Suppressed

By Elliett Earhart

Cameron Porter's life is questioned drastically when two guys drop in and screw her semi-perfect world to hell, literally. The one thing Cam believes more than anything is that love isn't real. Since she was a little girl she swore to herself she would never fall in love. And now she'll do anything to make sure that never happens. But that's not the only thing she has to worry about though. Seth and Eric bring her into a world she is so unfamiliar with, but apparently she is smack dab in the middle of. Seth, the guy who she needs to keep herself together, is fighting to make her life more simpler; while Eric is only making her feel worse about everything in more ways than one. Without knowing what to do, she has to make the hardest decision of her life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elliett Earhart
• Release date: Oct 12, 2013

Book preview

Suppressed

Elliett Earhart

Copyright © 2012 Elliett Earhart

Smashwords Edition

Suppressed is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author.

Books by Elliett Earhart

~Bound Series~

Bound

Broken

Burned (Coming Soon)

~Suppressed Saga~

Suppressed

Smothered

Smoldering

Smashed (Coming Soon)

~Contemporary Romance~

Crazy Complicated (Coming Soon)

Every decision has a consequence.

Whether the consequence comes a minute, a week,

A month, or six years later, it always comes.

And if you aren’t prepared for it, your whole life could be undone.

Chapter 1

The Lord works in mysterious ways. How many times have you heard that in your lifetime? Probably over a thousand. My life would be in that category – the mysterious one. Though, I never knew it until just recently. My life was actually pretty good – or so I thought. In just four months I would be graduating from Boston University. Soon I would have my Bachelors in graphic design with a minor in photography. I’ll admit I’m smart, there’s no denying that. That was one of the only things I would ever admit to anyone about myself.

As great as I thought my life was, thinking I was going in the right direction, it somehow went off course into a tail spin. I didn’t know that one day would change my life forever. Just one small glance in the wrong direction would change it all…

It was Saturday morning. I just walked in my dorm room throwing a bakery bag on top of a huge lump across the room. That lump, believe it or not, was a person – my roommate Ashley.

Get up, I said just loud enough for her to hear.

She let out a groan as I went and sat down in my big, cushiony chair that was in the corner of our dorm. Sipping my steaming coffee I waited for her to pop her curly blonde head up.

What time is it? she groaned again.

Ten.

She finally flipped her head over on the pillow to face me showing small bags under her eyes. It’s Saturday. I need my beauty sleep if we’re going to the party at Lowell house tonight.

I want to go shopping and I told Lance I would meet him for lunch at Zia’s. I poked out my bottom lip to hide the grin that wanted to surface at the mention of my brothers’ name.

Just as I expected, she sat up like a bolt of lightning.

Well you don’t have to twist my arm about it!

I laughed quietly to myself. Ashley was infatuated with my brother. But it was nothing more than that – an infatuation. He was her eye candy and all she wanted to do was just sit there and ogle at him. She knew better than to try anything with him or else I would rip her hair out.

After throwing on some jeans and a t-shirt, she pulled her hair up in a messy bun and slid her huge sunglasses over her eyes. Let’s go! She waved her hands frantically in the direction of the door.

I hopped up from my chair, sliding my sunglasses down all the while comically shaking my head.

A short walk later I was flipping through the racks of a boutique trying to decide if I wanted the dark purple dress or the black one. It really didn’t matter to me what I wore, but felt like I needed something new.

Ashley piped up from the other side of the rack. Rachel told me there was a new hottie in her Sociology class.

Mmhhmm, I mumbled to myself, not really listening.

Maybe he’ll be at the party tonight.

I still wasn’t paying much attention to her but replied anyway. Maybe.

Callie said she spotted him yesterday too.

I nodded again. All these people she was referring to were my friends, but secretly they all irritated me. I wasn’t two faced and never expressed this opinion to anyone, but they were all just so snooty and judgmental. Ashley was the only friend who I could actually tolerate. Sometimes whenever some of the girls would talk I would drown them out and act as if they didn’t exist. I had a way of putting on a pretty face around other people so they could never tell what was really going through my mind.

That was another thing about me: I rarely ever showed or told my true emotions. I wasn’t an open book – I was closed, sewn shut. Nothing or no one could ever break through my strong outer exterior. And I didn’t want them to. Nothing good ever came to bearing your soul to someone or letting them in. I always believed if you were vulnerable to someone it was like giving them the ammo to destroy you. Love was a waste. Even the strong ones got brought down by it. The people you would never expect to break would crumble before your eyes given the right reason. And for some unknown reason, it was always love.

So I made a vow that it would never be me. I would date but it never lasted more than a few months. Long enough to have fun but short enough to not be serious.

Don’t get me wrong, I had a good childhood and my parents were happily married. There was really no explainable reason to my strange beliefs, it was just the way I wired and I dealt with the cards I was handed.

Do you like the black or the purple? I held up the two dresses for Ashley to see.

Cam, you could wear a trash bag and still look good enough to eat. She paused and glanced between the dresses before coming to a decision. The purple.

I already had a pair of black heels to go with the dress so I didn’t bother picking any out. Ashley got a bright yellow dress that made her blonde hair look washed out…I didn’t tell her that though.

After leaving the store we headed over to Zia’s. The second we stepped inside I started looking around for Lance. Eventually I spotted him sitting at a booth in the corner with his neck craned back and his eyes closed. Coming up behind him I lightly smacked him upside his dirty blonde head before taking my seat across from him.

Hey! he jumped a little, giving me an evil but playful glare.

How’s it goin? I asked with a small grin. Ashley took the seat next to me and I noticed her nonchalantly her patting her hair to make sure it looked halfway decent. I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes.

It was alright. I went to that new bar Dagger last night. It was pretty lame.

I cocked an eyebrow, Is that why you’re trying to fight a hangover right now?

Bite me. He took a sip of his water as he gave Ashley a nod hello. She smiled brightly in response.

The waiter came to take mine and Ashley’s drink order. Minutes later she returned with our drinks and took our food order.

So are you all coming tonight? Lance asked.

The party tonight was at Lowell house, it was the fraternity that Lance pledged two years ago. I cringed the day he told me he was joining. I had a lot of friends that were in Sororities and Fraternities but never gave a second thought to joining one myself. That would make me way to close to the ‘oh so fake’ people of the world.

Yeah, we’re going. You know, I don’t understand why you all have to have a party for every little thing. The start of second semester isn’t what I would call a reason for celebration.

He waved his straw randomly in the air. You know them. They like to have a reason to celebrate.

Someone does laundry in that house and they find a way to celebrate about it.

Lance reached forward and tapped my hand playfully. Well, you don’t seem to have a problem with coming to any of the parties so quit complaining.

I leaned back and let out a yawn at the same time Ashley leaned forward. So have you seen the new guy yet?

You mean Eric? Yeah, I have Bio with him. He’s pretty cool. I invited him tonight so he’ll be there. Why, do you want me to introduce you? He jumped his eyebrows up and down with a sly grin.

Her face reddened immediately. The fact that my brother was attempting to fix her up with someone was probably more than she could handle.

She tried to shrug it off unsuccessfully. Oh, no, I was just wondering if you met him yet.

The waiter came over with our food and we ate while having random chit chat. My brother didn’t like when people told him he was a looker. He had an athletic build and dirty blonde hair. His eyes were a light blue and he had these little dimples when he smiled. Girls swooned over him and I could help but laugh sometimes when they tried so hard to get his attention. The only thing we had in common looks wise was our skin color. We both had an almost olive skin tone. It wasn’t too tan but it wasn’t too fair either.

My hair was a weird shade of brown where sometimes it looked darker than others, while my eyes were green and had a hint of brown. The only real obsession I had with myself was my teeth. I was blessed with perfectly straight teeth and felt like they could never be whiter. I couldn’t stand people who didn’t take care of their teeth. Ugh, it was like my kryptonite.

After we were done eating I generously paid for the bill and they both thanked me profusely.

So are you coming with me back home for mom’s birthday? Lance asked randomly.

I guess, I was secretly trying to think when it was. After about thirty seconds I gave up and asked, When is it exactly? I felt like a horrible daughter. What kind of person was I that I couldn’t even remember when my own mother’s birthday was?

He shook his head disapprovingly and he stood up. Two weeks.

What? I have a lot going on, I explained to his disappointed glare. Ashley was taking her merry old time getting out of the booth but I waited patiently till she got out so I could get up.

My head reached just above his chin but I could still see him roll his eyes. Yeah, yeah. So I’ll see you tonight?

I gave him a nod before standing on my toes to kiss him on the cheek.

God, your brother is so hot. Ashley started gushing the second we were headed down the street and out of earshot of Lance.

I let out a casual laugh as we stopped at the crosswalk. There was no reason to comment, she told me this constantly and if replied it would just open the door for her to tell me how gorgeous his smile was or how amazing his hair looked today.

The streets were busy as always on a Saturday afternoon. Boston was amazing. I loved how everything was within walking distance and people walked the streets freely. It almost reminded me of New York except less crowded. If I had the money I would definitely go to New York, maybe Chicago. They were both placed that I knew I would fit in perfectly. The consistent moving and hustling was like a rush for me. Maybe I would look into it when I graduated in the spring…

Ashley nudged my arm and I felt her head come closer to mine. Cam, that guy is staring at you. She nodded not so discretely across the street so I would look.

I brushed my windblown hair out of my face and glanced up. It only took my eyes one sweep of the street to see who she had pointed out. Hell, it was hard not to see who she was talking about. From this far away I could see his bright green eyes staring back into mine. Everything inside of me froze and all I could do was stare back stupidly. It was only a few seconds, but in those few seconds something got me, something I wasn’t expecting…and it was something I hated.

I drew my eyes away from his and raked over the rest of him. He had short black hair that lay flat but sort of messily on his head. He was tall and muscular, every curve in his face perfect. Hell, everything was perfect. But it was his eyes, something about them was different. I was momentarily transfixed on those amazing, sea green eyes. Once I realized how hard I was staring I quickly came to my senses and slid down my sunglasses to cover my own eyes.

The pedestrian light blinked to inform us it was safe to walk. Just as we were passing the random guy I furtively cut my eyes over to him behind my sunglasses. I saw him shove his hands into his pockets with a smug grin like he knew I was looking.

Pompous Ass…

Wow, Ashley mouthed beside me.

Yeah, I said now directing my eyes back to the front. He wasn’t bad looking. Seems like a jerk though.

Are you kidding me? You just walked by him, how can you tell he is a jerk?

I have a sixth sense for those types of things. Trust me, he’s an ass.

Her head shook in disbelief. You’re crazy.

We stopped into one more store for Ashley to find a pair of shoes. I told her she could just borrow a pair of mine but she said she didn’t like mooching off my stuff. The truth was she was afraid she might mess them up and suffer my wrath. I’ll admit I was a tad territorial about my things.

I was sitting down in a chair beside the shoe rack waiting patiently for Ashley to pick out a pair of shoes. She eventually walked out with a pair of white strappy heels on and I gave her my nod of approval.

You’re not even paying attention. What, are you still thinking about that sexy Greek God that was undressing you with his eyes earlier? She twisted her ankle in the tiny mirror on the floor inspecting her foot.

No, why would I be thinking about him? I’m just tired. I want to take a nap before tonight. If I don’t I’ll be passed out by eleven o’clock. I added a yawn to emphasize my point.

She agreed on the nap and paid for her ridiculously expensive pair of shoes. When we got back to the dorm I threw my exhausted body on the bed. Ashley lay down too and I heard her lightly snoring in no time. If I didn’t know any better I would think she had narcolepsy. The girl slept constantly. I lit up my phone looking at the time. As the light in my phone went out so did I.

I woke up to a pounding noise that was constantly pulsating in my head. I tried to drown it out but it got to the point I could no longer stand it.

What in God’s name are you doing? I sat up and groaned at the noise that was still continuous.

Ashley threw me a small smile as she hung halfway out the window. My running shoes were dirty so I was beating them out the window.

I fell back into the bed glancing at my phone. "It’s six o’clock at night. Why in the hell are you doing that now?"

Obsessive compulsive, I don’t know.

I was about to obsessively strangle her if she didn’t stop. Deciding there was no point in going back to sleep, I sat up again and went to my closet to get my stuff. As I walked out the room I yelled to her that I was taking a shower.

I let the steamy water run down my back and shut my eyes to try and relax. This was the only time I could just relish in silence. It was hard to get a moment of piece in a college dorm. People were always up at different hours of the night doing something or other. You would think being a senior I would have different housing, but that didn’t matter much to me. One roommate was enough and if I lived anywhere else I would probably have about five. My nerves couldn’t take it.

My moment of solitude was shortly lived when I heard Ashley call out to me as she got in. I just ignored her and kept to washing my hair. These were times when I wish I had my own place.

When I was done I went back to the room and blew my hair dry. Ashley walked back in just as I finished and asked if I wanted to order take out before we went to the party. I called in the order and then put on my makeup. After doing the mascara and eyeliner thing I threw on some sweatpants and a sweatshirt before heading downstairs to meet the delivery guy.

A few friendly girls said hey to me as I walked outside and sat on a bench to wait. It was already dark and I didn’t like sitting out here. There were still people walking about campus but I doubt any of them would come to my rescue if someone jumped out of the bushes and tried to slit my throat.

Off in the distance I saw the small end of a cigarette light up. I tried to strain my eyes and see who the person was behind it but it was too dark to tell. Whoever it was started to move and was about to step under the light of the street lamp to give me a good look. Everything was suddenly blocked from my view when a man stepped in front of me with a wide grin across his pimply face. It was the delivery guy.

You Cam? he asked goofily.

Yeah, I stood up and handed him the money in exchange for the bag. I gave him a tip and quick thanks before he left. My eyes immediately went back to the open space under the street lamp but there was nothing there. No shadow, no cigarette light, nothing.

Forgetting about it I went back up to my room and ate while I started on my hair. I used the curling iron to make random loose curls throughout my hair and shot on a small amount of hair spray. Sometimes I liked to do my hair differently and others I would just let it flow all natural and not give a shit. I slipped on my dress and shoes before turning to Ashley. She had just hung up the phone and was waiting for me patiently.

Are you ready?

Yeah, I grabbed my phone and keys and headed for the door.

I used to have a car but sold it when I came to BU. Everything I needed was pretty much in walking distance. Lance had a Yukon that I would borrow every once in a while when I needed it, but other than that I just walked the city.

Lowell house wasn’t too far from our dorm so we decided to walk. Two girls who went to school with us, Rachel and Beth, met up with us while we were on our way. The second they joined us they started gibbering away as usual. Rachel had blindingly red hair and was exceedingly tan, it looked a little orange though, I guess this was because of the color of her hair and the many freckles she had.

Beth had shoulder length bleach blonde hair that looked almost white and her skin was fair which made her seem washed out. She almost reminded me of a baby doll, especially with her bright red lips.

I stared off into the trees that lined the pathway and paid no attention to anything they were talking about. I was in my own thoughts when Callie ran up beside me in her deep red dress.

Hey chick.

Hey.

I felt her elbow tap mine. I like your dress.

I like yours too, I told her honestly.

Callie wasn’t so bad. Sometimes she could be a little annoying and touchy but she wasn’t as fake as Beth and Rachel. She had brown hair and wasn’t as thin as me but she wasn’t fat either.

There’s my girl!

We all looked up to the voice that came from the house. There was a load of people standing outside but the voice belonged to Beth’s boyfriend, Jack. He was a little weird in my opinion. He kind of reminded me of Chester the child molester.

Beth let out a squeal before running over to him.

That’s a dream couple for you, Callie said in my ear.