A harmful truth is better than a useful lie. || Selfpara 1. Cam & Cordelia.
As the clock on the wall ticked closer to 10:45pm, Cameron became acutely aware of how quiet the halls of Thornewood were. He’d found a quiet corner in the art room and become absorbed in sketching a portrait of Lexus but the need for nicotine was niggling away in the back of his mind, distracting his fingers as they tirelessly worked. Blue hues tore away from the page and out to the window, heavy rain ricocheted off the glass pane as a gentle sigh escaped full lips, no way he was trekking out to the garden for a smoke. Size twelve combat boots found the floor as he stood to stretch, each vertebrae crying out in gratitude after being hunched over for far too long.
One foot gently stepping in front of the other, ensuring not to make too much noise as he made his way across the room and to the window, cracking it open just above his head, the New Jersey native leaned out into the night air letting the cool breeze brush over his features— the heavy rain and stormy conditions made it a task to light the end of his cigarette— but his trusty prized possession never failed him. Curfew had long since been called, meaning the gentle footsteps of a particular yellow patient shouldn’t have been heard, but Cameron knew where there was smoke, there was fire...and where there was fire, there was Cordelia Carlton. Looking up from his cigarette, the 28 year old couldn’t say he was surprised to see the yellow patient. While normally a person more invested in the rumor mill would have quaked in rage or in fear at the sight of her, Cameron found himself simply annoyed, the peacefulness of the night distrubed by her presence.
“Go away,” He warned, breathing smoke out into the night like a dragon, fingers twirling his lighter absentmindedly.
“Well, that’s absolutely no fun,” Came her chipper voice. Cameron looked down to the bushes below. Too high of a leap. Damn. “Let me see the toy, come on.” His eyebrows furrowed, toy? She meant the lighter he clutched in his fingertips, he supposed.
“I highly doubt that’s advisable,” He quipped, the knowledge of her diagnosis clinging to every syllable, refusing to look away from the night sky to meet her eyes, they held a darkness that he’d desensitized himself to long ago not to get involved with. Cordelia was the definition of trouble.
“When was the last time you’ve done anything advisable?”
Cameron groaned, a balled up fist dropping his prized possession into her greedy palm with a warning, “Don’t think you can keep it.” Little fingers grazed his palm suggestively, the lingering touch burning like acid on his skin. The bitter taste of disgust lingered in his throat. Though brief, the moment of contact caused him to bristle, snatching his hand out of reach. Were her eyes lingering? He finally leveled his gaze with hers, hard eyes questioning, watching a silent moment of understanding pass through her oceanic hues. “Oooh,” Came her silent coo, just under her breath as a smirk upturned the corners of her pink lips. A sound Cameron had always hated. She found something.
An apathetic silence fell over the two as Cordelia absentmindedly flicked the lighter on and off. Just another item to add to the list of Cameron’s pet peeves. His hand reached to snatch the lighter away from her again, but she moved too quickly. Enraged red eyes found her quickly, all too ready to ensure that he retrieved his property.
“Aren’t you going to ask me your question first?” She inquired, holding the lighter above her head with a devilish grin. Without a moment of hesitation, Cam backed her into a corner. Rough hands grabbed her wrist and pried the lighter from her fingers, cigarette clenched between his teeth.
“My questions aren’t simple enough for you to answer,” Cameron laughed, genuinely amused by her petty attempt to play games. She knew him better. He turned on his heel, leaving her against the wall as he made the journey back over to the window.
“No, so when did you want me to tell you I know why you’re here?”
Her words stopped him in his tracks. Suddenly, his blood ran cold, a hot red rage shook his body to the core and without warning, two hands found Cordelia’s shoulders as he threw her against the wall, a thud that was loud enough to make any sympathetic human cringe but watching her face scrunch in pain only fuelled the fire.
“Don’t play fucking games with me.” Fingers tightened around her slim neck, feeling every muscle constrict under the pressure as a weak voice croaked “I’m not. I won’t tell anyone.” Cameron knew she was lying, Cordelia never just dismissed information that fell into her lap, especially something like this.
“I don’t take much convincing though,” She winked, flirtatious tones dripping through her subtle suggestion. He choked back bile.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding. Unless you want to die,” Cameron let her go, watching the girl crumble to her knees on the floor, balled up fist indicated towards the window that dropped down to the ground floor. “Because that’s a good twelve foot drop,” He mused, “You might want to reconsider your oh-so-gracious offer. Now.”
“Fine!” She cried, fingers reaching up to rub her neck and soothe the bruising Cam had created under his tight grip. “Just—gimme—”
“Bragging rights?” Cameron cut her off before she could suggest another ridiculous idea that would either get her killed, or force him to stay in Thornewood even longer. “That’s fucking pathetic,” Words filled with anger spat in her direction as he stepped back.
“I don’t care.”
The pyromaniac didn’t understand the weight of her request. What would he tell Lexus? The thought tugged at his heartstrings, the sting of betrayal she’d feel for the brief moment she considered the validity of the rumor. He knew he wouldn’t be able to explain it to her, but the implications of this information getting leaked was far too great. He felt something he hadn’t felt in quite awhile. Cornered. Reluctant to vocalize his defeat, he let Cordelia rise to her feet. The impish grin she always seemed to wear whenever got her way said she knew she had won. The realization spawned the white-hot sting of rage to shock his system like a bolt of lightning. The terror on her face as his fist collided with the wall beside her head “You ever tell anyone why I’m here and I won’t let go next time, you hear me? You’ll be fuckin’ lucky if they find you in a shallow grave.”
rape especially, but strangling I can handle a little better
i'm okay when i take my anxiety meds, but i didn't take them last night and my dad was watching the book of eli and, as i've not seen it, i wasn't aware that there was an attempted rape scene and it just set me off
like i said, please tag it and everything will be okay
