Page 99 of Trust Me Always

Quit with the bullshit already. You did your job.

You gave her time.

It’s like you fucking knew.

Time is up.

Instead of moving toward the keg, I hit the kitchen, letting one of the freshmen pour me a double of something dark.

I throw it back, snag a bottled water, and push through the back patio door.

It’s louder than normal back here, barrels lit up with bonfires, but I tear past them both, moving for a quieter spot in the dark across the yard.

My feet jerk to a stop when a pair of perfect pigtails come into view.

My heart hammers behind my ribs as I watch her.

She’s sitting alone, staring across the fire.

Slowly, I make my way over, nerves I don’t quite understand twisting in my gut, but there’s another feeling in there too. Relief.

My eyes lift, seeking out the sight that has her looking so sad, and I spot him almost instantly. The knot in my stomach seems to tighten, but I’m not sure I understand why. This is good, right?

Was my first thought bad?

I swallow, shaking my head to try and make some sense of what’s running through it, but my thoughts are too all over the damn place for me to figure it out. I drop to my knee behind her chair, my hand coming up to squeeze her arm.

“Hey,” she whispers, her attention going right back to the guy across the fire.

He’s laughing with a few guys from the team, completely ignoring the girls that are clearly trying to get his attention.

Cameron sighs, slowly slumping back in her chair, and my arms push through the loops of the plastic seat and wrap around her.

“You okay?” I whisper into her hair.

Cameron nods. “I’m happy for him. As much as he pissed me off last year, he had an even rougher time—second-string, a cheating girlfriend, a house full of guys who only knew him to be the asshole he was acting like. I hope he can make new friends and find a place on the team he can be proud of.”

“I’m sure he will.” I pause, then add in a whisper, “Having you around could help.”

Why did I say that?

“I thought those were his parents at the game today,” she says softly, ignoring my comment. “He had told Ari his family wouldn’t be there, and then he saw that couple and young boy, and he was…so happy. I thought it was his parents, maybe a brother. Turned out they were her parents and that was her little brother.”

I wince, remembering how excited he seemed to see them.

“Did you know he was with her since they were young? Like thirteen or some shit.” She sighs again. “That’s a lot of history, lots of shared family holidays.”

“Yeah,” I agree, swallowing hard, and force myself to be the support she needs. “But we have a lot of room in our extended family. You could always add someone new to it, you know? No one would judge you, Cammie Girl.”

Cameron leans to the side a bit so she can see me, her gaze roaming my face before settling on my eyes. “You’re kind of perfect, you know that?”

“I try.”

She smiles and slowly moves to stand, tugging me up with her.

She slips her arm around my middle, inside my furry shawl thing, her slender, freezing fingers resting along my ribs, or as much of them as she can reach.

I jolt at the chill of her touch, and she chuckles, a low, raspy sound. She folds herself around my naked torso, burrowing deeper into the warm part of my costume.

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