Broken Walls

21. Sweet Little Lies

  So lie to me once again
And tell me everything will be alright
Lie to me once again
And ask yourself before we say goodbye
Well goodbye
Was it worth it in the end

- 12 Stones.  

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Shawn's fingers wrapped around Camila's phone, brushing hers as he withdrew it from her grip. She fought against the urge to close her eyes. Even with all of the conflicting and confusing feelings, she couldn't help but want him to touch her. Carefully. Gently. Like he had the night before and just that morning. Reassuring and reminding her of all of the things they'd shared. Just that one little graze of his skin against hers was enough to send her heart flying.

Camila's emotions were all over the place. Anger, sadness, frustration, confusion, hurt—every single feeling she could have in a situation like this she was having. It felt a little irrational. Shawn had done nothing—nothing—to make her question him. Other than the fact that before they'd met, he'd been an incurable man-whore. But was that really fair of her to use at the moment? Oh, God! She was the jealous girlfriend! The typical jealous girlfriend. The thought made her want to roll her eyes at herself.

But the moment that message and photo had arrived in her inbox, the nagging doubt crept in. Camila tried to hold it off, to remind herself of last night and this morning, to wait until Shawn could explain it away. But the more time that went by, the more she started to question everything. The more she started to wonder: Who could she trust? She hated herself for letting that uncertainty in. For letting whoever sent those messages get the best of her. It wasn't fair to Shawn. But ... Who was that girl, and why was he holding her? Why was he smirking at her? Oh, the smirk. She knew that smirk. His super sexy, "come hither" smirk. There was only ever one reason for him to use it.

Anger ignited again. Camila couldn't help it. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now. Whatever the reason, she just needed him to make it go away. To tell her it had all been a misunderstanding. Or even better—that the photo was doctored and wasn't even real. But he didn't say any of that.

He just stared at the photo, his face devoid of any and all expression. "Where'd you get this?" Shawn asked slowly.

Camila's heart slammed to a stop. "Where did I—" The resentment she'd been feeling multiplied and flooded her veins, heating her body to the point of combustion. "Where did I get it?" Her voice rose in volume. "That's what you're going to say first? Where did I get it?" she repeated incredulously.

His head snapped up and his brows pulled together. "What else would I say? It seems an important question considering someone is following me around."

Camila snatched the phone from his hand and held it in front of her, shaking it in his face. "So, you're not going to deny it?"

Shawn looked even more confused. "Deny it? Why would I—" And then his face changed. His forehead smoothed and he pulled away from her, realization filling his features. "Oh, I see. So that's how it is? You immediately go there?"