Page 125 of Please Open Me
“I think Mason’s pregnancy desensitized me to the evils of eating in bed,” I laughed, poking at the fries, pushing them around the box before finding a soggy one. “Hey… so how did talking to her go?”
Cam sucked in a pained breath, and I feared the worst.
“Well… as you can see, she didn’t come home,” he whispered.
My eyes burned as my mind registered my first-ever unwanted breakup. I wasn’t shocked, and that softened the blow—it was only a matter of time before she left.
Good things didn’t last for people like me.
“But,” Cameron continued.
I perked up a little, unsure what to expect but willing to listen. Maybe it was a custody arrangement past the emergency one that said we couldn’t be near the kids.
“She promised we’d talk again when she got back from her work trip.” Cameron sounded frustrated.
Why?
“Like, to all of us?” I clarified, popping the soggy spud into my mouth.
His lips pressed into a thin line. He shook his head. Was that why he was mad? Because all it took was onemassivefight for her to act like we didn’t exist?
“I think she’ll be easier to reason with once she’s had time to calm down. I just… I don’t think she should go on this trip. Not right now.” His face creased, not in the annoyed way it did when Mason was stubborn, which was often.
Instead, Cam looked worried.
“… Why shouldn’t she go?” I pressed.
Mason had been going between Maine and California at least twice a month since she got out of the hospital.
“Why shouldn’t she go?” Cameron snorted, lips parting with purpose only to fizzle shut.
Slowly, he took out his phone and looked at something; I wasn’t sure what. After a moment, he put it back.
“Nothin’. It’s just… she has the kids.” He didn’t sound entirely convincing.
I crossed my arms, and part of me wanted to remind him we, specifically, didn’t do secrets. Between the murders on my end and secret identity on his, nothing other than complete, brutal honesty was acceptable.
But then I realized that I happened to be sitting on a relationship-ruining secret. And while potentially losing Mason hurt, the idea of losing Cameron was unfathomable, especially right now. So instead of pushing, I stayed silent.
All I could do was wait. If he was hiding something, the truth would come out. It always did. And that was both a blessing and a curse.
Chapter 30
Sophia
Two weeks later…
“One iced White Chocolate Mocha for Sophia!” A tall barista called from behind the counter.
My ears perked up at the sound of my name, and I happily skipped through the crowd of people filling the cafè.Where Have You Beanwas nowhere near as good asLoaves of Love, but coffee was coffee, and after my last work trip, MAN did I need caffeine.
As I closed in on the counter, I began to scan the worker for some form of name tag. On the front of his brown apron was a large white plastic square.
“Thank you, Alex,” I smiled, my fingers grazing his as I took the cup.
Instantly, the man froze, and I looked at him a little better.
Alex was older, maybe Cameron’s age, with black hair and a well-manicured beard. Flecks of gray dotted both, and my nose wrinkled. Thankfully, Cameron’s red hair made him immune tothat.
