The blonde pulled a black hoodie over her head, pushing her short arms through the sleeves and yanking it down to meet the hem of her pants. Legs were encased in dark leggings, securing her feet a pair of black boots. Everything but the leggings belong to the guy’s house she had currently been at, pulling her thick locks up into a ponytail as she snagged a duffle bag and the masks she always had in her backpack and went towards the front door. Ren, being the little bastard she was, also snuck a flask full of their favorite alcohol into her bag. When she stepped onto the front porch, a wicked smirk formed on her lips as she spotted Cam’s jeep…or better yet- her brothers. “He’s going to kill you,” Ren mocked in a sing-song voice- throwing the duffle bag over the open roof and into the back seat before climbing into the passenger side- gazing at her partner in crime. “You ready for this, hot stuff?”
Cam’s pallid fingers bounced rhythmically against the smooth leather of the steering wheel, gaze plastered onto the dimly-lit road. Some generic radio station buzzed through the dated speakers, providing a sound other than the hum of the motor. Cam knew how to drive --she’d done it many times before-- but technically, it was illegal. More illegal than robbing a gas station? Probably not. It wasn’t long before she arrived at Ren’s current place of residence, tapping the horn a couple times to make her arrival known. She matched Ren’s smile immediately, a lighthearted chuckle escaping her lips as the other approached her brother’s car. “There are worse evils.” She responded, adding a nonchalant shrug. “Oh, I was born ready, babe.” She cooed back through the smirk that twisted her lips.
“Wait, hang on a sec.” She interjected, reaching over and digging through the center console for a few silent moments. “Here we go. Now we’re rockin’ and rollin’.” In her hand were two plastic water guns sloppily coated in black paint to resemble pistols. “A gun for you, my loyal accomplice.” She sang, handing over one of them. Truthfully...Cam was a bit nervous. She was admittedly...influenced when she’d sent the text and probably wouldn’t have comitted if not for the clouded judgement. Not that she hadn’t done things like this before. She had. But that didn’t mean it didn’t make her nervous.
[Text - Allison Reynolds Wannabe]: Have you ever heard of ‘beauty sleep’?
[Text - Allison Reynolds Wannabe]: … If you do in fact find yourself in a gas station between now and noon, I would very much like a Dragonfruit vitamin water.
[Text - Allison Reynolds Wannabe]: But, could you dilute half of it with water?
[Text - Allison Reynolds Wannabe]: Not tap water, though. Purified.
Cam stood mutely, chest heaving up and down...up and down..up...and down. The only sound emitted into the empty space around the two figures was Cam’s erratic, shaky breathing. Three and a half years. It had been three and a half years since Cam had laid eyes this woman--the one once bestowed upon with the name ‘mom’. And now here they were, three years later, standing eye-to-eye. Cam’s father always mused about how Cam recieved her mother’s soulful, beautiful eyes. He said a thousand stories, tales as old as time, were hidden in the depths of their irises. Her fingers curled tightly into balls at her sides--unsure whether she wanted more to punch the woman or to run like hell. The two simply gazed at each other, tension charging the air around them. Cam was so heavy. Heavy with fear and anger and sadness and heavy with all the words she didn’t get to say. But here they were. And Cam’s tongue was too heavy to form syllables. Until finally, she spoke.
“Hailey.”
The words left her tongue firm and sharp, as if they were a couple sitting across from each other for the last time--ready to sign the divorce papers. Hailey said nothing in return--only exchanging a pitiful, bloodshot gaze. A million apologies were etched into her sad eyes, apologies that she never had the courage to utter. Opening her mouth once more, Cam took a deep breath before speaking once more. “I…” She began, her words shivering with emotion. “I hate you.” It’s not like she’d never said it before--hell, the two exchanged more ‘I hate you’s than ‘good mornings’-- but this time was different. It was honest. Not some desperate act of teen angst. “I fucking hate you. You ruined my life. I despise you more than anyone or anything in the entire world. You are the face of all evil that plagues this earth. You are the reason I’m like this.” The words spilled out of Cam’s mouth effortlessly, as if she’d rehearsed them a thousand times before. And she had. Every night for a year after Hailey left as she gazed at the blank ceiling and pleaded for Godbring her answers. Why she was so undeserving of love... why her mother spoke her name as if it were blasphemous... and most importantly: why she left. “I sat alone at the mother-daughter dance in my sparkly yellow dress and watched all the other girls hugging and dancing and smiling at their moms. You told me you’d be there. But you never showed up. You never fucking showed up, Hailey!” It was with these words that something broke within Cam. Her fragile heart that she’d so delicately glued back together and placed high on the shelf--so high it was completely untouchable--shattered. Its delicate pieces, so messily held together like a children’s art project, were erupting within her chest. And it hurt. It hurt so bad that one single sob managed its way up her constricting throat and past her trembling lips--echoing somberly against the dull nothingness that shrouded them. And before she could stop it, slap on a brave face and think of some witty remark, more sobs followed in its path. They kept coming--until Cam’s small frame was convulsing with each gut-wrenching cry.
“You never loved me. You always looked at me like I was some...mistake. A burden onto your picture-perfect little family. Like I was the ugliest fucking human being you’d ever laid eyes on. And you know what? I started to believe that I was.” Her words were broken by the sobs, fueled more and more by anger than pain. Three years. Three years she’d been this shell of a human. Strutting around with an empty chest and pretending to be the monster she knew she was. So much pain habitated her small frame, so much pain driving her each day to make others’ a living hell. Anything to avoid confronting the real monster--the one that lived in her head. It was really only a matter of time before all of her jagged shards shifted and she regained her humanity. But humanity comes with a price.
“But you know what, Hailey? I’m not the mistake. You’re the fucking mistake. You’re a sorry excuse for a human being and cause others nothing but pain. I hope you’re fucking miserable wherever you are, strung-out and dying somewhere cold and dark. I hope you die alone and I hope you fucking do it soon so that the world can recover from your fucking existence.” She spoke in more of a shout than anything, her frame curling into itself as she screamed at the woman. “You’re not my mother. You were never my fucking mother. You were just a guest in my life. And the best thing you ever did for me was leave.” The tears streamed down her face, leaving moist trails in their path as they dripped off of her chin and hit the ground. Every muscle in her body ached and cried out for some type of release--seventeen years worth of anger and resentment finally being put into words. Finally, she couldn’t help but collapse into herself--hands hitting the floor to brace her fall. Hailey only stared at her, looking pained and ghoulish, as if she had forgotten how to speak.
“Do you know how much I fucking hate myself?” She yelled, voice cracking with a sob. “I hate my goddamn guts more than I hate yours sometimes. Tommy’s so..kind and nice and okay with everything. I’m angry and resentful and fucking miserable and sometimes when I look in the mirror, I see your ugly fucking face staring back at me. And so I get drunk. Or I go and bang out my feelings. Or I punch my pillow as hard as I can pretending it’s your face. Anything, fucking anything, to make you go away.” With a sniffle, Cam wiped the tears and snot from her face. Her arms were wrapped around her legs, pulling them into herself and rocking like a child. And for a moment, she was. She was a little girl again--5 years old and crying over a scraped knee. She was a little girl standing in front of her mother and she was scared and she was vulnerable.
“Do you know what I did once?” She asked rhetorically, a slight hint of sadistic irony to her tone. “One time, I...I stole a bottle of dad’s whiskey and a whole bottle of Tommy’s sleeping pills and I… I downed both of them.” A pained chuckle escaped her lips. She’d never told anyone about that. “I went to bed that night praying to God that I’d never fucking see the light of day again--that I’d never have to face your reflection in the mirror again. And I can’t tell you how disappointed I was when I opened my eyes the next morning. But I got up. And I went to school and I lived my life because goddamnit, you’re not going to fucking take that away from me too.” The tears had mostly stopped at this point--replaced by a hateful, unforgiving glare. Pushing herself off the ground with a shaky arm, Cam brushed herself off and took a step closer to the woman. A single tear rolled down Hailey’s cheek. “So, you piece of shit.” Cam began firmly, wiping the tears away one last time. “I never, ever want to see your miserable face again. And I hope you burn in hell.” With that, the figure disappeared and Cam was left in her bedroom--alone-- her face stained with tears.
Thomas was planning to just wish her a good morning and then turn off to leave the house…but something about her quick change in persona worried him. “Oh shit- Camille are you okay?” The boy rushed to her side, lowering his slightly taller stature a bit so he can hold onto her and inspect her features. “Cam- Cam what’s wrong?”
“I-I’m okay.” She mumbled through gritted teeth, gripping onto her brother’s arms to keep from colliding with the ground. “I...my head.” She managed, practically yelping as her brain pounded relentlessly against her skull. Her eyes were squeezed shut, head burying itself into her brother’s chest as she writhed in pain. Suddenly, though, as quickly as it had begun, the pain subsided. The pounding diminished rapidly, her vision returning itself to her as she took a few deep breaths and pulled herself away from Thomas. “I’m sorry...that was weird. I’m...I’m okay now.”
“God don’t you watch where you’re going?” Tanner mumbled as he looked up and was surprised to see a pretty girl standing over him. Spring up quickly he grinned. “Oh–wow–uh yeah no that was a joke. Heeeeyyyyy….”
“Oh, um-” Cam’s smile fell in response to the harsh tongue-lashing that she received, eyes widening in surprise. “Oh, that’s...that’s funny.” She chuckled absently, her lips slowly curling back into a bright smile. “Hi! I’m Camille! It’s nice to meet you!” Her hand hovered in-between them, expectantly awaiting a handshake.
“You look like a zombie,” he commented, pointing at her bags before nearly falling over his feet- stumbling back as she felt the fabric of his shirt. “Um…Thanks, I think?” Thomas reacted strangely, brows knitting together on his forehead. “You uh..You seem, different...” He commented, poking at her arm. Fleshy. Strange. He could have sworn this girl was a weird alien or some kind of robot… “Where is Camille and what have you done with my sister?”
Cam simply giggled in response, an almost inhuman noise pushing its way out of her throat. The dimples were drilled so deep into her rosy cheeks that they could double as shotglasses. “Oh, Tommy! You’re so silly!” She mused screechily, whacking him playfully on the arm. “I’m right here, silly goose! Camille Ortesky, at your service!” Her chirpy musing were accompanied by an amused twirl of her small figure.
“I-Oh my god.” The smile quickly disappeared from her face, instead being replaced by a pained grimaced. “Holy moly.” She whimpered, hands gripping her head as she collapsed into herself.
He tilted his head, a bit surprised by the girl’s eagerness to help. Not even that, but her entire persona was very… Peppy. Shrugging his shoulders, Theo leaned down to pick up one end of the box. “Alright, we just need to set it on that table over there.” he murmured. As the brunette began to back-step towards the table, he glanced up. “Hm? Oh, I said we need to set it on that table.” Theo was sure he had been clear when speaking.
“O-Oh, alright.” She responded, the smile quickly returning to her shining face. She was admittedly a bit shaken, but quickly pushed it to the back of her mind and returned her attention to the task at hand. A few struggling groans clawed at her throat as they levitated the box over to the table. “Phew!” She exclaimed once it was safe and sound, “Nice work!” She beamed, holding both of her hands in the air expectantly waiting for a high five. “Oh! I’m Camille, by the way. Camille Ortesky!” Her words were bubbly and dripping with enthusiasm.
“Tommy!” She beamed. Her eyes were shining bright with exuberant joy, only interfered with by the dark crescents that sat under them. “You look so stinking cute today! I love that shirt on you!” She gushed, feeling the fabric with a trembling hand. “It really brings out your eyes.”
“Um, hi. Actually, while you’re here, and I know these might seem weird, could you help me with this box? It’s literally just a bunch of books, but they feel like bricks.”
“Oh, yeah, of course!” Cam gushed, rushing over to him and grabbing one of the sides. “Gosh, this is heavy!” She giggled joyfully. Omnia mors aequat. A sinister voice breathed into her ear, causing a drop in her expression. “E-Excuse me?” She questioned the boy, assuming the cryptic latin came from him.
