Page 94 of Dissolving Prejudice

“What?” I grunted, my eyes still glued to my screen. I was ready for another one of his idiotic questions when—

“If you’re not going to go back to him, can you please let him go?”

As if I’d suddenly had a stroke, my whole body paused, and I couldn’t hold a concrete thought for a whole minute until I looked up to find Oro’s eyes locked on me from the other side of the room. The sincerity in them made me… alert.

“What on earth are you talking about?” I asked, annoyed.

“It’s just that… I love him. A lot. I’ve loved him ever since he first held me in his arms.” He chuckled to himself. “There’s just something special about his hugs, you know?”

Yeah. I do.

“It’s almost like nothing bad can happen to you when you’re in his arms.”

My throat dried with his words and the acknowledgment that I wasn’t the only one to know this feeling.

“So if you’re not going to be with him, I’ll ask again. Can you please give up on him, mister?”

Mister. Why did he keep on calling me that? But more importantly, “He held you?” I asked, my voice on the verge of breaking.

A soft smile took over his features before he looked down at his lap, like he was reflecting back on a good memory. Wrapping his arms around himself, he released a low chuckle. “On one of my first nights in the club, there was this client who turned violent and hit me. Camilo was there and didn’t hesitate before coming to my rescue. Just like he did tonight.”

My throat dried out as immense fear took over me because what if Camilo actually went out because of Oro? He did look worried when he saw him all bruised and hurt.

“Anyway, he then hugged me, and I’ve loved him ever since.”

Well, too bad because he doesn’t love you was what I thought to myself and wanted to say but didn’t. Because what if I was wrong? What if Camilo lied about not being with anyone else? Or about not caring for Oro that way? I mean, he lied about other things. Perhaps everything we said and did in Thailand was nothing but his need to prove he still owned me. Bullshit. That wasn’t my Camilo: my kind, strong, beautiful Camilo who was willing to go to prison just for me. I couldn’t doubt his love because if I did, what would be left of me?

It was a good thing I was sitting because currently, I was so vibrant with emotions that my knees felt weak. Yet, I couldn’t stay in the same space as Oro, not right now. Gathering my voice and strength, I turned to him. “Just shut up and go to sleep.” With that, I got up from the stool and walked outside, ignoring Oro’s question about where I was going as I did. The cold night air hit my face the second I stepped out, and I took a deep breath before leaning my head back against the steel door. If I were honest, I sort of wanted to cry, even though I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was about how utterly lost I felt. Confused about every little aspect of my life. It was in moments like this, in which I was exhausted from living, that I wished my dad was still alive. I knew it was awful to admit, but it was the truth. As evil as he was, at least he had the answers.

Knowing this whole shit was making me way too anxious, I pulled out my phone and scrolled down my contact list until I reached Blaire’s name. With my hand hovering over her number, I considered calling her. The late hour didn’t matter, as she was always available for me, but after thinking it through, I ended up not calling. Why? Because I knew she wouldn’t be able to give me a solution and simply because the only one who could was Camilo. I could pretend to hate him all I wanted, but at the end of the day, he was vital to my survival in the most primal way possible.

The sound of a bike’s engine caught my attention, and I looked down at the street to see Camilo had finally returned. My heart missed a beat, and without thinking twice, I ran toward the elevator.

“Fuck,” I swore because I still didn’t know how this shit worked. My heart rate increased with each passing second that went to waste, and unwilling to wait for him to come up and, God forbid, go to see Oro, I looked around. Spotting a fire escape stairwell on the side, I dashed toward it and began running down, almost falling over my face as I did.

There was a small gap between the pavement and the staircase, and I had no choice but to jump. It wasn’t a high jump, but my ankles still hurt as I hit the ground. Ignoring the pain that spiked through me, I quickly dashed toward Camilo. He’d just turned off his bike and put away his helmet when I reached him, out of breath.

“Shay-Lee—”

“Do you love me?” I tossed the question in his face, not giving him a second to process what was wrong with me. To be honest, I bet I looked damn crazy right now, all sweaty and red, but it didn’t fucking matter.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, a deep frown on his face.

“Do. You. Love. Me?”

Holding my face in his palms, he tilted closer.

“Of course,” he whispered, the words ghosting over my lips.

A shudder went through my body at the same time my throat burned with the tears I tried holding in. “So why do you allow other men to think they’re special, too?” I didn’t care about my double standard. I was petty, even childish, and I was fine with that because right now, I wanted his answer.

Camilo’s forehead creased before his expression turned soft, so fucking soft, and he pulled me into a hug. But despite how much I loved being in his arms, it wasn’t enough.

“Why does he know your name?” I swallowed back my tears before another question came to mind. “Why did you ever hug him?” My lips trembled. “Why did you allow him to fall for you in the first place—”

My words were cut off as Camilo tilted my head up and sealed our mouths together in a kiss that made my knees grow weak. I gasped at the surprise, and he pushed his tongue in and swirled it around mine. It was hot, comforting, wet from my tears, and also not enough.

“S-say it,” I whined between kisses.