Page 19 of I Love You, It’s Ruining My Life

I'd built up what things would be like for years. It was strange to be underwhelmed in a city that, at its core, was overwhelming. I was relieved; I felt like I should’ve done this sooner. And most importantly, I was sad. For myself.

I’d hidden myself for years to avoid something that hadn’t happened. I'd given up on my dreams for no reason. Sure, if I did put my name on a book, the RaineFall fandom would probably still hate-read it, but in the long run, wouldn’t that have made sure I had a successful career? Or I could've gone with a pen name, like Kam assumed, and protected myself even more. I had options, and instead I just… gave up.

I wasn’t going to let myself do it again. I hadn’t come on this trip expecting this much introspection — especially when my thoughts were constantly interrupted by car horns and blinking lights. As I got to the theater, I decided this was the year I figured out my book, and I was going to write it.

I needed to stop hiding from my place in the world and instead step into it like I should've done years ago.

Chapter fourteen

Kameron

Nalini

That was the weirdest thing I’ve ever experienced. No wonder they were desperate to get people to see it.

Did Noah tell you I was going to get COVERED HEAD TO TOE in ketchup?

I’m going to need to replace this outfit. I don’t think the smell is ever coming out.

Which sucks, this was my favorite work dress.

But KETCHUP KAMERON. I AM COVERED IN KETCHUP.

I’d never been more thrilled that I hadn’t taken up Noah’s offer with these tickets. He'd warned me it was weird, but not “don’t wear nice clothes” weird. Or getting drenched in a condiment weird.

I had so many questions I wanted to ask about the series of events that led to this outcome, but I was also certain that now wasn’t the time to ask them. Not when my friendship with Nalini was still on thin ice. The distance between us was finally starting to melt, and the more I was around her, the more I realized I didn’t want to lose her again.

Nalini was grounding, familiar, and more than anything, didn’t treat me like Kam from RaineFall. I was still the person who’d almost ruined the town; I’d finally gotten someone to tell me about the tourism disaster that happened after we moved. But with it, I knew it meant it was yet another thing I needed to try and fix. I needed to prove I wasn’t here to destroy their businesses; I just wasn’t sure what the first step was.

I found myself walking down Main Street, looking at the place I loved growing up while Cassidy was at Ava’s house. The two of them had quickly become best friends, and it was obvious Ava needed Cassidy as much as the other way around.

The town wasn’t in the best shape; paint was peeling from most of the buildings. The wear and tear of age was obvious, and now that it was October, I knew tourist season was over, and most businesses weren’t going to have the money for extra expenses. They’d be doing whatever they needed to make it to spring when the hiking trails opened up again. But there was still cracked paint, and buildings that looked like they were in desperate need of repair. Even the skating rink in the park looked like it hadn’t been used in years, which I was disappointed about — I’d promised Cass we’d go skating all winter, and now it looked like we’d have to find somewhere else.

Years ago, I would’ve paid for a refurbishment of the town, especially its Main Street, and called it a day. But now? I didn’t have that kind of money, and even if I did, I wasn’t sure the town would accept it.

“Girl, that’s not a show, that’s a lawsuit waiting to… oh, you signed a waiver? Did it mention…?” a blonde woman asked as she walked out of the yoga studio, and based on the conversation, I could only guess who she was talking to. “Wait… I’ll call you back,” she said, immediately turning on me.

“You! Kameron! Raine!” she shouted, her finger poking me hard in the chest, “You have some explaining to do!”

“Um… hi?” I found myself saying, realizing the tiny blonde girl definitely knew more about me than I knew about her.

“I've been advocating for you from the moment you stepped into this town, and the way you repay me is humiliating, Nalini?”

“Wait, wait, wait, what?” I asked, afraid I was about to be murdered by a yoga instructor, and all of Briar Hill would be excited to see it happen. “If this is about the ketchup, my brother didn’t let me know about it ahead of time!”

The woman glared at me, reminding me of a cartoon character, before she burst out laughing.

“Okay, that was true fear; glad to see it.” She smiled at me before extending her hand, “I’m Misty!”

“Kameron,” I said, “but you already knew that? I didn’t realize I was being tested.”

“If your best friend was doused in ketchup from a terrible public humiliation ritual pretending to be a play, you'd test the person who sent her there too,” Misty said matter-of-factly… and she had a point. I’d planned on asking Noah the exact same questions.

“Honestly, it’s partially on me for not asking Noah for more information, but at the same time she deserves a vacation,” I winced, “though I guess this wasn’t the “convince Nalini vacations aren’t evil” trip I thought it’d be.”

“I’ve been trying for years, but she’s so stubborn,” the woman chuckled, “Though you’re kind of a miracle worker. I’d fully expected her to spend the break sitting on her couch and trying to beat her record of reading twenty-seven library books she set last year. “

“Knowing Nalini, she’s proud of that record,” I pointed out.