Ruined Part I: Lexus Selfpara (Boston selfpara) [Co-written with Lauren, featuring Cameron]
TW: blood, violence, cursing, mentions of drugs, mention of smoking, insults, distrspect towards women, distaste for blue lipstick and very sweet voices
Cameron was losing hold on himself, he could feel it happening every day they were out of Washington. Still weak, still stupid, still broken. However, this realization had hit him hard, and therefore he was trying especially hard not to show his struggles, for Lex’s sake. Her parents didn’t need to see the real man her daughter was so madly in love with. That would corrupt the foundations of everything they’d created over the past two and a half weeks. Boston was so obviously helping Lexus, the beautiful light seemed to be reignited in the young girl, the one she had originally arrived in Thornewood with. If Cameron extinguished that fire once more, he’d hate himself an unruly amount and that was why he had to make sure his arm was still wrapped ever so tightly around the twenrty year old’s waist and his smile didn’t falter. There would be no disrupting the peace. It wouldn’t be too long until they’d be back and Cameron could go right back to irritating Kaiden, but until then…he was powering through.
"So…when are we getting hot chocolate?"
Lexus turned to him with a smile, hands resting on his chest as she peered up at him with beautiful brown eyes he couldn’t help but admire.
"Um…excuse you, did I promise you hot chocolate?" She teased, giggling softly. Lexus had been nothing short giddy the last two weeks, between going out on a date practically every day with Cam and finally reconnecting with her parents, she couldn’t have been happier. Cameron smirked, his eyes travelling down to peer at her delicate hands resting on his chest. The brisk October air caught in his already damaged lungs, causing each breath to be drawn in a little deeper than normal. He really had to quit smoking.
"You did." His cool reply was followed with the swift motion of strong hands holding Lexus’s hips in order to hoist her up and over his shoulder, carrying her in any which way he pleased. Lex let out a surprised gasp, shrieking for a brief moment. In a feeble attempt to annoy him enough until he let her go, Lexus kicked her legs slowly. She laughed as he told her he didn’t know where he was going. "Well then don’t you think you should put me down?"
"Hmm…" Cameron slowly mulled over this question, taking another corner as he pretended to weigh his options. "It’d seem the wiser choice, wouldn’t it?" He chuckled, tightening his grip around the back of her knees to hold her kicking legs in place. "But its fun getting lost." He whispered menacingly.
"No! Nope! Not really!" She chirped from behind his back. "Babe, what happened to me being precious cargo? Who dangles precious cargo over their shoulder?" The twenty year old complained playfully, trying to gain understanding about where she was despite only being able to see the ground. She heard a few people chuckle as they watched Cameron carry her over her shoulder around the street fair. Her already cold pink cheeks flushed, suddenly happy that Cameron could not see. Cameron shrugged.
"You’re safe!" He promised, breaking out into a gentle run down the path.
"NO, DON’T RUN, YOU ASS!" Lexus pleaded, only earning a laugh from Cameron. A small cafe came into view and Cam’s eyes widened in excitement.
Swiftly placing his girlfriend back on the ground and pointing ahead of them, he beamed at her, “Let’s go there!” However, Lexus was placed back on the ground, she saw a flash of vibrant pink hair and knew exactly who it was. Her fears had finally caught up to her. The excitement in Cameron’s eyes practically killed her as she gently placed her hand on his tattooed arm.
"Yeah, um, actually, can you—just—go get me one?" She wondered, eyes pleading with a small smile as she tried to pretend everything was fine. She placed multiple kisses on her boyfriend’s lips, drowning him in a sea of affection in hopes of him not worrying. Cameron attempted to return each kiss, eventually wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to his chest in order to give her a better kiss. "Here, look, ready?" Lex pulled away, shrugging off her purse and gave it to him. Laughing, she kissed his cheek. "Now go. Money is in there....somewhere…"
Cameron was at first oblivious to Lexus’ fears, it wasn’t until she tried to send him alone…that just wasn’t right!
"What? No! Come with. Where are you going?" He asked like a dependant, panicked puppy. Out of the corner of her eye, Lexus saw the pink haired woman, Allie, getting closer. Gently, she turned Cameron around and nudged him towards the door.
"Nowhere, nowhere! I’ll be right here. You’ll be fine, I’m sure my mom is in there chatting. Just go inside, Cam. Come on, you’re so cute the lady behind the counter will just be begging to give you some. You won’t have a problem.” She could hear the crunching of leaves underneath James’ shoes, making her heart beat faster. Where was Nick? James and Allie wouldn’t have come alone. Where was Nick? Cameron had to get out of here, Lexus couldn’t risk him losing control. All his progress would have been for nothing. Cameron shook his head, stubborn feet planting firmly into the ground.
"Lexus. Stop it. What’s wrong?" His voice lowered with concern, leaning in to meet eye to eye. "And do not lie.” He warned before straightening up to take a sweeping glance around their surroundings, trying to get a better understanding of what had happened to suddenly cause this change in her. The crunching of leaves underneath James’ shoes and Allie’s voice were getting louder and Lex could have sworn she was trembling. She pushed the hair out of her boyfriend’s eyes, trying to take a deep breath for his sake.
"There are people that you don’t like here; people that want to talk to me. People you won’t want me to talk to and as soon as you find out which one is Nick…" Lexus shook her head. "Go inside. Please go inside for me.”
Cameron brought gentle fingertips down Lex’s arms and pressed one soft kiss to her forehead in an attempt to calm her down. He hated how scared she got, even during silly arguments. He was used to it, now, though, he promised himself before pulling her into his side, “Not going anywhere.” He promised, there was no way he would let Lex deal with this by herself, not when there was the potential of her getting hurt.
"No—Cam—if you loved me at all you’d just go ins—"
"Lexie!" Allie called, fake smile stretching out her disgustingly blue lipstick coated lips.
"It's because I love you, that I’m not going anywhere." Cameron mumbled, trying to ignore the sickeningly sweet voice that seemed to cut right through his soul. She was disgusting. He could tell before he even laid eyes on her. He wrapped an arm around Lexus’ shoulders, holding her close to his side in a protective manner. James glanced at Lexus carefully, surveying her. He couldn’t help but feel betrayed as the striking contrast between who she was before she left and who she was now starred at him point blank.
"We knew better." Was all he could say. "We knew better." Lexus knew what he was really saying. We knew better than to let you go. Now look at you.
"Who's this?" Cameron spat, eyeing up the male.
"Not anyone important." Lexus murmured, keeping herself in front of him just in case.
"Now, now, sweetheart, you shouldn’t lie." Came Nick’s laughter from behind the couple. Cameron’s whole body tensed, holding Lexus firmly in place after he allowed her to move in front of him. He did not care for the pet name. Lexus was his. His Lady, his sweetheart, his babe, his girl. Nick had made the mistake of letting her go and by no means would Cameron allow Nick to trick himself into thinking he could claim what was his.
"Nick, you mustn’t laugh. Though, Lexie, I do wonder what makes you think the jolly black giant—"
“DON’T!" Lexus almost shouted, losing her composure for a minute, before Cameron’s hands held hers tighter. "Don’t call him that." Her head turned to Nick, tossing him a look over her shoulder. Cameron blocked Nick’s body with his shoulder. Don’t look.
"Ah, I knew this would be beautiful reunion." James smirked at his friends and Lexus, thrilled to see Lexus begin to lose her composure. "Oh, though, I suppose you and Nick have already reunited." Now his smile turned wicked, looking for Cameron’s reaction as he brought up Nick’s visit to Washington last summer. Cameron disregarded the comments made about him, only thinking about how he should break free of Lexus’ hold should the moment arise where he needed to protect her. Too many painful memories swirled around his head after a simple mention of Nick’s visit to Lakewood. Cam’s piercing blue eyes glared harshly upon the sickly looking ring leader as he circled them, stopping to stand in front of Lexus. Cam had a hard time understanding what the appeal of him was and what Lexus ever saw in him. "Don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting.” The twenty-two year old seethed, scooting Lexus behind him despite her brief protest.
"I believe you’ve angered it, love." Allie cackled. James raised his eyebrows, pretending to be shocked. "What?" He gasped. "Have I? Oh, no, no, friendly giant, I did not mean to anger you! I merely…meant to inform you…to educate you…look how unhappy she is.” James now pouted at Lexus. “Nicholas, have you seen what he’s done to her?” His lip curled up in disgust at her healthy figure, her clear brown eyes. Meanwhile, red, sleep deprived eyes constantly eyed her up and down in disgust. “M—maybe you guys should just…go. We—”
“Speak up, Lexie! No one can ever hear you when you’re mumbling. Still trembling, are you? Oh, come on, sweetheart! Look at me for a minute. Man up!" Nick shouted, causing Lexus to jump slightly at the inflection of his voice. That was it. Cameron had hit his limit the moment Nick’s voice rose and began to shout at Lex. That was not how she deserved to be treated and he wouldn’t tolerate it. Maybe Lexus didn’t have the courage to speak up for herself but, he certainly would. Cam gently squeezed her hand once, in a reassuring manner, before letting go and advancing towards Nick.
"Sorry…is that how you talk to a lady? Or did your mother not raise you right? Ah, what am I saying? Clearly Mommy didn’t care about you enough to cultivate you into a man worthy to speak to Lexus, seeing as you’ll always be a heroin addicted lowlife!” Tattooed arms pushed at Nick’s shoulders, this time asking for the confrontation. “Why don’t you take a look at her, Nick? Does it repulse you—to see how healthy she is in comparison to you; how much better she is than you’ll ever be?”
"I think you’re just mad, consolation prize. Don’t think I treat her right?" He took a step closer, looking into Cameron’s piercing blue eyes, a smirk dancing on his lips. "Least I’ve never lied to her, tried to tell her she’s got a better life—deserves a better life.” Nick’s voice dropped to a whisper, “She deserves this. And you ruined her.”
Cameron’s eyes widened, a split second of genuine shock swept over him before he realized that Nick was worse than the scum in Camden.
"I don’t lie. Look at her! She has the better life—because look who is out of Boston, clean, healthy and happy. And then we have, well, you—the disgusting, delusional, dirtbag.” Nick was the kind of guy Cameron would’ve steered well clear from back in Camden. He was what Tom probably would’ve turned into…had he not died. Cameron hated the man in front of him.“I saved her.” His already deep voice turned dark, filled with hatred as he leaned in close, making sure to enunciate each word perfectly clear, despite the fact they were slipping through gritted teeth. Life was kicking Nick down enough. Cameron knew he shouldn’t waste his energy fighting him. Instead, the twenty-two year old sneered before turning away to once again wrap his arm around Lex’s waist, pulling her close to his chest and into a lust-filled, and partly spiteful, kiss. His sole purpose to make Nick jealous and see what he had missed out on—that the better man wins.
Though, when he came back to her, Lexus’ trembling hands steadied as his arm wrapped around her. She could control him when he was in her arms, it was when he wasn’t was when she worried. Curiosity met ferocity in a needy kiss, making her pull away with a question in her eyes. Can we go? Lexus really didn’t want to be here anymore, she was convinced her legs would give out underneath her any moment now. However, just as Lexus turned to walk down the hill, Nick balled his hand into a fist and his knuckles made contact with the side of Cameron’s head. The blow sent him stumbling backwards, a mix between a growl and a whimper tearing through his mouth without permission. Lexus, reacting purely out of instinct, punched her ex-boyfriend square in the face. Nick’s hand raised to slap her back, unable to control the instinct he had to punch back when he was being hit. The punch definitely did some damage and if the adrenaline of seeing Nick raise a hand at Lexus hadn’t kicked it, Cam would probably of been suffering. There was no time for acknowledging pain, his instinct was to protect. The man year old lunged forward, strong hands gripping at the shorter boy’s throat as he threw him to the ground. “Do not touch her!” He spat, blood mixing in with his saliva. Cameron’s fist balled up tight and began throwing hard punches into the other’s face. Looking back on it, there would be so many regrets when Cam would reflect on his actions, but in the moment, he only saw red and rationality was long gone. The satisfaction he gained from hearing bone cracking under his knuckles brought an evil smirk to his features.
James could only watch as his best friend got pummeled to the ground. Allie held onto him tightly, pulling on him until they ran away from the man with blood on his fists and a smirk on his face. Lexus was shocked and rendered useless for a moment. For the first time in her life, she saw what Cameron was truly capable of, what Camden groomed him to be and she felt horrified. It was as if with every punch—every bone crushing underneath her boyfriend’s fist, she watched his progress slip away. Kaiden had told her once before and now his words only echoed in her mind as she was unable to look away from the damage being inflicted, “Sociopaths have violent tendencies.”
“STOP!" Lexus shrieked, wrapping her arms around Cameron’s neck, pulling him back until their asses hit the ground his back rested against her chest. "Stop," She whispered, pleading. "Stop, stop, stop. This isn’t who you are." The twenty year old swore, planting kisses in her boyfriend’s short hair as her hands attempted to cover his bloody knuckles. "This isn’t who you are." Not anymore. Lexus would never let him turn back into the detached monster he perceived himself to be when he was in Camden. Cameron was thankful. He knew if Lexus didn’t pull him off of Nick, he never would have stopped. As his ass collided with the ground and swollen knuckles were covered, the twenty two year old felt himself relax back against his girlfriend’s chest, despite the fact that emotions were still running high. It took a few moments, but then as fast as the adrenaline came on, it was gone, leaving Cameron a sore, trembling mess covered in blood.
"Shit…" He surveyed his bloody opponent as his tongue ran along each tooth in his mouth, counting each off until he found the bleeding one. It must’ve been cracked because even the slight pressure from his tongue was enough to make him wince. "We need to leave…" He whispered, albeit making no attempt to move, his hands still shook in Lex’s and people were watching. Boston wasn’t safe anymore. Cameron wasn’t safe and they needed to get out.
"We’re going." Lexus promised, only holding him closer instead of making an attempt to get him on his feet. A thousand apologizes swirled around in her brain as her chest began to physically hurt just at the sight of Nick and Cameron’s blood commingled on her boyfriend’s skin. She knew she’d spend the next week in and out of hospitals, getting only the best doctors money could buy to heal her boyfriend. Maybe a dentist, too, as she noticed his soft lips were blood-stained. Slowly, she got up, sticking out her hand to help Cameron up and pulling him to her side. Walking hand and hand, Lexus lead them back to where her father had parked the car, all the while trying to distract Cameron from the people staring.
