The Broken Pieces novel Chapter 28

I nodded, daring not to look at her.

Cameron hesitates, her teeth digging into her bottom lip.

"You should call him." She says finally.

"What?" I turn towards her and she gives me an uneasy smile.

"Look Emily, if I know anyone best, I know you. And you're taking this really hard." She pauses for a second before taking a deep breath and continuing. "But you're also doing is keeping a secret from me."

My eyebrow furrows as I try to say something.

Cameron shakes her head, stopping me. "I know you. You get this look on your face when you keep something, it's almost as if you can't breath or think. Shit, you still haven't told us when's the last time you saw Parker."

I slam my eyes shut as a barrel full of memories hits me at once.

Our bodies were in a collision and collided. Our desperate, breathless souls emerged with each other until we were nothing else but broken pieces of glass in a mass heat of self need and lust. Our hearts and minds were truly tested as we pulled each other closer.

I slowly opened my eyes again.

"We went to the party then he dropped me off home, that's all." I left the lie slip out of my lips so effortlessly, it almost surprised me, myself.

Cameron stared at me, her eyes unreadable as if she knew something I didn't.

"Okay," she nods her head.

We sit in a quiet silence as Cameron begins to tap her nails against the counter top.

Click, click, click.

"Look Emmie, you shouldn't have to sit in this goddamn house or sleep in Parker's bed, in order to heal. You don't deserve it. It's been months, the police have found nothing, my parents are tired, you're tired, we're all tired. He's gone and there's nothing we can do about it. But that doesn't mean you should stop living and block everything out because of one person who was meaningful in your life for a period of time. People leave, Emmie, it's human nature, we don't have a choice of that happens or not but we do have a choice if we let it kill us or build us and that's all that matters."

I scoff, "Cameron, why do you always give amazing advice but are shit at following it?"

Cameron shrugs, "I don't know, hell. I just through random shit together and hope it sounds good."

We both laugh.

Cameron smiles at me before standing up, "look, all I'm saying is live, don't let some hardheaded bastard ruin your life. It's not fun for me or for you." She gestures at both of us before waving me goodbye.

"Peace, I gotta go to work."

I wave back at her, "bye."

As I hear the door slam behind me, I think about what Cameron said.

A lopsided grin overtook his face. "Yep." He said before walking away from me and towards the front entrance of the building.

"What about my new furniture?"

"We'll get it later. Come on, Emmie, let me prove it to you that I'm not a complete jerk."

"Yeah, right," I muttered under my breath.

"Come on, I got the car keys and your phone." Parker called out as he held out the front door for me.

My phone..?

I looked down and patted against my pockets to find them completely empty.

What the hell.

I looked up to see a Parker with a smirk on his face, holding up my phone.

"Come on, it's only for 10 minutes. You'll be fine."

"You know, stealing my phone doesn't help you get any points in the 'I've changed' department, right?"I rolled my eyes as walked up towards him.