Chapter 4
I left our four-person startup group chat and withdrew all the filming locations, equipment contacts, and client resources I'd arranged.
Cameron's phone buzzed repeatedly.
When he saw the notifications, his expression finally changed.
"You're willing to risk our future to spite me?" Cameron demanded. "We can talk about the apartment later. Just fix the partnership first."
"That's your future," I said, looking at him. "Not mine."
Just then, my phone lit up.
My advisor sent over the final confirmation.
My advisor: [The team can pick you up a day earlier than scheduled.]
My advisor: [I'll send you the meeting location tomorrow morning.]
I signed my name and sent over the hotel address.
Cameron was still insisting that I reinstate the lease and restore the partnership.
Finally, I asked him one last question, "If Sophie and I both needed you at the same time, who would you choose?"
He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"She has asthma, and she's not in good health," he said. "Why do you have to compare yourself to her?"
I nodded.
I didn't ask anything else.
Because he'd already given me my answer.
*****
The next morning, the wind had died down.
The park reopened, and Ryan booked a sailing trip for us.
Sophie had changed into a white dress and was standing in the hotel lobby, nervously clutching Cameron's sleeve.
"The lake is so deep. What if I fall in?" Sophie asked.
Cameron crouched down and fastened her life jacket securely.
"I'm right here. What are you afraid of?" Cameron comforted her.
Ryan shoved the camera into my arms.
"You just got over your fever, so you should stay off the boat," he said. "Stay on shore and take a few pictures for us."
I set the camera down on a bench in the lobby. "I'm not taking pictures."
Ryan's expression soured. "It's just a few pictures. What's wrong with you now?"
"I'm not feeling well. I want to go back to my room and rest."
Cameron looked up at me.
He didn't ask what was wrong—just muttered, clearly annoyed, "Whatever."
Sophie was just about to head outside when she suddenly reached for her wrist. "Where's my bracelet?"
She searched through all her pockets, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears. "It was a graduation gift from Cameron. I was definitely still wearing it a moment ago."
Cameron immediately tried to reassure her.
"Don't worry. You probably left it in your room," he said.
Sophie shook her head. "I could still feel it on my wrist when I came downstairs. It must have fallen off somewhere nearby."
Cameron retraced their steps with her, searching around the hotel entrance.
Ryan also turned on his phone's flashlight and crouched beside the bushes to look for it.
As he passed me, Cameron hurriedly called back, "Go back to your room and wait for now.
"Once we find the bracelet, we'll talk about what happened last night."
I watched the three of them walk away, growing smaller in the distance.
Back in my room, I pulled out the suitcase I'd packed the night before.
I canceled both return tickets.
I sent Cameron's share of the apartment deposit back to him.
The matching bracelets, the spare key, and our fourth anniversary album were neatly arranged on the table.
The album was filled with all the plans we'd made for our future.
We were going to start a business together after graduation.
We planned to get married once we were settled in our careers, travel to a new place every year, and see every lake in the state before we turned thirty.
The last page held a message Cameron wrote to me when he was eighteen.
He wrote, "Hailey, as long as you look back, I'll always be here for you."
I closed the album and set it down next to the matching bracelets.
Seeing them kiss didn't erase four years of love in an instant.
It still hurt. I still felt resentful, and at night, I kept thinking about the promise Cameron made to me when we were eighteen.
But loving Cameron was a choice I had made in the past.
Leaving him was the dignity I chose to give myself now.
A car horn sounded downstairs.
The car sent by my advisor for the project had arrived.
I pulled my suitcase out of the hotel.
The receptionist hurried after me and handed me a cup of hot water.
"Drink this on the way. Your fever just broke," she said.
She glanced behind me.
"Isn't your boyfriend coming with you?" she asked.
"He's not my boyfriend anymore," I said.