ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟝𝟛 #3
She reached over and gently tapped my knee. "You're just afraid to admit it."
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do." I rubbed my forehead.
"Talk to him. Start small. Ask how he's doing."
"I know how he's doing."
"Okay..so how is Cameron doing?"
"I know he's looking for Molly."
"Thats a good start."
Molly. Even thinking about her made me feel guilty.
While I was here worrying about my marriage, Cameron was still living through the nightmare of not knowing where his little sister was.
I had left him in the middle of it.
Gosh, I felt so selfish.
"I should've stayed."
Dannah's patted my knee again. "You were hurt. Beating yourself up isn't going to fix anything."
I nodded slowly.
She was right, again.
I started to find it annoying because she reminded me of Ms. Hastings, the marriage counselor.
The thing was, they were both right.
Dannah reached for the remote. "I think I'm wasting my breath."
"What do you mean?"
She sighed dramatically. "You're stubborn, strong-willed and persistent."
I rolled my eyes as she turned back toward the television.
"I can't force you to go home, and I can't make you forgive him."
She pressed play. "But I can tell you one thing. If you love him, don't let pride make the decision for you."
I stared at her, Dannah's eyes stayed glued on the screen. The movie continued.
Pride.
Was that what this was? I hadn't thought about pride. That's just how I usually was.
I didn't think I was being prideful
I glanced toward my laptop. The screen was still open.
I closed the laptop gently, leaning back.
Maybe I did need to stop working for five minutes. I needed to breathe.
A knock suddenly sounded at the front door.
Dannah paused the movie. We both looked toward the hallway.
"Are you expecting someone?"
"No." I frowned.
"Me neither."
The person behind the door knocked three more times.
"Maybe it's Josh." I glance towards Dannah.
"No...he would've called me or something."
I stood. "I'll get it."
"Dixie one sec-"
"It's probably nothing." I reassure her.
I walked toward the door.
It was probably a delivery, or someone trying to sell something. Hopefully it was someone trying to sell something.
I could use a reason to politely slam a door in someone's face.I think that would cool me off more than anything.
I reached the front door.
My hand wrapped around the knob, and I opened it.
When I looked up, I refused to process what I was seeing.
Cameron! What the hell was he doing?
He was standing on Dannah's porch, staring back at me. Neither of us said anything.
My first thought was that he looked tired, and my second thought was that he looked really good.
I needed to stop having thoughts.
He was wearing a dark jacket over a plain shirt, and half his hair was tucked into a gray beanie.
He looked exhausted, but his eyes were fixed on me.
I became painfully aware of the fact that I was standing there in leggings and an oversized sweater with my hair thrown into a messy puff, with a couple curls coming out.
I wanted Cameron to see me strong, and put together, not like this.
Cameron's eyebrows lifted slightly, then he smiled slightly.
"Dixie."
My heart immediately started pounding. Was this still the right time to politely slam the door in his face?
I tightened my grip on the door. "Er..Cameron."
"Can I come in?" His eyes moved to my lips, then over my face.
I stared at him.
In my brain, I had about fourteen reasons to say no. But my heart wanted to say yes.
Yes-please come in, and kiss me while you're at it.
Naturally, the heart was less helpful.
Behind me, Dannah suddenly called, "Dixie? Who is it?"
I didn't take my eyes off Cameron. His expression shifted slightly.
I swallowed. Why did saying his name suddenly felt strangely difficult?
"This is..." I paused. "My husband."
Dannah went completely silent. Cameron raised his eyebrows again.
Technically it was true, but it sounded bitter coming out of my mouth. Cameron looked down for half a second before looking back at me.
"I thought I'd come by."
I raised an eyebrow. "To Dannah's house?"
"No." He gave me the smallest smile. "To see you, Dixie."
I could feel my heart flutter.
Absolutely not! I was not doing this. I already convinced myself I didn't need him.
I folded my arms. "This could've been a call."
"This was a call, but you didn't answer."
I had no memory of that. Well, I guess that was because I had been too busy avoiding every notification with his name attached to it.
"Oh."
I had no more defenses now.
He nodded slowly. "Yeah."
I looked at him, and he stared back.
Cameron quietly said, "Can I come in, Dix?"
Dannah yelled from the couch. "Let him in, Dixie!"
I turned back to Dannah, giving her a glare. Right, because I needed her opinion on this.
I should've said no, but I also knew I wasn't going to.
I stepped aside. "Fine."
Cameron walked past me, and his shoulder barely brushed mine. Still, my heart reacted.
I closed my eyes for half a second. This was going to be a long night.