ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟜𝟞 #3
It was strange. There was a time when silence between Cameron and me never felt uncomfortable.
We could sit across from each other for hours without saying a word, and it still felt like a full-blown conversation.
Cameron finally cleared his throat, pointing towards the sink. "You should probably wash your hands."
"Oh." I glanced down at them.
He gave me the smallest smile. "Burns aren't exactly the cleanest thing to work around."
"I know that."
"I figured you did."
I turned toward the sink. "I don't know why you said that like I wouldn't know basic hygiene."
I looked over my shoulder.
He was smiling at me. I smiled before I could stop myself, turning back toward the sink.
Neither of us said anything for a few seconds.
Then I heard him move behind me. I glanced toward the reflection in the small mirror above the sink. He was standing a few feet away, watching me, and our eyes met through the reflection.
I dried my hands.
"Okay." I turned around.
I was about to leave the room when I noticed his phone sitting on the bench. The screen lit up.
I wasn't trying to look, but the notification was right there.
A calendar reminder- Booked.
My eyes lingered on it, then another thought hit me.
Our anniversary. My heart gave a tiny, stupid little jump. I was happy he had remembered. Actually, when did he ever forget?
No...but maybe.
It was coming up soon- maybe he'd planned something, a reservation was for us.
Perhaps this was his way of trying.
After everything we'd been through lately, maybe Cameron had quietly decided he didn't want our anniversary to pass like nothing.
I looked at him. "Cam?"
He glanced over at me.
"What's booked?"
His eyebrows pulled together. "What?"
I nodded toward his phone.
"That. On your phone."
He followed my gaze, and his expression changed.
"What did you book?"
He picked up his phone. "It's nothing."
My smile grew a little. Surprises were cute.
"You don't usually have something booked and call it nothing."
"I do sometimes."
"No, you don't."
He sighed.
I stepped a little closer. "Is it for our anniversary?"
He stopped moving, and that was enough of an answer for me to get excited.
"Oh." His eyes lifted to mine.
"So you did book something." I smiled.
He didn't smile back. That alone should've warned me, but I was already letting myself hope.
"What is it?" My smile faded just slightly.
He hesitated, then he looked down at his phone. "I didn't book anything for us."
"Oh."
My smile slowly disappeared.
He swallowed. "I booked something for Molly."
I stared at him blankly for a hot minute, because I didn't know what to say. "Oh."
"It's a private investigator." He looked at me.
My eyes dropped to the floor. "On our anniversary?"
"I found someone who specializes in missing-person cases. I spoke to them earlier." He nodded once.
I forced a smile. "That's good."
"Dixie..I-"
"No," I shook my head quickly. "No, that's good. That's really good."
My voice sounded wrong. I hated that he could probably hear it.
Cameron studied my face. "I didn't realize it was the same day."
"It's okay." I looked up.
"I swear I wasn't trying to-"
"I said it's okay." I interrupted.
I smiled again. "You should do it."
"You're sure?"
"Of course. This is Molly we're talking about." I looked toward his phone.
"If they're good, then you should meet with them."
Molly was missing. His sister.
His family was practically falling apart because of it.
How could I possibly stand here and be upset because he had chosen to spend our anniversary trying to find her?
What kind of person would that make me?
I swallowed. "I'm not going to get upset about that."
"I didn't say you were." He watched me carefully.
I looked down at my hands. "I just..."
There wasn't anything I could say that wouldn't sound selfish.
I wanted him to have planned something for us. I wanted one day where everything wasn't about work.
Or Molly, or the investigation. Or the things we'd done to hurt each other.
I wanted to feel like his wife again but saying that now felt so wrong.
So I smiled and kept my mouth shut.
"You should go, Cam."
His expression softened.
"Really," I stepped back. "It's important."
I could feel his eyes on me. "Thank you."
I nodded.
A strange silence settled over us.
Just as I wanted to say more, the door opened. Two paramedics walked into the room.
"Cameron?"
He turned. "Yeah."
One of them stopped when he saw me. "Oh, I didn't know you had company."
Cameron looked at me, his expression changed almost immediately. His hand reached out and settled lightly around my waist.
It was barely even there. It was just his palm resting against my side, but after weeks of barely touching each other, the contact felt significant.
I looked up at him.
He gave me a small glance. "My wife, Dixie. She got worried."
"That's right." I swallowed.
The paramedic nodded.
"Well, good. We were going to check that dressing again anyway."
I nodded. "Oh, yeah- of course."
Cameron glanced down at me. His thumb moved once against my side, so subtle I almost wondered if I'd imagined it.
I stepped away. The warmth disappeared immediately.
"I should probably go."
Cameron's eyes followed me. "Dix.."
I picked up my purse. "I'll see you later."
He looked like he wanted to say something, but he nodded. "Okay."
I smiled. It wasn't a very convincing smile, but I tried.
"Take care of him." I looked between the paramedics.
One of them laughed. "We'll try our best."
I looked back at Cameron. "And you, don't tell them you're fine every five seconds."
He smirked. "No promises."
I rolled my eyes. "Bye, Cameron."
"Bye, Dix."
I turned toward the door, but didn't look back. If I did, I wasn't sure I would actually leave him alone.
And I had already spent too much time standing there pretending that the little disappointment in my chest didn't hurt.
The door closed behind me, and only then did I let my smile disappear.
I made it about three steps down the hallway before I heard voices behind me, and I knew those voices very well.
The universe had decided I hadn't suffered quite enough embarrassment for one afternoon.
"Dude, I'm telling you, he looked terrible."
"He did not look terrible."
"He had his whole shirt off."
"Because he got burned, dumbass."