Chapter 2

Two

Cam

"Someone told me they saw you over at Bellehaven Memorial last night." Troy says as he runs next to me.

I shake my head. This is his way of being nosy, without gossiping. There"s no telling how many people saw me in the parking lot with Cassie. It"s basically the main thoroughfare of town, and everybody seems to walk through there at one point or another. "I was over there." I give him a little bit of what he"s asking.

"Oh yeah?"

We make the turn on the track, following the lanes as we run. "Yeah." I sigh. "I went over there to talk to Cassie."

"How"d that go?" He asks, amusement strong in his voice. "Last I heard, you stood her up and she told you she didn"t want to ever talk to you again."

"She did say that." I affirm. "But I"m gonna be honest with you. While I was waiting on the paramedics to get there to assist you, I was thinking about the things I"d done in my life that I wanted to change. What if I were the person lying there?" I stop, taking a breathe, because let's face it, running and talking isn't easy. "I didn"t have many regrets at all, but the biggest one was that I let her get away. If I were ever in your situation, I don"t want to be thinking of all the things I would be regretting. Maybe that wasn"t what was happening with you, but I know myself ..." I let the thought trail off.

He"s quiet for a few minutes before speaking, "No. I was … I was wondering about all the shit I should"ve, would"ve, could"ve done differently. I told myself right then that if there were regrets I had, I would change them as soon as I could." His gaze runs along the track as he sighs deeply. "That moment in time is embedded into my brain. Every single thought I had while on the floor is branded, and I"m never going to forget it. That"s why Lizzie and I are out and about. I"m never going to hide what we are to one another anymore." He stops for a second, catching his breath. "I make sure everyone knows how much I care about them now. Every time I leave JT, he knows I love him. I call Lizzie every day, and tell her I love her too. When we leave one another, I tell you to be safe, and I hope you know that"s my way of letting you know that I love you, too. You"re the fuckin" best friend I"ve ever had."

Troy isn"t the type of man to say a lot—ever. So I know that the speech he"s just made cost him a huge chunk of emotion. "I love you too, man. I"m glad to know I"m not the only one who wondered about what the rest of my life would look like if I thought I was going to die."

"No, so much shit ran through my head, wondering how someone was going to tell Lizzie. What they would say to JT and Emma. How I would be remembered. In a way, I"m thankful." He runs a hand along the back of his neck. "Who knows how scared I really would"ve been if I had dwelled on what could"ve happened. You being there? It made me less scared, and I will remember what you did for me forever."

We needed to have this conversation, because we haven"t had it yet. We"ve been doing what we normally do. Joke, laugh, say smartass comments, and avoid getting too deep into our emotions. "What else would I have done?"

"You could"ve let me die, but you didn"t. I thank you for it, but I don"t wanna talk about it again." He laughs.

"I"ll say you"re welcome, and then tell you I don"t either."

We start running again. Troy looks back over at me. "So, what were you doing talking to Cassie? Did she tell you to go fuck off?"

I scoff. "She would never tell me to go fuck off, even if she wanted to. She"s too nice for that."

"I don"t know, I"ve seen her in high-pressure situations, and she"s told other people to fuck off in the ER. I think she"d most definitely tell you. So basically, her not saying it is in your favor."

Is he right? Is it in my favor? Or does she not care either way. "I guess so."

"It really is." Troy laughs.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because you"re looking down at your feet, and you can"t see what"s in front of you." He smacks me on the back of the head.

"Fucker ..." I mumble, but it"s then that I see what he"s talking about. There, in the parking lot, next to my Bronco is Cassie. She"s standing in the sun like some fucking apparition of the most beautiful person I"ve ever seen. It"s shining down on her like a spotlight from God, himself. From here I can"t tell if she has a smile on her face or not, and damned if I"m not scared to know why she"s here.

"Who"s a fucker now?" he quips, a laugh bubbling up from his chest.

"Still you," I say softly, as we come to the end of our run, and we approach her.

"Hey, Cassie." Troy waves. "Good to see you."

"Good to see you too. You look like you"re doing well." She tucks her hands into the hoodie she"s wearing, her eyes cutting over to mine before going back to Troy.

"I am, but right now I need to head out to meet Lizzie for lunch. I"ll see you later?" He looks over at me.

"Yup, see you tomorrow for briefing."

He waves at both of us. "Be safe, Cam."

"I will. You be safe, too."

Cassie and I stand there in silence as we watch Troy get in his truck and leave. Now that I"m left alone with her, I don"t know what to say, don"t know where we are.

"So." I kick some of the loose gravel from the asphalt. "What are you doing here?"

She rocks back on her heels, blowing out a breath. Her dark brown hair flutters in the wind, hazel eyes meet mine. "I thought about everything you said in the parking lot. I did nothing but think about it last night, and I realized that if I were in the situation you"d been in, I would be thinking about you too. So, if you"re serious? Then I"m serious. Let"s give this a shot, Cam."

Those are the words I"ve been waiting to hear, and damn if they don"t sound like a bunch of answered prayers.