Chapter3
1725 Words
CAMILLE’S POV
I woke up by 7 and got ready, Bri’s apartment was still a mess due to my stuff being everywhere.
Sabrina’s hair was sprawled across the pillow and I snorted as she groaned in her sleep. I was lucky she had a big bed, otherwise I’d have slept on the couch.
I got ready to go to the library, it’s the one job I actually liked besides babysitting little Terrence. The library was always quiet and it gave me time to rest my brain a bit.
I hopped on the bus and walked into the library. I grabbed my card and moved to sign in when Mrs Smith stopped me.
My smile morphed into confusion as her usual friendly smile wasn’t on her face “Morning Mrs Smith” I greeted but she didn’t reply.
“Hi Cami, Didnt you get the text i sent you?” She whispered.
I shook my head, after i got back yesterday, I had gotten in bed and blacked out immediately.
I put my hand in my bag and grabbed my phone to read the message. My eyes went wide with shock “I’m fired?! Why?”
Mrs Smith shook her head, “We decided to lay off some workers, it’s nothing personal”
“But Mrs Smith I—“
“Go home Camille,” she said firmly before walking away, leaving me standing there.
I left the library dazed, half expecting Mrs Smith to call me back and say it was a joke.
I headed back to Bri’s apartment and she was right where I left her.
She frowned when she saw me and sat up “Shouldn’t you be at the library?” She asked.
I shook my head, “Mrs Smith fired me, through text”
Bri’s eyes widened “Did you do something?”
I shook my head again, I hadn’t told Bri about the rude bastard I encountered at work yesterday. I had expected to get a text from Zeke, not anyone else.
My phone pinged with a text and I opened it. It read:
Camille, we will not need you babysitting Terrence anymore. Thank you for your service.
I slowly turned the phone toward Sabrina.
Her expression darkened instantly.
“What the f**k?”
I sat down heavily.
“I think… I think this is because of him.”
“Who?”
I hesitated.
Then sighed.
“At Valeria last night, some rich asshole grabbed me and asked how much I charged for a night.”
Bri’s jaw dropped.
“He what?”
“I threw his drink in his face and told him to f**k off,”
“Good.” She nodded.
“These rich creeps think they can do whatever they want because they have money.”
I rubbed my forehead tiredly.
“He threatened me afterward.”
Her expression changed immediately.
“What kind of threat?”
“He said if I didn’t sleep with him, he’d make sure nobody hired me.”
Silence.
Then Bri laughed once.
“A man cannot ruin your entire life because you rejected him, Cami.” She got up. “Did Zeke do anything about it?”
I shook my head “No, I left before he could. And he hasn’t called me so maybe I’m not in that much trouble?”
Bri nodded “He should have your back, you’re his employee,”
I sighed and went ahead to put some of my stuff in order, Bri ordered breakfast and we ate and for the first time in almost two years, I slept in.
*****************************
When I woke up later that afternoon, I almost felt human again.
I got dressed for my café shift and headed there early for once.
Mrs. Rogers was going to faint from shock.
I walked inside smiling.
“Camille,” Mrs. Rogers called awkwardly the second she saw me. “I should have called you this morning,” Mrs Rogers said.
“Is there a problem?” I asked, feeling a knot in my stomach.
“No problem, it’s just that—“
“I’m fired aren’t I?” I asked cutting off her stammering.
She sighed and shook her head. “Don’t act surprised. I told you if you kept being late, you’d be fired.”
I almost laughed.
“We both know this isn’t about lateness.”
Her eyes wouldn’t meet mine as she looked away.
My throat tightened. “Did he pay you?”
Mrs. Rogers frowned. “You have no right to ask me that.”
“So he did.”
“Your tardiness cost you your f*****g job. Now get out of my cafe.”
I stared at her for a second before turning toward the exit.
The second I stepped outside, tears burned my eyes.
“He meant it,” I whispered shakily.
“That psycho actually meant it.”
I wiped my face angrily.
No.
Absolutely not.
I wasn’t letting some rich creep control my life.
I took the next bus straight to the police station.
An officer led me into his office after I told him I needed to report harassment and stalking.
“So you said harassment and stalking?” He asked writing something down.
I nodded “Yes”
“Where did this happen?”
I explained the entire ordeal to him, feeling my anger resurface.
He nodded slowly.
“And the stalking?”
“He threatened me after I rejected him. Said he’d make sure I never worked again.”
I swallowed hard.
“I’ve already lost three jobs since last night.”
The officer finally looked up properly. “I’m really sorry this happened to you ma’am, do you know your stalker’s name?”
I shook my head, “he gave me his card though, I ran into him as I was leaving yesterday.”
I pulled it from my purse and handed it over.
The second the officer read it, his face changed completely.
Fear.
Actual fear.
“You said this man is harassing you?”
I frowned.
“Yes?”
The officer looked back at the card.
Then at me.
“Ma’am… this is Romeo Gambino’s card.”
I blinked.
“Okay? Who’s that?”
The officer let out a quiet breath.
“The Gambinos practically own half the country.”
I stared at him.
“You’re joking.”
“I wish I was.”
He immediately crumpled the paper he’d been writing on.
“I’m sorry, but we can’t file this report.”
My jaw dropped.
“What?”
“No lawyer in this state is going to take a case against the Gambinos,” he said quietly. “And no police station wants that kind of problem either.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“So your advice is what exactly? I just let him harass me?”
The officer looked genuinely uncomfortable.
“My advice?” he said carefully. “Do whatever you can to stay off Romeo Gambino’s radar.”
I laughed bitterly.
“A little too late for that.”
I grabbed my bag and walked out in shock and anger. Who the f**k was this man.
I glanced at my watch, it was 2:15pm. I had so much time on my hands with nothing to do. I decided to spend the afternoon with Kate before my shift at Valeria.
*****************************
I glanced at my watch. 2:15 PM.
Too many hours left in the day. Too much silence waiting for me.
And somehow, the only place I wanted to be was with Kate.
So I took the bus to the hospital.
The second I walked into her room, some of the tightness in my chest eased a little.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” I said softly, sitting beside her bed.
Nothing.
Just the steady beep of machines.
I swallowed hard and reached for her hand.
“You’re really missing all the drama lately, you know that?” I laughed weakly. “Alex robbed me. I got fired from almost all my jobs. And apparently some psychotic billionaire is trying to ruin my life because I rejected him.”
My smile faded.
“I know you’d tell me to stop crying if you were awake.”
Silence.
I looked down at her hand in mine.
“I’m trying, Kate. I really am.”
A knock suddenly interrupted me.
I looked up to see one of the nurses standing awkwardly at the door.
“Camille? The billing department has been trying to reach you.”
My stomach dropped instantly.
“What happened?”
She hesitated.
“The payment for this month still hasn’t gone through.”
Of course it hadn’t.
That bastard Alex stole everything.
I slowly stood up. “I’ll fix it.”
The nurse gave me a sympathetic look that somehow made everything feel worse.
“Please try to do it soon,” she said quietly. “They’re talking about transferring her.”
Transferring.
Meaning cheaper care.
Meaning worse care.
Panic clawed at my chest.
“No,” I said immediately. “You can’t move her.”
“I’m sorry, Camille. I’m just relaying the message.”
She left before I could say anything else.
I stood there frozen beside Kate’s bed, my thoughts spiraling violently.
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown Number.
I almost ignored it.
Almost.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A deep voice answered immediately.
“Miss me already, princess?”
My grip tightened around the phone.
Romeo f*****g Gambino.
“What do you want from me, you psychotic bastard?”
He chuckled softly.
“That’s cute. Usually people start with hello and people like you say Thank you.”
“I’m hanging up.”
“Go ahead,” he said calmly. “But before you do, you might want to check your email.”
A cold feeling settled in my stomach.
“Excuse me?”
“Check. Your. Email.”
The line went dead.
What just happened?
Shaking slightly, I opened my inbox.
HOSPITAL PAYMENT OVERDUE NOTICE.
FINAL WARNING.
Great— wait!
My blood ran cold.
I stared at the screen in horror.
Then another email came in immediately after.
PAID.
Paid in full.
Every outstanding balance.
Every treatment cost.
Everything.
My knees nearly gave out.
A text message came through seconds later.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
Now we can discuss what I want properly.
- Writer
