Page 95 of Heartless Devil

COLE

“What the fuck, Cole?” Cameron comes stomping into my room.

I came home yesterday to get the rest of my stuff. I wanted to stop by while no one was home. It seems I couldn’t get that lucky.

“What now?” I sigh, dropping the clothes in my hand into my bag.

“Why the fuck is she texting you?” she spits out, throwing my phone at me.

“Why the fuck are you in my phone?” I say, opening up my messages.

“It was on the counter, going off like crazy. It sounded like an emergency. Turns out, it’s just your slut,” she says, disgusted.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Cam,” I say, feeling the anger rise as I read through Charlie’s messages.

“Enlighten me, please. When did you become so obsessed with a fuck from some whore,” she spits out.

“ENOUGH! Charlotte is your best friend. She isn’t some fucking whore. I also happen to be head over fucking heels in love with her,” I say, my chest rising up and down.

“Wait, what?” she says, looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“I fucking love her.WElove each other. I’ve never heard her say it back because she’s always too wrapped up in being worried about what YOU think, instead of her own feelings. Not to mention she has shit going on that you have no idea about,” I yell, making Cam flinch.

“I didn’t know,” she says, dropping her head.

“You didn’t fucking ask either. Instead, you jumped to conclusions. You talked to your best friend like she’s a piece of fucking trash. You soiled her name all over the internet. You didn’t even have the decency to let her explain things to you. What kind of friend does that make you? You know that Charlie doesn’t sleep around. You know exactly the kind of person she is, but you still treated her like she was nothing.

“I was angry. I felt betrayed. She knew how I felt about my friends messing with my brother. It’s like she didn’t even care if she hurt my feelings. It was like a slap in the face. I know she’s not like those other girls, she’s the best person I know. That’s why it hurt so much that she was keeping such a huge secret from me,” she says angrily.

“Maybe if you talked to her and actually listened to her instead of writing her off so quickly all of this could have been avoided. Do you think it didn’t tear her apart to feel the way she did about me but also know how much it would hurt you?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what to say,” she says, her face exposing how ashamed she’s feeling, because she knows I’m right.

“She’s got so much going on in her life that goes beyond you and me,” I tell her.

“Like what?” Cam asks quietly.

“Did you know her parents are forcing her to get married right after high school? Did you know the guy is a creep and she’s trapped with him now? Or how about the fact that she paid to get me out of the shit I was in when my family wouldn’t even fucking talk to me.”

“I didn’t know anything. Nobody has told me anything. How was I supposed to know?” she cries.

“Pull your head out of your ass and figure it out. How could you not realize that your friend was going through something so serious? Are your priorities that fucked up, Cam? Are you that selfish?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say. Can I help?” she asks, tears falling down her face.

I sigh, throwing my clothes down on the bed, wrapping my arms around her. My sister puts on this tough act, but in reality, she has a lot going on––she’s more sensitive than she lets on.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“What’s your plan? How are you going to help her?” she asks, wiping her nose with the back of her hand before walking into the bathroom to grab a tissue.

I sit down on the edge of the bed. “I’m scared for her. She’s alone with him right now and I have to figure out the best way to approach the situation. My buddy from college did some digging and found some pretty incriminating stuff. I’m trying to figure out the best way to go about getting the information out there.”

“What if you leak it to the press? Mom has that friend from college that works at the news station. I could leak it to all the social media platforms, and you could leak it to the press. Then we could go wherever they are and threaten him with it. I’m assuming he won’t believe we have anything and that’s when we can hit him with it. Show him that it’s spread everywhere already.” She shrugs.

Her plan actually doesn’t sound bad. I think we could pull it off.

“Okay, I'm going to tell you what I found out. I’ll call Angela at the station, and you get to work on social media. We’re about to blow this guy's life up.”