“I... fuck.” Jason’s expression hardened but then softened when he let out an exasperated breath. “Something is really happening with his mom?”
I nodded. “I think so. He told me some things.”
“What things?” That got his attention.
I pressed my lips together in defiance. It wasn’t for me to reveal Cameron’s secrets.
“He never said anything to me,” Jason added when I didn’t offer an explanation.
“Are you sure? Maybe he was trying to tell you all along and you just weren’t listening?” My voice rose, the tension between us rising with it.
He dragged a hand through his unruly brown hair, his eyes darkening. “You should go after him.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t think this means I’m cool with the two of you. I’m not. But if what you say is true, Chase needs someone right now, and I’m probably the last person he wants to see.”
“Jason,” I sighed. “You’re his best friend.”
“A pretty shit one at that,” he grumbled.
I was stunned speechless. Never once, had I heard Jason own up to his shortcomings. He was always so arrogant and cold. Infallible. Yet, he looked completely lost tonight; the fire in his eyes extinguished to nothing more than a dying flame.
“He’ll come around,” I said without doubt. Because the bond between the three of them exceeded right and wrong, good and bad. They were brothers. Bound together by invisible threads I would never truly understand.
“Just tell him I’m sorry,” he said, and something passed between us. A mutual understanding I never thought we’d have. “Can you do that for me?”
Too choked to reply, I nodded.
“And Hailee?” He wasn’t done. “What Thatcher did; it went too far, and for that, I am sorry.”
I gaped at him unsure I was hearing correctly. This would forever go down as one of the most surreal moments of my life.
But I’d take it.
If it finally meant not being on the opposite side of the line from Jason, I’d take it.
Flick agreed to drop me off at Cameron’s house. The ride over was quiet. I was too lost in my thoughts to really answer any of her questions. And there were many. I was thinking about the strange conversation with Jason. Distracted by the apprehension churning through my stomach.
Eventually though, she’d shut up and accepted silence as the soundtrack for the short journey.
“Are you sure about this?” Flick finally said as we pulled up outside his house.
“No, but I have a really bad feeling.” Players didn’t just storm off the field without good reason, not Raiders. And especially not star wide receivers.
“Should I wait...”
“No,” I said. “I’ve got this.” Besides, if the worst-case scenario became reality, and Cameron slammed the door in my face, I wouldn’t want anyone to witness it.
“Okay, then, go get ‘em, tiger.” Flick reached over and squeezed my hand, offering me a reassuring smile. I climbed out and walked up to the Chases’ door. The house was blanketed in darkness, no sign of life. Cameron’s truck was parked in the driveway, but his dad’s car was missing. I didn’t know whether that was a good sign or not.
Taking a deep breath, I glanced back at Flick who gave me a thumbs up before pulling off and disappearing into the inky night.
“You can do this,” I whispered to myself. But as I went to knock, I realized the door was ajar. “Cameron?” Ducking inside, I was greeted with silence.
“Cameron?” Blood pounded between my ears. It was quiet, the place steeped in darkness. But the door had been open. “Hello?” I called out again only to be greeted with sound of my own heart beating wildly against my chest.
Slipping my hand into my pocket, I clutched my cell phone, just in case, as I moved further into the house. “Cameron?” It was a whisper-hiss this time. But the place seemed deserted. And then I heard it. A gentle murmur. Racing down the hallway, I burst into the kitchen and skidded to a halt. “Cameron?”
He was crumpled on the floor against one of the counters, his face buried in his hands. Slowly he lifted his eyes to me and what I saw there in his gray-blue eyes broke my heart. Cameron Chase, wide receiver for the Raiders, was in pieces. His eyes were red and swollen, void of their usual sparkle, and his fists were bloody and bruised.
“Cameron.” I dropped to my knees and scooted closer to him, taking his hands in mine, inspecting his injuries. “What did you do?”
“It doesn’t matter,” his voice cracked as he dropped his head back against the cabinet.
“These need cleaning, do you have a first aid kit?”
His eyes shuttered as he drew in a ragged breath that I felt all the way down to my soul. I wanted to comfort him, to wrap my arms around him and ask him what was wrong, but something held me back.
“Cameron, a first aid kit?” I said, distracting him, and myself.
“I, uh, yeah, there’s one in the cabinet over there.” He flicked his head, his eyes locking on mine. The intensity in his gaze almost too much to bear.
I found the first aid kit and hurried back to him, kneeling between his outstretched legs. “This might sting.” He hissed as I wiped the blood from his knuckles, the skin angry and shredded. “I hope the other guy came out worse.”
“I’m pretty sure the wall won,” he said flatly, and my stomach dipped.
“Okay, next one.” Silence descended over us as I continued to clean his wounds. Cameron didn’t speak; he didn’t need to—his pain swirled around us like an angry storm. When I was done, I set aside the first aid kit and gently brushed his jaw with my fingers. “Want to talk about it?” I asked quietly, letting my words settle between us.
“Talk?” he scoffed. “I’m not sure there’s anything to say anymore, Hailee.”
My chest constricted. “Try me,” I said with an air of defiance. Because right now, Cameron needed someone. And I wanted to be that person for him.
I wanted to take away his pain and make it my own.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Cameron
“What are you doing here, Hailee?” It was a shitty thing to say when she’d come after me, cleaned my busted knuckles and asked for nothing in return. But now she was asking, and I wasn’t sure I had answers.
Everything was falling apart around me. All week, I’d barely managed to stay afloat, to keep my head above water. And then tonight, on the field, something had snapped.
I’d snapped.
“I...” She wrung her hands together, her eyes darting everywhere but at me. She was nervous, it oozed from her, hitting me like a brick wall. “I was worried about you.” It came out softly as she finally settled her eyes on me. “You got hit and I didn’t know if... and then I saw you storm out of there and I realized I never asked you how your mom was, and I thought—”
“She has a brain tumor.” My chest tightened, the truth squeezing my heart like a vise. I sucked in, trying to get more air into my lungs. I hadn’t meant to spew the words but seeing Hailee rush into the kitchen, the concern shining in her eyes, it broke something in me. Or maybe it fixed something.