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My shoulders drop as I sigh heavily and look at my now cold slice of pizza and unappealing fries. I should have told Theo to take them all.
“That’s not fair, Morgan. You’re being . . .”
I stop myself before the word rolls off my tongue.Selfish.Her gaze swivels to mine in a snap as if I said it.
My eyes sting with the threat of tears, and it’s not because I’m intimidated by her. It’s because she’s my friend, and I want to be happy, but her reaction makes me feel as if that’s unacceptable.Not allowed.
“Morg—” I choke, unable to finish her name as I swipe away the single tear that falls. I sniffle and roll my shoulders to regain composure, wishing she could look as sad as me.
Her features are still hard.
“You’re going to get hurt. Cameron isn’t that guy—therelationshipguy.”
“You don’t know that,” I argue.
“And neither do you,” she fires back.
I puff out a harsh laugh, leaving my eyes on her with my mouth agape.
“That’s your argument? I’m taking a risk?” I shake my head, baffled by this logic. Something is going on with her, and I wish like hell I knew what.
“Yeah, Brooklyn. You’re taking a risk. And you know your dad is not going to be okay with this. Cameron probably has a rap sheet.”
I swallow hard at her out-of-the-blue attack. My brow drawing in hard, I bite back, “That is absolutely untrue and an awful thing to say. He has always been kind to you.”
My eyes flicker up in time to see Cameron standing a few feet behind her. My stomach drops to its depths, knowing he heard that. My reaction must not register with Morgan, though, because she keeps on going.
“Christ, Brooklyn. He’s a fucking pothead who cliff dives and lit his ass on fire once. He’s coasting through this school at the bottom of our class, and that law firm internship? Honestly? As if he’s really going to be a lawyer some day. Ha! He’d probably get all of his clients sent to prison.”
I’m stone frozen. My gaze is locked on Cameron, but his is a laser into the back of Morgan’s head. His jaw is rigid, so much so I swear I hear it crack. He takes a deep breath, making just enough noise to awaken Morgan’s senses.
My vision drops to her face as her eyes flicker in realization and she jerks around in her seat. Cameron doesn’t move. In fact, despite the ire very visible in his face, his body is completely relaxed. Hands in his pockets, feet a foot apart, he blinks slowly looking at his—our—supposed good friend.
“I said what I said,” Morgan says, and my eyes flutter shut. She does this when she’s trapped. She lashes out and makes things worse.
Cameron’s soft laughter urges my eyes open again, and I take him in, the faint one-sided smile playing at his lips, the slope of his eyes and flex in his jaw as he chews at the inside of his mouth. When he walks closer to her, I straighten my spine and Morgan leans back against the table behind her. Not even paying attention to me, he rests a palm on the table next to her and towers over her as she stares up at him.
I hold my breath and wait for his words. I root for him to tell her the truth, to explain the things she doesn’t know about his life—his motivations, his passions. Those words never come, though. Cameron simply stares into her, holding her eyes with his rock-solid glare for nearly a minute—a long, uncomfortable,silentminute.
Finally letting out a single laugh, Cameron stands tall again and nods at her, his tongue pushed into his cheek. His chin lifts and his eyes come to me. All I can think to do is mouthI’m sorry.It’s not enough. But maybe that’s the point, and the reason he didn’t lay into her just now. No matter what Cameron Hass says or does, it’s never enough. People made their minds up about him, and there’s nothing he can do to change them.
Those people? They’re missing out.
My head tilts slightly to the side as I gaze at him, loving the way his mouth morphs just a fraction from contempt into affection. The change is subtle, nothing more than the faint impression of a dimple. But it’s there, and it’s there for me as he turns his back on Morgan and walks away.
My eyes cling to his back, to the way his head falls forward and he brings his hand to his neck to stretch away the stress. Morgan turns back to face me, and I drop my gaze to her.
“Maybe that’s what he needed to hear,” she says, wiggling in her seat to straighten her offended posture.
I laugh out, grab my tray, and stand.
“That was really mean. That’s what that was.”
Her eyes widen, only a hint but enough that I know my truth stung. I leave her alone at the table and follow in Cameron’s steps. Not sure what to expect, I ready myself for him to be angry when I catch up to him.
“Cam!” I call, my heels clicking against the cold pavement. My leg hurts, and I’m not making much progress, so I pull my shoes from my feet and hold them by the straps as I sprint,well sprint for me,toward him. He finally hears me when he’s near the science building door, and I stop short, leaving a dozen feet between us.
“I’m so sorry you heard that,” I say.
