A Sinner’s Saint (De Bellis Crime Family #4)

Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

I had three hours of peaceful sleep in Cammi’s bed last night. I crawled out and went home around one in the morning. Sneaking out of her house like a fucking crook while her parents slept. I heard them come home. Neither of them bothered to check on their daughter. I waited for the door to her room to open, to have an angry-as-shit father yelling profanities at me for being in his daughter’s bed.

That never happened.

I did lie there for another hour holding Cammi as she slept in my arms. Then I went home and checked on Santo. Gabe and Marcel were still sitting with him in the games room. I really hope Eloise picks out some furniture for this house soon. At the moment, only one room is fully furnished. My big brother has this thing about new furniture, insisting Eloise needs to design the place.

I don’t disagree. I know she’ll make it feel like a home, unlike the museum we all grew up inside.

I look over to Cammi and wonder what type of house she wants. What kind of future plans she has and how I can implant myself into those plans…

I don’t know what she’s doing to me. Whatever it is, I like it. I like the quiet she seems to bring. I wasn’t lying when I told her she was my own personal saint. Because to be able to do what she’s doing to me—putting the demons to rest—it’s nothing short of a miracle. I just hope whatever lurks within my soul never reaches out and takes her down with me.

“What classes do you have today?” I ask her on our way to school.

“What? You don’t already know my schedule? Vin, you’ve been watching me for months. Don’t pretend you don’t have my timetable memorised,” she says.

“I might, but I’d still like to hear it from you.” I smirk. “I didn’t think you noticed me.”

Cammi gasps. “Vin, it’s impossible not to notice you,” she says. “You have this whole...” She waves her free hand up and down my body. “…bad boy thing going on. It’s alluring, even though it probably shouldn’t be. Plus, you’re literally the school’s most eligible bachelor. There isn’t a girl in our year, or even below us, who isn’t after you.”

“So what I’m hearing is you find me alluring.” My grin widens. “Good to know. Also, you’re wrong.”

“About what?”

“Me being the school’s most eligible bachelor. I’m not a bachelor, and I don’t give a fuck what the girls are after because I already belong to someone,” I tell her. “That someone is you, just in case you had any doubts.”

“Do you think this is happening too fast? I feel like…” Cammi digs her teeth into her bottom lip.

“You feel like what?”

“I feel like you’re consuming every fibre of my being. Like, I don’t just want you near me, Vin. I feel like I need you just as much as I need air. It’s stupid. I’m sorry. Ignore me.” She pulls her hand out of mine.

“Cammi, it’s not stupid.” I want to reach out and take it back—her hand—but I can’t. I can’t touch her if she doesn’t want me to. I need her to ask me. Fuck, this is fucked up. “It is fast, but you’re not alone. I do need you, Cammi. Except it’s so much more than I need air. You have no idea how much I need you.”

“Really? You feel it too?” She turns in her seat to face me.

I stop at a red light. My hand reaches out, almost touching hers, before I pull it back again. Cammi notices.

“Vin, hold my hand and never let go,” she says.

My palm closes around hers. “I feel it too.”

A car horn blares behind me, and I look ahead to see that the light is green. Glancing back in the rearview mirror, I mentally tell the impatient fucker behind me to eat a dick as I slam a foot down on the accelerator and take off.

That was a little too deep and meaningful for this hour of the morning. Cammi is quiet the rest of the way to school.

I pull into a spot in the car park, and she unbuckles her belt. “Vin, how dark are these windows?” she asks. “Like, can people see in?”

I had the windows down when I pulled up at her place. I wanted her to see it was me.

“These are blackout. Why?” I tap my knuckles on the glass to my right. The windscreen is a different story. You can see through that.

“So, if I were to ask you to pull me across the seat until I’m straddling you and then ask you to kiss me, no one will see?”

My eyes flick to the windscreen while my dick strains in my pants. “Are you asking me to do that, Cammi?”

“Vin, pull me across the car until I’m straddling you and then kiss me like it’s the first and last time you ever will,” she says.

I smile, reaching over as I pick her up and position her so her knees rest on each side of my legs. “When are you going to get it? There’s never going to be a last time, babe,” I remind her before slamming my lips down onto hers.

My tongue pushes out and slinks into her mouth. I fucking love kissing her. I’ve never been a fan of kissing. But with Cammi, I never want to stop. A knock at my window has Cammi jumping and me ready to kill whoever’s on the other side. I turn to see Dash waving, even though he can’t see me.

“I thought you said they couldn’t see inside,” Cammi says while climbing back over to the passenger seat.

“They can’t. He’s just being an ass,” I tell her. Then I consider her words. Does she not want people to see us together? I already publicly announced that she was mine. She is mine. I don’t give a fuck who sees us together. As long as they don’t see any parts of her meant solely for my eyes, then let them watch. “Come on, let’s go.” I open my door harder than necessary, slamming it into Dash’s body before he can move out of the way.

“Ow, fuck. What was that for?” He scowls while clutching his abdomen.

“For interrupting. What the fuck do you want?” I grunt as I round the car. By the time I get to the other side, Cammi is already out of the car. Her bag hoisted on one shoulder. “You okay?” I glance at her flushed face.

“Uh-huh, I’ll, um, see you later?” she questions.

I tilt my head to the side. Cammi takes a step closer before she stops. “Want me to walk you in?” I ask her.

She looks from me to Dash. “No, it’s okay. I have to find Elena.” She steps around me as she practically runs into school. What the fuck was that about?

“So, this is a thing now? You and Cammi?” Dash lifts a curious brow in my direction.

I glare at him. “Why are you here again?”

The fucker smiles. “One, because you love me and I know you missed me last night. And two, I have a new strand you gotta try, bro. It’ll blow your mind,” he says while waving a rolled-up joint in my face.

I slept without getting off my face last night. It might have only been a few hours, but it was a great fucking few hours. And I haven’t needed to smoke as much. Because when I’m with Cammi, all the noise stops.

I swipe the blunt out of Dash’s hand. “Get in the car,” I tell him before walking back around to the driver’s seat. I shut myself inside the car and dig into my pocket for a light. I close my eyes and inhale, enjoying the way the smoke fills my lungs. “What is it?”

“Like I said, it’s some new strand. They call it Flight 57.” Dash takes the joint from me and sucks it between his lips.

“That’s a stupid fucking name,” I tell him before snatching it back.

By the time we’re finished, the car is filled with smoke, and my body feels fucking light. My head is spinning, though. Whatever this shit is, it’s fucking good.

“Let’s get in before we’re late,” I grunt in Dash’s direction.

When we walk into school, my mind is set on finding Cammi. I don’t know why she doesn’t want people to see us together. I should respect it, though, right? Or at least find out if it’s something I did.

She doesn’t know. She can’t know how fucked up I am. I’d get it if she knew. Because what kind of person would want to be with me if they knew? Which is also why she can never know. It’s bad enough that Gabe knows, and I have no doubt that Marcel knows too. They went to that house together. I am thankful only one of them brought it up to me. I’ve seen the looks he gives me, though. I’m not blind.

I never want to see that same pity in Cammi’s eyes. The disgust. Hatred. I couldn’t bear to see that from her. I just have to do better at trying to act normal. Trying to be like any other teenage guy without a care in the world.

I find Cammi at her friend Elena’s locker. Our eyes connect and she smiles briefly before it drops into a frown. She walks over and stops right in front of me. Staring at my eyes before glaring at Dash. “What did you give him?”

“Nothing,” he says.

“Bullshit,” Cammi fires back at him. “Vin?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“I want to skip class. Take me to the park,” she says.

“You can’t skip class again, Cammi. You’re the good one here, remember?”

“I’m going to the park. You can either come or stay,” she says, spinning around to look at her friend. “I’ll call you later.”

“Wait… Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Elena replies.

“Positive,” Cammi says and starts walking towards the entrance of the building without bothering to look back.

“Guess I’m going to the park. Cover for me,” I tell Dash, knowing full well the teachers won’t give a shit if I’m here or not.

I follow two steps behind her the whole way until she stops under the same tree from that first day I spoke to her. Then Cammi spins around and looks right at me. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why would you get so wasted you can barely keep your head straight, right before school?”

“I’m not wasted,” I lie. Truth is, right now, I’m seeing two of her. And, honestly, I’m not fucking complaining. Because there is no such thing as too much Cammi.

“You are. You can’t go to class like this. Your eyes are bloodshot, Vin.” Cammi drops onto the grass and opens her bag. Pulling out a bottle of water before handing it to me. “Drink this.”

I smile. “You’re really bossy, you know.” I laugh, sitting across from her as I take the bottle.

“Why do you do it? Get so high?” she asks me.

“Because I need it,” I tell her. “It makes them quiet.”

“Makes who quiet?”

“The nightmares, the memories,” I say.

“Vin?” She looks at me as she leans forward on her knees.

“Yeah?”

“Hug me. I need you to pull me onto your lap and wrap your arms around me. I need you to hold on to me like I’ll vanish if you don’t,” she says.

I reach out and tug her against me. My arms wrap around her waist and I bury my face in her neck. “How do you know what I need?” I ask her.

“Because I need it too,” she says.