Pain Without Love (Complete)

11- Camilla Cabello

Stepping in to the stark white room Mila struggled to grasp how quickly her day had gone down hill.

After speaking to Shawn this morning and arranging to meet up for coffee she had envisaged a full day of sex followed by dinner and drinks that evening with her best friend Bella but here she stood In the sanitary surroundings of her childhood home preparing her armour before she came face to face with her mother.

"Miss. Cabello! What on earth have you come dressed as today?" her mother ran a hand through her drastically thinning hair that she wore in a chin length bob and observed her daughter with a look of sheer horror.

Tay looked down at her black pumps, black knee length pencil skirt and white short sleeved shirt and wondered how on earth she had managed to offend her mother this time.

"Your father would surely turn in his grave if he could see you dressed like the hired help. Really Karla, sometimes I am so glad that he's not here to see what you have become"

Her mother snatched her gaze away from her daughter and stared in to nowhere as though just the sight of Karla appauled her.

Looking down at her feet Karla attempted to distract herself, to focus on anything other than her mother's cruel words but Cassandra Cabello seemed to know every one of her daughters weak points and was happy to penetrate them at will.

"Sit down now, let me tell you all about my atrocious new neighbour's, you will never believe how they are treating an elderly lady like me"

And that was it, no 'hi Karla', no 'how are you doing Karla?' no 'how is your life?' just a few Insults followed by how the universe is conspiring against Cassandra Cabello

"Are you listening to me Karla?"

"Yes mama"

"No you aren't, you aren't listening at all, you are just gazing out of the window with that brain dead look you insist on wearing. This is so typical of you, you ignore me for weeks on end, I have to practically beg you to come and visit me and when you do finally drag yourself to visit your mother it's all about you. You have no interest in me or how difficult my life is now daddy is gone"

"I'm so sorry" Mila quickly dropped to the floor in front of her mother's wheelchair and gripped her frail hands tightly "Mommy I'm sorry, please don't get upset"

"Get up off the floor this instant, you are embarrassing yourself and for the love of God move away from me, you smell like you have bathed in that hideous perfume you are wearing and believe me when I say that is a fragrance that only a whore would wear"

"Yes mommy, I will clean it off as soon as I get home"

And burn those clothes, you look like a waitress, we raised you better than this, why must you always be an embarrassment? "

" I'm sorry mommy, I will try harder I swear"

"Oh just leave, I don't know why I Invited you here, all you do is upset me, you know my heart isn't as strong as it used to me, not since we lost papa, is that what you are trying to do? , break my heart and hope that I die just like daddy did???"

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Visiting her mother was always a mistake, it always caused her to unravel, but she was her only surviving parent, how could she possibly deny her?

When her dad had been alive he had protected Mila from her mother, taken some of the abuse to spare his daughter but now he was gone Cassandra had no reason to hold back, no one to unleash her anger, hurt and frustration on other than Mila.

God how she missed her dad, that black hole in the centre of her being, the one only her mother could unleash was wide open and raw and Mila was desperate to soothe it.

She wanted to call Shawn as she had previously, she wanted to hear him beg for the opportunity to be the one to help her, to heal her but she had accepted his offer once before  and now he viewed her as some sort of freak. He'd said he didn't but she saw it in his eyes, felt it in his gaze so reaching for her phone she scrolled to 'B' and pressed call.

"Mila, Mila,Mila" he drawled "Long time no see sweetheart. Who was the kid you were with in Numero Uno a couple of nights back?"

Mila didn't even bother to ask how he knew, when it came to her, Brent just seemed to know everything.

"Shawn"

"And Shawn is...?"

"Just someone I met"

"Have you fucked him yet?"

"We hooked up once, let's just say he hasn't asked for a repeat so..."

Brent blew out a raspy laugh

"Were you too much for him Mila? Little pussy" again he laughed and when he spoke again his tone was serious "That's what you get for fuckin with babies, when are you going to learn that I'm the only one that knows how to satisfy your needs?"

"I um... I was with my mother today"

Brent gave a small, knowing laugh before lowering the tone of his voice "Give me an hour sweetheart, I will be right there"