Cam finished packing while the moving truck backed in. As the last box loaded she looked at the people she called family for the past 8 years. Bruce obviously wasn't there. She wanted to say something to him but decided against it in fear that she would scream at him again, like at the hospital.
"Take care, Cammy," Dick said while ruffling her hair. "And don't be afraid to call or text or come down. We'll be here for you no matter what." She hugged him and could feel the tears threatening to spill out of her eyelids.
"I know."
"Don't hog her," Jason said. She let go and went to hug him. "If anyone tries to bully you always break their bones. It shows dominance." Dick hit him in the arm causing Cam to laugh. She let go and hugged Damian next.
"Please don't go," he said in her ear.
"I have to. After all this, I can't stay." He didn't say anything else because he knew he wouldn't be able to hold back. She let go and hugged Tim.
"Cammy-" he choked. "I wish we did more together."
"Me too." She went on to hug Duke, then Stephanie, then Cassandra, and lastly Barbara.
"Are you going to say bye to Bruce?" Damian asked. Tim elbowed him. "Ow," he said softly.
"I left him a letter." They all stood around looking at each other and trying to figure out how it all fell apart so quickly. "Thank you for accepting me into this family. I won't ever forget the good memories we had. I just wish things went differently." Cam turned her back in fear of being dragged into another hug with them. She knew that if they did she would stay but she knew she had to leave.
"Cam-" Dick said grabbing her arm. She pulled away quickly and got into her car.
"Cam!" Damian shouted tears coming to his eyes. She looked at him from the rear view mirror. Taylor turned on her car and drove. "Cam!" She heard him shout.
"Are you sure you want me to go? They're yelling at you," Taylor asked, still not stopping.
"I want a happy ending. And for that I need only you and the one other girl who loves me." Cam looked at Taylor and smiled. In that moment Cam also saw all her memories with her family flood in her brain. Which varied from baking cookies for Santa to carving pumpkins for Halloween. She could feel tears coming but wiped them away quickly.
~
Bruce saw the letter on his desk in his study. He debated on opening but knew Camilla would want him to.
Dear Bruce,
This actually isn't your fault. I had more deep rooted issues than you saw. For instance I got abortion. If you want to know about that (which I know you want to know) ask Jason or Dick. My life just felt more shitty than I thought. Sending me to the Academy was what pushed me over. That place was hell. All the girls hated me and bullied me. I'm sorry for all the fights we've had but you need to apologize on your behalf too. This isn't all my fault. I knew I had to go but I didn't know how. I just knew I didn't want to feel pain. And this family is only made of pain. I'm sorry for causing you all this heartbreak and being your disappointment. I wish I could go back and be with my aunt instead of you. You were honestly the worst thing that has ever happened to me.
-Camilla Wayne
He dropped the letter on the desk and examined it. That last line echoed in his head. He had tears coming out of his eyes and was becoming more angry by the minute. He pulled out a bottle of scotch and poured some. He looked at the bottle and threw it against the wall causing all the kids to jump. He saw them in the doorway and went over to shut it in their faces.
~
When Cam arrived to her new home in Texas she felt...happy. She looked at the apartment her aunt had found for her.
"It's not much but it has two bedrooms and what not."
"Thanks, Aunt Jay," Cam said. She went in and hugged her. Cam started to unpack and found a photo album. She opened and saw notes from the family. She sat on her couch and read each one. She started crying after the first one. After the last one she was a mess.
"Are you okay?" Taylor asked when she saw her on the floor with all the notes spread out. Cam couldn't form words and kept mumbling. She felt horrible. She thought moving would be a new start but seeing this made her feel shitty. She left them all. Every person she loved was in that family. "It's okay," Taylor said sitting next to her and putting her head on her shoulder. She wanted to text them but went against.
~
"Are you sure you put the album in one of her boxes?" Damian asked.
"Of course. Where else would I put it?" They were all pacing the room. All they wanted was for her text them. Saying how she loved it, saying she'd come back, or just simply thanking them.
"Maybe she doesn't care anymore," Steph said.
"Why would you say that?" Damian shouted at her.
"Damian, calm down," Dick said.
"How?! She just left us! How can she do that!" Damian had tears streaming down his face. He has never been like this. No one knew what was happening and why he was acting like this. Damian saw it in their eyes. He turned and ran up the stairs into his room.
"We need to forget about her," Steph said trying to hold tears back.
"We can't forget about her. She has been an important part of our lives for 8 years. We can't just forget about her," Cassie said almost crying.
"She doesn't care about us anymore," Steph continued on.
"Shut up, Steph!" Cassie screamed.
"She's right," Jason said.
"What?!" Cassie said turning to Jason.
"It's obvious she doesn't give a shit about us. She doesn't care. We have to continue now as if she didn't even come here."
"Y'all are fucking pathetic," Cassie said wiping her face and going up to her room.
"That was blown out of proportion," Jason said sipping the bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand.
"You were a little harsh. Both of you," Dick said looking at both Jason and Steph.
"Oh fuck off," Steph said walking out the door.
"Yeah. What she said," Jason said while taking another chug at his whiskey. He walked away from the room and out the back door to do god knows what. Duke felt awkward having to witness this fight so he just breathed out and walked away.
"Are we going to be okay?" Tim asked Dick. Babs was sitting on the couch with her head in her hands and trying to hold back tears. Which didn't last long because right when she took in a breath she broke. Dick tried to comfort her but she ran upstairs into her room too.
"Not for awhile."
YOU ARE READING
how it all went down {batfam}
Fanfiction"I looked at all of you as a family one night and saw how you all didn't need me. You all were just talking and smiling. I knew that if I walked in that would be gone in seconds because Bruce would talk about something I did that wasn't right."...
