7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Cameron

The gentle breeze from the ceiling fan tousled my hair as I paced back and forth in front of the cold fireplace. My pulse thumped in my throat, and I folded my hands behind my back to prevent Soph and Luce from seeing just how badly I was shaking. I got their ex pregnant. Worse than that, I knocked up a public figure.

I couldn’t believe Mason was a fucking pop star. That felt like the type of thing you start a conversation with. Why didn’t she tell me?

But back to the matter at hand: I had to tell my partners what I’d done. Lucian would be irate. That was a fact. Sophia was more of a wild card, though.

I stopped pacing just to stare at her. She was so excited she was practically vibrating. Her platinum hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and her makeup looked like art. I should have known she’d gussy up for my homecoming. Under normal circumstances, I would’ve appreciated it, but I had a feeling this reunion was about to go sour.

“Spit it out, or I’m leaving.” Lucian grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. Sophia leaned forward to glare at him.

“Be nice. He just got home.”

An audible huff exited Lucian as he rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, so did Mason. That means I have no desire to be in this fucking house until that thing is gone.”

“Awe, someone’s angry that they’re in l-o-v-e.” Sophia reached over to pinch Lucian’s cheek, but he swatted her away.

Love? I didn’t see any romance between Lucian and Mason. It seemed to me like he hated her. Like he would rather go blind than have the misfortune of looking at her.

“Soph, I don’t think that’s true. He’s never been like that with us.”

Her eyes sparkled like sapphires as a smile inched across her lips. “That’s because he loves us, but he’s not in love with either of us.”

“...There’s a difference?” If there was, I couldn’t fathom it. But seeing as Sophia ran the most successful matchmaking service in the country, she’d know better than I would.

“Mhm! Love has a lot of different forms, but–”

“I feel absolutely none of them for Mason-fucking-Albright,” Lucian interrupted.

“I have pictures that prove otherwise!” Sophia sang, reaching for her phone.

I watched Lucian’s nails dig into his palms as he stared Sophia down, like he was mentally willing her to stop. He could’ve easily reached over and stolen the phone from her, but we both knew better than to cross Sophia. She’d never physically punish either of us, but she also never failed to get her point across. Lucian called her a slut once, so she had the word stamped on a custom pink dog collar and made him wear it for two weeks straight. Sophia was sweet as pie, but she was the one in charge here—and by God, she never let us forget it.

After a moment, she passed her phone to me. I practically brought the screen to my nose, trying to make sense of the image on the screen. I’d never seen this photo of Lucian and Sophia before. It had to be from their high school days. Lucian stood in the center wearing football gear, and Sophia clung to his left side, sporting her cheer uniform and a pair of glitzy pom-poms. I had seen pictures of them at games before; that was nothing new.

But my heart dropped straight to my gut when I saw Mason on his other side.

This photo must have been several years old, but Mason looked exactly the same. The only differences were the marching band uniform, the length of her hair, and the smile she wore. It was wide, showcasing a gap between her front teeth.

Funny, I’d never noticed a gap before.

Lucian’s arm was wrapped around Mason, holding her close as she awkwardly clutched a purple clarinet. Both girls were smiling for the camera, but Lucian was completely focused on Mason, gazing at her like she was the only thing that existed in his world.

“See how he’s looking at her?” Sophia chirped, “Keep in mind, all three of us were dating at the time, so it was a little rude for him to be so in love with Mason, but I got used to it.”

“You know I love you,“ he hissed to Sophia.

“And I love you too, but we’re not in love.“ She tapped his nose, and I watched as Lucian’s anger quietly mounted. He seethed silently beside Sophia, but she didn’t seem to care.

I swiped again to see another photo of the three. This time, it looked like they were at homecoming or prom, and again, Lucian was staring at Mason. This time, he had a smile so soft I almost didn’t believe it was him.

I had no idea Lucian even had a soft side, but I’d love to see it in person.

“She’s pretty,” I mumbled, trying to think of anything else.

“Oh, she’s absolutely beautiful,” Sophia gushed.

“I will not be part of a conversation centered on Mason Albright.” Lucian’s jaw went tight. “You two can talk about how fan-fucking-tastic she is after Cameron tells us whatever he needs to.”

Oh shit.

Sophia’s attention shifted toward me, blue eyes wide with curiosity.

“Oh yeah—what did you need to tell us?”

My heart fell from my chest to my stomach. Was there even a good way to say this? I turned my attention to the long, lazily spinning shadows cast by the ceiling fan above us. I knew what I was about to say would be a touchy subject even if Mason wasn’t their ex.

My gaze drifted to the wall, where Sophia had hung a photo of Lucian and his kids. The twins bore a tragic resemblance to their mother, who wanted absolutely nothing to do with them. Lucian had always said her absence didn’t bother him because Jasper and Juniper still had three parents who loved them. But I knew how much it affected him every time his ex called to bitch about child support. She didn’t want to pay, and Lucian didn’t want the money. All he wanted was for her to sign away her parental rights. But she always refused.

At first, I thought Lucian would be furious with me purely because of that situation. But now, I had no idea how either of them would react. So, instead of beating around the bush, I decided just to rip the band-aid off.

“I got Mason pregnant.”

Silence.

I held my breath for a beat, waiting for something. Anything. Anger, screaming, even tears would be better than absolutely nothing. But seconds ticked by like hours as the ceiling fan’s shadow threatened to tangle me in its vortex.

I looked back to my lovers. Sophia’s lips were parted, and Lucian seemed too stunned to speak.

“Cameron, this isn’t funny,” Sophia whispered.

“I ain’t kiddin’.”

But I wished I was. I’d never intentionally have kids of my own. Sure, I wanted them, but it just wasn’t safe for anyone involved.

“You literally won’t touch me without a condom, even though my tubes are tied. That’s how afraid you are of having kids–yet you were just having sex with random people without protection?”

I forced a strained laugh as I scratched my head, trying to think of a good way to say I only broke my condom rule with Mason. “She ain’t exactly random, is she?”

Another silence plagued the room. I placed my hands on my hips and turned my gaze upward, searching the ceiling for answers only God could provide.

All I found were cobwebs and water damage.

“I need a fucking drink,” Lucian spat.

“Ahht—no, sir. You are sober,“ Sophia reminded him.

“Yeah, and the road to recovery clearly states not to do anything drastic for the first year of Sobriety. No babies, no marriages, no big purchases, no living with Satan.”

“Mason isn’t Satan, she’s nice.”

“Nice people don’t leave their partners without a word, Sophia.” I didn’t have to look at Lucian to know he was fighting tears. The tremble in his voice told me all I needed to know. “I was destroyed when she left—don’t you even care?”

“No, I do.” She extended a hand to his shoulder, rubbing it gently. “But that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to drink. And you can’t blame Mason for everything in your life. You were the one who decided to do drugs and poke holes in someone’s condom.”

Lucian shook off Sophia’s caress and folded his arms.

“I didn’t poke holes in Ashley’s condom! Accidents happen,” he defended. Still, Sophia shot him a skeptical look. And honestly, I was inclined to believe Sophia was right. Lucian had always been desperate for commitment. He’d been devastated when I told him marriage wasn’t an aspiration of mine. Of course, I had no plans to leave him and Sophia—but marriage wasn’t for someone like me. I was just glad I lacked the necessary equipment to make a baby with him, because he had also been incredibly vocal about wanting another kid.

I cleared my throat as I searched for a way to change this conversation for the better.

“Hey, where are Jasper and Juniper? I’ve missed them.” I pulled at the collar of my shirt, trying to cool myself off.

Sophia stretched before standing. “Lucian’s sister has them until Tuesday. I told her about you coming back and Sebby’s partner moving in, and we thought it’d be nice to have a few days with just us adults. But, Cameron, that’s not the point.”

God dammit.

She bridged the gap between us, resting her hand on the crook of my elbow. Her skin was soft, the kind of smooth you could only get by never working an honest day in your life. She was smart enough to get by with her brain rather than her hands. Instead of boasting her intelligence, she usually pretended to be a bit of an airhead.

But in situations like this, she always cut right to the core.

“Cam... what do you want to do about the baby?”

My throat constricted as my mind swam with terrible memories, ones that I had never been able to escape no matter how hard I tried. In my soul, I wanted to step up and be there for Mason and Lavender. But my brain told me that was stupid and risky.

“Mason wants to raise Lavender on her own, and I want to respect her choice. It’s better this way.”

Sophia seemed a little relieved by my answer. She was a good maternal figure for Jas and Juni, but she’d also told me the newborn stage almost killed her. Sophia had always said she couldn’t deal with the sound of a baby crying—that was why she never wanted kids.

Lucian’s reaction was different.

“You don’t want to know your own fucking child?” Lucian’s anger seemed to bubble under the surface. I knew I was one wrong word away from making him explode. “You love my kids.”

I unbuttoned my collar, trying to alleviate the sudden tightness. “Speaking of them, where are they?”

I was missing Lucian’s children, which made me look even worse for not wanting to be involved with my own.

“Don’t you fucking listen? We just told you they’re with my sister until Tuesday. Don’t change the subject.”

“Hey—why do you even care? Don’t you hate Mason?” Sophia commented.

“I do! But this isn’t about Mason, it’s about Cameron’s—“ Lucian stopped for a moment and looked me over. “Mason told me the baby’s a girl. That means you have a daughter.”

Hearing the words left my chest feeling strangely full. Before I could explain myself to Lucian further, he was climbing off the couch and heading toward the back of the house.

“Where are you going?” Sophia asked.

“To call my sister and talk to my kids!” Lucian retorted. “Unlike some people, I’m not a shitty father.”

I let his insult wash over me, holding my breath until his bedroom door slammed. Some of the tension in Sophia’s shoulders dropped now that we were alone. She wound her arms around my neck as she looked up at me.

“How do you really feel about the baby?“Her crystalline gaze pierced through me as my breathing stuttered. There was no way I could ever explain to Sophia what was going on in my head.

“I-I don’t know, Soph.”

She started to toy with the bottom of my hair, causing goosebumps to ripple down my back.

“How’d you feel when Lucian told you about the twins?” I asked.

She shrugged, breaking eye contact with me for a moment. “I was upset. I thought I couldn’t deal with it, that our relationship was over, but I got used to it.”

Sophia’s eyes locked on mine once more.

“I know you just met Mason—or, re-met, I guess—but how do you feel about her?”

“She’s pretty. Seems nice.” My mouth ran dry as I tried to think of something, anything besides how stunning Mason was. I should have been able to tell she was a celebrity just based on how attractive she was.

“Why does it matter how I feel about her?”

“Because I think adding Mason to our relationship would be good for all of us.” Sophia looked away again. She seemed almost... ashamed. Her suggestion shocked me, given the conversation we’d just had with Lucian, but I couldn’t dismiss her feelings.

“Can you explain that one?”

“Obviously, Lucian hasn’t been the same without her and, well...” Sophia hesitated.

“I kind of... never got over Mason.”

I held my breath as I studied Sophia. She was a hopeless romantic at heart. Lucian and I were constants in her life, but she had countless other relationships. I couldn’t keep track of them all. Sophia ran through partners like most people did socks. She didn’t even bat an eye when it came to breakups.

If Mason had the power to put Lucian into a tizzy and hold Sophia’s heart captive, then I had to get to know her. Clearly, I was attracted to her. But there was one issue.

“What about Sebastian?”

He didn’t seem like the type to share.

“What about him?”

“… He’s dating Mason? And he’s also Lucian’s brother.”

Her nose scrunched before she waved me off. “Obviously, Sebby and Luci won’t touch. And we won’t know if we don’t try… the worst he can say is no .”

I wanted to press her a little more, but the buzzing of her phone stole her away. She focused on the screen before looking back up.

“Go get dinner for everyone, anywhere you want. My treat. In that time, Mason and Sebastian will have the chance to settle in a little; when you get back, call everybody down to eat. We’ll talk about it then.”

There was no way for this to go smoothly. It wasn’t possible. And I wasn’t sure Mason and Sebastian could get much settling done in the half an hour it’d take for me to run and get supper.