Page 58 of Camilla & Dallas
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Camilla
Camilla slapped a hand on the floor beside her. She stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom with Cheyenne resting at her side. Their heads were close together, and neither one of them seemed interested in their little fashion show.
It all felt like a waste of time anyway. In the grand scheme of things, a fashion show was ridiculous.
“I can’t believe he lied to me. I can’t believe he was going to leave without telling me.Again.”
Cheyenne rolled her head to the side, but Camilla didn’t meet her gaze. “Men are idiots. My brother included. I think you’re one of the few lucky people to see how strong relationships can be with the way your brothers treat the women in their lives.”
Camilla shut her eyes against the burning emotion that threatened to spill over. But it did anyway. Tears dragged out of the corners of her eyes and trailed into her hairline. “I don’t get it. What’s the point in all the effort he put into our relationship ifhe’s going to make unilateral decisions that don’t guarantee we’ll be together.”
A sigh. Then Cheyenne shuffled. “Who knows? I don’t. I’ve long since stopped trying to figure Dallas out. I know he’s my brother and my twin, but that doesn’t mean I understand him.”
“I mean, I guess I could understand why he’d want to hold off telling me that he had to leave for another assignment. That would have been a downer on this whole summer…”
“Don’t do that.” Cheyenne sat up at her side and stared down at Camilla. Her features were all hard lines and irritation. It threw Camilla off for a moment until Cheyenne softened her voice. “Don’t make excuses for a guy who wasn’t willing to be honest with you from the start. You saw the way he acted. He knew he was guilty. He did it before, and he’ll keep doing it. I love my brother. I do. But you’re my best friend.” She reached out and squeezed Camilla’s arm. “He’s an idiot. All he wanted was someone to pass the time with while he was here.”
Even though Cheyenne wasn’t trying to hurt Camilla, that’s exactly what her words did. And maybe that was what Camilla needed in that moment. To be brought down to reality and see the situation for what it was.
Dallas had played his part perfectly. He’d made her fall in love with him years ago. Then he’d disappeared without a word.
“What guy doesn’t even leave a note?”
Cheyenne stiffened. Or maybe Camilla imagined it. Because when she turned her head to look at her friend, she didn’t see anything but frustration mirrored in her eyes.
Camilla sat up on her elbows to look at her friend closer. “Did you know?” She’d asked Cheyenne this before. She didn’t know what prompted her to ask again. Maybe she wanted to catch Camilla in a lie.
“Did I know what?”
“That he was going to leave?”
“I told you when I found out. Today. I heard him on a call?—”
“No, I mean when he left the first time. Did you know he had a job lined up and was going to take off?”
Cheyenne scoffed. “Dallas might be my brother, but I’m not his keeper. He doesn’t tell me everything.” She offered Camilla a sad smile. “If I knew, I would have told you. No one deserves to be treated that way.”
Camilla continued to study her friend for the next few seconds. There was something off about Cheyenne, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Was she hiding something? She probably had known, but there was no way to prove it.
But why?
That was ancient history. Their friendship wouldn’t be at risk if she confessed such a thing.
Finally, Camilla sighed and settled back on the hard floor. She refused to shed any more tears for Dallas. He’d prioritized a career over love. There wasn’t a good enough reason in the world for something like that. People who lived for their job ended up alone and miserable.
“Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah,” Camilla croaked. “I’ve survived this before. And hey, at least we found out before he took off. Knowing is better than being left wondering for months.”
“You’re right.” Cheyenne settled beside her and they sat like that on the floor, losing track of time. The light coming in through the bedroom window faded, casting the room into darkness. And yet neither one of them stirred from their positions.
“I was going to marry him,” Camilla finally offered when it was too dark for her friend to see her face.
“He proposed?” Cheyenne squawked.
Camilla chuckled. “No. He didn’t. But I was there. I was so… ready.” The tears she’d kept at bay started to fall. “It was scary.I kept putting aside these little bouts of anxiety that everything was too perfect and eventually something would come crashing down. I told myself I was being ridiculous, but that I loved him and the way I felt for him was more than enough to keep things together.”
