Page 74 of Saints & Sailors

It partially explained Aidan’s attitude earlier. I studied Cameron, seeing her grief magnified in her wet eyes. “Are you okay?”

Cameron nodded, despite having to wipe at her eyes. “It wasn’t working out. I mean, I thought about what you said about it being my body and my right. We were fooling around and he got mad because I wanted to stop. From there it just happened.” She looked at me, her eyes big and wounded. “I did it, I told him I was done with him.”

I threw an arm around her, pulling her close. “Good job. If he can’t respect your boundaries, then fuck him.”

Cameron didn’t seem so sure. “He’s the first boy I ever loved. I feel like maybe I was too harsh, you know?”

“Cameron,” I sighed. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. His getting ‘mad’ at your wanting to wait is a big sign that he wasn’t the one for you.”

She wiped at her nose and attempted to agree with me, but I could see the internal struggle to accept what she’d done. “It’s hard, you know? Have you ever been there before?”

I thought of my one relationship, and though we’d ended on different terms, I still knew the pain of breaking up.

“I can’t relate to your ‘love,’ but I know when a guy is wrong, it’s not your fault. I feel like we try to take some of the blame, just in case they come back or swear they’ve changed. Until Aidan can see his fault on his own, don’t feel bad about anything.”

Cameron sniffled and wrapped her arms around herself as she peered down at the ground.

I didn’t know what love was, so maybe I wasn’t the right person to give advice.

The movies…the movies made love seem simple, salvageable, worth the fight. It wasn’t like the movies in the real world.

Nobody cared in real life.

I wasn’t sure I ever really believed in love.

One thing, though, I realized I couldn’t handle the real thing through the pain of the semi-thing with Kevin.

“We’ve been together officially since our freshman year. Sometimes, it feels like destiny with how good things are, and others, it feels like I’m caught up in the idea of us. This perfect image people have of us.”

Publicly, people admired them and liked them together. I could only imagine what kind of pressure that must’ve placed on Cameron’s shoulders. Maybe Aidan wasn’t her Prince Charming after all; if he existed at all, he didn’t fit some perfect little image either.

“It’s okay to let go of what’s not right for you. Only you dictate your happiness, Cameron,” I encouraged her, reaching out and holding her hand.

Finally, Cameron offered me a smile. “Thanks, Saylor. I haven’t even talked to Vanity yet and she’s my best friend. It just felt right coming to you.”

This whole friendship thing was new, but I liked it enough to genuinely want to see the best for Cameron.

God, her bubbly disposition and sunshine personality must’ve been rubbing off on me.

We stood as the bell rang, prepared to go in for our morning classes.

“You going to be okay?” I wanted to know before we separated once inside.

Cameron brightened up a little. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Thanks for being here, I mean it.”

“What are friends for?” To further push my point, I found myself bringing up something I’d never thought I’d be up for. “You wanna have a girls’ night this weekend?”

This secured a laugh out of Cameron, even she couldn’t believe this positive vibe coming from me. “Don’t make it sound like torture.”

“Hey, I’m trying here,” I pretended to snap.

Cameron’s smile increased. “You are, and it means a lot. I’d love to hang out this weekend. Vanity, too?”

“The more the merrier.” I fist pumped to look even more cheery.

Cameron caught a fit of giggles as she walked off for her locker.

Oddly, though, as I walked away, I felt light as a feather.