The Broken Pieces novel Chapter 37

"I've known her since I was a kid."

"Did you, though?"

We stopped off at Cameron's house after leaving the ice cream parlor. I couldn't stop thinking about how messed up my life has become after one piece of information. My lungs felt as if they were filled with water, constantly drowning me in the pressure.

I bit my lip and glanced at Camara, who stood behind me. She nodded at me and I shortly hesitated before knocking on the apartment door.

A couple seconds passed before the door opened.

"Hello?" A deep voice asked and suddenly appeared a sleepy Tristan, Cameron's on-and-off boyfriend.

"Hey Tristan, this is my friend Camara, is it a good time?" I smile at the shirtless man as he rubs the tiredness out of his eyes.

He glances at me again before flashing a camera worthy smile. "Of course, Emily, anytime's good with you." He opens the door wider and waves us inside, "come in. Sorry, I was taking a nap before I had to go back to work."

"No, you're good." I said as we walked into Cameron's studio apartment, that seemed to scream Art Deco everywhere you looked.

"She changed it up again?"

Tristan rubbed the back of his neck before gazing around, "Yeah... it's a phase. Well, I hope it is."

A voice answered from the back, "it's not." Out came Cameron, from the back, with a large white blanket covering her shoulders.

"Welcome girls." She smiled before smacking Tristan in the shoulder, "go put on a shirt."

He shrugs before walking into the back, where Cameron appeared from a couple seconds ago.

Once Tristan's gone, she gestures us to a couch and all sit.

"So," she snuggles into the blanket. "what brings you to my humble home?"

Camara and I share a look, and I demanded. "Cameron. We need you to tell us everything you know about Fredrick Dixon and Parker. Now. No more lies."

Cameron's smiling face dies and she sits up straight, her spine like an iron rod. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I sigh. "Cameron, I know everything now. It's time for you to speak up."

"Did Parker tell you?"

Cameron bits her lip as she twiddles her thumbs. I'd never seen Cameron like this. She's usually a confident, no shit kind of girl, not meek and quiet. A frown curled my lips downward. I turn to look at Camara, who's eyes are trained on me, she supports a wary expression on her face.

"Yeah, yeah, he did." I lied.

"Yeah, Camara?"

Camara lifts up the locket and picture from her lap. "Doesn't the picture in the locket looks like it attaches to the one that Cameron just gave us?"

"What?"

I look up at the picture and am shutter-shock. The two pictures connected together.

Two boys, one connected picture.

Fredrick sported a grand smile on his face as he hugged a smiling Tomas to his side.

"They're the same." I take a closer look at the photo.

"Yeah, but here's the thing, why is it ripped like that? And how did they know each other?"Camara asks with her eyebrows raised.

"Holy shit." I grab the locket and picture before standing up. "We gotta go."

Camara nods and walks towards the door.

"Wait!" Called Cameron. I looked back at her to see a guilty frown. She stands. "I'm so sorry, Emmie."