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He heard the emphasis in her words. Lizzie was not his concern. “If that’s what you think is best.”
“I do. We were fine before we met you, and we’ll be fine after you’re gone.”
“I’m only going for eleven days.”
Cameron shoved her hands on her hips. “This time. But what about the next time? I don’t think I can deal with months and months of not knowing where you are or what you’re doing.”
He stood. “It’s not like that.” Alex longed to explain, but Cameron had stopped listening. Nothing he could say would matter now.
“This is for the best. This time away will be a clean break for us. “
What if he didn’t want a clean break? What if he didn’t want a break at all? If she loved him, which he doubted or she wouldn’t have thrown him overboard so easily, then she could have accepted what being in the Army meant for a family.
Cameron’s chest heaved. What if he reached out and wrapped his arms around her? Would she welcome it? Doubtful. She’d made it clear that he no longer had the right to do that.
The fact that he needed her arms around him didn’t matter, did it?
They stared at each other for a minute, neither saying anything.
He guessed that was it. He nodded and stepped out the front door.
* * *
Lizzie gently closed her bedroom door so Mom wouldn’t hear and then dashed across her room. She swiped at the tears on her face and grabbed her phone.
She pressed a few buttons and a minute later, Mariana answered.
“It’s Lizzie. Your dad was just here. Everything is messed up.” She threw herself on the bed and buried her face in her pillow.
“What happened?” Mariana’s frantic whisper carried through the phone.
“Your dad is going overseas and they had a fight and I think they broke up.” Lizzie sniffled and brushed away the tears that fell down her cheeks.
“He told me today he’s leaving for a short trip. Why did they break up? We can’t let them do this. If only my Dad wasn’t going on this trip.”
“How can we stop it? That’s his job.” Lizzie had done everything she could to get her Mom and Alex together. Now she and Mariana would never be sisters.
“I don’t know, but if he stays home, he and your mom can talk and they won’t break up.”
“But how do we keep him here?” Lizzie was completely out of ideas.
The phone was quiet for a minute before Mariana’s voice echoed in her ear. “I’ve got it. Here’s what I’m gonna do.”
Mariana rattled off her idea and Lizzie’s tears dried up. This was perfect. Operation Sickout to the rescue.
Chapter Ten
Mariana checked the hall. Daddy was busy packing in his room. Hopefully he wouldn’t hear the microwave. “Come on, come on.” Why was it taking so long? She didn’t have much time before they had to leave. She had to do this. She just had to.
Finally, the microwave beeped and she snatched the water bottle out. She pressed it to her forehead and snuck down the hall. She peeked in Daddy’s room where he was still rolling his clothes and shoving them in his bag. Perfect.
She hurried into her room and grabbed the pink highlighter off her nightstand. A few splotches on her face and arms should be enough. As soon as she was done, she climbed in the covers and held the water bottle to her forehead and cheeks. Daddy just had to believe that she was sick.
* * *
Alex rolled another T-shirt and shoved it into the corner of his duffel. Roll, shove. Roll, shove. The rhythm was satisfying. Hopefully by the time he was done packing, he’d have worked out his frustration. He wasn’t sure if he was mad at Cameron or himself.
No, he was sure. He was mad at himself. He’d replayed the conversation with Cameron over five times in his head and had come to the same conclusion.
