Harper's Hill, Chapter 25: The Aftermath of the Alley

Arriving back home and realizing she was alone, Camille started to cry. She felt so bad for how Emily had reacted when they were in the East side, but she also felt so confused. How had she led Emily right to the spot where her mom had died? And at the same time, how would she have known?

Camille had never met Sharon, Emily's mom. Sharon died before Camille was even born, and she didn't know how she would have been able to pinpoint the spot where she passed, considering she didn't even know how she passed. Camille's Dads had always just told her that her Aunt Sharon died tragically on a cold night, and she had always assumed overdose, just based on the history.

Thinking back to Emily's reaction, Camille felt her heart sink to the bottom of her whole body.

As soon as Emily had revealed where they were, Camille jumped up from where she was sitting.

"Emily, I swear I didn't know—"

"Honestly, Camille? I don't want to hear it," Emily fired at her, her tone harsh and cold. "Get to the car. I'm taking you home."

Camille nodded meekly and hurried to the car. She never wanted to upset anybody like this, and the fact that Emily thought she had done this on purpose just made it worse.

Camille's thoughts were interrupted by the front door of her house opening. "Cam?" She heard her Dad Julian call, and she came running out of the kitchen and into her Dad's embrace. "Woah, woah," Julian said, putting his arms around his daughter. "What's going on?"

"Dad, I fucked up," Camille said, looking up at her Dad and then immediately starting to cry harder. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She spoke into her Dad's chest, feeling overwhelmed by emotion.

"Hey, it's okay," Julian said calmly. "Anything can be fixed. Nothing is ever permanent. Let's go sit down and talk about it." He pushed her away softly so he could lead her to the couch in the living room. They sat down beside each other. "Tell me what happened."

Camille took a deep breath and sighed before recounting the story. She explained everything that had happened that day, from calling Emily about going to the East side, to getting to the alleyway, to the dramatic reveal about where they had ended up.

Julian didn't really know what to say. He looked down at the floor and shook his head. "I don't know much about that girl, but I don't really like the way she spoke to you. I know she's family, but..."

"No, Dad, it's okay!" Camille spit out quickly. "Don't be mad at her. Be mad at me! I led her there!"

Julian shook his head. "Cammy, no, you didn't," Her Dad said softly. "You had no idea. I don't know how you ended up there honestly, or what was really going on, but it wasn't your fault at all." He tutted softly. "As someone who is so many years older than you, she should have known better than to blame you."

"So it wasn't my fault?" Camille asked, looking at her Dad with tear-stained cheeks.

"Of course not," Julian said. "I won't blame Emily if you don't want me to, so let's just say it's no one's fault, okay?"

Camille nodded and sniffled. "I'm so sorry," She said. "I feel like I ruined everything."

"What did you ruin?" Julian asked.

"She'll never talk to me again! The whole family will fall apart!" Camille cried, obviously feeling dramatic.

Julian chuckled. "Sweetie, that won't happen. You didn't ruin anything, okay?"

He made eye contact with her, and she nodded in understanding. "Okay," She said quietly, looking down at her lap and then quickly looking up at her Dad again in panic. "What about Dad?" She asked. "What do we tell him? He's gonna hear about it somehow."

Julian shook his head again. "I'll tell him, don't worry," He explained, already trying to think of how to tell his husband that their daughter had been running off to explore again. Isaac had always been more protective of Camille and where she ended up. Julian knew that if he didn't approach this topic the right way, this could be really bad for not only Camille, but Emily, too.

Camille sighed. "I'm so sorry," She said again.

"Don't apologize," He said. "You should be allowed to explore the East side. You should be allowed to explore anywhere. This town and its rules are stupid... I've always thought so."

Camille stayed quiet, but then made eye contact with her caregiver. "Dad, can you tell me some stuff about Aunt Sharon? What she was like?"

Julian was confused. "I—I mean, sure, but why has she been on your mind so much lately?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Camille said. "But if you want me to be really honest, I'll tell you this..."

Julian tilted his head in a questioning way, waiting for a response.

"I think she's haunting me."