Hell on the Heart
My mind went back to a few years ago
We tried so long, we almost gave up hope
And I remember you comin' in and tellin me the news
Oh man we were livin, goin crazy in the kitchen
We danced and screamed and held each other tight
We laughed until we cried
- Jason Aldean
Part X
It had been one week since the previous incident— Cammie having not spoken to her father since. She would have tried to work it out with him; take back what she said and apologize. However, it seemed as though her father was not having it. He refused to talk to her, shutting himself up in his office, not coming out until he was sure he wouldn't be harasses by his only daughter. He obviously didn't want to speak to her.
"I don't get it," she said, lying on the floor of Calvin's bedroom, both her brothers on the bed, Calvin on his computer and Ashton's head tilted towards the ceiling, staring boredly.
"Get what?"
"Why dad didn't want you to be like him, and why he thought you were the one with a problem," she said to Ashton sending Calvin a silent apology.
"Cammie—"
"I'm serious," she said, and propped herself up on her elbows. "Why did you go to such lengths to hide it? Why did you pretend to practically abandon us?"
"I didn't want to hide it," he said. "Dad said it was for the best.'
"That makes no sense."
Ashton shrugged. "He didn't want you to get upset or worried."
"Because I wasn't worried when you ditched us, like I wasn't worried when Calvin murdered someone."
"Hey," Calvin said, obviously taking offense.
"It's true."
"Yeah but I'm not that guy anymore. I realized my mistakes."
She rolled her eyes. "I know. Ashton— I want to know what dad did for him to not want you to end up the same way he did."
"Cammie, it's complicated."
"So un-complicate it."
"Fine," he said, taking a deep breath. "He didn't want me to end up where he is now."
"What?"
"He's a ghost— a shell of a person. Because he lost mom."
"And he pushed us away," she mumbled.
"He didn't want me to come like that."
"It wasn't his fault our mother died."
"Cammie—"
Her eyes narrowed as conclusion jumped in her head. "Was he?"
"Of course not, Cammie— he didn't want me to fall in love."
She looked at him for a moment, trying to decide if he was bull shitting her. "That. Makes. No. Sense."
"He didn't want me to have to lose the one person I might love most in the world."
It didn't make any sense to her. "So he sent you into the army so we could watch you die?"
"He told me if he had the chance he never would have fallen in love with mom: it made his life worse."
"Okay well now I know why he hates us," she added sinisterly, her heart breaking on the inside.
"Cammie don't say things—"
"What else am I supposed to think?" she said, tear prickling in her eyes. "If he didn't want to love mom it's probably because he ended up with us. He's always resented us."
Ashton's eyes softened into hers. "You know that isn't true."
"Yes—"
"Cammie stop," Calvin interrupted, his own eyes slightly glazed over. "Ashton is right. He used to play with us all the time. I can't remember a time when you weren't attached to his lap."
"You need to let me finish; I know it sounds bad— it did to me first too, but hear me out. That's how he felt right after she died.
"He was bitter and lonely. He was trying to push people away. He sent me into the army because I was with Heather—remember her?"
Cammie nodded slowly. "He didn't want me to fall in love because he had quite a cynical view then. He sent me into the army. He sent you to boarding school and Calvin had already gotten his own way out. He wanted to be alone."
Tears piled up against the rim of her eyes, falling without her noticing.
"I don't understand why he told you and not us."
"He didn't tell me until he asked me to come home— about three and a half years ago. Once he realized we were all he had left."
"But—"
"I said no," Ashton continued. "I said no because I love being in the army, I made lifelong friends, it was an eye opener. When I said no I guess he figured you would too."
Her lips formed an 'O' and she snatched tissues of the floor and wiped her eyes.
"So now," she said, her voice returning. "He really wants to be a family again?"
Ashton nodded. "I do too."
Without saying anything Cammie got off the floor and embraced her eldest brother, motioning for Calvin to join in. He grinned wolfishly and did so, wrapping his long arms around both his siblings.
"Me too," Calvin and Cammie echoed, smiling at each other.
So the truth comes out. :P Review or PM me if you had questions or don't completely understand something.