Worth It

(33) Even When He is Helping me, He's still an Asshole

Cameron

Once I close the door and turn to face Zara, I realize something.

I don't know what I am doing.

Okay, I already realized that. I mean, come on. One look inside this cabin, filled to the brim with all sorts of torture devices that I don't know the names of and I knew right away that I was out of my comfort zone here.

But, it wasn't just that. I feel out of my element not just because I still feel like I don't know what I'm doing here, but also because of the beautiful girl standing before me in her neon green leg cast, leaning on her crutches which must be uncomfortable to be doing so.

Why isn't she sitting on that bench in the corner? I ask her as much and she gives me a sheepish look while blushing the perfect shade of pink. Cute.

"I didn't know if I should wait for your command, mas - sir." She corrects herself. Was she going to call me master before? Is that what she used to call him?

"What happened?" I ask, referring to her leg because I want to occupy my mind from all thoughts of Zara's ex and because I genuinely want to know. I care. That's different for me if I'm being honest. Since Jenna, I have kept people in general at arm's length, but this girl. She's different. I guess, in a way, she's always been different.

"Oh." She looks down, being uncharacteristically quiet. She must be nervous too. "Well, I was dancing and just sort of lost balance and fell." She shrugs. "Guess I'm a bit clumsy." Her eyes grow unfocused as she looks around the room, avoiding my eyes. Fiddling with her blue rubber band.

She's lying. Zara isn't clumsy. She's almost too on her feet. Never misses a step, especially a dance step. Something happened that she isn't telling me.

"This bdsm thing," I start. "One of the key factors in any relationship, especially a bdsm relationship is trust." I state. "How are we supposed to have that if you lie to me?"

Zara

Asshole.

Even when he is helping me, he's still an asshole.

"Who said we're in a relationship?" Yep. He brought up something touchy for me, so I got all defensive and decided to be a bitch about it. Sue me!

And also, these crutches are really hurting my armpits, so I sit down on the bench in the corner and after several attempts to balance the crutches on the wall just to the side of the bench, they finally stay there.

"Oh." He gets all flustered. "Well I-I just thought since--" And then he stops. Something in his expression seems to shift. He meets me head on and something tells me he's going to call me on my bull.

"What happened to your leg, Zara?" He steps closer to me. Way closer. Now we only have a foot of space separating us.

"I fell." I insist stubbornly.

Cameron steps even closer to me, so there isn't even an inch of space separating our bodies. He crouches down so that he is eye level with me.

"Why did you fall, Zara?" The way he asks that. So gentle. His eyes earnest and the warmest shade of honey. When he asks me that question, he actually wants the answer.

No matter how ugly it might be because he cares.

Cameron cares.

And for that reason alone, I cave. I answer him something I've never been able to open up about to anyone. Not even Zayne; my brother.