Chapter 18 - Life

Cam sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly through her mouth before breathing deeply again, in through the nose. She had been doing that for at least 10 minutes. The room was almost in darkness except for the three candles she had lit. It didn’t matter how hard she tried though; she couldn’t clear her mind of Michelle and whether she should have seen this happening. She sank down further into the water until her chin rested on the top, her mind full of what ifs and maybes that drove her crazy until she sank further down and under the water. It was a weird kind of silence. She could hear the blood rushing and her own heart beating, and then a different noise, tinny and musical. She sat up instantly, water splashing the floor as she reached for a towel to dry her hand and answer the phone as quickly as she could.

“Michelle?” she asked hurriedly, shaking the water from her hair.

“No, sorry. It’s me, Lucy.” Cam sank back a little with the disappointment.

“Oh, sorry…I just…”

“Was expecting your wife, I get it.” Lucy chuckled. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“Yeah, something like that…”

“Where are you? It sounds really echoey,” Lucy quizzed. It was barely past nine p.m. She expected Cam to be at work.

Cam sighed. “In the bath.”

“Oh God, you’re naked, and we’re talking on the phone…is that appropriate?” Lucy chuckled, and Cam couldn’t help but smile at her friend. “Okay, let me make this quick then. Which one of your friends is visiting the cabin this week?”

“What?”

“There’s a light on, and a car outside. Usually you tell me who it is…but this time, I figured with the kids and all that you forgot. It’s just it’s late and…”

Cam sat up ramrod straight. “Wait, what? Someone is in my cabin?”

Now, Lucy sounded a little nervous. “Yeah, shouldn’t there be?” She tried to remain calm and quiet; Nicole and the girls were asleep.

“No,” Cam said, shaking her head until a thought struck her. “Wait, the car…is it a little blue sporty thing?”

“That’s the one,” Lucy said, somewhat relieved.

“Fuck. Hold on.” Cam put the phone down on the ledge and climbed out of the bath, water dripping everywhere as she grabbed a robe and pulled it on. She picked up her pile of clothes and then grabbed the phone again. “I need you to do me a huge favor.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“Don’t let that car leave,” she said, running along the hallway to her room. She tossed the dirty clothes into the hamper and started pulling clean ones from the drawers. “It’s Michelle…look, I can’t explain right now, just…trust me, please. I am on my way right now.”

“Alright, I’ll do my best. Are you driving up, or…”

“I’ll see how long a flight will take. Otherwise, yeah, I’ll drive.”

She disconnected the call after they offered each other goodbyes and Lucy told her to be careful. It took seconds to pull on some fresh jeans and a clean top. She found her phone on the bed, shoved it into her pocket, and headed back downstairs. “Mum.”

She was calling out before she even hit the bottom step. “Mum?”

“Camryn, shh,” her mother’s voice whispered from the other room.

“Sorry,” Cam said, lowering her own tones as she walked in and picked up her wallet. “Michelle is at the cabin; I’m going to head up there now.”

“Oh my goodness, such a long way all by herself. Go. Bring her home, baby.”

Cam leaned in and kissed her mum, then each of the twins. “I will, I’ll call in the morning.”