Tyrant (Lazaretto Sequel)

ten

April 13, 2094

CAMILA

It couldn't have been true could it? His son Tanner couldn't have possibly been the same Tanner I had just spent all day with. The world couldn't have been that small, right? As much as I didn't want it to be true, everything added up. The dates, the times. All of it. My next concern was, do I tell them? Do I tell Tanner and Derek that they are in the same city mere miles from each other? I decided that I was going to tell Tanner as soon as I met him in Central Park. He deserved to know the truth, and who was I to keep it from him?

I found a secluded spot and sat down on a vacant bench waiting for Tanner to show up. The sun was starting to set behind the skyline, and I breathed in heavily as I tried to calm my impetuous thoughts. My knee began to bounce as the twisting of my ring just wasn't enough to stifle the nerves. I wasn't sure which approach I would use to deliver the news. I was thinking the rip-off-the-bandage approach would be the quickest and easiest, but it would have hurt the most. I put my head in my hands and sighed as I knew that there wasn't an easy way to go about it. I just had to do it. For Tanner's sake, and for Derek's.

"Camila?"

I tilted my head up at the sound of his voice, opening my eyes to see Tanner in a pair of khaki pants and a light blue button up. I gasped when I saw his face because his lip had been busted, and his cheek was bruised.

"Oh my god, what happened?" I asked as I stood up from the bench in a hurry to walk over to him. I tried to reach up to cup his face, but he grabbed my wrist gently to stop my movements. Looking at him confusingly as I searched his eyes, he put his head down when my gaze became too much to bear. He let go of my wrist, and I let it drop by my side, not making another attempt to try and touch him again.

"What's going on?" I asked after he hadn't answered my previous question. He put his hands in his pockets and looked back at me. The light that I used to see in his pale green orbs had vanished. They looked sad and hurt.

"Why didn't you tell me that Lauren was in New York?" His mouth fell into a frown as mine gaped open in shock. I was so foolish to think that she wouldn't have followed me. It was only a matter of time. I was putting Tanner at risk by being with him, and if Lauren found out she would kill him. Wait.

"Did she do that to you?" I asked, pointing to his battered face.

"Not only did she do this, but she broke into my hotel room and threatened that she would kill me if I didn't leave you alone."

My heart was beating out of my chest. I was fuming on the inside with anger at Lauren, but I had to remain calm for Tanner. Any possibility of telling him about Derek was out the window. Just being in the park with him now was putting us in danger, and the last thing I wanted was for Tanner to get caught up in all of the mess. I had done a good job of keeping the details of my crazy life a secret from him, but I didn't know how much longer I would be able to stay true to that.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. It was the only thing I could think of, but I knew it wasn't enough.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I-I honestly didn't know she was here. It's a long story."

"I've got nothing but time." 

He seemed a little agitated, but I didn't want him to get involved. I would have hated myself if anything happened to him because of me.

"She's right, you know. She'll kill you." I backed away from him with my hands on top of my head, shaking it from side to side as I saw his shoulders slump. "It's not safe for you to be seen with me, Tanner. She will stop at nothing until she gets me. I can't have you getting hurt because of me. I can't lose another person."