Chapter 41

It takes all but five minutes in which I try and calm Will down enough for him to talk before Grace comes barging into the room as well.

"I've looked everywhere. He left most of his stuff, but the RV is missing as well," Grace says trying to catch her breath. "But I found this."

She holds out an envelope with Will's name hastily scribbled onto it, as well as the huge engagement ring.

"Is it from Cameron?" Will utters through his sobs, his face red from crying as I hold him in my arms on the floor. E.J. is holding him from the other side, almost like we are trying to protect him from the pain he is feeling.

"I think so," Grace answers. "I think he left you a reason why he ran, sugar."

She sits down on the floor next to us.

"Do you want to read it?" she asks.

"No. You read it," he answers, shaking his head before dropping his face back on my shoulder and his entire body starting to shake again.

It takes a few seconds for Grace to tear open the envelope and remove its contents.

She takes a big breath before she starts to read.

"My dearest, most adoring Will,

At this point you might have nothing but hate for me in your heart, but I will do my best to understand how you feel about me right now. I have brought this on myself.

When I told you I would marry you, it was the most beautiful moment of my life. I was seeing our future so perfectly planned out as we roamed the streets of Paris, Rome, and London, making memories in every romantic place on earth. I imagined myself headlining as the most famous dragqueen in the world every night, where you wait for me backstage and make me your royalty for real. But it will never be like that. We can never be.

I thought for a moment I could fit into your world. Married to the oldest son of a wealthy farmer, trying to play housewife while you manage the fields that will someday be yours. You come from a world that's set in another era, and I have seen that I will never fit in there, and thanks to that, neither will you as long as you are with me.

Jessica-Lynne had a talk to me last night. She showed me the RSVP's you tried to hide from me where family members gave you a piece of their mind for wanting to marry a common, gold-digging man in woman's clothing. Yes, I read them all. Each and every one of them. And I don't care what you say, it hurt me, therefore it must have hurt you even more. Even your own brother doesn't bless our union. Jessica-Lynne made it perfectly clear that he is planning to get you written out of the will if you went through with marrying me. Plus, we won't produce an heir together, so in the end the farm will in anycase end up with him, and I think he is as nasty a piece of work, as is your sister-in-law, so it really would be a shame if you were to lose everything because of me and they won.

You are probably wondering why I didn't tell you all of this to your face. Simple... You would have tried to talk me out of all of this. You would have begged me to stay. You would have offered to give everything up for me. And I would have stayed. Or allowed you to give everything up. But then, far in the future, I would have started to resent you for being on a farm where everyone hates me and I can never truly be myself. Or if you gave everything up, you would have resented me for losing everything. That would not have worked out very well. And I'd rather have my heart broken now and continue to love you in my own way forever more, than to go through with this and ending up resenting and maybe even hating you later on. That would not be fair to you. You deserve someone who will fit into your world. I can never be that person, and I am sorry that it took me so very long to realize this. I should have seen it sooner.

Now, my love, I ask that you do not come looking for me. Just let me go, and go on and be happy in yourself. You deserve the best. You deserve better than me.

I will continue to love you for as long as I live, and who knows, maybe one day we'll find each other again when Lady Lalaland is long gone and we are both walking with canes.

Again, I am so sorry my love, but it is for the best,

Cameron xxx"

The entire room is silent by the time Grace is done reading. Even Will has stopped sobbing.

"Are you okay?" I ask Will.

"Has all the flowers been delivered?" Will asks Grace, which makes us all look at him as if he just came from Mars.

"Why, yes sugar. Why do you ask?" she wants to know the same thing we are probably all thinking.

"Because they need to be given water. We will need it soon for a funeral. No use wasting beautiful flowers," Will says, standing up from the floor, pushing both E.J. and me away from him.

"What do you mean?" I ask. I can feel the worry pushing up in my throat.

"I am going to fucking put Jessica-Lynne in a grave," he says through gritted teeth as he starts walking out the door with fast paces.

"Guys, we need to stop him," I say and within the blink of an eye, everyone is on their feet, running after Will who already had a bit of a head start.

"Will! Will! Listen to me! She ain't worth it!" Grace screams as we rush after Will, but he ignores her, making his way down a long hallway as fast as he can.

Before we can catch up to him he bolts into a room on his right, and we are just in time to hear a key crunch in the lock.

"Will! Let me in!" I shout through the door as I hear scurrying noises on the other side. "You need to calm down! We need to find Cameron!"

Will however doesn't answer.

"You don't think he will really do something stupid?" Chris asks.

"Why don't you just shut the fuck up?" I ask, turning around to face him. "You have done enough damage, and you'd better shut that big hole in your face before I reserve a hole in the ground for you next to Jessica-Lynne."

At my words Chris backs away a bit, but then says; "Someone should probably tell the guests that the wedding isn't going to happen."

"I'll do that," Grace answers. "But I think it best you come with me sugar."

She almost forcefully takes Chris by the upper part of his arm and starts leading him away down the hallway, but a few doors down she stops and turns back.

"I will send Stuart up with a master key. You two just make sure Will is okay until Stuart gets here," Grace says before turning around and marching Chris away with her.

"The fuck are we gonna do?" E.J. asks before he starts shouting again. "Will! Please Will! Open up! It's just Brody and me over here!"

"I'm gonna fucking kill her!" Will screams from the other side of the room.

I start knocking on the door, banging loudly, hoping to disorientate him, but as I am knocking the door flings open from the other side, revealing Will, his hari standing like crazy, his Slytherin tie loose around his neck, and in his hand, a shotgun.

"You can't be serious," I mutter, stepping closer to Will, sticking my hand out to the gun, just as E.J. gives a few steps backward. "Give me the gun Will. Nobody needs to get hurt."

"I am killing her," he answers, looking me straight in the eyes, the seriousness written all over his face.

"This is crazy," I say calmly. "If you kill Jessica-Lynne, how will you win back Cameron? If you are sitting in jail, there is no way you will ever hold Cameron in your arms again."

Will blinks at me as I take another step forward, keeping my eyes fixed on Will, making sure he doesn't make any sudden movements.

"She deserves to fucking die. She's a homophobe and a racist. She has no respect for anyone. Did you see the way she treats Grace who has been nothing but good for her?" Will asks. He still looks frantic, pushing his one hand constantly through his hair, while at the same time holding the shotgun, pointing it to the roof.

I inch forward a little bit more, trying to get as close to Will as I possibly can.

"I agree, but it's not for us to kill her. Karma will get her. And I am sure your father and Grace are already taking care of her," I answer. "So why don't you give me the gun and we can rather try and find out where Cameron ran off to. He is probably scared, crying, and really needs you like now."

"You really think he is just scared?" Will asks, as I reach out and take the gun with one hand.

"Yes, I do, and I think you should really come with me, and we will find Grace and make a plan to go and get Cameron and bring him back," I say as Will lets go of the gun, which I hold out behind me, hoping for E.J. to take it from me, but E.J. is nowhere to be found when I look behind me. He must have fled the moment he saw the shotgun.

"We need to find Grace," Will says.

"We do," I answer as I pull him from the room, and then enter the room again, leaving the shotgun on a nearby desk, and then leaving the room, but not without the key and locking the room behind me.

"I need to find Cameron," Will mutters. "He must be so scared."

"Yes, we need to find him," I answer, knowing full well that Will is barely making sense because of the shock.

I lead him down the hallway, and carefully watch as he puts one foot after the other in front of him down the stairs.

In the formal sitting room everyone, including E.J. is sitting and waiting for us. E.J. must have told Stuart that his help to open the door wasn't needed anymore.

"I think we all need to sit down and have a discussion," the voice of Mister William comes from the other side of the room, where he is sitting in front of a fireplace above which hangs a portrait of a much younger version of him.

We take our seats without a word, and I quickly scan the faces in the room. Everyone in the family, as well as E.J. and Chris seems to be here. Jessica-Lynne is looking at her shoes, very much like Will who probably hasn't noticed her yet, otherwise she might have two hands around her throat.

"Now sugars, Daddy and I would like to know what exactly is goin' on," Grace, the only one standing next to her husband says. "I've got this letter and I would like someone to start spilling the beans."

Grace looks from one person to the other, and finally allows her eyes to rest on Jessica-Lynne, but nobody says a word.

"Would you like to tell us why everythin' is going to hell in a handbasket Jessica-Lynne?" Grace prompts.

This time Jessica-Lynne looks up.

"I just told Cameron the truth. My daddy said that it's best to always tell the truth," Jessica-Lynne pipes up. "Cameron has a right to know that the family will never accept him."

"Jessica-Lynne, you'd best keep your daddy out of this," Mister William says with a calm drawl. "And you would do best to hush your mouth about the truth when most that comes out of it is nothin' but lies."

"I did not tell any lies!" Jessica-Lynne says loudly, while I reach out and take Will's hand, which seems to be vibrating under mine. Still, he doesn't look up from the ground.

"You ruined Will's weddin'," Grace accuses this time around. "I have felt this for the longest off times sugar, and now I am finally gonna say so. You are probably the most selfish girl I have ever met, and you seem to stick out like a sore thumb in this family."

With these words Jessica-Lynne gets up out of her chair and walks to almost in front of Grace.

"I will not be spoken to like this by the likes of you!" she spits into Grace's face. "I demand respect! Do not forget that you aren't much more than the help!"

For a moment nobody says anything. No sound is made. And then...

SLAP!

Grace hits Jessica-Lynne so hard through the face that she falls backwards, and it takes everything in her not to lose her balance as she grabs onto a side table to steady herself.

"How dare you!" she screams. "How dear you put your hands on me you fuckin' N..."

She however never gets to finish the horrible word she was about to speak, because this time Mister William got to his feet, banging a old walking stick with a ivory head hard against the floor.

"Enough! No more! Jessica-Lynne, you will not speak to my wife in that manner. And that word will not be allowed within the confines of this house. And try as you might, but you will be waiting until the cows come home before you will ever sit foot in this house again!" Mister William shouts, making me sit upright, and Will stop shaking.

"But Papa!" Stuart finally opens his mouth, moving over to his wife. "She is my wife."

"She might be your wife, but she is truly somethin' awful' to listen to. And I would like her to leave my house right now," Mister William says, this time much calmer.

"You cannot run the plantation by yourself," Stuart answers. "You need me. You need Jessica-Lynne."

"I need nobody. I have taught you tolerance Stuart. I have tried my best to be a good father. And if you cannot teach the morals and values of this house to your wife... Well, if she doesn't believe in the tolerance we believe in, she has no reason bein' here and would do better goin' to live with her daddy," Mister William says as he turns around and reaches a hand out to Grace which she takes and hold it tightly. "I am not a man of many words. You all know me. And Jessica-Lynne, I have never said quite enough about you, but maybe I should have warned my son against you."

"You have no respect for what the South stands for!" Jessica-Lynne raises her voice. "You marry a maid. You want to give the family house and land to some homos. The entire county is laughing at this family."

"Yes, and now you may go and laugh with them. If there is one thing I am certain of, is that I am making the right decision in makin' sure you and Stuart will inherited nothin' but money without value, because value does not come from money darlin'. It comes from the heart. It comes from family. Grace and her daddy and mama, and in turn their daddies and mamas, helped to build this place you are standin' on. Therefore Grace has more say here than you will ever have." Mister William shakes his head as if he will never fully understand her. "I pity you for not havin' real love in your heart. And I will pity my son as long as he is married to the likes of you."

"I am goin' to pack and I am leavin' this place," Jessica-Lynne says. "I will not be treated like this."

"I think that's best darlin'. Better not overstay your welcome any longer," Mister William says as Jessica-Lynne barges out of the room, Stuart only one step behind her. Then he turns to Grace and hugs her tightly against him. "And I am sorry for how terribly rude that young'un was to you. She had no right."

"It's all dandy," Grace replies. "But now we need to find Cameron."

"I might know where he is," E.J. pipes from in the corner where he made himself look as small as possible. "I think he would have gone back to his hometown."