so incredible || cam newton [complete]

8 | her story

Cam's POV.
Sitting in the diner, I watched the way Brooke looked up at her big sister with a big, adorable smile. I can tell she really loves Briana.

"Sissy, potty."

Briana got up from the table to take Brooke to the bathroom, leaving me with her grandfather. He's such an intimidating man, and it really made me nervous.

"So, does Briana talk about her family at all?" he asked.

"She talks about Brooke, a lot, and you & your wife. But when I ask about her parents, she quickly changes the subject."

He took his glasses off and ran his hand down his face before putting them back on. "Briana and her parents have a rocky relationship. She had a rough childhood, and she doesn't really like to talk about it. You just gotta be patient with her. When she's ready, she'll tell you about them."

I nodded to let him know I understood. I'm actually really curious about her parents now, but I'm not gonna say anything.

"Now, are you two having sex?"

I chuckled nervously and my palms became sweaty. "No sir."

"Good."

I let out a subtle sigh of relief as Briana and Brooke came back.

"Well Bri, we should probably get going. I gotta get the little one home," her grandfather said, standing up.

"Okay," Briana said sadly.

He took us back to school, and Briana reluctantly said goodbye. "Call me when you get back home."

"I will. I love you."

"I love you too," she said, pulling away from his hug.

"Cam, you take care of my girl," he said, shaking my hand.

"Will do."

"Brooke say goodbye to your sister."

Brooke slowly walked up to Briana, and she picked her up. "Bye bye, NaNa."

"Bye, Brookie. I love you."

"I lub you."

She gave Briana a kiss on the cheek, then she looked up at me. "Bye, Cam."

"Bye. I hope I see you again some time."

She happily nodded, smiled and gave me a hug, which shocked me a little. She went back to her grandfather, they said their final goodbyes and left. As soon as they were gone, Briana buried her head in my chest and cried. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

"You ready to go to your room?" I asked her.

She nodded, so we walked inside the dorm. We got in her room, put our book bags on the floor and lied on her bed.

I was unknowingly stroking her hair when she sat up and fiddled with her fingers. "I'm ready to talk about it."

"About what?"

"My parents..."

I sat up and looked at her. "Are you sure?"

She nervously bit the corner of her lip and nodded.

"Okay."

~

Briana's POV.
I never talk about my parents to anyone but if Cam & I are gonna be together, I figured he should know.

"My mom had me when she was only fourteen," I started.

Cam's eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly. "Was she..."

"Oh, no," I clarified before continuing, "she uh, she didn't want an abortion and my grandparents wouldn't let her get one, so that's why I'm here. My grandparents took care of me until I was five, then we moved out on our own. My parents always fought because my dad would come home drunk or he would cheat on my mom, and she would take her anger out on me."

A tear fell from my eye, and Cam wiped it away with his thumb.

"She would verbally and physically abuse me just because she was mad at him. She said I was her biggest mistake, and she always told me I ruined her life and she wished she would have aborted me. When she got tired of insulting me, she would hit me. There were times she'd hit me with her hands, and sometimes she would use whatever was lying around the house like a shoe, or her belt or even...an extension cord. She burned me with cigarettes and threw beer bottles at me. My dad knew this was going on, but he never said anything," I cried, "when I was ten, I would run away and go to my grandparents house. They found out what was happening, so they got custody of me and I lived with them until I graduated high school."

By the end of my story, my face was drenched and Cam was crying a little too.

"Baby, I am so sorry," his voice cracked, "come here."

I sat on his lap and cried on his shoulder as he ran his hand up & down my back. He kissed my temple and I lifted my head to look at him.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"For what?"

"Letting me cry on your shoulder," I giggled, "and for genuinely caring."

He smiled and wiped my eyes, "don't thank me, baby girl; that's my job."

I smiled a little and kissed his lips before laying my head back on his shoulder.