I settle back into Camden’s arms again and nod giving her a small smile. Lexi smiles back, grabbing the empty glasses and balancing them on the plates as she walks into the kitchen. The television is still playing the music from the ending credits of the movie we just finished.
Camden leans in kissing my temple and speaking softly into my ear. “How is she?” he asks. My eyes haven’t moved from where Lexi was just at. I shake my head slowly.
“Not good, Cam. She puts on a good front but I can tell she’s struggling to keep the mask up,” I say and finally look back at him.
Camden nods in understanding. “All we can do is be there for her while she deals with it,” he says.
“I know. But it’s so hard watching this. You know how I feel,” I say.
“I know, baby. It’s going to take some time for her to get past everything that asshole did to her. All we can do is be here for her and help her through it when she needs us to.”
And I know Camden is right. But watching her struggle is so difficult. At least she’s here now and I can help when I need to. She can lean on me. Hell, on both of us, when she feels weak. But we both know she hates feeling vulnerable and won’t tell us when she’s feeling that way.
I nod my head and give him a small smile. “I will try not to push her. But we both know she won’t show weakness. That’s not her. She will try to deal with this all by herself.”
Camden chuckles. “I know. But we have to let her deal with it the best way she knows how and just be whatever she needs us to be.”
I turn in his arms and cup his scruffy face. “How did you get to be so smart?” I say sarcastically. He laughs and leans in kissing me chastely.
“I guess you’re rubbing off on me,” he says laughing. “Since she’s handling the dishes, let’s clean up here and head to bed. It’s been a long day.”
I hear the water turn on in the kitchen so we stand up, straighten the table and turn everything off. By the time we have everything nice and neat, we head to the kitchen. Lexi is leaning up against the counter staring at the ground. I can tell she’s in her head about something. It’s written all over her face. Cam stops at the entranceway, crossing his arms over his chest andleaning against the frame of the doorway. I keep walking slowly. When she hears me getting near, her head pops up and a fake smile crosses her face. I can tell because it doesn’t reach her eyes.
“You okay, babe?” I ask her as I get closer. She nods and glances over my shoulder to Cam trying to give him a smile. I look over my shoulder and see what she sees. Cam is a no-nonsense guy. He’s not going to let you fake it with him. He doesn’t smile back. When I look back at her the smile has dropped from her face.
“I’m okay guys. I promise,” she says, stuffing her hands inside her pockets.
I stand in front of her and place one hand on her shoulder. “No, you’re not,” I say, and when she looks up and is ready to protest, I continue before she has a chance. “It’s okay to not be okay, Lex. You’ve been through a lot and it’s going to take a bit to get over it. We just want you to know that we’re both here for you. No matter what. And in any way you need us.”
She releases a long sigh and nods as a single tear slips from her eye. I reach up and wipe the tear from her cheek. “You need us to listen, we will. If you need us to distract you with a movie or something, we will. If you need us to kill him…” I let my sentence drop and she laughs. “But seriously, Lexi. He will never hurt you again,” I say.
I feel Cam move up behind me and wrap one hand around my waist, leaning over my shoulder. The other reaches over, and with two fingers, he lifts Lexi’s face to look at him. Her eyes move slowly to lock with Camden’s.
“I will not let him touch you again. He will have to go through me, do you understand?” Camden asks in his deep, authoritative voice.
Lexi’s mouth drops open slightly, and I hear her intake of air. She nods slowly, never taking her eyes from my husband's. I relax back into Cam and smile to myself.
“Good. Now I think we’ve all had a very tiring day. Let’s get some sleep,” Cam says, dropping his hand from her face and stepping away.
CHAPTER 5
Camden
Friday evening
Shayna walks Lexi to her room to make sure that she is all settled in and comfortable. I go to the other side of the house to check on the boys. Landon is fast asleep already, but Darian is up and playing Call of Duty.
When I open the door, he’s leaning back in his black-and-white gaming chair. He immediately takes one of the headphones off and mutes his mic. “What’s up, Dad?” he asks, not taking his eyes from the screen. He continues to press buttons and move the controller. I can hear the gunshots over the headphones.
“Make sure you don’t stay up too late,” I say, looking at the screen as the game plays out. The players in his online party are in the corner and I can tell by the screennames, he’s playing with his best friend CJ.
“Tomorrow is Saturday and practice isn’t until tomorrow afternoon,” he says, glancing at me quickly.
“Yeah, I know. I just know you will be up until the crack ass of dawn playing with CJ, too. I’m just saying don’t stay up much longer. You guys have all day tomorrow to play,” I say.
“Okay… just another 30 minutes,” he says as I’m closing the door. I nod and softly click the door closed. Shayna and I aren’t very strict with the kids. We give them as much freedom and ability to make their own choices and decisions, so letting them stay up late when there’s no school the next day is normal for us.
Walking over to our room, I see the bathroom light on, and hear the shower running. I close the bedroom door and lock it. Pulling my shirt over my head and dropping it to the floor, I make my way into the steaming hot bathroom. Slowly unzipping my pants, I drop them to the floor along with my boxer briefs. I know Shayna is stressing out over this. So I need to take her mind off of everything, if just for a little bit.
