“You want to stay here, don’t you?”
“No.” But I sort of do. Even if I slept on the rug in his living room, it’d be better than going back to my house.
“If my mom asks you to stay, will you say yes?” Cameron asks.
“No.”
He licks his spoon, watching me with a smirk. “Okay.”
***
Cameron lets me use a little of Kendra’s makeup to cover up the bruises on my cheek. I’d hate for his parents to see them, for them to know the kind of mess I’ve gotten myself into.
When Kendra and Marcel get home an hour later, Cameron walks over to his mother and says something under his breath. She immediately looks at me.
“You should definitely spend the night, Savannah,” she says, as if I’m arguing. “With your father out of town, I’d be more comfortable with you here.”
I want to punch Cameron in the throat, but we’d already agreed to stop fighting through our problems.
“I can’t stay,” I tell Kendra politely.
“You can,” Cameron mumbles, and goes to sit on the couch. “You just don’t want to.”
“That’s not true,” I say.
“So you’ll stay?” Kendra asks.
Well, now I’ll look like a huge jerk if I say no, so I press my lips into a smile and say yes. She smiles broadly and asks if we’ve already had dinner. Cameron and I exchange a look, not mentioning our time at Vince’s Pizza, and Cameron tells her he’s starving.
Kendra ends up ordering us pizza for dinner, and this time I get to eat. I don’t bother calling my father to let him know where I am. I doubt he notices or even cares.
After dinner Cameron and his dad watch the end of a basketball game together, even though Cameron told me that his father was still pissed at him for vandalizing the school. When my father’s pissed at me, he yells. Or he leaves. He doesn’t ask me to pass the popcorn.
But whatever alternate sitcom reality I’m in, it feels safe. And I haven’t felt safe in a long time.
***
“You sure you don’t want to sleep in my room?” Cameron asks, laying blankets across the couch. “I don’t mind staying out here.”
Cameron’s guest rooms,plural, are being recarpeted. And they’re renovating the basement one to add another bathroom.Anotherbathroom. They already have four.
“No,” I say, carrying a pillow from the linen closet. “It’s your house. You get to sleep in the bed.”
“But—”
“No.” I turn to him, intending to be angry. But I feel flutters instead. He’s standing closer than I thought, looking all sleepy in his pajamas. Like a normal person would—only hotter. I’m wearing one of Kendra’s yoga suits that is tighter than what I’d typically wear, but so soft it doesn’t matter.
Cameron checks me out, and for a moment . . . I think he’s going to reach for me. But he doesn’t. He turns toward his bedroom instead.
“Good night, Sutton,” he says. “Feel free to crawl into my bed later if you get lonely.” He walks down the short hall to his room and closes the door. “Pancakes in the morning,” he calls from inside.
“Great,” I say back, unable to hide my smile. Alone in the living room, I sit down on the blanket and pull my knees up to wrap my arms around them. I should walk into Cameron’s room right now. I think he wants me to. It would be easy.
My eyes flick to his door, and my heartbeat quickens.
“Stupid,” I mumble to myself, and collapse on the couch, covering my face with my arm. I would ruin what we have. And I don’t want to. This is nice. The only nice thing I have right now other than Evan.
At the thought of my brother, a sense of peace eases my heart, and I close my eyes and let myself drift off to sleep.
