Page 82 of Camera Stays On

“Fuck, man,” he whined. “We need to get that gun away from him. And that bitch, Juliet. She’s just an instigator.”

“We don’t have to do shit. He’s not trying to kill me,” I said with a confidence I didn’t actually have. Sawyer knew I’d slept with Andi. He’d only guessed at Gavin.

He’d guessed wrong.

“Well, I’m not going to just sit here and let him hunt me,” he spat. Gavin paced in frantic circles, rubbing his stubble. “Something’s wrong with him, man. This isn’t the same guy we’ve known since we were kids.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think he has plans we’re not fully aware of. He’s too calm. One of us is dead, and he’s out in the woods digging holes!”

I cocked my head. What? Gavin kept going, ignoring my confused expression.

“I don’t understand. He saw the video of you balls deep inside Andi. Why is he so focused on me?” He slapped his chest.

I couldn’t answer that. It did seem odd. Almost as if… Was he baiting me? What if he knew it wasn’t Gavin but wanted to see how I’d react to him accusing his best friend? My mind went through the various scenarios.

“I didn’t fuck her!” he screamed. The shouting pulled me out of my thoughts, causing me to jump. Calming down, he inhaled deeply, then exhaled. “I’m sorry, man. Thank you for warning me, but this is so fucked up. There’s no way I’d touch that broad.”

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry, that...woman.”

Gavin had never liked Andi. He’d been against her being in our friend group from the start. He’d wanted Sawyer all to himself, it seemed. Gavin was always trying to kick her from our plans, to the point where Sawyer had to tell him to back off multiple times.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” he groaned, pulling a chair out from the table and sitting down. “This was never part of the plan.”

Plan?

Sawyer had said that word numerous times before, without explanation.

“What was the plan, exactly?”

He looked up at me, misery turning his eyes red.

“To scare her into marrying him,” he huffed. “He’s gonna lose it when he sees you signed those papers. You’re gonna be the one hunted down, not me.”

Just like Juliet, he too, had ulterior motives for letting me take Sawyer’s place in that scene.

“I don’t understand. What do you mean, scare her?”

He shook his head. “None of this is real, man. He never pitched it to investors, he never had another script, he burned down the place in Chicago. This was all just one big plan to get her back. I didn’t want to do any of it, but he—”

The door creaked open, and we both turned to see Sawyer and Juliet in the doorway. Gavin stood and wiped his eyes.

“What’s going on in here?” Sawyer asked coldly, his eyes narrowing to slits.

“I didn’t sleep with her, you son of a bitch,” Gavin blurted. Sawyer cocked his head, then slowly nodded.

“I see. And?”

“And? You told Asher you’re gonna fucking kill me!”

Sawyer didn’t react. “And?”

“I didn’t fuck that cunt. You know it’s true.”

“Don’t talk about my wife like that.” Sawyer’s voice got so cold I almost felt the chill in the room. “That’s your one and only warning.”