*Mon Seulement Amour (My Only Love)* - [Chapter 11]

Why are you doing this?” Camille cried as Eric tossed her up against the sharp edge of the kitchen counter. “Please stop this, you’re going to hurt the baby.”

“I don’t care about the baby,” Eric yelled as he pulled Camille away from the counter and threw her into the refrigerator.

“You’re going to hurt me,” Camille choked out as the wind was knocked out of her and she set her left hand on her lower stomach.

“I don’t care about you,” Eric spit back. Camille blinked back her tears as she pushed herself away from the refrigerator.

“Then why am I here?” she inquired lightly. “If you don’t love me, or our son, why am I here?” she screamed.

“You have nowhere else to go,” Eric stated. “And even if you did I would find you…your mine.”

“I’m your wife not your property,” Camille argued. “I’m sick of not being loved, I deserve to be treated equally and all you do is treat me like crap. I married you because I love you, I’m giving you a son and you don’t even care. You don’t appreciate that, and that kills me Eric!”

“Do you want me to cater to your every whim, is that it?” Eric questioned as he picked up a glass and tossed against the wall directly behind Camille’s head where it shattered into a million pieces.

“No,” Camille scoffed as she bent down and began picking up the pieces of glass. “Because you taking care of me and loving me would be far too much of me to ask of you, right? An occasional ‘I love you’ or ‘Your beautiful’ is too hard for you. I’ve done nothing but support you and how do you repay me? A slap across the face, a broken wrist…” Before Camille had the chance to continue Eric pulled her up from the floor by the hair and jerked her out of the kitchen.

“You better be careful what you say to me,” he warned as he tossed her up against the staircase. “I never asked for a family and I’m not going to take care of one.” Camille pushed herself up and steadied herself.

“You think I wanted to bring another life into this world…with you?” she asked her voice shaking lightly. “I would never wish the hell that is my life with you upon anybody, especially not an innocent child who doesn’t get to choose. You got me pregnant and I’ll be dead before anything happens to this baby, I would kill myself if it meant that this child would be safe…free to live a life without fearing what their FATHER is going to do them or their mother.” As Camille turned and began walking up the stairs she felt her breath catch in her throat as Eric’s strong hand pulled her from the stairs and threw her to the floor.

“No!” Camille cried out as she sat up in bed and took in her surroundings. She looked to her right, where Brian and Braden had been when she’d gone to sleep the night prior, and saw that the spot was now vacant. “Brian?” she called out as she pushed herself from the bed and walked from the bedroom to the living room. Panic crept up the back of Camille’s throat as she stepped into the room and saw that, it too, was empty.

“Brian?” she called out once more as she made her way back through the bedroom and stepped into the bathroom…empty. “Braden, baby, where are you and Brian at?” she added as thoughts of the worst filled her mind and her voice began to tremble. Walking back into the bedroom Camille gasped when she saw that Brian’s cell phone was resting on the nightstand. Knowing that Brian rarely went anywhere without his cell phone Camille’s battle with her emotions came to a head and tears began blurring her vision. She flipped open the phone and hastily dialed Jackie and Harold’s phone number.

“Oh my God,” she choked out as she rocked herself back and forth.

“Hello,” Jackie’s voice greeted.

“They’re gone,” Camille choked out. “Jackie they’re gone and it’s all my fault.”

“Camille, what are you talking about?” Jackie inquired as she sat down at the kitchen table.

“I knew I shouldn’t have pulled Brian into this,” Camille’s quivering voice responded. “I knew Eric would follow us, that he would do something. God, why is this happening?” she cried.

“Okay sweetie,” Jackie whispered hoping to calm Camille down. “What happened?”

“I woke up and they’re gone, Brian and Braden, he took them,” Camille sobbed. “What do I do?”

“Camille, I’m sure they are fine,” Jackie stated. “Brian probably just went to go get some breakfast and took Braden so you could sleep.”

“No,” Camille cried. “Eric followed us and he knows that nothing would hurt me more then having to live without my son, he knows it!”

“How would he know where to find you honey?” Jackie questioned. “How would he know?”

“I should have never done this,” Camille bawled. “I should have never done this…”

Brian struggled to juggle an alert Braden as well as the breakfast he’d gone down to the hotel kitchen to pick up.

“What do you say we go wake up Mommy,” he suggested as walked down the hall of the hotel and neared the room. After reaching the door Brian slipped the key into slot before pushing the door open.

“Camille,” he called out.

“I’m positive…” Jackie began before Camille cut her off.

“I gotta go,” she choked out before tossing the phone to the bed and running toward the door where a smiling Brian greeted her. “Oh my God,” she cried as she ran up to Brian and retrieved Braden from his arms.

“Camille…” Brian began.

“How dare you do that to me?” Camille interrupted as she held Braden to her chest. “Oh baby,” she sobbed as she turned her back to Brian. Sensing the emotion that was coming from his Mother Braden began to fuss and cry as well.

“Camille…” Brian began once more.

“How dare you make me worry like that!” Camille screamed as she turned back to face Brian. “Here I am freaking out, thinking the worst, then you come walking in like it doesn’t matter!”

“I’m sorry,” Brian whispered.

“Save it,” Camille demanded before setting a kiss on Braden’s head. “It’s okay sweetie,” she whispered as she patted Braden’s back.

“I just went to get breakfast,” Brian defended.

“Put yourself in my place for just a minute,” Camille suggested. “I wake up and your not here, my sons not here, I thought that Eric…” she trailed off as she handed Braden back to Brian and quickly made her way to the bathroom.

“I was stupid wasn’t I?” Brian asked Braden as he walked into the bedroom and eased him into the battery-powered swing that Camille had set up. After making sure the Braden was secured in the swing Brian walked to the mini bar and retrieved a bottle of water, grabbed a glass and made his way to the bathroom door.

“Oh God,” Camille’s shaky voice cried as Brian opened the door. Brian opened the water bottle and poured the cool liquid into the glass before bending down in front of Camille, who was sitting on the toilet.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“I just thought that Eric had…” Camille began as Brian placed his right hand on the back of her head and brought the glass to her lips with his left hand.

“Drink it,” he demanded lightly. Camille nodded as she swallowed the water Brian had ladled into her mouth.

“I was so scared,” she admitted her hands shaking as Brian allowed her to take the glass from him.

“I know,” Brian muttered as he pressed his forehead against Camille’s. “I just wanted you to sleep.”

“I had the nightmare about the night I had Braden so I when I woke up I was ready to hold him and he wasn’t there,” Camille stated. “I just freaked out, immediately thought the worst, called your Mother. I just went crazy.”

“It’s okay,” Brian reassured.

“I thought that you and him were gone, that I’d never see you again,” Camille continued. Brian pressed a soft kiss to Camille’s lips to silence her.

“Everything is okay,” he stated. Camille nodded as she wrapped her arms around Brian’s neck.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t worry about it,” Brian muttered as he wrapped his arms around Camille’s waist and pulled her up into his embrace as he stood up.