Fake It Til You Make It

21

Esmeray looked at Eryn unamused. "For what?"

"The man-whore next to you can start by giving me some compensation for how he treated me," Eryn demands.

Cameron scoffs. "Compensation? You robbed my store."

Eryn ignores Cameron and her eyes shift to Esmeray. "How could you let him treat us like that?"

"Ok, I was a kid too, Eryn. It wasn't my job to stick up for you, I couldn't even do it for myself." Esmeray tells her. Esmeray and Eryn hadn't spoken since 7th grade. Cameron, Esmeray, and Eryn were all partnered together for a science project and Cameron took his chance.

They worked together for a week before Eryn asked to switch groups. He made fun of the clothes she wore, he pulled her hair when she wasn't looking, and he threw pencils at her. Cameron would sometimes trip her when she was walking and take her things to mess with her. Eryn believed she could stick it out for the sake of the project until Esmeray and Eryn were walking in the halls together and they bumped into Cameron.

He shouted at them, calling them stupid bitches while the hall was full, and pushed them to the ground. Eryn stood up and pushed Esmeray once more. She angrily told Esmeray that she should've told him to leave them alone—that he knew her so he would've listened. Esmeray began feeling bad like it was her fault he was treating Eryn like that. The pit in her stomach she had when she thought that he was doing this because Eryn was friends with Esmeray.

Esmeray sees Cameron as the person he is now, but she carries so many tucked-away bad memories when she thinks of him.

"It's disgusting of you, Esmeray, to be with him after everything." Eryn spat.

"Ok, that's not necessary," Cameron says. "It's obvious your problem is with me. If you wanted me to apologize to you, maybe you shouldn't have robbed my store first."

"No, you would never apologize. I know about the deal you have with Esmeray. I want you to give my mom a job. She's pregnant and no one's hiring but she needs work." Eryn shared.

"How am I supposed to get my dad to employ a pregnant woman?"

"Figure it out." she glares at him. Eryn looked at Esmeray who was standing behind the counter with her hand on her hip. "This is how everyone sees you now, Esmeray. You're a joke. You couldn't stand up to your bully so you slept with him."

Cameron swings the shop door open. "You can leave, now," says Cameron.

"I'm not leaving until—"

"Get out, now," Cameron demands firmly. "Or you can wait for the cops."

Eryn looked at Esmeray knowingly before saying, "Some people never change."

Eryn glares at Cameron as she leaves the shop. A familiar wave of guilt rushed over Esmeray as Cameron joined her behind the counter. Eryn's words stung Esmeray a little more than she'd want to admit. Esmeray never paid attention to what people were saying about her throughout all of this. What if they were thinking that she's a terrible person because she's with Cameron? What if they thought she was an enabler?

Cameron's hand grazed Esmeray's lower back as he walked past her. Cameron asked her if she was okay and she nodded her head but she couldn't help but feel guilty.

~~~

Valentina zipped up the back of Esmeray's red dress, gently pulling the sides together to pull it up. "I've never seen this cute dress before. Where'd you get it?"