Yours Truly, Cammie

I looked into his big, brown eyes that were uncannily similar to Alex’s. God, I wish he was here. He would know exactly the right thing to say to me. Or he would make me laugh. He would make me feel better.

“It doesn’t matter because I found out something about him that wasn’t exactly a good thing, so we’re not together…” I trailed. “But, I just had to make sure he was okay.”

My father looked around his office, avoiding my eyes. I leaned further against the doorframe, prepared to go upstairs to start packing (or to escape the conversation) but he spoke again, this time in a softer voice. It was vastly different from the tone had just used on the phone.

“Cammie, sometimes things aren’t always what they seem to be.”

Moments passed and I expected him to have a follow-up statement, but he didn’t. I crinkled my forehead and nodded, turning on my heel to open the door and exit his office.

I paused with my back to him when his voice started again, “Give him a chance to redeem himself… I was in a similar situation once.”

And that was all he said before I ran upstairs like a bat straight out of hell.

When I checked my phone after landing at the Charlotte airport, I had two missed calls from JoJo and an unopened text. I quickly whipped it open, annoyed with the jerking movement of the airplane as it stopped, and yelled, “Shit!”

The little girl beside me gasped loudly and turned around to tattle to her mom, who was sitting three rows back. I ignored her and her two pigtails and reread the text three more times before trying to figure out my freaking life.

JoJo: He’s home.

That was it. Two words and I had started sweating like I’d just finished running a marathon. Now what? I figured his deployment would have been longer than four months, but then again, it had just been in support for another unit. He had told me it may be a short one and that he’d let me know when he was coming home (or a roundabout date). I’d deleted my email before he could tell me when he’d be done so, surprise, Cammie! Welcome home, here’s Luke, the guy who lied to you and broke your heart.

I ignored my dad’s voice in the back of my head telling me to give him another chance. I didn’t think he would be saying that if he knew about my little run-in with Luke’s wife…whom I’d known nothing about.

But then again, he and Luke had something in common. My dad did cheat on my mom with Carrie.

I wonder if Carrie knew that my father was still married? Had it mattered to her? Had she felt guilty when she found out the truth?

Because that’s what I’d been carrying around for the last month. A huge, heaping pile of guilt resting so heavily on my shoulders.

* * *

I pulled my car up to JoJo’s apartment and hopped out, leaving my suitcase in the back. I looked a hot mess: a stretched-out t-shirt hung loosely from my body, a jacket with a brown coffee stain on the front was pulled tightly over my shoulders, and then I paired that with some old leggings. My hair was no doubt greasy and so was my face (the number one reason I hated flying). JoJo had seen me a lot worse, though, so I swung open her door, walked inside, and yelled, “JoJo! What the hell do I do now?”

I almost fell backwards when I saw a bare-ass male standing in the kitchen. His butt was facing me and his posture went rigid when he heard my voice. I slapped my hand over my eyes and shrieked, “EW!”

“Jesus, Cammie. Do you knock?” Ryan yelled.

“Why are you naked?” I squealed.

“Well…”

JoJo’s voice was full of laughter. “Go get dressed, Ryan!!”

As soon as he left the room, she lost it—causing a few small laughs to escape my mouth, too.

“Okay, coast is clear.”

I slowly peeled my hand away from my face and raised my eyebrows at JoJo.

“We’re gonna have to break the news to Ryan that his apartment with you is more like his apartment with us. Even when you two are married, I’m still going to come over unannounced… all the time.”

She smiled and pulled her light pink robe a little tighter around her body, “We’re gonna have to set up some type of system.”

I nodded, jumping up onto the counter. “I can’t go home.”

She cocked a hip against the wall, crossing her arms. “You’re going to have to at some point.”

“I know that, and I’ve already come up with a plan.” I steepled my fingers. “I’ll park a few streets away…” JoJo’s brows furrowed, “and then I’ll sneak into my house so he doesn’t know I’m there.”