“What do you want to happen?” I ask.
“I don’t know. The tabloids label him as a player.”
“He is.” I wink, making her laugh.
“You know what I mean. I don’t play games.”
“Do you feel like he’s playing you?”
“No. I don’t. That doesn’t mean I’m not cautious.”
“Well, it’s the off-season, so you’ve got a few months of him being home to take some time to get to know him.”
“We’ll see,” she says, not really committing to the idea as my phone rings.
“Hey, Mom,” I greet.
“Hi. Are you busy?”
“No. Just sitting and catching up with Willow. What’s up?”
“Well, I was supposed to pick Peyton up from school. It’s an early dismissal day, and I just remembered. I’m at a fundraiser meeting across town, and there is no way I can get there in time. Your dad had a video conference scheduled for a commercial some deodorant company is trying to convince him to do.”
“Sure, I’ll head over now and pick her up.”
“Thank you, Paisley.”
“No problem. Love you,” I say, waiting for her to reply before ending the call.
“Everything all right?” Willow asks.
“That was Mom. She’s stuck across town and forgot Peyton has early dismissal from school today. I’m going to go pick her up and drop her off at home. You want to go with me?”
“Actually, I’m going to start on laundry. You coming back?”
“Yes. I’ll bring us some lunch.”
“I knew you were my best friend for a reason,” she quips.
“I’ll be back,” I say as I stand and grab my purse, and head out.
“So, will you come?” Peyton asks as I pull into my parents’ driveway.
“Of course I’ll be there,” I assure her.
“I’m so excited, and it’s not going to interfere with softball. I’m going to be able to do both,” she explains, talking about her play with the drama club where she was cast in the lead role.
“That’s great, Peyton.” Grabbing my keys from the ignition, I follow her up the steps. She’s twelve so she can stay home alone, but Dad’s supposed to be here. I just want to check on things before leaving her. Otherwise, I can always bring her back to hang out with Willow and me for a couple of hours.
“You have homework?” I ask my little sister.
“Ugh. Not you too,” she whines.
“Trust me. If you do it now and get it over with, you’ll have the rest of the day to do whatever you want.”
“Can I at least get a snack first?”
“Definitely,” I tell her. “I’m going to go peek in and say hi to Dad.”
I head toward the opposite side of the house to where Dad’s office is. As I approach, I hear him talking.
“That’s a tough call,” Dad says. “I know we have a connection to the kid, but we can’t let that influence this decision. And by we, I mean you.” He chuckles.
“The relationship is an issue. I’m not sure where he’s going to end up because of it.” I hear my uncle Drew say, and my heart drops to the floor.
“He’s a good kid and a hell of a ballplayer. I just don’t know if all the drama is worth it,” Dad replies.
I bite down on my cheek to keep the tears at bay. They have to be talking about Cameron. Who else would it be?
“I don’t want the negative media distraction. Especially not after coming off a World Series win,” Uncle Drew says.
I lose my battle with tears as one slips free, rolling down my cheek. Angrily, I swipe it away.
“You need to do what’s best for business. You can’t make this personal,” Dad tells him.
How can he not think that this is personal? He knows what Cameron means to me. And what kind of media distraction are they talking about? The kiss? The media caught us on the field after the sweep, kissing, and they’ve been playing that clip as well as the kiss cam clip from the day we met over and over. I should have known that things weren’t as easy as just letting them go. Now it sounds like our recklessness, not caring who saw us, is going to have Cam losing his job.
Holy shit! The trade rumors. They were true. Uncle Drew is going to trade Cameron. Because of me. The realization has my heart cracking wide open in my chest as pieces of love and hope break off. I can’t let this happen. I have to stop them. My head spins as I think of how I can stop this from happening.
Unable to listen to another word of them deciding the future of the man I love, I turn and see Peyton standing there staring at me. I place my fingers to my lips, telling her to be quiet, as I make my way quietly down the hall. I slip into the half bath just off the kitchen.
Bracing my hands on the counter, I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. Over and over again, I repeat the process until I feel as though I can walk out of here and not freak my little sister out. I take a minute to splash some water on my face, wiping away the tracks of my tears. With my shoulders squared, I open the door to find her sitting on the floor waiting for me.
“What’s wrong?” she asks.
“Nothing. I just realized I have something that I need to do.” I open my arms, and she stands, coming to hug me. “I need to go. Dad’s in his office.”
“I know. I heard him talking.”
“Peyton. Can we keep this between us?” I ask her. “Please?” She nods. “I love you, little sister,” I say, pulling her into another hug.
By the time I make it back to my car, the tears are ready to fall again, but I choke them back. I have to fix this. I just don’t know how. But I need to try. I’m almost back to the condo when I realize I forgot to grab some food. Turning around, I pull into the first drive-thru that I see and order Willow a burger and fries. I don’t get anything for me. My stomach is in knots, and I know without a doubt, anything I eat will come back up.
As soon as I walk through the door of our condo, my phone pings with a message.
Cameron: I miss you. I hope you’re having a good day with Willow.
That does it. A sob breaks free from my chest, and the tears I’ve been battling race down my cheeks.
“Paisley?” Willow asks. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
I hand her the bag of food and fall into the chair, covering my face with my hands, and begin to sob. I feel her beside me as her hand rubs up and down my back.
“You’re scaring me, P. Please tell me what’s going on.”
I nod, and take a breath and tell her what I heard. “I have to fix this.”
“Are you sure they were talking about Cameron?” she asks.
“They had to be. The team was on point this season, Wil. No drama from the press, no scandals. Just me and Cameron. That stupid kiss cam and rumors that the only reason he got his contract was because he was dating me.” It’s because of me and our relationship that he could lose his dream of playing for the Blaze and have to move away from his mom. I can’t let that happen. I can’t be the reason his life is turned upside down.
“Maybe you should call Drew and talk to him.”