"It was part of the deal," I said. "Apparently, he signed some sort of non-disclosure agreement, where he can't talk about the place, not even to me."
Cami frowned. "Is that even legal?"
"I don't know," I said. "But it's legal enough to make Jason act all funny about it. Do you know, I practically had to wrestle those documents away from him last night?"
"Really?"
"Oh yeah," I said. "I had to beg over and over for the chance to go through them on my own. And he only agreed to that after I assured him that Brody was on the other side of the country."
I gave the paperwork another glance. "Jason's picking them up later on tonight. And get this. I had to swear up and down that I wouldn't make a copy of anything either."
Cami's brow wrinkled. "Well, that's weird."
"I know," I said. "But it's not Jason's fault. You should see him. He's terrified. He was even afraid to stop by, or call me or anything. In fact, he only did stop by in the end, because I was the only one around."
On the couch, Cami was looking more concerned with every passing moment.
I waited, wondering what she'd say next. And when she said nothing, I asked, "So…what are you thinking?"
She winced. "I'm almost afraid to tell you."
"Why?"
"Because you're not gonna like it."
I sighed. "Is this where you tell me that I was stupid for trusting Brody in the first place?"
Cami shook her head. "No, I'd never say that. But I will say this. I think you should call him."
My jaw dropped. "What? Why?"
"To give him the chance to explain."
"You're kidding, right?"
"Just hear me out," she said. "He obviously cares for you. And I know you care for him—"
"I do not." I hesitated. "Or at least, I shouldn't." And yet, I did, so very much.
How pathetic was that?
Cami reached out and gave my hand an encouraging squeeze. "Look, I know you're mad, but for your sake, just do it, alright? And if he doesn't come clean, you can say, 'I told you so.'" She smiled. "Deal?"
After a long, tense moment, I felt myself nod. "Okay. Deal."
Chapter 54
Brody
I was standing in the charred remains of the California kitchen when my new cell phone rang. I picked it up and glanced at the display.
It was Arden.
Knowing what the call was about, I answered with a smile. "Hey."
After a long pause, her voice – sounding cold and distant – replied, "Hey."
My smile faded. "Is something wrong?"
"No. Well, maybe." She sighed. "First, I guess I should thank you, huh?"
I frowned. I hadn't expected her to kiss my ass, but I had thought she'd be happier than she was now.
Had something gone wrong with my surprise?
I said, "So, Cami got there alright?"
"Yeah, she got here. And I guess that was really nice of you."
Again with the "guess."
She continued, "So, um, thanks. I guess."
What the hell? In a tight voice, I replied, "You're welcome."
"So, um…have you thought any more about the house?"
I felt my jaw clench. "No."
She sighed, but said nothing in reply.
With growing anger, I asked, "Is there a problem?"
"Well…I guess I'm just wondering if there's anything you want to tell me."
"About what?"
"I don't know. Maybe…" Again, she paused. "About the house?"
By now, there were plenty of things I wanted to tell her, and none of them were nice. Working hard to keep my cool, I tossed the ball back into her court. "If you've got something to say, just say it."
"See, the thing is…maybe I'm not the one with something to say. Maybe you have something to say." She paused. "Maybe something you meant to tell me sooner?"
I had no clue what she meant. "About what?"
"The house."
My grip tightened on the phone. "If you're asking if I've changed my mind, I already gave you my answer."
And the answer was no. I wasn't going to sell her the house. The truth was, I'd been planning something better. But now, I was thinking that I'd dodged a bullet by waiting.
Something had gone off the rails. Or maybe, I'd been reading things wrong from the beginning.
Either way, this wasn't the Arden I knew. And now, I had to wonder, which one was the real deal? The girl I'd fallen for? Or the girl on the phone?
Because they weren't the same girl.
And now, she'd grown silent.
I said, "You still there?"
"Uh, yeah," she said. "Okay, how about this? If you won't sell me the whole house, maybe you'd think about selling me half?"
She was kidding, right? "What?"
"Or maybe," she continued, "you did think about selling me half, maybe even before I showed up. And maybe that's something you want to talk about now."
Or maybe I'd heard enough. "Half a house? You serious?"
"Of course I'm serious."
The more I heard, the shittier I felt. There was a time – hell just a few days ago – when sharing a house with Arden would've been nice to think about.
But not now. Not with whatever was going on.
On the phone, she was still talking. "I’m just saying, like in the beginning, maybe you didn't think everything through, like when you were buying it."
"Trust me. I thought plenty."
"Trust you?" she scoffed. "You're kidding, right?"
I wasn't kidding. I was insulted, and with good reason. "You done?"
"With what?"
"You tell me," I said. "Because you're acting like I screwed you over. And we both know that's not true."
Her tone grew sarcastic. "Oh, do we now?"
"I do," I said. "Don't you?"
"Oh, I know something."
"Uh-huh. What's that?"
"You're not the person you pretend to be."
"Yeah?" I said. "And neither are you."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Hell if I know," I said. "You called me to say what? That I screwed you over?"
Her voice grew quiet. "So…did you?"
By now, I was seriously pissed. "What do you think?"
"Well, I think you screwed me," she said with a choked sob. "I just don't know which way." And with that, she ended the call.
I looked at my phone for a long moment before hurling it across the kitchen.
