Page 43 of What Should Have Been Ours

I take his hand and melt into the firm grip he has as he pulls me up off the couch.

I tilt my head. “One more thing, huh?”

His smirk is slow and dangerous. “Yeah. Come on, Voss.”

* * *

I buckle in as he pulls out of his parking garage and into the thick of traffic and the chaos of the city surrounding us. We head uptown, past street vendors shouting over honking horns, past the brick buildings and sharp glass towers.

My curiosity only deepens as we turn onto Madison, the last of the sunset catching the edge of Central Park just across the avenue.

Then we pull into the hospital parking lot.

I frown. “Cam…why are we at your job?”

He glances at me, his lips curling up a bit into a smile, but his expression still holds something serious in it. “You know this place is more than just work for me, Gab.” He exhales, gripping the steering wheel. “Everything it holds, everything it’s meant for me over the years…it’s always been a place I’ve kept close to my heart.”

I chew the inside of my lip, my chest tightening slightly at the memories. I know what he means. I know how much this hospital has shaped him, how much of himself he’s now pouring back into it.

“There’s something I haven’t done yet since being back,” he continues, turning off the car and unbuckling. “Something I want to do with you.”

I’m confused, but before I can ask, he’s already stepping out and coming around to my door. He opens it, and I get out, following him. The night air is crisp against my skin as I wrap my arms around myself.

Cam doesn’t speak as we step inside, maneuvering through the quiet hallways like it’s still his second home. We take an elevator up to one of the top floors.

The ride is silent, yet somehow it’s not uncomfortable. When the doors ding open, he leads me through another hallway before we stop at a door with restricted access.

He pulls out his badge, swipes it, and pushes the door open, holding it for me.

I step through—and suddenly, all I see is the city stretching out before me.

Our rooftop.

The skyline glows against the night sky, and the faint twinkle of stars is barely visible through the haze of city lights. A rush of nostalgia washes over me, memories of us sneaking up here as kids, laughing under the stars, spilling secrets and dreams as if we had the rest of our lives together.

I glance at Cam, my heart feeling so full in this moment.

He’s watching me, hands in his pockets, a small smile on his lips. “Figured it was time for us to come back up here. Only now, we don’t have to sneak and risk getting in trouble.”

I let out a soft laugh, stepping toward the edge, looking out at the city. “I can’t believe it all still looks and feels exactly the same.”

“Yeah,” Cam murmurs, stepping up beside me. “A lot has changed, but this…this still feels like ours.”

Something about the way he says it floods my brain and heart with too many memories. The thought of anything being ours still feels like something I want to desperately hold on to.

I swallow hard, my fingers gripping the side of the low wall as I stare out at the skyline.

I steal a glance at Cam, his profile’s sharp under the glow of the city lights. He looks the same, but so different. Older. Wiser. But still him, still the boy who used to sneak me up here, who used to make me laugh until my stomach hurt, who used to hold my hand like it was the one thing keeping him tethered to this world.

A lump forms in my throat.

I don’t know why it’s hitting me all at once like this. Maybe it’s this place. Maybe it’s him. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve spent so many years pretending I was fine without him, only to stand here now, realizing just how much I wasn’t.

While also still trying to cope with the anger and pain his absence left behind.

I inhale deeply, staring out at the skyline. And before I can overthink it, before I can talk myself out of it, I say the words I’ve been biting back since the day I saw him again.

“I missed you,” I admit softly.