Unspoken Words (Unspoken #1) (37 page)

The past few days have been a blur. Most of my time has been spent wrapped in Jamie’s arms in bed. We have christened every piece of furniture in his apartment. I can’t get enough of him. The more time we spend together, the more I want. He surprised me with breakfast in bed this morning before he left for the studio, so I figure I’ll return the favor and bring him and my brother lunch.

When I enter the studio, Christian turns to see who is coming in. He gives me a quick smile then nods his head toward the table, and continues working the gadgets on the sound board. Jamie is rocking his head to the beat of whatever is being played through the headphones.

I place the bags of food on the table near the door and walk over to stand behind Jamie. He doesn’t realize that I am here yet. I place my hands on his shoulders, giving him a firm squeeze, and place a kiss on the side of his neck. His head tilts to the side, giving me more access. I give him a series of slow, shivery kisses as I make my way to his cheek. He slides his earphones off. He crooks his finger at me. I lean in and kiss him on the lips. The kiss deepens as he slips his tongue against mine. A few more kisses on the lips, then he swats my ass as I turn to walk back towards the table.

A chill courses through my body, causing my skin to crawl. I turn to look into the studio and I see Chad.

“Why is Troubled Pasts here? I thought they finished up last time they were in town.”

“Chad said he wanted to make a few changes to a song. Christian had them come back in. I can’t wait to get the douche out of here and back on a plane to LA.”

Christian says into the mic, “That’s a wrap. We got what we need.” Buffer’s eyes fixate on mine through the glass as he says, “Now that’s how it’s done, sweetie.”

My entire body starts to shake. My drink slips from my hand, smashing on the hardwood floor. My shaky hand covers my mouth as my eyes widen in horror. I stare at Buffer through the glass as the blood drains from my face. His eyes are trained on me as he laughs with the guys in his band. The look on his face causes goosebumps to blanket my body.

Buffer’s eyes are locked on mine. Jamie jumps up from his chair, quickly pulling me into his embrace. “What’s wrong, Camryn?” I don’t answer. “Baby.” He shakes my arms. “You’re scaring me.”

Even as Jamie holds me, my body won’t stop shaking. I manage to get out. “That’s what . . . the guy said . . . to me when he . . . finished raping me,” I say in between shaky breaths. “It’s him.”

Buffer exits the recording booth and I pull away from Jamie’s hold. I lunge at Buffer striking him in the face. I hit him repeatedly, before Christian grabs me, wrapping both of his arms around my body holding me tightly against his chest.

Jamie lunges for Buffer once Christian has me. They fall to the floor. Jamie throws punch after punch, making contact with Buffer’s face.

Christian whispers in my ear. “Please, calm down. Listen to me, Cami. We will take care of this. You are safe now.”

Chad and another band members pull Jamie off Buffer.

Jamie breaks from their hold and makes his way to me. I have no intention of allowing myself to be his prey again. I will fight back with everything I have. He can’t hurt me. Jamie and Christian are here. I thrust against his hold, trying to break free. But the more I fight, the tighter Christian’s hold becomes.

“I’m gonna fucking kill him. I swear, I’ll kill him with my bare hands,” Christian mutters. Christian reaches for the phone, calling 911. He tells the operator that an officer is needed to arrest a rape suspect and provides his name, my name, and the address to the studio. When Christian hangs up the phone, all hell breaks loose again.

“You’re crazy. I didn’t touch you,” Buffer screams.

Jamie lunges at Buffer again knocking him to the ground. Jamie lands several punches on his face. The members of Troubled Pasts just stand there watching Jamie and Buffer wrestle on the floor. I’m surprised they are just standing there. His friends are watching him get the shit kicked out of him. Jamie lands another few punches, as he yells, “Come on. Hit me. You get off on beating and raping innocent women. Come on, you pussy. Hit me.”

Buffer tries to slide out from under Jamie, but his knees are holding down his arms. My brother lets me go, placing me in a chair. “Sit there and don’t move!” he yells.

Christian scrambles to pull Jamie off of Buffer.

Jamie is immediately by my side. He places his hands on the side of my face. “Are you okay?” I nod my head. Jamie pulls me into a hug. I can feel his heart pounding in his chest.

Chad pulls Buffer up from the ground and throws him against the wall. “What the fuck did you do, man? Did you rape Camryn?” he yells.

Buffer pushes Chad away from him, then says, “I didn’t touch that bitch, she’s crazy.”

That comment scores him a punch to the face from my brother. My brother grabs the sleeves of his shirt, pulling him up. Faint scars appear on his forearm from where I scratched him.

“Really, dude? She’s crazy? How’d you get those marks on your arm?” Christian replies sharply.

Buffer doesn’t answer my brother’s question. He turns his attention to me and his lips turn up into an evil smile. My brother slams him into the wall. Chad quickly wraps his arms around Christian’s body pulling him back.

“Dude, as much as you want to kill him, you can’t. Leave it for the authorities,” Chad says to Jamie and my brother.

The police arrive within minutes and Buffer is removed from the studio in handcuffs. I’m advised that I should come down to the station to meet with the detectives.

Jamie comes over and squats down in front of me taking my hands in his. “I’m here, Cami, he will never hurt you again. Do you hear me? He will never touch you again.”

I lean in and kiss him, then wrap my arms around his neck burying my face in his shoulder. Feeling Jamie’s protective arms wrap around me, I lose it. I cry because this nightmare may finally be over. I let out all of the pent up emotions that I have been concealing deep within me.

CAMRYN

I LIE ON
my bed reading the latest release from one of my favorite authors until a soft knock taps at my bedroom door. Shifting my gaze from the Kindle to the door I instruct whoever it is, “the door is open.”

My mom peeks her head in. “Are you busy, sweetheart?” she asks. I close up my tablet, placing it on the nightstand next to my bed. “Nope, I have nothing but time on my hands, come in.”

My mom makes her way over and sits at the foot of my bed. A thoughtful smile curves her mouth.”

I have yet to tell her everything that happened that night. I have been working on how to express my feelings and fears with my family. My visits with Gayle have helped me tremendously. The way she has me open up to her astounds me. I was never one to feel comfortable talking with strangers, especially about something so personal, but Gayle has a way of making me want to talk about it. It’s as if the floodgates open and I can’t control the emotions that I express during my sessions.

Knowing that the monster who raped me is no longer walking the same streets has given me a newfound strength to move forward. A little part of me has healed knowing he’s behind bars. The detectives obtained a court order for Buffer’s DNA. It was a match to the samples in my rape kit. I no longer feel the need to constantly look over my shoulder, thinking it could happen again.

Every day my feelings for Jamie grow. I’m irrevocably in love with the boy who has always been by my side. From my first baseball glove, to my first scraped knee, my first black eye, to all of my birthdays. Even when Jamie and I were apart, there wasn’t a week that went by that we didn’t speak. I may have been on the other side of the country, but he always made me feel as if he was right there with me.

There are days that I can’t believe I am a rape victim. Days that I can’t believe I am now a statistic. Every day I face the ghosts of that night. But I don’t have to do it alone. My family and friends are an amazing support system.

My mom clears her throat pulling me from my thoughts. “How are things with you and Jamie?”

My cheeks flush just thinking of Jamie. “I’m in love with him, but I think you’ve known that for quite some time, haven’t you?”

“The two of you have been inseparable since you were young. I think Michelle and I knew that the two of you had something special a long time ago. The way the two of you could finish each other’s sentences, the way you always had each other’s back. The two of you were always protective of each other. Yes, there was always Christian and Morgan in the mix, but you two always managed to venture off on your own. Whether it was to practice on your catching or pitching. Sometimes the two of you would leave the group just to go sit in the tree house out back by yourselves. He has always been there for you, Camryn. I think he’s held your heart for a very long time. Do you remember the time you fell out back by the pool? He wouldn’t leave your side then either. The two of you were the only ones who didn’t see it. Everyone else around you knew the two of you would end up together. It just took you two a little longer to realize that you have been by each other’s side the entire time.”

How did I forget about that day when I fell and split my chin? I remember Jamie telling me that everything was going to be okay. That he would stay with me until my mom got there.
Hearing my mom bring that up has that day fresh in my mind.

It was a hot summer day. We were probably around six or seven, at most. My mom had just gone in the house to get us something to eat for lunch. We were told to stay out of the pool until she came back outside. Jamie was at the other end of the pool drying off with his towel. Christian snatched my towel off of the chair. “Hey, put my towel down!” I yelled.

Christian ignored me as he continued to dry himself off.

“Christian, put my Tinkerbell towel down now. You’re not allowed to use it, it’s mine.”

Christian dried his head off with my towel, “You’re such a baby, Camryn.”

I went over to where he was standing and tugged on my towel. “I’m not a baby. Give me it, it’s not yours.” I yelled at him and tried to pry it from him.

Christian pulled back the towel, pulling it from my hands. “Fine, if you want it so bad, go get it.” He said then tossed it in the pool.

Shocked that he did that to my Tinkerbell towel, I screamed “I hate you!” then kicked him in his shin. He leaned down to grab his shin and I pushed him, making him lose his balance and fall on the ground.

He screamed, “I’ll get you, Camryn, and when I do I’m gonna punch you really hard.” I started to run to the house to tell my mom what he did.

He jumped up off the ground and began to chase me. I heard Jamie yelling, “Leave her alone, Christian. You started it . . .” I tried to run as fast as I could. He was going to hit me back. I wanted to reach the house before he could catch me. I turned to see how close he was behind me when I stubbed my toe on the ground making me lose my balance and fall. My face smacked the ground and there was blood everywhere. I screamed from the pain and from seeing the blood. Jamie was by my side handing me his towel. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with the towel, so I just held it to my chin.

“Go get your mom,” Jamie told my brother.

“No, you go get her. I’m staying with her.”

“Go get your mom. You’re the reason she fell!” Jamie yelled at him.

Christian had tears in his eyes. “Fine, you stay with her,” he said before running off toward the house.

Jamie held the towel under my chin where my hand was. “It’s gonna be okay. I’ll stay with you until your mom comes. She’ll fix it for you,” he said calmly.

My mom ran out of the house with a dishtowel and a bag of ice. When she reached me, I was crying really bad. She kneeled down next to me. “Here, let me see.”

She pulled the towel away from my face. I knew it was bad by the look on her face. “Put this ice on your chin. Hold it there, okay.”

She scooped me into her arms, carrying me into the house. The boys followed close behind. My mom reached for the phone. “Mark, Camryn fell in the yard. I’m taking her to the emergency room. I think she needs stitches. I’m gonna call Michelle to see if she can keep the boys.”