battle of the bands (and babes) ~ camila/you

chapter twenty eight

"Are you doing that weird thing where you sleep with your eyes open?" Nate whispered. "Or are you just daydreaming."

"Just thinking about everything that's happened."

"Hey, don't think too hard, okay? This isn't your fault."

Those words kept ringing in my head: This isn't your fault. Is it Sebastian's? That cop's? Shawn's? Or is it a group effort?

"This is New York Penn Station." The train car's silence was broken by the conductor's voice. Nate and I got up, heading out of the train and up the stairs. He started talking at his regular tone and volume, describing to me this new symphony he heard the other day on Pandora. Little did we know that we were being followed.

We headed down fifteen blocks until I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Luis. His hands were wrapped. He looked like he wasn't sleeping well- or at all. Before I could ask him anything, he took a step forward. Luckily, Nate caught his hands and pinned them behind his back. Nate got him into an alley, and I managed to punch him in the stomach.

"I can see you missed me, Allen." Luis smiled maniacally.

"What the fuck do you want from me?" I asked him, my hand on my concealed pocketknife. I was too cautious to leave the house without it.

"I'm here to warn you. Sebastian is going back to court. Can you believe I escaped and yet he couldn't? Some mastermind..."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't smash your skull into the brick wall." Nate warned.

"Because you're just beach rats from Jersey? Also, this is a warning. He's not coming for Shawn any longer." Luis looked at me. "He's coming for Camila."

"You're joking."

"Wish I was. But both you and Shawn care about her. It's pure logic."

"You said he's still in there."

"Not for long. Did you hear about Ricky Baker?"

"What are you talking about?" Nate asked him.

"Ricky Baker was murdered last night in his Miami mansion. Gunned down on his balcony."

"No..." I checked my phone. It was true- all of it. Kelly was dead. Shawn would be so upset.

"This isn't a game anymore. People aren't just losing their memories. They're losing their lives. We need to put an end to this."

"I'm not teaming up with you-"

"And I'm not asking to you. But Ricky was my friend. He was Bass's too. You don't know what he's capable of."

"Y/N, let's go. We're gonna be late-"

"Nate, he has a point."

"He tried to break your hand! Now are we gonna start forgiving everyone? Maybe next we'll forgive Jacob for triggering Camila's persimmon allergy!"

"I'm not interested in messing around with high school kids." Luis broke out of his grasp. "I'm interested in taking Bass down, though. And you need him to be away from Shawn as far as possible."

"I'm not using Camila as bait."

"It might be all we got." Nate told me.

Luis handed me a realtor's business card with a phone number scribbled on the back. He told us that we could contact him through this number.

Nate and I walked away shaken up. There was a forced speed in our steps. We didn't know how Camila would feel about this. I didn't know how to feel about this either. Could staging a coup really put all of this to an end?