“You won’t have to,” she assures me.
I nod, and against my better judgment, I give her the time she needs and walk out the door. My head is spinning, trying to figure out what could have her so upset. And Willow, she had tears in her eyes too. I pace back and forth in the living room. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I check the gossip rags, but there are no new headlines about me or her or us. So it’s not that. I’m at a loss. I don’t know what caused her pain, but I know seeing her cry like that is like taking a knife to the gut. I hate seeing her so upset and in pain and not knowing why or how to fix it.
I look at the time on my phone, and it’s been six minutes. “Time’s up, baby,” I mutter, stomping toward the door. When I pull it open, she’s standing there. Her arms are hanging at her sides, and her face is streaked with tears. My heart shatters in my chest. I offer her my hand, and she hesitates for two heartbeats before placing her hand in mine and allowing me to lead her inside and shut the door.
I guide us to the couch and sit, pulling her gently into my lap. She curls up in a ball and cries softly. I don’t know what to do. I can keep asking her what’s wrong, but she’s not going to tell me until she’s ready. So, instead, I wrap my arms around her and hold her close. My hand runs up and down her back in an attempt to soothe her.
Eventually, she stops crying, but she doesn’t move, so neither do I. I hold her, giving her my strength, if that’s what she needs. Silently telling her that I’m here for her. Whatever this is, we’ll get through it together. Hell, I may even be able to fix it if I knew what was causing her pain. If I knew what was causing her tears.
When she finally moves to sit up, the sun has long since dipped, and nightfall has set in. “Baby, I need you to talk to me.”
She nods and scoots to the other end of the couch, pulling her legs under her. She reaches for a pillow and grips it tight against her chest, almost as if she’s afraid she may reach for me or that I may reach for her.
“Paisley.” My voice cracks.
“My mom called me today.” I nod, not sure what to say to that. Did she give her a hard time about us? “She needed me to pick Peyton up from school. She was stuck on the other side of town, and Dad had a meeting too.”
“Okay.”
“When I dropped her off, I went to say hi to my dad.” Her voice cracks, and I watch as she visibly swallows. “I heard him. He was on the phone.” Her eyes find mine. “He was talking to Drew.”
It doesn’t escape me how she doesn’t call him Uncle Drew. “What did you hear?”
“They were talking about you. About the media shit show that follows us.”
“It’s calmed down a lot,” I defend, as panic grows in my gut.
“They’re trading you,” she says. “Unless—” She bites down on her lip.
“Unless what?” More tears race down her cheeks. “Unless what, Paisley?”
“Unless we’re no longer together.”
“No.” I stand from the couch and begin to pace again. “Fuck that. No. Just no.” I turn to look at her. “That’s not happening.”
“Cam, listen to me. We don’t really have much of a choice on this. This is your career. It’s doomed regardless. Either we end this or you get traded. Who knows where you will end up, and you know it won’t be close, so you’ll be further away from your mom and from me.”
“We. Will. Figure. It. Out,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Come on, Cam. You know long distance never works.”
“Bullshit. That’s an excuse, a cop-out.” My heart is racing. No, it’s thundering in my chest, similar to the storm that’s going on in my head. I can’t lose her. Fuck, I won’t lose her. There’s got to be another solution. Maybe she can get a job with the new team too, but then that moves her from her family as well.
“I can’t let you get traded and moved away from your mom. You two are close, and you’re all she has. I can’t let that happen.”
“No. What you can’t let happen is you walking away from me. That’s what you can’t let happen.” I beat my fist against my chest, over my heart that I swear feels as though it could stop beating at any moment. “You’re right fucking here, Paisley. You own every inch of me, and living without you doesn’t work for me.”
“It’s the only way,” she says, her tears causing her to choke on her words.
I drop to my knees in front of her, where she still sits on the couch. “Listen to me.” My hands cradle her face. “I love you. Not just for today, and not just for a little while. It’s a soul-deep lifetime kind of love. Whatever happens, we can make this work.” I’m pleading with her.
She shakes her head as more tears fall. “It’s the only way. If the Blaze is talking about trading you for this, all the other teams will feel the same way. You’ve worked your entire life for this. Busted your ass to get where you are. I won’t let you lose your dream for me.”
“You are my fucking dream!” I yell, and she flinches. I drop my head in her lap, trying to get my temper in check. She’s not fucking listening to me, and I don’t know how to make her understand that I don’t give a fuck about my career. I have a degree to fall back on. She’s all I care about.
“Cameron.” Her voice is soft. Broken. I lift my head to look at her. “I love you. I will always love you, but we can’t do this anymore. There is no other option.”
“That’s not true. Fight, dammit. You and me, that’s all that matters.”