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Okay. The costumes are all in the studio, right?
Ella
Yup. I have a few finishing touches to put on before dress rehearsals start, but other than that, they’re almost completely done.
It was amazing, having made almost all of it from scratch. Of course, I’d had help—other students working alongside me—but they weremy designs.
I was proud of myself for the challenge, and how much it had paid off. Even if I was getting credit for this, it still was a massive undertaking and I was glad I’d done it. With that thought, I smiled, putting all other thoughts out of my mind and going to meet my guy.
I tripped, tumbling onto the ground.
“Fuck,” I winced, rubbing the knee that I’d scraped on the pavement. “That hurt.”
“Think you need some better shoes, Princess,” came my favorite voice, and despite the embarrassment—because, hello, I’d just tripped in the middle of campus—I took his hand and wrapped my arms around his neck, happy to see him.
“What’s wrong?” I frowned at the worry lines on Cam’s forehead, the way he was focused on his phone when we were both supposed to be studying.
We’d grabbed dinner off campus before heading back to the frat house, me draped across his bed with my sketchbook while he sat at his desk,focusing on a law textbook.
“Oh. I…” He grimaced. “My dad’s coming to campus this weekend. He wants to get dinner.”
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” He hadn’t told me much about his relationship with his parents, but I knew I’d be ecstatic if mine came for a visit. Instead, he just seemed sullen. I wondered if it had anything to do with his Christmas only beingfine.Why he didn’t plan to go home for the summer. I wanted to pry, but wanted him to share with me on his terms, too.
Cam bit his lip, his eyes finally meeting mine. “He wants me to bring you with me.”
“Oh.” I worried my lip into my mouth. “And you don’t want me to?”
“No. I mean,yes,I want you to come.” He winced. “It’s complicated. My parents are… a lot.”
I held his gaze, needing him to know I meant my next words. “I’m not going anywhere, Cameron.”
He nodded, wordlessly closing his textbook before climbing on the bed next to me, scooping me up and pulling me into his arms. “Ella?”
“Mm?”
He kissed my forehead. “Thank you.”
“It’s nothing,” I said, meaning it. I’d be there for him—whatever he needed.
“No.” He rested his forehead against mine. “It’s everything. You’re everything.”
“You’re everything to me, too.” I brushed his hair back, running my fingers through the dark strands that had gotten longer over the last two months. I loved it, and I wasn’t complaining about his lack of a haircut.
“I want you to know me.”
I laughed. “I do.” After the last few months, I knew how he took his coffee—black, with just a splash of milk. I knew his favorite TV shows. How he liked to read science fiction novels, though he would stare at me instead of flipping a single page. Iknew that he wanted a dog, and that I’d never felt like home could be a person until I’d met him.
“No. I want you to know everything.”
“Okay,” I said, voice soft. “Tell me.”
He nestled his head against my neck, his arms tightening around me. “Do you remember at the dog adoption event? When we talked about the Children’s Hospital?”
I nodded in response. “Yes.”
“I…” he hesitated. “The reason it means so much to me is that I had a little brother.”
Had.“Oh, Cam.” I interlaced our hands, holding his tight. I could only imagine his pain, how much it would hurt if I’d lost Audrey. She was my other half—my best friend.
