Page 54 of Theirs to Ruin

He whirled on me. “You have no fucking idea what I’m going through.”

He was wrong. Ididknow how he was feeling. I knew the pain, the resentment, the overwhelming need to blame someone. “If yelling at me makes you feel better, you can shout at me as much as you need to.” I saw a stack of clean hand towels in the corner, grabbed one and held it out.

Kage glowered at me. “Jesus, can’t you take a hint?” he muttered.

“I’ve been told I can’t.” I tossed the towel onto the table. Kage reluctantly reached over and took it, wrapping it around the bleeding knuckles of one hand.

“You should see a doctor about that,” I told him.

“Yeah, well I guess I’m in the right place for it,” he muttered. “So? What do you want? I know it’s not to offer your condolences or work your therapy on me.”

I paused, knowing this wasn’t the right time or place for this conversation, but also knowing it needed to happen.

Realization flickered in Kage’s eyes. “Ah, this is about Camille.” He laughed in disbelief. “Are you seriously about to warn me off?”

“Warn you off hurting her, yes. Do you think she killed Ava?”

Kage’s eyes flashed. “It looks that way.”

“What do you believe?”

Kage started to pace the room. He shook his head, almost as if he was fighting off doubts about Camille’s innocence. Or guilt. “My gut tells me no. But my family thinks she did it. They’re standing down on my orders but the trouble’s just starting for Camille.”

“All the more reason for us to work together to help her,” I told him.

Kage’s eyes narrowed. “You want to work together? After what your cousins did to my family?”

“That had nothing to do with me or I wouldn’t be standing here.”

When he said nothing, I walked closer and held out my phone. “Put your number in. I’ll contact you if she needs you and you’ll do the same for me.”

Kage eyed me suspiciously then took my phone and punched his number into it. After he handed it to me, he tossed the bloodied towel in the trash.

“I don't know what's going on between you and Camille, but I'm not backing off,” he said.

“I don't want you to,” I replied even though I was of two minds – one that didn’t want Kage anywhere near Camille, and the other that wanted to give her everything. Even if neither one of us deserved her, I wanted her to learn to take what she wanted. I wanted her to have it. “She wants you. She should have what she wants. The question is how far you’re willing to go to make that happen.”

“So, what are you suggesting?” Kage scoffed. “We share her? Is this your roundabout way of trying to fuck me too?”

“Hardly,” I told him. “Barbells aren’t exactly my thing. What I’m suggesting is we work together to keep Camille safe andhappy. And to let her decide who she wants, whether that’s one of us, both of us, or ultimately, neither of us.”

Kage eyed me. “You know I can’t have her. Not with my future. And you know you can’t have her, either. Not when we both know what you really do for this campus.”

I nodded. “That’s right.”

“So we accept what she wants to give us while we can have it.”

“Yes. But most of all, we keep her safe.”

“Agreed. But if there is no God, and Camille killed Ava…”

“She didn’t. You know that. But just so we’re clear—I’m giving you some leeway to get your head on straight. Don’t mistake that for weakness. If you ever hurt Camille, I’ll fucking rip you apart.”

Kage grinned evilly. “Funny. I feel the same way. Only after I rip you apart, I’ll take the pieces of you, put them in a grinder, and eat you for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

I shook my head and sighed. “Jesus, fuck, you’re crazy.” I reached into my jacket pocket, pulled out a piece of paper and pen, and jotted down a note. “If things get bad and you won’t talk to me, here’s the name of someone you can talk to. ‘In separateness lies the world's great misery…’”

“What is that? Some meditative bullshit?”

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