𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟎

CHAPTER TWENTY the bombshell

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KNOWING THAT I had to be downstairs for dinner in the next 5 minutes, I swiftly pulled myself up onto my feet. The drug started to sink into my system, making the whole room around me spin.

I threw my hand down on my desk, grabbing hold of whatever I could to keep me stabilised. Since I had never done coke before, this sort of high was still very new to me.

However, some part of me wanted to get used to it.

I cleared my focus one last time onto the mirror, polishing my appearance before I walked out of the bedroom. The 2nd floor of the house was completely barren, causing me to make my way downstairs faster.

The skin of my palm rubbed against the wooden railing of the stairs, my grip being the only thing that stopped me from falling. My Converse squeaked on the hardwood floor as I continued running down the endless steps, the noise being loud enough to alert the whole house of my presence.

I reached the end of the staircase, taking a minute to gather myself due to how dizzy the spiral made me. Much like the upper floors, the entrance room of the house was empty- meaning everyone was already sitting at the dinner table.

The family hated me enough, and probably didn't want me at their meal; the last thing I needed to be was late.

"Pleasure of you to finally join us." Rose raised her eyebrows, noticing my arrival in the dining room.

"Got lost, sorry." I lied in an attempt to excuse my lateness.

"It's fine." Ward smiled. "Half of us aren't even here yet."

My eyes looked for a free seat at the table, barely being able to see beyond the endless decorations. If Rose was this extra for a simple family dinner, Lord knows how far she went for holidays.

"Psst, Camille."

I turned in the direction of the whisper, seeing it was Noah. His hand was placed on the chair beside him, having pulled it out just for me.

My body sank into the cushion, all of my senses seeming to be heightened as a result of the cocaine I had taken a mere few minutes ago. I shot a polite smile at the boy beside me, moving my focus to analyse the rest of the faces at the table.

Amongst the decorative marble dishes and rather large tablecloth, I managed to make out the shape of 2 empty chairs. The only person that was missing was Rafe, yet there were still 2 seats left.

"I thought Sarah wasn't coming." I muttered to Noah. "Why's there another chair?"

"We're not too late, are we?" the sound of a female voice interrupted my conversation, the intrusion seeming as if it was timed.

I caught sight of the girl standing at the front of the room, the smell of cucumber melon body mist following shortly after her.

A tight black dress hugged her tan skin, showing off her figure like a glove. Her straightened hair rested on top of the dress's low neckline, making me admire her confidence to wear such a revealing outfit to a Cameron dinner.

Tearing my stares away from her body, I noticed a rather familiar arm wrap around her waist. His hand rested on the curve of her hip, pulling her body closer to his.

I swallowed hard as I looked straight at the boy next to her, making contact with his smug expression. Rafe pulled the girl closer into him, the realisation and cocaine hitting me all at the same time.

The reason he had been avoiding me for the last week was because I was nothing but a conquest to him, and he had already moved onto the next one.

What more could I expect from him?

"What's he doing here?" Rafe pointed to the boy beside me, his smirk fading away at the sight of him.

"Didn't you miss me, cousin?"

"Boys, not now." Andrew spoke up, raising the glass of whiskey in his hand. "Rose made a nice meal, so can we please enjoy it as a family?"

"Y'know what else was nice earlier." Noah whispered into my ear, referring back to our interaction earlier.

My hand traveled to the nape of my neck, touching the boy with my elbow to ensure he didn't blow our cover. It wasn't everyday that I had to hide being high at a dinner table, and I wasn't about to expose myself with his comments.

Rafe sat himself in the chair directly opposite mine, his glare piercing into me and Noah. The girl sat down beside him, taking her hand and linking it with his.

For some odd reason, the action made my stomach drop. It wasn't out of disgust, but rather out of some unknown reason. I continued staring at their hands, my chest starting to warm up with each second that passed.

If I was to get through the rest of the night with their increasing counts of PDA, I would definitely need to thank Noah for the coke I had taken.

The noise of clattering plates made my vision tear away from the pair, seeing a rather unappetising portion of meatloaf be placed in front of me. The sight of the food alone made me wonder who let Rose cook, and hope that they'd regret it by the end of the night.

"We've got wine and whiskey, take your pick." Ward moved the bottles to the centre of the table, seeming to forget that half of us were under 21.

Wheezie reached out for the bottle of Bordeaux wine, almost pouring herself a glass before her step-mother noticed her action. I couldn't help but laugh as Rose snatched the bottle out of her hand, watching the frown upon the girl's face.

"You are a child." she scowled. "There's juice in the kitchen."

"It's just wine." Wheezie protested.

"Very funny. Camille, go get her a glass of juice."

"Sorry?" I took a double take at her demand, confused as to why she called on me.

"Are we not paying you enough? Go get her a drink." she repeated.

"I can get it myself." the young girl stood up, only to be shut down again with just a glance.

"It's fine, I'll get it."

I rolled my eyes once I turned away from the table, starting to understand Wheezie's distaste for her step-mom. I knew I wasn't respected on the same level as the Camerons, but some part of me expected at least some respect after being invited to their family meal.

Trying to make my journey to the kitchen as fast as possible, I poured a glass of orange juice and quickly turned back into the dining room. My eyes met Rafe's as I entered the room, both of us quickly tearing away the contact.

"Here you go." I sighed, placing the cup down in front of the girl.

"You didn't have to." she mouthed out of pity for me.

"Shh." I said, trying to save Wheezie from an even angrier Rose.

I sat back down in my chair, my untouched plate staring back at me. The look of the dish made me feel surprisingly more sick than the couple in front of me, catching a glimpse of their interactions in my peripheral vision.

If I wanted to postpone eating this revolting dinner for as long as possible, I had to involve myself in a conversation somehow. The best way to distract yourself from a meal was to talk, but the only problem was that everyone was silent.

I caught another glance at the girl sitting across the table. Her eyes had a sense of seduction in them whilst she looked at Rafe, fluttering her eyelashes at every word he spoke. My jaw tensed up at the sight of the pair, a mix of anger and that newfound feeling in my gut starting to resurface.

"So," I spoke up, looking directly at the dark-haired girl. "I don't think we've met, I'm Camille."

"She's Camille?" she looked back up at Rafe, giggling to herself.

"Yes, I am. And you're Rafe's shiny new toy, I'm guessing." I placed my hand underneath my chin, leaning into the conversation.

I heard a cough sound from the boy beside me, sensing he found the interaction amusing. The rest of the table stayed silent, allowing me to carry on with the talk.

"My name's Amelia." she smiled bitterly.

"Oh, I didn't ask. I was just asking if you were Rafe's new girlfriend."

"Girls—" Ward sighed from the end of the table.

"Let them continue." His brother grinned, clearly enjoying our interaction.

"What if I was? It shouldn't bother you, Rafe knows better than to associate himself with a Pogue."

I chuckled as I took a sip of wine, the small alcohol percentage starting to mix with the cocaine- leaving me with less of a filter than I already had.

"No, it doesn't bother me. Just wanna get to know more about you." I tilted my head, shooting back the same bitter smile she had painted across her face.

"I like your dress. June's is a lovely store, isn't it?"

"Oh, you've been to the mainland?" I scoffed, wondering how unique my night with the boy really was.

"Mills, stop."

"What?" we both said in unison, making the table go silent.

Not only had he spent the entire week with this girl, he had also given her the same nickname he gave me.

So much for feeling special for once.

"Anyways," I switched the subject of conversation, "how come Noah came to pay you guys a visit?"

The energy at the table suddenly shifted, everyone seeming to feel less tense now that the argument had stopped. 

"He's just got out of Dartmouth for the summer and decided to come home. What better way to celebrate his first year at an Ivy League than a good ol' dinner at Tannyhill?" Andrew bragged out of pride for his son.

"Dartmouth, huh." I smiled at the boy beside me. "I thought you were the same age as Rafe."

"Few months older." he replied back.

"At least one of you's aiming high."

I felt a sudden kick on my shin, knowing it was Rafe who tried to get my attention. His eyes burned into me, trying to communicate to me through just a stare. I knew exactly what he was saying, but some part of me refused to stand down.

Especially not whilst she was glued to his side.

Keeping my eyes firmly on Rafe's, I let my hand move under the table, placing it on Noah's leg. I could see his jaw tighten as my palm hovered over his cousin's suit trousers, ending up in his pocket. The bag of cocaine was still where he left it earlier, making me tuck it in my fist.

"What are you doing?" Noah said under his breath, adjusting his position in the chair.

"You up for round 2?" I winked, standing up from the table.

Although I had never expected myself to do cocaine once, let alone twice, I couldn't stand looking at Rafe anymore. Amelia bringing up several recycled events made my stomach turn, wondering if we were the only 2 girls he had fucked with or if there had been more.

As angry as I was, I was more angry at her than I was him. It was irrational, seeing she was just as clueless in the situation as myself. In that moment, I knew I should've just gone back to how it always was between us.

However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't bring myself to hate him. The only thing I could really do was forget him, and coke was my ticket to doing so.

A temporary solution to a temporary problem.