Camie Stewart - Chapter 6

I couldn't sleep that night. I kept thinking about what Devnee had told me, and whether it was true or not. So the next morning, I got dressed and after I saw Rykie on the bus to school, I went to see Bryan in his office. Everyone greeted me with a smile, after all I was their boss. I walked in Bryan's office, and said to him.

"Yesterday evening your ex-wife came visiting."

"Oh yeah," he told me, pulling a chair. I sat down.

"And what did she want?"

"She told me that she met Trey, and he told he that he still loves me, and wants me back." Bryan got really angry.

"The bastard! He's had enough of other women, and now he wants his precious wife back!" I looked at him,

"Bryan, she told me other things as well. She said that you and Romy had an affair in the past, that you still cheated with her when you were married. And that she saw you together last week. Oh, and that Romy is pregnant." He looked shocked.

"That's not true! I haven't seen Romy ever since that day you fired her. I never had an affair with her. I told you Camie, my marriage ended because Devnee had an affair with Trey. Believe me, Camie, it's true. You are the only woman I have ever truly loved, and I would never hurt you in any way."

I got up and hugged him. "I'm sorry Bryan. I love you too. But I needed to tell you this, so I would never live in doubt. And don't worry. I'm not going back to Trey. NEVER."

He took my face in his hands, and said sweetly, "I know. Don't ever let them hurt you again, Camie. And if you should see Devnee again, don't talk to her. And if Trey calls, hang up on him. They will only fill your head with hollow lies. I love you, Camie." And he kissed me so passionately, that all my doubts simply evaporated from my head.

That afternoon, the phone rang.

"Hello," I answered.

"Hello, Camie." It was Trey. I was very tempted to hang up, but then I decided to listen to him, and hear what he had to say, but then he had to listen to ME, and hear what I had to say.

"What?"

"Camie, I would really like to talk to you."

"Well, I'm listening."

"No," he replied. "Not like this. I mean, in person. I'm going to be in Pennsburgh this weekend. Do you think we could meet. Maybe go out with Rykie somewhere together?."

"No Trey," I answered. "I'm seeing someone else now, and I'm really happy with him."

"I know," he said. "It's Bryan, isn't it? He just called me up and told me to stay the hell out of your life. But I really want to give us another try."

"What?" I asked. "What did Bryan do? Did he really call you up, telling you that?"

"Yes," he answered. "And Devnee just called me too, telling me that Bryan has called her, threating her with all sorts of things to keep her mouth shut. He told her that he knows she was at your house yesterday. What's going on, Camie?" I was silent for a few moments. I couldn't believe that Bryan would do such a thing. I don't know why, but I suddenly found that I was believing Trey. "Camie, are you still there? Are you okay?"

"Yes, Trey, I'm still here, and I'm ok. Is your offer still on for next weekend?"

"Hell, yes," he answered.

"Ok, you can come and pick Rykie from my house, and then we'll decided where to go."

"Hey thanks," he started saying. But I hung up. I had another call to do.

I called Bryan at the office. His secretary answered. She told me that Bryan wasn't in. When I asked her, what time he would be in, she said that he will not be in for the whole day. She said that he had left about three hours ago, telling her that he was coming for me, because we were to spend the day together. Suddenly, everything was falling in place. How could I have been this stupid? I hung up. I got in my car, and drove to Bryan's house

I rang the doorbell. Bryan opened the door. He did not ask me in. Instead he walked out, and closed the door behind him.

"I thought you were at work."

"I was not feeling very well, and so I decided to take the day off," he answered.

"And you happened to call Devnee and Trey too, didn't you?"

"God, Camie, have they been lying to you again? Haven't I told you not to speak to them?"

"Well, I speak to whom I want to. You are not my father Bryan, to order me about. My father is dead, but I'm pretty sure that if he was still alive, he would kill you right now."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Well, can I come in?" I asked.

"Listen, Camie, I think you should go home, I'm not feeling very well, right now."

"You are sick, aren't you? Well, let me tell you one thing. Yes, you're right. You're one hell of a sick bastard." And with those words, I pushed open the door, and walked inside. And there sitting on the sofa, looking as pregnant as can be, was Romy! "Who's lying now, ha?" I screamed. I turned around to face Bryan. I expected to see that same horrified look I had seen on Trey's face that night at the hotel. Instead, Bryan looked much more calmer than I had ever seen him before, as if he was expecting this, and knew exactly how I would react.

He walked over, and sat down beside Romy. "Sit down, it's time that you knew the truth."

"No, I'm getting out," I shouted. "And I never want to see you two again."

"Sit down, Camie," he shouted back. "It will only take a few minutes of your life, but maybe you deserve to know what a bitch you have been to both of us." I was so surprised at his words, that I sat down immediately

I looked at Romy, and she saw me looking.

"Yes, Camie. This is Bryan's baby. And if you must know the truth - this is number 2."

"What? You already had another child?"

"Yes, it happened a long time ago. It's not Bryan's baby though. It happened some time after you left Simville. I started dating Noel Thompson, and after a while I discovered I was pregnant. Do you remember that time you had called me, and I had told you to move on? Well, I was already pregnant, and full of shame. You know how different things are back there." I looked at her speechless.

"But you could have told me about it. I would have tried to help you." She shook her head.

"No, you wouldn't. Not if it meant ruining your perfect existence. I married Noel, had the baby, a boy, and after a year got divorced. I decided to move out of Simville, and come to Pennsburgh."

"I came looking for you, to tell you the truth and ask for your help. Instead, you told me how happy you were with Trey, and that there simply wasn't any room for me in your new life. I met Bryan shortly afterwards, and he told me how you had hurt him too. Anyway, we started hanging out together, and we fell in love. But his parents would not hear of it, him marrying a divorced woman with child. He had no choice but to marry Devnee." I looked at her speechless.

"You were married? When you came to Pennsburgh, you were already married?" She nodded. "Why are you surprised? Am I not a Simville girl too? You too got married in your teens. Every girl in Simville does. But my marriage was not a fairy tale like yours. I needed so much help, but my only friend turned her back on me. And that was the moment that I vowed revenge on you. Trey was the sweetest revenge I could get. This story of you and Bryan was more like dessert to a rich meal." And she started laughing.

I stared at her. Suddenly I was filled with remorse. This was my childhood best friend, and she had gone through so much pain in her life, and when she needed me, I did not even try to listen to what she had to say. I simply sent her away, because I was afraid that she will drive my new friends away. And my new friends were the ones who mattered, because they were the beautiful and popular kids, and Romy was just an old friend from Simville - a town I wanted to forget. I was about to say that I was sorry for what I did to her, when she stopped laughing and said,

"I couldn't believe it when Trey fell in my trap like that. He was sooo much in love with you, that honestly I never thought I stood a chance. But I succeeded to take away your man from you, and ruin your fairy-tale life. You deserved everything that you got." I was not guilty anymore, but angry at her. I did not know of her problems, because if I did I would have helped her. I did nothing to hurt her on purpose, and I was not the one who had ruined her life. But she had ruined my life on purpose.I looked at Bryan.

"And what about you? What have I done to you?" I asked.

"It wasn't just you. It wasTrey too. I wanted to ruin you both. From the very first time I say you, I fell in love with you. I was dating Devnee, but I never really loved her. She was just my ticket to hanging out with the popular kids - like Trey was to you. Because I know everything about you now, and how you were this big loser before you moved to town. Anyway, I told Trey how much I wanted to go out with you, but instead of being a friend, he looked at me and said, 'Well, I want her too. And I'm going to get her first. And I don't think that I will dump her at the end of the month'. I asked him why. After all, you were just another girl that he had met, and that he could easily do without. He just laughed at me and said, 'I always get everything I want, and she's so hot, she deserves to be with the most popular boy in town, right?' And that was it. He made you his girl." He did not dump you, not because he loved you, but because I wanted you too. That was the way he repaid me for pulling him out that night we got picked up by the cops. I loved Trey like a brother, and decided to take the blame myself, so as not to ruin his reputation."

"Anyway, I wasn't going to give you that easy. So that night, at the party, I tried to show you how important you were for me. And I realised that you were in love with me too. That night, or rather morning, I went home as happy as could be, because I really thought that we had it made. But then you started avoiding me, and ignoring me, and made it so obvious that you were chosing Trey. So I decided that somehow or other, I was going to get my revenge on you. Well, even though I was married to Dev, I kept seeing Romy, and so we deviced a really wicked plan to ruin you both. The rest you know it."

I got up. "I'm leaving, and I never want to see you two sick people again! Enjoy your miserable lives together." And with those words, I started walking to the door. But Bryan was quicker than me. He ran around, blocking the door for me.

"No, you're not going anywhere. We are not finished with you yet."

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

"You are NEVER going back to that bastard Trey, and start living your fairy-tale life together again."

He came around, and grabbed me from behind. He lifted me, and threw me on the sofa. I tried to get up, but Bryan held me down. I managed to push myself up, and started running away again.

But Bryan came around and pushed me. I fell backwards, and hit my head on the hard floor. I heard Romy screaming, and she was saying,

"Bryan, what have you done? You've really gone too far." But she sounded so far away. I tried to get up, and then I heard a familiar voice saying,

"What the hell is going on? Camie, are you alright?" But this voice sounded even further away from Romy's, as if it was a voice from a different time altogether. But as I was slowly drifting out of consciousness, I realised it was Trey's voice. Then everything went black, and I remembered no more...

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a totally strange place. I looked down, and I discovered that I was not wearing my clothes anymore. As I looked carefully, I discovered that I was in my wedding dress. I couldn't understand where I was. My hair felt shorter too, and I was standing at the edge of a path. Lined on both sides were thick palm trees. I tried to look behind me, but I could see nothing. I could hear the trees rustling in the soft breeze, and some birds chirping in the distance, but all around there was a kind of strange stillness - as if time had stopped, and somehow I was trapped in a bubble. However, I felt at peace. I felt weird, but not scared.

So I decided to start walking along the path. After walking on for a few minutes, the path took a sudden turning, and the trees changed. Now I was walking in a road of some sort of red trees. It was all very weird

Finally the path I was following came to an end. I looked up and saw that it had led to a high fenced wall. It somehow reminded me of a cemetery wall. But I did not feel afraid. Instead I felt releived that somehow the road had led me somewhere. There was no gate in the wall, and so I walked slowly inside, wondering what I was going to find.
Cypress trees lined up the whole place, but there were no graves in this place. Instead there was a small fountain in the middle. I walked towards this fountain. There was a man, dressed in a white suit, sitting on the fountain's edge, and playing with the water. He did not look up, but continued playing silently. I wanted to talk to him, to ask him where I was, but instead I remained silent, waiting for him to acknowledge my presence
Suddenly as if by magic, the man disappeared. One moment he was there playing with the water, and the next he was gone. I walked over towards a bench at the far end of the garden, and looked outside. But there was no sign of him at all. I wondered if I had not imagined it all.
As I looked outside, I noticed a small river that was running at the back of the garden. I decided to go outside, to try and find a way out of this beautiful but weird place I suddenly found myself into.I started following the river, walking carefully along its edge. When suddenly I noticed that the water spelled out a name - my name - CAMIE. I was dumbfounded. Rivers just don't spell out people's names. There must be some kind of message behind all this

I followed the river, and suddenly found myself at another bench, this time a wooden one. And sitting on this bench was the same man, in the white suit. I walked over towards him, determined to speak to him this time. There was something about him, that made me feel suddenly very secure, and full of love. He looked up, and I finally understood why.

THAT MAN WAS MY FATHER!

I sat down beside him. I was so happy. He put his arms around me, and held me close to him, just like he used to do when I was a kid.

"Don't be afraid," he said, "Everything is going to be allright."

"Why am I here? What is this place? Why am I wearing my wedding dress?" He smiled.

"Maybe it's better if you don't know where you are. But you are here because I sent for you, cos I wanted to talk to you. And it was your mind that chose the wedding dress. That was the happiest day of your life, wasn't it?" I nodded.

"Well, apart from having Rykie, yes, that was the happiest day."

"And more days like that will follow, if you just listen to me. Trey had been foolish, but he never stopped loving you. One night at an office party, he had been seduced by Romy, and then she started threating him that if he stopped seeing her, she was going to tell you about it. He kept on seeing her, to protect you and your child from being hurt. But Trey always loved you, and he never stopped loving you. Even right now, he is in love with you, and worried sick about you." I looked up at daddy.
"So what should I do?" I asked. But I already knew the answer.

"You must give him another chance, baby. You will see that everything will turn out right this time. And in a year's time, you will have another child, a son this time." I hugged my father.

"Oh daddy, I'm so happy. I always loved Trey, and even I, I never stopped loving him. I just was too hurt and too proud to admit it, and maybe was scared too to ever give him another chance. I believed too many lies, but deep in my heart I had always hoped that the truth was different"

Then my father stood up, and lifted me in his arms. "It's time that you go. You cannot stay here, not yet. Your family is waiting for you."

He then lifted me down, and to my amazement, we were standing at the edge of the path, at the exact spot where I stood when I first arrived here

"Aren't you coming with me?" I asked.

"No, baby,I can't. My time over there is up, I can't go back. But you have to go, and go on. Don't worry, we will meet again someday. I will be waiting here for you. Just keep on making me proud, like you always have. And tell your mother, that I am really happy for the man she chose as her husband. He is really worthy of a wonderful woman like her." And with those words he hugged me close. I hugged him tight, and I wouldn't let him go. But suddenly, everything went black again.

I opened my eyes slowly. The ceiling was very white. I looked slowly around. I discovered I was in hospital. My mother, James and Trey were beside me, looking as worried as can be. I asked what's happened. And Trey explained to me that when he had called me that morning, he had lied about not being in town. He had been in town when he had sent Devnee around, but he just wanted to make sure that I wanted to see him before he made any move. Then when he called me he noticed how flustered I had sounded, and decided to come over to see if everything was allright

He saw me running out of the house, and getting in my car and he decided to follow me. He saw me going to Bryan's house, and he saw us arguing out there. Then when I went inside, and took a long time coming out, he decided to come over and check it out. And at that moment he heard me scream. He pushed open the door, and saw me lying unconcious on the floor.

"Where's Rykie? I asked.

"I called Devnee, and told her to go to your house so that when Rykie comes home from school, she will be there to look after her. And my mother is on her way there too."He looked at me, "Camie, can you ever ever forgive me for doing what I did to you and Rykie?" I smiled at him.

"Only if you forgive me for not believing you and Devnee."

Well, that was the story of my life. Me and Trey got back together, and continued from where we had left. I was asked if I wanted to report Bryan and Romy, and press charges against, but I decided that I really wanted to start a new life, and it was better to let them be. After all, I was not going to get anything from getting them arrested, and besides there was that baby that would soon be born. No matter how terrible Bryan and Romy were, that baby had nothing to do with it, and deserved a much better life. Trey and me are very happy now. Daddy was right, because right now I am pregnant, and James has just told us that it's a boy. We are going to call him Jon after my father. We just know that this time things will turn out right. And I am very happy knowing, that my father is looking after us well

The End