Nearly Broken

Chapter 22 - Mistakes

Cameron and I ate dinner in a bliss silence. Both of us were too concentrated on eating the delicious food to worry about talking. It wasn't the awkward silence I expected; it was very... comfortable.

I wondered if Nash had cooked the alfredo chicken we were eating. Maybe I should compliment him on it. There was a smaller covered dish next to us, but neither of us have investigated it.

As if Cameron read my mind, I saw him eyeballing the small plate. He slowly lifted it up and I waited for his reaction.

"Well, Verona, so far this has been a damn good date. I'm going to have to thank Nash later." Cameron chuckled as he grabbed his spoon.

I lifted my lid and my mouth almost started to water. A brownie base with ice cream and chocolate syrup sat before me. I didn't ask many questions like 'how did it not melt' I just devoured into it.

"I'm in love with this dessert." I heard Cameron moan from the other end of the table.

I giggled as I scooped up the last bit of my brownie. I closed my eyes and laid back in the chair after I was finished eating. I know Cameron was the same thing as Nash, but I felt at ease around Cameron. I could let my guard down, finally.

"Do you like him?" Cameron's voice made me jump and my eyes flew open.

"What?"I asked even though I had heard him.

"Nash, do you like him?" He repeated.

"Uh. I don't really know. I was forced to come here, if that tells you anything. He, well, he scares me a little." I admitted.

"How?"

"He's a Pernicious! Isn't it my natural instinct to be afraid of them? Today he pretty much confessed that he wanted to kill me!" I blurted out.

"Do I scare you?" He chuckled.

"No." I don't know what was different about Cameron,  but he didn't frighten me in the slightest.

"What makes me different?"

I honestly didn't know how to answer that. Cameron never scared me. Maybe it was because he had helped me or maybe it was his gentle nature, but he didn't make me want to run.

"You know what makes a Pernicious's eyes brown right?" He suddenly asked.

I shook my head. I never gave much thought to it. They were just colors.

"I've killed people, Verona. Not in a long time, but they're brown to show that I'm not innocent like Nash. None of us are. Nash is the only Pernicious I've come across that has never killed someone. That says a lot." Cameron explained.

"You don't scare me." I said; ignoring his comments about Nash.

"I should." And with that Cameron stood up.

"I'm going to take a shower." I watched him clap his hands together and walk out of the room.

I smiled to myself and shook my head. Cameron was walking out of the room towards the bathroom,  but I remained sitting. I was relaxed and carefree at the moment and it was a foreign feeling. Even though I had just finished a serious conversation with Cameron,  I wasn't thinking about my past or Nash or how this world was messed up and it felt nice to not worry.

After awhile of peaceful thoughts, I heard the water turn on in the shower. It made me jump, because I had almost forgotten about Cameron. The chair made a loud noise as I pushed it away from the table. I sighed and quickly picked up our dishes and blew out the few lit candles.

I walked into the kitchen and set the dirty dishes in the sink. After washing my hands I went to change clothes. On my way to the bedroom though, I saw that the bathroom door was open.