“So it’s true?” Disappointment washed over her, the distance between us vaster than ever.
“No... I mean, I thought about it, but—”
“You thought it about it and you never said a word. What is happening to us, Cameron? Because when the semester started and you began pulling away, I told myself it was just the pressure of balancing everything. Then you started going back and forth to Rixon more and more, and I got it, because it’s Xander. He’s your blood, your family. But what I didn’t anticipate was that every time you left, it would drive the wedge growing between us deeper.
“I think I’ve been understanding. I’ve tried to be there for you, for Xander, even your parents. I don’t grumble or complain, or trash talk you to our friends. Because I get it. I get you want to do the right thing. You wouldn’t be the guy I fell in love with if you didn’t. But something is happening to us and I’m starting to wonder if it has anything to do with everything else going on, or if it’s just us. If maybe you’re starting to feel like...” Hailee’s bottom lip quivered but she swallowed her emotion. “I’m the burden.”
Without speaking, I got up and crossed the room to her. Dropping to my knees, I looped my hand around the back of her neck and pulled her to me until our heads were pressed together. “You are not a burden.”
“So, what is it? Why do I feel like I’m losing you?”
Her words snaked through me, lashing my insides. “Because I’m an asshole,” I breathed. “I take your love for granted. I take you for granted, and I shouldn’t.”
“I just don’t understand how we got here?” Hailee was holding back her tears. I heard them in her voice.
“I love you. I love you so damn much, and I know things haven’t been right for a while and I—”
The blare of my cell cut through the air, and Hailee’s gaze darted over my shoulder.
“I’ll leave it,” I said.
But it didn’t stop ringing.
“Maybe you should get it; it could be your mom.”
My eyes shuttered, my heart torn in two. I wanted to put Hailee first, to prove to her she was the most important thing in my life...
“Cam, it’s okay.” She took my hands and gently moved out of my hold. “Go, they need you.”
And I need you. But the words wouldn’t come out.
I got up and ran a hand over my face. Hailee had curled up on the chair, her expression crestfallen. “I’m sorry,” I mouthed as I snatched up my cell phone and hit answer. “Dad?” I said, panic flooding me as I wondered what Xander could have possibly done this time.
“Cameron, Son…”
“Dad, what is it?”
“It’s your mom... She’s in the hospital.”
The world fell away as I tried to process his words.
“What do you mean, she’s in the hospital?”
“She... she collapsed. They think she had a seizure.”
“Where’s Xander?”
“He’s with Asher’s mom. He was there when it happened. I found them—”
“Dad?” My voice cracked.
“We need you, Son. We need you to come home.”
Hailee
We got a flight to Philadelphia and rented a car to drive to Rixon. It was the quickest option.
Cameron had barely spoken a word on the ninety-minute flight from Detroit. He’d clutched my hand the entire way there though, as if I was his lifeline.