I guilt tripped him into thinking I was just really bothered by my family never calling and that he sounded like a lunatic."

"Stick to that." Anna said. "Everyone in this town has a completely clean background, so there is no way he is connected, he's just smart. If you stick to your story, you'll be fine."

At this, Anna rushed off, her mind obviously preoccupied. My mind began to spin, the worrying had seeped into every pour of my body, and the feeling of being alone would not escape me.

I just needed to forget. I needed to forget it all. The waiting, the worrying, the mystery behind Anna, being kept in the dark, I couldn't live like this. I grabbed my jacket, and slipped out the front door, and found myself walking to the one place I thought would bring me solace.

I walked up to the house, and pushed back any apprehension, knocking on the door.

"Hello?" A beautiful young woman stared back at me.

"Is Camdon home?"
 

Chapter 9

The woman looked hardly older than Anna; she had big brown eyes, and the same chestnut brown hair Camdon had. She was obviously Camdon's mother, her smile was glowing and captivating, just like his, and she had the friendly aura that I always found so inviting in him.