"So I have good news and bad news." Vanessa pauses to take a sip of her tea, waiting for Cami's nod before continuing. "Good news is that he pled guilty and took a plea bargain. We don't have to go to trial." Cami lets out a huge sigh of relief at this. I know the threat of having to testify had been weighing heavy on her ever since the Jared incident, and it's been getting harder and harder to wake her up from her nightmares. I move over next to Cami on the couch, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"And the bad news...?" Vanessa nods sharply.
"The plea he took was two years, eligible for parole after 6 months." Her voice is clipped, and I can tell she's as angry as I am.
"Are you fucking joking?" I'm trying to keep my voice calm for Cami's sake, but I can feel the anger rising. "Six months for all the shit he did to her? She's gonna be dealing with this for years." Vanessa shoots me a warning glance, and I look over just in time to see Cami slip out from under my arm and dart into her room, the door closing firmly behind her. Vanessa places her hand on my arm as I start after her.
"Pippa, maybe give her a second. This is a lot to process." Vanessa's about to impart more wisdom on me when her phone rings, and Lin needs her home because Disney wants to skype but Sebastian's throwing a tantrum. Vanessa blows me a kiss and runs out the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
How could I have been so stupid as to yell? I should know more than anyone how Cami reacts to that. I should be able to keep her safe. Heart pounding, I slowly make my way to Cami's room.
"Cami?" I knock gently on her door, cracking it open when I don't receive a response after a couple of seconds. "Can we talk?" Still no response, but I hear shuffling in the corner that's hidden from my view by the giant bed Jasmine insisted she needed. As I slowly make my way to the corner, Cami comes into view, sitting with her back against the wall and her knees drawn up to her chest. I crouch down a safe distance away from her and assume a similar position. About a minute goes by without Cami panicking or pulling away from me, so I decide it's time to talk.
"What's going on in your head?"
"Should I be more upset about him only getting 2 years?" The way she's firmly addressing her knees, I'm not sure if she wants an answer from me, and sure enough, she keeps talking. "You were so mad. But-that's a long time. And he-he wanted to go to Duke. He'd always talk about it, and now he can't. There's no way." This is such a switch from everything she's told me about Jared, and I'm not sure how to react.
"He hurt you. He put you through shit you should never have had to go through-" She finally lifts her head, eyes shining, and her voice is steely when she speaks.
"You don't think I know that? When I can't fall asleep because I'm thinking about him, I just wish that he'd never gone that far. Not because of the shit it put me through, but because...because if he hadn't then maybe I wouldn't have had to leave and he'd still be in my life." There's a stunned silence after this, and while I'm fighting to keep my face neutral, Cami looks shocked at what just came out of her mouth.
"It wasn't all bad. He'd always sit with me at lunch-I usually never had anyone to sit with, cause I was always the new kid. And we'd go on bike rides together, and he memorized all the scientific names of the plants by the pond in the park. But now, you, and Jasmine, and everyone else talk about him like he's such a terrible person, and I don't know what's real about my memories or whether it's all a lie and I just-I feel so...I don't know." Her voice trails off at the end of this, but she's still decidedly dry-eyed.
I reach out my hand, which she grabs immediately, pulling our joined fingers up to her cheek and scooting me over as she does so.
"So I'm not going to pretend to be able to understand all of that, because I know I can't and there's no point in me embarrassing both of us by trying." Cami giggles a little, and I continue, encouraged. "But I do want to tell you that every single one of your feelings are valid. If you ever feel like Jasmine, or I, or anyone else is trying to tell you how to feel, well, I'm giving you permission to full-on bitch slap." Another giggle, this time a little louder. "You're doing a good job, Cam." There's a couple moments of comfortable silence, then Cami unfolds her legs and offers an olive branch.
YOU ARE READING
The Uncanny Accuracy of Fate
Fanfiction... Camille Beckett and Phillipa Soo have been living only miles apart for years, though their paths have never crossed. It's amazing what a masterclass and a musical can do. Who knows, maybe it's fate!
