He was my brother from a different mother. I talked to him about things that I never discussed with anyone. He knew my inner most thought in a way that no one else did. He got me and got got him in the same way.
“Come on, don’t do this,” I muttered under my breath. “You can’t leave me. Leave us.”
I was still holding Cameron’s limp hand when a fire truck careened around the corner. I swung my head round to see two firefighters running toward me with hydraulic rescue tools, and I gave Cameron’s hand a final squeeze before jumping out of the way to make room for them.
Muriel and I watched as they made light work of cutting the car open.
She stood in front of me, and I wrapped my arms around her, giving her reassuring pecks on the top of her head that she leaned into me with sorrowful sighs.
As soon as he was free, the EMTs were ready with a backboard and gurney to whisk him into the ambulance.
“I’m going to go to the hospital and wait. Will you drop me off at my place so I can get my car?”
She turned around with an offended expression on her face.
“I’m coming to the hospital too.”
“Are you sure? I mean—”
“I’m going whether you like it or not. Our conversation about my plans isn’t finished, and you aren’t going to stop me from seeing Cameron.”
I held my hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. Fine. I believe you were dangerously close to saying you would go to his house before, and we agreed you wouldn’t.”
“Oh, go to hell, Hugh. I care about him, and he was in distress. You aren’t the boss of me, you know.”
I gritted my teeth. Was she right? Would it have been better to tell Cameron everything was fine between us all? And even if not, was it my place to tell her she couldn’t? I had no idea; lines were blurring all over the place.
“I’m sorry, okay? I’m just protective over Cameron; you know that. Now, let’s get to the hospital.”
Chapter Thirteen
Muriel Tennyson
It was all too much, and I was at my breaking point.
Never in my life had I snapped at Hugh before; needled him, yes, teased him, absolutely. But to hear him suggest that I might not want to be with Cameron when he needed me the most offended me to my very core.
How dare Hugh try to police what I say to Cam? Just because he was brainy and a hero around town, it didn’t mean I gave two hoots about what he thought.
Except, I did.
And deep down, I knew he was only trying to protect his closest friend.
Whether or not he should have snooped at my note, he’d seen it, and I understood it looked pretty damning from the outside.
My first job once Cameron was okay — and he would be okay — was to put a damn lock on my phone.
I sped along the roads as fast as possible, even though I was certain we’d be waiting a long time before we got an update on Cameron. He looked so helpless trapped in the car, and when he said he couldn’t feel his legs...
And yet, he was still his usual upbeat and optimistic self right up until the moment he passed out. I adored his spirit, even though in normal times, it could definitely be a bit much without Hugh around to provide the yin to his yang.
A nagging voice in the back of my head kept reminding me I needed to decide what to do about the TV show, and fast. I’d have to get a flight in about six hours if I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity, but the thought of flying away from Cameron right then made me sick to my stomach.
“Connect my phone to the Bluetooth, will you?”
“Huh?” Hugh looked confused.
“My phone, check the Bluetooth settings—there should be a device called Camvis. Connect it, please?”
He picked up my phone, and in a few seconds a beeping sound let me know it was connected.
“Camvis, call Alexa.”
Flooding on the road meant I’d had to slow the car down, which was perfect because I didn’t want to risk another accident while trying to talk Alexa down from the roof, which I knew she was going to hit.
“Alexa, Alexa Associates,” my agent answered briskly.
“Hey, it’s me. I’m sorry for calling so late.”
“It’s not that late here, Muri. Time difference, remember?”
I rolled my eyes at myself and caught Hugh trying to suppress a smirk. “Yeah, sorry, it’s been a long day. Look, I’m not going to make it to dinner tomorrow.”
“What?” Alexa screeched, and Hugh leaped on the car controls to turn the volume down.
“Something’s come up, and it’s really important. Do you think you can delay it?”
“I don’t, Muriel, no. Do you know how many options these people have? How many girls would meet them at a moment’s notice for half a chance at what you’re being offered?”