Ringing in the New Year (12)
My dad ushers her over to the couch and they sit on either side of her as they hit her with all kinds of questions.
“Guys, go easy on her. Cami, you don’t have to do this right now if you want to wait.” I sit down in the chair next to them and wait to see what she says.
Listening to it once already was enough to make me crazy, but I can’t imagine what she went through.
“You’re right, it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, Cami,” my mom says, wiping away her tears. “We’re just so glad to have you back.” She looks at me and nods. “And now we’ve got Reed back, too.”
“Thank you,” my dad says as he wraps Cami in a hug and I can’t help but think about how right they are.
I was living like a zombie these past five years, but one night with her and my soul is restored. She was our family’s missing piece all along.
“I’m just glad to be back,” Cami says. “You guys couldn’t have done anything to stop my dad. You know how he was.”
She shrugs, but my mom nods. “We never thought he’d take you with him. We always assumed he was waiting until you were eighteen before he left you with us and went to live his life.” My mom shakes her head. “I was hoping he’d leave you with us and I regretted every day not telling him that.”
“I think in his own way he thought he was protecting me,” Cami says. “When he took me there they were all really welcoming. But I realized pretty quickly that we were completely isolated without any connection back to the real world.” She takes a deep breath and lets it out. “I’m lucky I got out, because a lot of people don’t make it.”
“You’ve told everything to the police?” my dad asks, and we both nod.
“Eugene was the one who owned the land and made it so that it was impossible to run away. We were surrounded by desert, mountains all around us so even if you got away you could dehydrate in the middle of nowhere before you found help.” She licks her lips as if thinking about how thirsty she was, and I get up and get her a drink of water.
“How did you manage it?” my mom asks as she absently strokes her hair.
“Thank you,” she says to me and takes a drink. “My dad died a few weeks ago and I was no longer ‘under his protection’ as they called it. When I asked if I could leave they said no and then told me I had to marry the leader. The day it was supposed to happen I got up and got dressed and pretended to play along until the beginning of the ceremony. I told them I needed to use the bathroom and then I made a break for it. I got lucky because everyone from the commune was there for the ceremony, so no one saw me sneak out. I stole one of the farm trucks with the keys still in it, but they never kept the gas tanks more than half full because someone might try to get away in them. When it ran out of gas I was forced to walk. I think the police said I made it about ten miles before I finally found that store.”
Everything she’s saying hurts my insides. I can’t think about the years we spent apart or the near-death experiences she had. If I dwell on all the times I could have lost her I won’t make it through the day. I have to focus on the fact that she’s here with me now and I’m going to protect her from anything like that ever happening again.
“Thank god you’re okay,” my mom says once again and holds Cami close.
My mom ends up cooking all of Cami’s favorites and feeding her until she’s about to burst. She pets Cami and fusses over her in a way that is so sweet and tender. It really was like her own daughter was missing and now she’s back. So much time has passed, but in a way it’s like she never left.
“I think we should let her get some sleep,” my dad says when he sees Cami yawn.
“No, I’m okay,” she says, but I pull her to me and shake my head.
“They’ll be back tomorrow. We’re waiting to hear if you need to give any more statements before we all go back home.”
Cami nods and then we say goodbyes to Mom and Dad. I can tell none of us want to part, but I think that’s just our own fears taking over. I’m sure with time it will get easier for them. Because I have no intention of letting her out of my sight ever again.
“Come with me, Dimples,” I say as I take her hand.
We walk to back to the bedroom and I close the door.
“Are we going to sleep already?” she asks, looking at the bed.
“No,” I say, grabbing the edge of my T-shirt and pulling it off.
“Oh,” is all she says as her cheeks turn pink.
“We’re going to take a bath.” I grab her hand again and we go into the bathroom, where I turn on the water in the tub.
Her eyes trail over my chest and down my stomach. She was right when she said I was bigger than I used to be, but that’s because I had nothing else to do but work and spend time in the gym. Now that she’s back I plan on spending every moment discovering her body and loving every inch of it.
All these years I’ve only been able to picture her naked, but now I get to see the real thing for the first time and I’m nervous. Doubt begins to creep in as I step closer to her and I need to know that this is still okay.
“You don’t have to tell me about anything you did while we were apart. I just want to make sure that when I touch you, you’re with me.” I twine our fingers together and lean down close and touch my forehead to hers. “Everything is in the past, but from now on you’re mine, Cami—always have been and always will be.”