Page 24 of Always Be My Baby

My blood pressure spiked. I couldn’t breathe. Lucas went to plenty of Greek social events. I knew he drank, but I trusted him. I had to. I never questioned his faithfulness. But if he had cheated on me during the events, his brothers would never tell.

My mind began to wonder about the year we’d been together. If what Caroline said were true … Had I been so blind?

Maybe I had closed my eyes, not wanting to see the truth. Leah thought Lucas wasn’t good enough for me. Did she suspect, or had she actually seen things?

I shivered, noting the time. Feeling sick to my stomach at the revelation unfolding, I wanted to vomit right then and there. Five minutes until I closed and someone else would take over my shift.

The floor began to spin. No air. No air. No air. Gripping the counter, I inhaled deep breaths. Then a gentle hand gripped my shoulder. Gus’s hand.

“Cammy. Go home. You’ve had a long day.”

I agreed and went home.

“What’s wrong, Cammy?” Leah asked when I entered. She took a step into her bedroom, but she came out and sat on the sofa instead.

I slammed the door behind me, plopped next to her, and told her everything.

“Do you believe her?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I answered softly.

“The only way you’ll know for sure is by talking to Lucas. Except I doubt he would tell you the truth.”

I leaned back into the sofa and stretched my leg on top of the coffee table. “Are we still on for girls’ night out tomorrow?”

Leah’s eyes lit up. “We sure are. It’s been so long. I can’t wait.”

“Me too.”

Leaning my head into her shoulder, I thought about calling Lucas but decided to wait until after tomorrow. Maybe I knew it would be our last conversation and I was stalling.

Chapter Sixteen

Party With Friends

Cammy

“Here’s to us.” Tiffany raised her beer bottle, her green eyes beaming. “We’re at the last stretch to graduation.

“Four years flew by so fast. I’m going to miss our girls’ nights out.” Julie frowned, her upraised arm holding a bottle next to Tiffany’s.

“Here’s to the future,” Vanessa said.

“I’m so happy and thankful for our friendship that got us through breakups, heartaches, and everything that was terrible,” Valerie added.

“We’ve all been through ups and downs the past four years, but our friendship stayed strong,” Leah said last.

I finished our toast by saying, “Congrats to Tiffany for getting into one of the best optometry graduate schools. I’m coming to see you when I need glasses.” I snorted. “Congrats to Julie for getting into Harvard Law School. I hope I don’t have to ask you for your service. Congrats to Vanessa on her new job as a human resources assistant. And to my bestie, my roommate, I’m so happy we’ll be continuing to live together and see where life takes us.”

Tiffany narrowed her eyes at me. “And congrats Cammy for getting into the teaching program. I don’t know why you would want to work with kids.”

We shared a good laugh and clinked our glasses. The six of us met our freshman year during orientation. Living in the same dorm had helped nurture our friendship, and we’d been best friends since then.

Julie leaned into me and spoke over the music. “Have you dumped his sorry ass yet?”

“No talking secrets. I want to hear all the gossip.” Tiffany waved a hand, her face slightly flushing from the alcohol.

After dinner, we decided to hang out at Jo Jo’s Bar and Grill across from campus. One of the bartenders had seemed to take an interest in Leah, and I believe she did him, though she wouldn’t admit it. Sometimes, he would give us one round of free drinks. But he wasn’t working today.