“Doesn’t it?”
“Mya loves you and she’s holed up at her aunt’s, hiding…” he hesitated, letting his words trail off.
“Hiding?”
“It’s nothing, forget it.” Cam rubbed his face, but I saw the flash of guilt in his eyes. “You need to focus on your mom. We can handle the rest.”
“Handle what?” I levelled him with a hard look. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Seriously, man, I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s nothing.”
“Cameron…”
He blew out an exasperated breath. “It’s just you know how people can be around here. They close rank, and your mom and dad are like Rixon celebrities.”
“Cam, what the fuck happened?” A growl rumbled in my chest.
“Felicity and Hailee took Mya for ice cream at Ice-T’s. There was an incident.”
“With Mya?” My chest tightened and I rubbed my breastbone.
“A couple of girls gave her shit. It got ugly. Tim didn’t want any trouble, so he asked Mya to leave.”
“Fuck.” My hand flew out connecting with the side of the bed, pain radiating through my knuckles. Luckily it wasn’t my already busted up hand.
“Felicity and Hailee gave him a piece of their mind, but she’s been at her aunt’s ever since.”
“Maybe it’s for the best,” I mumbled, cradling my hand. “Maybe she should just go back to Fallowfield Heights.”
“For real? You want her to leave?”
“How I am ever going to fix this, Cam? Tell me what the fuck I’m supposed to do here?” My voice was shrill, desperation laced in every word. “Because the way I see it, my mom pulls through and wants nothing to do with the girl who brought this to our doorstep, or she doesn’t pull through and…” I couldn’t even say the words, the lump in my throat too big.
Swallowing, I took a couple of deep breaths.
“It’s not easy, I know—”
“It’s fucking impossible.” Frustration welled up inside me. “If I try to fix things with Mya, it’s like I’m choosing her over my mom. And if I just end things with her, I’m just like everyone else who has ever let her down. But it’s my mom, Cam. The one person in my life that has sacrificed so much for me.”
A frown crossed his expression. “What do you mean?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Sadness clung to my words. “I hate that Mya is going through this, but I can’t be who she needs right now. Not until my mom wakes up.”
And maybe not even then, the words teetered on the tip of my tongue.
Cam stood up, offering me a sad smile. “You know, I love you like a brother, Ash, I do, and I hate that this is happening. But I know what it’s like to almost lose someone you love, to feel like they’re slipping through your fingers, and I know what it feels like to want, need, someone to blame. But this is not Mya’s fault. She came to Rixon to escape her psycho-ex. Put yourself in her shoes for a second—”
“Cameron, I don’t—”
“No, bro, you need to hear this. Something is happening with you, something big. You think we don’t see it, but we do. And I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s something to do with your old man. He’s made it pretty clear he doesn’t approve of Mya. But don’t let this,” his eyes flicked to my mom, “give him the ammunition he needs to make you end things with her. You found your person, Asher. Don’t let her go just because things got hard all of a sudden. You need her just like she needs you. And if you don’t try to make things right with her, one day down the line, when your mom is better and this all seems like a bad dream, you will regret it.”
“Cam?”
“Yeah?”
“You can go now,” I said.
He hesitated, disappointment edging into his expression. Part of me wanted him to push, to make me listen to his lecture. He was only telling me the truth after all.
But there was one giant problem with that.
The truth hurt.
And I was maxed out on my daily dose of pain.
Chapter Thirty-One
Mya
“That’s it,” my aunt stormed into my room, “you’re getting out of that bed even if I have to drag you.” She hurtled toward me like a bull, and I bolted upright, holding out my hands.
“Okay, okay, I’m getting up.”
“Praise the Lord.” She backed off. “I have been going damn near out of my mind worrying about you.”
“I’m sorry, Auntie,” I whispered. “I just—” Tears gushed from my eyes and I grabbed a pillow, burying my face into it.
I hated this.
The permanent pit in my stomach, the endless tears and overwhelming heartache.
Almost a week had passed.
Seven days without Asher by my side, reassuring me we could get through this. Seven days of not knowing whether he would ever speak to me again let alone forgive me.
Seven miserable days without the guy I’d come to love more than anything.
If it wasn’t for Felicity and Hailee, I might have driven myself insane with worry. As it was, they’d kept me updated about his mom’s condition. Which hadn’t changed since she came out of surgery.
At first, I’d tried to keep myself busy. To go on with life as normal. I managed four days. Four days until Kellie Ginly and her gymnastic friends cornered me at Ice-Ts and ripped into me as if I was the one who had pulled the trigger. School had been hard enough that day, facing the onslaught of whispers and stares. But it was nothing compared to having Kellie all up in my face, telling me that I ruined Asher’s life.
I couldn’t remember a time I’d ever let someone speak to me the way she’d belittled me. But I’d just stood there, taking her abuse and insults, letting them seep into my pores, sinking deep inside my bones. Because I did feel partly responsible. Part of me, no matter how misguided or irrational, felt like I deserved her wrath. She was Asher’s people long before I ever arrived in Rixon.
And me?
I was just the Latina girl from the hood who had ruined his life.
“I know, child, I know.” My aunt plopped down on my bed, wrapping her slender arms around me. “Love is a cruel, wicked thing. But this is not your fault, Mya, you hear me?” Slipping her fingers underneath her jaw, she tilted my face up. “Tell me you know that.”
“I... I know.”
“You need to believe it too. What happened with Mrs. Bennet was nothing but a tragic accident. Me and the ladies at church have been praying for her.”
“Y- you have?”
She clucked her tongue. “Don’t sound so surprised. Just because this town has never welcomed me with open arms doesn’t mean I’d ever wish harm to anyone. We are all God’s children, Mya. A fact some of the good people of Rixon seem to forget. Has he called yet?”
“I... no.” I shook my head, shame and embarrassment burning through me.
“If he’s worth your love, he will. And if he doesn’t, then you know he’s not.”
“He blames me.”