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Nodding, he sniffs and backs away. “You should go. I’ll handle this.”
“No.” I shake my head, wiping tears away. “I should. It’s because of me.”
He snorts, as if I’m stupid. “Why are you still here?” Raising his hand, he points to the gardens we were just standing in moments ago. “I know you chose him long before you said yes to me. Are you trying to make yourself feel better about your decision? You’re not going to get that from me. You humiliated me in front of everyone.”
He’s right. I did. I don’t deserve his forgiveness. I step back. “For what’s it worth, I did love you.”
He nods, but his eyes are on the ground. “I know you did.”
There’s nothing left to say so I turn and walk out, a heavy, guilty wave of nausea rolling through me. The moment I’m out the door, I vomit in a rose bush.
“I cannot fucking believe you two! I told you to stay home!” Willa yells at us, pacing the floor at the Santa Monica Police Station.
“To be fair,” Tiller begins, “you told him to stay home. So really, I shouldn’t be in trouble.”
She knocks him upside the head. “Shut the fuck up. I told you both to stay home. I can’t believe you involved Camden. What am I going to tell his dad?”
Tiller leans forward, staring at me. “Is it just me or is she hotter when she’s angry?”
That one earns him yet another glare and a slap to his face.
With his green hair sticking straight up, crinkled at the ends, he winks. “I love it when a woman gets violent.”
Between us, Camden groans, his face in his hands. “I’m gonna get in so much trouble for this.”
Relaxing against the bench, Tiller rolls his eyes. “Don’t be a pussy.”
I nudge Camden who’s seated next to me. “Why’d you have to be home by three anyways?”
“He had a date with that chick who races for Yamaha,” Tiller tells me, stretching his legs out in front of him. Look at him. He’s still covered in cake and has his fucking hand down the front of his riding pants holding his nut sac. Across from us, two male prostitutes are smiling at Tiller. He winks at them. “Not happening, fellas. I like coochie.”
Camden punches Tiller in the ear. “I told you not to tell anyone about that!”
Tiller shoves him into me. “I didn’t say her name.”
Camden’s cheeks turn bright red. “Like that makes it any better, you… you… stupid secret teller.”
Tiller regards him with disappointment. “We need to work on your comebacks.”
While they argue, I think about Ophelia and the look of devastation she handed me before I was escorted away by security. I think about Aladdin’s words to me after he nailed me in the face.“She deserves better than you.”
I guess, yeah, she does deserve better than me, but I’m pretty fucking selfish.
I nudge Camden. “Cam-man?”
“What?” he snaps, his cheeks still red.
“Are you really going on a date?”
He crosses his arms over his chest. “Not now. She probably won’t talk to me ever again.”
I feel bad that I kept him from his date but correct me if I’m wrong, he came to me. So really, he shouldn’t be mad at me over this.
Twenty minutes later, after Tiller has an in-depth conversation with Camden about the men across from us and their “career choices,” Carl sits next to me. “They’re not pressing charges. As long as you pay for the damages done to the ranch.”
“I said I would,” I assure him. “As long as this stays off the kid’s record.”
He nods, his focus on Camden who is near tears and strangely focused on the guys across from us. “It will.”