Page 5 of Always Be My Baby

Gus gawked at me, and Tracy almost fetched back the roses but stopped when I gave her the evil eye.

Chapter Four

Unforgivable

Cammy

“He didn’t.” Leah parted her mouth in shock and then passed me a plate of salad.

I shrugged as if it were no big deal. “He wrote a stupid apology song.” I gritted my teeth. “As if.”

Leah’s expression softened and so did her hazel eyes. “Well, I have to give him some credit for trying.” She speared a fork through a bite of chicken in her salad, shoved it in her mouth, and spoke again. “You could have brought the roses home. They would have made our apartment smell nice.”

I cringed. “I know. They were so pretty, but I was so mad.” My fingers tightened on my fork. “Does he think he could make me forget what he did that easily?”

Leah took a sip of water. “I don’t know. But he’s trying. Not that I’m on his side. What he did was unforgivable.”

I released a breath and bit into a crouton. “I know I sound like a broken record, but if he found me kissing another guy, he would go apeshit.”

Leah waved her fork at me. “But the point is he would never have found you kissing another guy, Cammy. You wouldn’t have cheated on him. You don’t even notice other males around you.”

I didn’t say anything. Still pissed off at Lucas, I just shoved more lettuce into my mouth and chewed like a horse.

“I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but...” She examined me carefully. “Isn’t Lucas moving back home after we graduate? He got accepted to the USC MBA program, right? And you’re staying in New York, right?” She knitted her eyebrows together, silently answering her questions before I had the chance to speak. “So maybe it’s better this way. I mean, not the part of him cheating, but if you can’t trust him when he’s in New York with you, how are you going to trust him when he’s in LA? Perhaps you two are not meant to be together.”

I nodded, gnawing the inside of my mouth. Leah was right. “Lucas and I need to talk things through. We hadn’t had a chance to talk about the future. We just found out, and we kind of ignored the issue. I need a couple more days to let the steam settle. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“I understand.” Leah stabbed the edamame beans with her fork. “I was in the same boat as you. It was the reason why John and I decided to break up. The distance was too much for us. I found out he’s seeing someone and I’m happy for him.”

“I remember,” I reminded her. It was one of the darkest times for Leah. It just happened last year, but she talked about it as if it happened many years ago.

“We need to talk about what’s going to happen after we graduate, too.”

I chewed and swallowed. “Since I got accepted to New York University, I’m going to continue to live with you. I’m not planning to move back home.”

She released a soft sigh of relief. “Good.”

“What are you going to do?” I picked up a small slice of sourdough bread and buttered it.

“I’m going to keep working as an administrative assistant for the law firm and see where that takes me for now, but don’t worry, I’ll be your roommate. You’ll miss me too much if I leave.” She flashed an innocent smile with a wink.

“Of course I will. You better not leave me. You’ve been like a sister to me for the past three years I’ve known you.”

“I know. You need me too much.” She giggled.

Though my heart was still filled with stones, eating with Leah and talking about what had happened and about our future made me feel a little bit better—just a tiny little bit.

Chapter Five

Mama’s Bear

Lucas

“What?” I clenched my jaw while I gripped the doorframe. It took every ounce of my willpower not to punch the wall. “What the hell do you mean she threw the roses in the trash? Are you sure?”

Greg, the pledge that gave her the roses said with a calm voice, “I handed the roses to her after we sang the song just like you said. I snuck back in after we walked out. I saw her chuck them in the trash behind her.”

My fists rounded, tightening ‘til my knuckles ached. “Those roses weren’t cheap. I can’t believe she just trashed them like it meant nothing to her.” I swallowed, realizing I was talking to a pledge I barely knew. “Sorry. Thank you for your help. I’ll make sure you get points for helping an active.”