The ties that bind us th.., p.5
The Ties That Bind Us: The Ties Duet Part Two, page 5
I throw it to the side and slide one of her feet out of the pants. She reaches for my jeans and unbuttons them, followed by the zipper. Cameron lowers my jeans and boxers, and my dick springs out eagerly.
Not even the ice-cold air could keep him down at this point.
She pushes me back onto the bench, her eyes wild. She stands before me, and for a minute, we just stare at each other. Her wild waves of hair fall well below her breasts, and her oversized sweater looks more like a dress as it hangs off both her shoulders. I press a finger between her legs, her pussy already soaked with need. I rub her in slow, deliberate circles, her eyes fluttering closed as she bites her bottom lip.
My finger teases her entrance, but she stops me, her expression turning eager. “No foreplay, Jaxon. I need you...now.”
Climbing back on top of me, she kisses me again, her tongue gliding across mine. I fist a handful of her hair and pull it back, exposing her long neck to me. Kissing a trail down it, I don’t stop until I reach her collarbone. Cameron breathes out a moan as I release her hair and lift her up by her ass so we’re lined up perfectly before I guide her down onto my dick, filling her slowly.
We’re nose to nose, her glassy eyes staring into mine as she moves back and forth on me. “I’ve missed you so much, Jaxon.”
“You can’t leave me again...” Our warm breaths between us blanket our faces from the cold.
I lean my forehead against hers as I guide her up and down slowly. “You’re mine, Nyx. You’ve gotta fucking know that by now.”
Squeezing my face in her hands, she says, “Yours, Jaxon. I’m so sorry.” With that, she picks up speed and swirls her hips, my cock drenched from her arousal. It’s freezing outside today, but the heat inside this train car makes it feel like fucking August.
My dick’s already twitching, and I know damn well I’m gonna finish much sooner than usual.
All the pent-up frustration will do that.
Cameron’s breaths are heavy as she grinds on me, her lips fused with mine.
We’re not lovers right now. We’re two desperate souls that were missing their counterparts for way too long. We don't speak, our bodies seeking forgiveness for us. Hers, apologizing for leaving, and mine, apologizing for not handling the situation correctly the first time.
Finally, Cameron releases her lips from mine and arches her back as she spasms from her orgasm. Her moans fill the space, and I can barely contain myself at this point. I spill inside her, still feeling the pulsing of her walls as she rests her tired head on my shoulder. I wrap my arms around her, and we just breathe together, intertwined with each other, until it finally registers that temperature has dropped, and we feel the cold again.
Cameron stands up and wipes herself down with one of the shirts in her bag, handing it to me after so I can do the same. Once we’re both fully dressed, we sit side by side on the bench while she leans her head on my shoulder. We sit here for a while, silent until the picture of me pops into my head.
“We need to talk, Nyx.”
She nods. “I know. I made a real mess of things. How’s Emersyn? Is she ok?”
I turn to face her. “She’s fine. I would’ve told you once I got home, but you were gone.”
She picks at the skin around her nails. “I burned her Jaxon, and all I could see was the same scared little girl I was when my father burned me.”
I kneel in front of her. “You didn’t burn Emersyn.” She looks away, and I grip her chin to look at me. “She burned herself. It was an accident. I should’ve handled it better and comforted you, too, but Emersyn was losing it, and I panicked.”
“You don’t need to explain, Jaxon. This is all just so fucked.”
I slide next to her again on the bench. “Listen, we can touch on this in a bit, but I really need to talk to you about something else.”
Her body tenses. “Okay?”
I lean to one side, reaching into my back pocket for my phone. “The day you left, I was on my way home from the hospital and got a call that your pictures were ready to be picked up.”
She blinks.
“I figured I’d grab them for you since I knew you’d be upset about Emersyn. I wanted to cheer you up.”
I stare down at the black screen, suddenly at a loss for the words I’ve been desperate to tell her. I feel like I just got her back, and now another bomb may drop.
I must have been silent for a while because Cameron reaches for my knee. “Jaxon, you’re making me nervous. What’s going on?”
I take a deep breath, knowing I need to know, but so fucking afraid she’ll run for some reason. The world isn’t that small. It isn't a coincidence she has my baby picture.
“I was so fucked up the day you left. I wanted to look through your pictures to feel close to you, you know? I was a wreck.”
She squeezes my leg tighter, and I turn on my phone, the bright light illuminated between us. I open my photos and scroll down to the baby picture, tapping it so it expands.
She stares blankly at it and raises an eyebrow.
“This?” she asks, taking the phone from my hand. “I found it in my house. I assumed it was our neighbor’s kid. My dad was always stealing stuff from their yard sales.” She hands my phone back to me, not thinking much of it.
“It’s not your neigh—”
A loud ringing fills the car, and Cameron jumps at the sudden noise. “It’s me.” She holds up a finger and grabs her phone to see who’s calling.
A puzzled look spreads across her face, and she reluctantly picks up. “Hello?” She pauses and listens to the person on the other end. “Yes, this is she.” Cameron’s still as she listens. Suddenly, her eyes widen, and her mouth falls open. “What kind of situation?” Her eyes bulge, and she slowly nods to whatever is being said. “Which hospital?” More silence as she waits for an answer. “Okay, I guess I’ll be right there.”
She hangs up the phone and stares blankly at the screen. “My father’s in the hospital. They’re looking for the next of kin.”
My back straightens. “What happened?”
She shakes her head. “They didn’t say, just that they’ll fill me in when I get there.”
I inhale deeply. “Do you wanna go? You don’t have to, baby. He’s a piece of shit.”
Her voice cracks. “No, I-I should go. The doctor asked me to.”
I stand up and stuff my phone back in my pocket. “C’mon, I’ll drive you. You’re not facing him by yourself.”
Cameron steps in front of me and grabs my hand, bringing it to her cheek. “I thought I lost you.”
I wrap my arms tight around her neck and bring her close. “We aren’t the writers in our story, Nyx. We don’t have a choice. We’re bound together by something way bigger than the both of us.”
The drive to the hospital is taking longer than usual because of traffic. I look over to Cameron as she rubs her hands up and down her legs. It’s too quiet, so I try to strike up the conversation we were having before to take her mind off it.
“Cameron, can we finish our conversation from before? Or do you want to wait?”
Her head turns my way, but her expression is distant. “Huh?” Her eyes widen. “Oh yeah, go ahead. Continue.”
I look down at her shaking leg, and she follows my gaze, squeezing her hand over it to stop the jitters. With a tight smile, she nods her head for me to continue.
“So, the picture of that baby…”
She shrugs. “Yeah, I told you. It’s just a sweet picture I found in my house years ago. I thought about putting it in my neighbor’s mailbox, but the sight of that sweet baby stuck with me. It made some days more tolerable.”
I correct her. “It’s not a picture of your neighbor’s kid.”
She huffs out a chuckle. “Oh, yeah? And how do you know that?”
I open my mouth to respond but lose my nerve. I’ve thought about this moment relentlessly, but now that it’s here, I can’t help but choke.
We approach the hospital parking lot, which comes as a relief. I turn into it and wait for the gate arm to raise so we can enter. I blow out a deep breath. Cameron’s still looking at me expectantly, and my hands grow sweatier around the steering wheel with each second that passes.
Were my parents friends with hers somehow? Was my dad one of the pieces of shit who molested her when she was a kid? How can she look at me the same if he was?
It feels like hours pass when a loud knock on the window makes me jump. I look over to find the lot attendant standing outside. I lower the window so I can hear what he’s saying. “The auto-lift is broken, so I have to let you in manually. Visitor or patient?” I look to Cam, who’s almost as confused as I am uneasy with our conversation. “We’re visitors. My girlfriend's father is the patient.”
He nods his head. “Okay then, when you pass the entrance, turn right into the visitor parking section.” He takes a shiny coin out of his jacket pocket and hands it to me. “Here’s a complimentary parking token for your inconvenience. Good luck.” I take the coin and nod my head. Once we’re clear to enter, I park the car.
Turning off the engine, I reach to open the door, but Cameron stops me. “Jax, are you okay? You’re acting weird.”
I muster up the best smile I can, deciding now isn’t the time to do this. “I’m good, Nyx. Let’s head inside.” I open the door and climb out, but Cameron’s exit is delayed.
When she exits the car, we walk side by side in silence to the hospital entrance. When we approach the spinning glass doors, I gesture for her to go first and we push ourselves through. Walking up to the front desk, we’re greeted by a middle-aged woman with large red glasses.
Cameron greets her with a nervous smile. “Hi, my name is Cameron Nasaro. I received a call that my father’s a patient in the hospital, and the doctor requested I come here.”
She types on her computer. “What’s your father’s name?”
“Michael Nasaro.”
The woman nods and points to our right. “He’s on the fourth floor, ICU. Walk straight down the hall and turn right. The elevators are right there.” She offers a sympathetic smile and hands us our passes.
Cameron takes the paper and stares at it way longer than necessary. I nudge her along, holding her hand until we reach the elevator and step inside.
When the doors slide open, it’s mostly quiet, just the sounds of machines beeping and low chatter between nurses. Everything is white, and the smell of bleach and antiseptic fills my nostrils. I look over to Cam as she twists a hair tie between her fingers. Her steps become slower as she peers inside the rooms we pass.
I reach over and pull her into my side as we approach the nurses’ station.
A young woman in scrubs behind the counter hangs up the phone and looks up at us. Her name tag says Christine with the letters RN underneath.
“How may I help you?” She looks between us, and Cameron stays silent. I rub her back gently, trying to coax her to answer, but she just looks down and shuffles her feet.
“We were called to come here.” I intertwine my fingers with Cameron’s. “Patient’s name is Michael Nasaro.”
The nurse observes Cameron, who’s yet to look her way. When she doesn’t get a reaction from her, she draws her attention back to me. “Are you family?”
I nod my head to Cam. “He’s my girlfriend’s father.”
She starts typing on her keyboard, her eyes skimming through whatever is on the computer screen before she looks back at me. “You guys can take a seat,” she points to the chairs across from the station, “and the doctor will be right with you.”
A few minutes later, a tall, middle-aged man with grey hair, wearing a long white coat, approaches us. Cameron and I stand at the same time.
His eyes meet Cameron. “Are you Cameron Nasaro, the daughter of Michael Nasaro?”
Cameron nods, but I don’t miss her small wince. “Yes, I am. What’s going on? Did something happen?”
He brings the board he’s holding to his chest. “My name is Dr. Greenfeld, and I’m the cardiologist assigned to your father’s case. He suffered a heart attack three days ago. He collapsed in a local grocery store and was rushed to this hospital.”
Doctor Greenfeld pauses to give Cameron a minute to react, but she doesn’t.
“I’m estranged from my father. You’re much better off calling my mother, his wife, to come and stay with him.”
The doctor takes a look at the board again and shakes his head. “Your father isn’t listed as married. And we found one emergency contact in his file named...” He looks at the board again. “Sofia Anastas. We got a hold of her once. She said she was coming but never showed. That’s why we called you.”
Cameron looks as though Dr. Greenfeld just told her aliens piss Coca-Cola.
“Yes, Sofia’s my mother, but her last name is Nasaro, like my father. They’re married. Your file must be wrong.”
The doctor clearly senses her discomfort, so he doesn’t argue.
“Regardless, Cameron, your father is in a vegetative state.”
Cameron tilts her head quizzically. “How so?”
The doctor gestures for us to sit with him. “Your father suffered a major heart attack due to underlying alcoholic cardiomyopathy, which is a form of heart disease caused by alcohol abuse. It weakens the heart muscle, affecting its ability to pump blood efficiently.” He clears his throat. “We gather, based on your father’s blood-alcohol level, he may have been binge drinking, which brought on a heart attack of this magnitude. He is in a vegetative state because of the lack of blood flow and oxygen to his brain during cardiac arrest. In this case, if the patient is unable to make medical decisions themselves, we have to defer to the next of kin.” He proceeds cautiously. “And since your father has not listed himself as married, the decision will have to be yours, unfortunately.”
Cameron shakes her head. “But he is married. And I can’t make this decision.”
“I’m going to talk with one of our nurses and see if we can get to the bottom of this.” He smiles politely at Cameron. “I’ll give you two a minute to talk. I’ll be back shortly.”
He stands up and heads over to the nurses’ station, his voice distant as he converses with the nurse behind the counter.
“I don’t understand...what the hell is going on, Jaxon?” She gestures to Dr. Greenfeld, who’s still deep in conversation with the same nurse. “He can’t be right, can he? Of course, I’d know if my parents weren’t married...”
I try my hardest not to wince. “Would you, though? Cameron, you barely saw your mother. And it wouldn’t be like your dad to tell you the truth.”
“But why lie? Why say they’re married when they aren’t? It’s not like they had friends in high places they needed to play a part for. They’re nobodies.” She shrugs in defeat.
I cross my arms over my chest as I try to determine the best course of action. “I don’t have those answers, Cameron. Why don’t you try calling your mom?” A weird feeling rises in my gut, and it tells me there’s more to this story than Cameron is aware of.
But I stay silent, just letting it play out.
She huffs. “Yeah, like she’d actually answer for me.”
I insist because I know deep down her parents have secrets. People like them don’t do anything without a motive. “Just try her. You never know.”
She shrugs and grabs her cell phone, scrolling through it, then taps the call button. I hear ringing on the other end, but it goes to voicemail, so Cameron shoves the phone in her jacket pocket. “I told you, she’s never given a shit about me. Why would it change now?”
I lean back in my chair and stay silent, completely out of ideas. A text goes off on my phone, and I look to find it’s Sayeed confirming all is well with Emersyn. I give a quick reply and put it back in my pocket, eyeing the doctor who’s walking towards us again.
He returns with papers in his hand and holds them out for Cameron to take. Cameron takes the papers from him, eyeing them warily.
“This is the file we have on your father,” Dr. Greenfeld says gently as I peek over to see what it says. We look through her father’s medical history, and Cameron’s eyes stop at the form's marital status section. She flinches like the large X next to the word single just slapped her in the face.
“Can I go see him?” Cameron blurts out, a slight clip to her tone.
The doctor gestures behind him. “Of course, right this way.”
We walk down the hall and make one turn before stopping in front of a room, the doctor gesturing for us to go inside.
Cameron goes in first, and when I follow, she stops me. “Can I just have a minute with him?” My body tenses at the thought of her being alone in a room with this vile piece of shit—even if he is unconscious—but I respect her wishes.
“Of course. I’ll be right out here.”
Chapter 8
Cameron
I walk into the room, the chill in the air making me rub my hands up and down my arms.
It’s a double room with two beds, but only one is occupied. Other than a beeping and the low hiss of the machine breathing for him, it’s eerily quiet.
Approaching his bed, I notice a white blanket covering most of his body. There’s a tube down his throat and wires trailing from his bed to the machine to the side of it. I watch as liquid drips lazily from his I.V. bag, slowly making its way to his veins.
I should feel sad seeing my father in this condition, but I don’t. A part of me can’t help but feel like this is karma’s way of maintaining the balance. I do pity him, though. He looks so helpless, breakable. Just like I was. It’s funny how life works. I take a seat next to his bed and watch his chest rise slowly and fall fast, in sync with the machine breathing for him. His eyes twitch, which makes me wonder if he knows I’m here.
“Look at us.” I glance around the room. “Oh, how the tables have turned.” I cross my arms over my chest. “You put yourself in a hospital bed this time.” I lean forward, resting my arms on my knees. “I guess this is where we part ways...for good.”
