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I know what he’s seeing. I haven’t looked in a mirror, but I can feel it. The greasy hair. The stubble. The same clothes.
“What the hell happened?” Liam pushes past me into the apartment.
I close the door and lean against it.
Liam looks around. The coat on the floor, old food and trash strewn about.
“Cam.” His voice is careful now. Worried. “Talk to me.”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
Liam steps closer. “Did something happen with Lucien?”
The sound of his name pries open something inside me.
“He broke up with me.”
Liam’s eyes widen. “What?”
“His mom walked in on us. At his house in Charleston. She saw—” I swallow hard. “She saw us. Together. And then his dad called and screamed at him and told him he was a failure and a— And then Lucien pulled over at a Buc-ee’s and told me we should take some time. That this whole thing was a bad idea.”
Liam stares at me. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
I shake my head.
“That fucking coward.” His voice rises. “That fucking asshole. He gets caught, and instead of standing up for you, he just— What? Dumps you in a fucking gas station parking lot?”
“It wasn’t a gas station. It was a Buc-ee’s.”
“I don’t give a shit if it was the fucking Ritz-Carlton, Cam. He’s a coward.”
I slide down the door until I’m sitting on the floor. Liam crouches in front of me.
“How long have you been holed up in here?”
“Three days, I think.”
“Jesus. Okay. Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do. You’re gonna get in the shower. Right now. And while you’re in there, I’m gonna clean up this place because it looks like a fucking crime scene.”
“Liam—”
“No, just get up.”
He grabs my arm and hauls me to my feet.
“I’m fine,” I say weakly.
“You’re not fine. You look like shit, and you smell worse. Go shower. Now.”
He nudges me toward the bathroom.
“Cam, I know it hurts. But you can’t just disappear like this. You gotta take care of yourself.”
“I don’t really feel—”
“Then let me help you. I’ll clean this shit up.”
His face is open, earnest.
