The Endgame Is You (Rixon Raiders #4) - L A Cotton Page 0,70
a feeling of complete ecstasy.
Hailee moaned again. “It’s…”
Everything.
It was everything…
And it was goodbye.
Hailee
I woke up to an empty bed, but I hadn’t expected Cameron to be here. We’d said all we needed to say last night, with every kiss and touch and whispered I-love-you.
I didn’t doubt Cameron loved me; it was never about that. But I knew he couldn’t be what he needed to be to his family while he felt tied to me.
So I set him free.
We hadn’t discussed what would happen when I went back to Michigan. We hadn’t discussed if we were on a break, or over, or going to try to do the long-distance thing.
We hadn’t discussed anything.
But that told me all I needed to know.
Right now, Cameron’s priority was his family, and I couldn’t hate him for that.
No matter how much it hurt, I just couldn’t.
“Sweetheart?” Mom’s voice drifted through the door.
“Hey, Mom.”
She peeked around the door. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“I’m okay.”
“Did you and Cameron work through things?”
My cheeks heated. “Actually, I’m going to head back to Michigan later.”
“Alone?” Confusion clouded her eyes.
“Cameron needs to be here.”
“I know, sweetheart. I can’t even imagine...” She perched on the edge of my desk. “But that sounds kind of final.”
“We haven’t worked out the details.”
“And you’re okay with this?”
I shrugged, dropping my gaze. “Cameron needs to be here for his family.”
“Of course he does, but—”
“Mom, I appreciate your concern, I do. But it’s done.”
“You’ll find your way back to one another. No amount of time or distance will ever change how that boy feels about you.”
God, I wanted to believe her. But I also knew there was one thing that could change everything, and it was going to happen.
“Karen isn’t going to get better, Mom.” I couldn’t hold the tears at bay any longer.
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so, so sorry.”
“Life is so unfair,” I sobbed, falling into Mom’s open arms.
“Ssh, sweetheart. I’m right here.”
But as she said the words, I only cried harder, because one day soon, Cameron and Xander were going to have to say goodbye to their mom.
And Cameron would be left to pick up the pieces.
I flew back to Michigan after that. Mom and Kent gave me a ride to the airport, insisting that I call more often. They didn’t like the idea of me being in Ann Arbor on my own, but there was something strangely comforting about returning to mine and Cameron’s apartment.
It was so full of him. His Wolverine’s hoodie on the coat rack, the sports column cuttings of all his mentions stuck to the noticeboard in the kitchen, right down to the lingering scent of his aftershave.
It hurt.
It hurt so much, but I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.
Dropping my keys on the sideboard, I pulled out my cell phone and started a new message.
Me: Just got back to the apartment. Send my love to Xander, and your mom and dad xo
Cameron: I will, and thank you Hailee, for everything.
There was still so much we needed to discuss, questions that needed answering. But they could wait.
They would have to.
My cell phone began vibrating and I hit answer.
“We need to talk.”
“Hello to you too, Jason.”
“What the fuck, Hailee? You were supposed to fight, not walk away.”
“That’s not... I didn’t walk away.” I let him go.
“Cameron is confused. He doesn’t know what the fuck he wants right now. But I’m telling you: He. Needs. You.”
“And I’m here, I am. I’m not going anywhere, Jason, but I’m not going to be an added burden either.”
“I can’t believe he let you leave.” The fight left my stepbrother’s voice.
“Yeah...” My heart ached as if it knew it was missing its other half.
“How are you holding up?”
“I’m okay. I just keep thinking nothing I’m feeling matters, not compared to...”
“Yeah,” his voice sobered, “I know. I offered to drive to Rixon, but he wouldn’t even entertain the idea.”
“Cameron needs to do things his way,” I said.
“And if his way isn’t the right way?”
“Then we’ll pick up the pieces.”
“You’ll get through this. It can’t be the end, Sis. It just can’t.”
“Maybe,” I said with little conviction.
“Just don’t write him off, not yet.”
“Jason, I would never do that.” I love him too damn much.
“Do you need anything? I can drive up and—”
“No, I’m okay.” I smiled. Jason was so different, and I was proud of the man he’d become. “Just take care of him, please.”
“I will. He gets a couple of days and then I’m going down there.”