36. Cameron
thirty-six
Cameron
When I wake, the sun is cracking through the curtains. Our bodies are still twined together like when we fell asleep. Talia’s breathing changes, letting me know she’s awake. True to my word, I hold her and wait. She’ll tell me when she’s ready.
It doesn’t take long for her to speak. “I’m ready now.”
“I need to get something before we talk. I need you to see something.”
“Okay.”
I climb out of bed and head for the bathroom. When I return, Talia is sitting with her knees up and her back against the headboard.
I crawl onto the bed and hold my hat out to her. “Look inside.”
She takes my cap and looks inside. At first glance, she doesn’t see what I want her to, but after a minute, she finds the mini polaroid of us in the seam. Her eyes are cloudy with tears as she looks up at me.
“It’s us. Why do you have this in your hat?”
My palms sweat, and my heart races with nervous energy. Honesty is one thing, but exposing yourself to someone with the possibility of being hurt is scary as fuck. If I don’t want her to give up on me—us—then this is what I have to do.
“Because I need a piece of you with me at all times, itty bitty. I hate being away from you. When I look at that picture, I get to see your beautiful smiling face. It reminds me of how fucking lucky I am to have you in my life.”
“Wow, who knew you were such a romantic.”
“Only for you. No one has ever made me feel this way before.”
“Just so you know, I hate being away from you too.”
My heart wants to burst out of my chest as she stares down at the picture and rubs her thumb over the still-frame of us like I do before each game.
“Why are you showing me this?”
“Because Nico found this picture in my hat during the game, and that’s why he got angry.”
“How?”
“I was hit in the knee by a line drive; it knocked me on my ass, and my hat flew off. Nico saved my ass and got the runner out at first, ending the inning. I went to reach for my hat and realized it wasn’t on my head. Your brother returned it to me, and I thought little of it. We were winning; I was on fire. I had to keep my head in the game. As soon as the game ended, he confronted me. He was pissed and told me to stay away. I told him no. Said I was in love with you. He lost it and punched me.”
“Cam…” Talia breaks into a sob.
“Shh, baby. It’s okay.” I cup her face in my palms and wipe her tears away with my thumbs. “There’s something else I haven’t told you.”
“Okay.”
“Nico told me the reason he hates my guts.” My mouth dries up, and my heart races. “It’s really fucking bad, baby. I hate myself. I didn’t want to believe it, but the way he screamed at me, I have a feeling it’s true.”
“What’s his reason?”
“He, umm... He said I slept with his girlfriend.”
Talia rears back as if slapped. The picture of us flutters to the bed. “You did what? ”
“I know I’ve made a lot of stupid mistakes, but I would never knowingly do this to him. To anyone. It’s not who I am. My brother went through cheating with his ex-wife, and I know how much it hurts. Believe me, Talia. I wouldn’t do this on purpose.”
“Who is she?”
“That’s the thing; I don’t know. He didn’t say, and I’ve been wracking my brain for weeks trying to figure out who he’s talking about. I didn’t even know Nico had a girlfriend.”
“Wait, you knew for weeks? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Fuck .
The hurt in her eyes is like a knife to my chest. I should have told her sooner. I promised her I would always be honest, and while I didn’t technically lie, I still withheld information from her.
“Because I didn’t want it to be true. But I felt the pain and anger in his words tonight when he was yelling. He accused me of having everything and then asked me why I had to take her too. It didn’t feel like he was talking about you.”
Tears pour down Talia’s cheeks. If I could take away her hurt, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
“I’m so fucking sorry, baby. I’m sorry.” My nose tingles as tears build at the corner of my eyes.
“No.” Talia shakes her head. “I don’t believe it. You wouldn’t do that.” She climbs into my lap and straddles me, burying her face in my neck.
I breathe in her sweet scent as her hot tears roll off her cheeks and down my chest. I hold her as she cries. Every tear rips me to shreds.
“I think you need to go home and talk to him.”
“No.” She wraps her arms around my back and squeezes.
I hold her just as tight, afraid that if I let go, she’ll leave me and never come back.
“I want to stay with you.”
“You have to. He’s your brother. He needs you. Your family needs you.”
“I need you,” she croaks out .
My heart shatters into a million pieces. She has no idea how much I need her. Right now, her family needs her more. As much as she thinks she’s the afterthought, she’s really the glue in the Romero family.
I kiss the crown of her head. “I need you too. Always. But for right now, you need to be there.”
“Stop. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
“Talia…”
“No, Cam. Please, don’t say anything else. I know, okay? I know. But for right now, just hold me.”
This week is the All-Star break, and we were planning on spending half of it together before she starts a ten-day rotation to make up for her days off. After last night, I think it’s best she goes home to figure stuff out without me.
We don’t have a future if her family doesn’t accept me. And I won’t be the reason they don’t talk to her or have a presence in her life. Family is everything to me.
I might not like Nico, but he has been the man in her life for longer than me. He took care of her—hell, he practically raised her—and in my book, that means he more than earned her loyalty.
Talia doesn’t see it that way right now because she’s hurting, but I do.
‘You have everything.’ Romero’s words keep playing on loop in the back of my head.
I have lived a privileged life. I’ve wanted for nothing, thanks to my parents’ hard work. My dad was there playing catch with me and coaching me every step of the way. My mom gave us a leg up by sending us to the private school she worked at. I have my brothers to lean on when things get tough. I’m a professional baseball player with a long career ahead of me and accolades very few receive.
My only problem is none of it matters if I don’t have Talia. She’s the center of my universe. The very real possibility that we won’t be able to recover from this sits like a bout of food poisoning in my stomach, churning and waiting to explode .
I close my eyes and hold my girl, praying that we can make it and this won’t be the last time I hold her.