Accidental Roommate (Being Rewritten)

Chapter 34

'Why did we have to get up soo early?'Sharon whined as she followed Cameron sluggishly out of the door. The sun had barely risen and the street was quiet. The only life she saw was Cameron warming up. And as hot as he was, she just didn't want to run that morning.

'Have you forgotten about our morning run?'he asked. 'You know it's good for your cramps.' She ignored him and sat on the steps. He continued with his warm up but she noticed him checking up on her. Events from the previous day played in her head.

'Can we not run today? Can we just walk and talk?'she asked hurriedly. That slowed down his warm up. 'Please? My head's too messed up right now for a run. I want- no need to talk about it.'

'Yeah. Sure. I have to talk to you too. Let's go this way.' He slipped his hand into hers and guided her. She liked that he didn't question her. After a few moments of silence, he asked softly,'What did you want to talk about?'

'I did something yesterday. I'm not particularly proud of it but it felt extremely empowering.'

'Is it about your mom?' She nodded. 'Is that why dinner was terribly awkward? And why your mom was looking sad?'

'She was sad? I didn't notice that.' And that was why she was rethinking her decision to excise her mother out of her life. 'I told my mother that I do not want her in my life anymore. I was going to see her as Amelia's mother.. Just, not mine. In fact, I have no mother. But I noticed her behavior during dinner. Even though the rest of us weren't talking excessively much, we had a comfort with each other. Mom, she was sitting there, all alone. I don't think Dad would have wanted that.'

'Can I ask what happened to your dad? You've never talked about him.' Cameron had pulled her to a stop when he saw how distraught she was. Even though her mind was in turmoil, she noticed that he blocked her from anyone's view. Protecting her. Preserving her privacy. She could hear the door creak open further.

'Dad... Dad was the heart of the family. All of us loved him. And we got along. As long as he was in the house. When he went away for business, Mom's claws started to come out. She'd criticise everything I did, belittle my every achievement, embarrass me in front of my peers. Dad knew this so he'd always spend his time at home undoing what she did. It got worse, though, when I went to high school. That's when Dad had to leave most of the time. I began to lose friends, my self esteem. Dad was rarely there but Jasmine was. She'd cheer me up and build my sense of self again. Amelia was gone by then. She'd left to pursue her dreams of being a model. So Mom came down harder on me.

'One day, while Dad was on his way home, a drunk driver ran him off the road. I was told his car exploded before any help could be rendered to him. Mom went berserk after that. She didn't let me have any friends or any activities other than work but she allowed me to keep seeing Jasmine.'

'So her betrayal must have hit you hard.' She nodded. The sense of loss, devastation and grief that followed her father's death hadn't dissipated, even after all these years. But it had diminished with Cameron in her life.

'Putting the Jasmine issue aside, what am I supposed to do about Mom? I don't want to allow her to keep putting me down all my life. But I also don't want to kick her out of life. She's family. Apart from Amelia, she's the only family left.'

'I don't know what to say. If it was left to me, I'd say keep that bitch out of our life. But you're too soft-hearted and too much of a daddy's girl. This decision would haunt you for the rest of your life. You need female advice.'

'But who can I ask? The only female I would take advice from is Amelia. And she's as messed up about this as I am.'

'How about my mom? She's a third party and mostly objective,'he offered.