Page 36 of Staying for You

“And you know so much after knowing her for only a few more hours and then pushing her away?” he counters.

I stand from my bed and push past him, ignoring his last absolutely true statement but then stop abruptly when I see Cami standing in the hallway, listening to our conversation.

Her eyes are sad and her sob that she tries to cover up is loud and cuts right through my heart. She spins around and walks quickly, murmuring goodbyes and nice to meet yous as she leaves abruptly, a cry hiccupping from her throat just before the door closes behind her.

We follow her out, me calling her name but she just lifts a hand to wave me off. Pretty sure she’d lift the middle finger at me, too, but she’s obviously a bigger person than I am.

Chloe and Olivia are looking at her retreating back then turn around, shooting daggers at me, seeing that I’m the cause of her sudden escape.

Ethan takes an exaggerated step away, pointing at me and whispering loudly, “It’s his fault.”

“Shut up, Ethan,” I growl.

Without thinking, I slide my feet into my boots and tie them as quickly as possible, slipping on my coat as I run out the door.

I was a dick. And I’m never a dick. Ever. It’s not in my nature unless I’m pushed or I see one of my loved ones getting hurt.

I have no idea what possessed me to say those things. She’s not frail. She’s definitely not high maintenance or any of the mean words I used.

She’s the opposite.

But if I think too much about what she’s not, and what she is, I’ll picture her in a way that is only dangerous for me. I fell hard for Lily because she was sweet and kind, laughed easily and was one of the most giving people on the planet.Exactly like Camia little voice in my head says but I shove it away.

“Cami!” I shout but she doesn’t turn around.

The door to her cabin slams shut behind her and I hear a muffled scream.

Whoa.

I pause, wondering if I should go in or leave her to it.

I glance back at the lodge and see four grown ass people standing outside, arms crossed over their chests. I’m pretty sure steam is coming out of my sister’s ears. No doubt Ethan gave them all a detailed description of what I said and that Cami overheard me say it.

“Cami?” I knock on the door. Silence greets me but the knob to the door twists when I turn it. I know it’s pretty pushy of me, quite possibly a little illegal for me just to go in, but I can’t stop myself.

“Yes?” There’s a tremor to her voice, even though she’s clearly trying to sound strong.

“It’s me. Can I come in?” I ask this as I’m pushing through the door, walking into the cabin.

She turns around, glaring daggers at me.

“Looks like it doesn’t matter what I want.” She sniffs, wipes her nose with a tissue, and sniffs again.

“I’m sorry.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any of what I said. I’m an asshole and…” I trail off, not wanting to get into it with her as I stand on the thin rug by the door, boots covered in snow and chill emanating from my body.

“And?” She mimics the four stooges up at the lodge and crosses her arms over her chest. She’s still wearing her coat and boots – which she starts tapping the left toe of. I press my lips together because my gosh, I thought she was pretty before but pissed off Cami is downright cute. Adorable. Endearing. I’m almost glad I got to see it. Of course, I wish I wasn’t the cause of it, though.

“And, that’s it. I’m an asshole. A dick. I shouldn’t have said any of what I said. Didn’t have any merit to it.”

She looks out at the gray skies, the moisture that still seems to be hanging in the air is thick and heavy. There’s another chance of snow tomorrow that has my family already talking about maybe leaving in a few hours, getting a head start.

She shakes her head, long, shiny, brown hair skimming across the center of her back with the movement. I have the craziest desire to run my fingers through it. Feel if it’s as soft as it looks. Bury my nose in it to find out if it smells like coconuts like I swore I smelled the first time she brushed by me. Cami slides her coat off her shoulders and gently places it on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. Sits in it, removes her boots, and sets them right next to each other against the wall. Very proper. Organized. Neat and clean. I look around the cabin and realize that even though she’s only been here a short amount of time so it’s not as if she would have much time to create a mess, it still looks spotless. She obviously picks up after herself. “It’s fine. You’re right. I’m… temporary.” She chokes a little on the word temporary and I want to punch myself in the gut.

“No. You’re not. Even as I said those things, I knew I was out of line. That it was all a lie. I’m the idiot here.”

---