Page 79 of Dissolving Prejudice

“It helped me.”

“I’m not you.”

“Camilo, you just had a panic attack. What if it happens again when you’re alone? What if you—”

“Damn it, Shay-Lee, can you just drop it?” he snapped, and I froze because it wasn’t like him to raise his voice at me.

Understanding it was only natural because he was probably still stressed, I grabbed his chin and forced him to look at me. Only then did I see the redness in his eyes that made me pull him into a tight hug. He crushed into my embrace, not even trying to be subtle before he let loose in my arms. Closing my eyes, I held him harder.

“What have they done to you in those four years?” I asked the question that weighed on my heart. “Just tell me, Camilo. Tell me what happened.” I pressed his head harder to my chest. But he didn’t answer my question; instead, he kept quiet in my arms until the sun went down. Only when the alley turned completely dark did we get up from the ground and walk back to his damn scooter. And while Camilo didn’t say a single word, he did hold my hand the entire time, and maybe that was enough.

“This is a nice scooter,” I said with a faint smile once we reached it. It was parked next to a short wall; behind it was the shore.

“Maybe you should replace your bike with one of these when we’re back home,” I said in an attempt to break the ice. Brushing my hand over the fading color of this junk, I thought about the first time he gave me a ride. Yet, Camilo seemed indifferent to my joke as he pulled out a helmet and handed it to me.

“What about you?” I frowned.

“I don’t need one.”

Pushing the helmet away, I held his stare. “So neither do I.”

His brows pulled close, and he appeared angry for a second before his phone rang again. Just like before, he checked to see who was calling before pocketing his phone. And while it was weird, I shrugged it off.

Instead of getting on the scooter, as I thought he would, Camilo turned his back to it so he now faced the ocean.

“Camilo?” His odd behavior was beginning to scare me.

“I left because of a deal I made with Dion,” he said out of nowhere, forcing my heart to a stop.

“W-what?” I moved to stand beside him.

Camilo turned to look at me, half of his face illuminated by the warm light from the streetlight next to us. “I feared we’d lose the case and that I’d never get out of there. That I’d never be able to protect you… so I asked him for help.” He rubbed his neck, slowly going up to his jaw. “He said he’d get me out of there in exchange for me working for him, so I agreed… thinking it would only be one year. But he tricked me.” Torment followed his words, and he swore under his breath. “One year turned out to be five, and I had no choice but to do exactly as he said because your life was on the line.”

A cold dread gripped me, freezing me in place. “My life?”

He nodded. “That son of a bitch… he swore to kill you if I ever tried to escape… and I knew he’d do it.”

Suddenly, everything fell into place.

“How did he help you out?”

“He gave the defense the videos from the club. The one showing Orson threatening you in the car and the one where they beat me up.”

My blood ran cold at the memory, and I took a minute to think it through.

“And how did he trick you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he hissed, turning his back on me. “What matters is that he did, and I was stupid enough to fall for it.”

“You weren’t stupid, Camilo.” Taking a step closer, I wrapped my arms around his waist. With my cheek pressing to his back, I hugged him tight, and the warmth of his body was like a ray of sunshine in the middle of a storm. “You were just desperate, and you did what you thought was right at the moment.”

I knew I’d claimed more than once that I didn’t care why he left. I’d stated so bluntly that I’d never forgive him, no matter what the circumstances were, but it turned out that wasn’t true because just now, I forgave him. I forgave him because I knew Dion was nothing but a liar, and therefore, I believed Camilo’s words. But it went further than that. I forgave him because how could I not?

“So that’s what it was all about? He helped you out in exchange for you working for him?”

Camilo’s body tensed before he took a deep breath. “Yeah. That’s what it was all about.”

Relieved, because now I knew why he’d left, I turned around to face him, tears welling in my eyes. “I was so scared you were disappointed in me because it took me so long to testify in court,” I admitted when he quickly turned around and cupped my face in his palms.