Camila got back home and had breakfast with her mom who was finally awake, then she holed up in her room to work. It wasn’t until a couple days later that she left the house to go buy groceries. They were almost out and her mom was off somewhere doing who knew what. On her way out of the store, she glanced casually up and down the street and paused.
There he was again. Dressed almost the same as last time, only in different colors. Across the street and a distance away from her, facing her way. He wasn’t hiding his presence, but he wasn’t coming to her either. When he did nothing, she left for home. She again, looked over her shoulder and he wasn’t coming after her.
He was there again when she had to go out the next day to pick her mom up from the bar she’d ended up in, and days later when she headed back to the office to hand in her work. She’d finished it early because she’d been venting her frustrations into it, and she’d spent a whole lot of time at home, hiding from him. It creeped her out that he was always lurking about, but never approaching her.
As she stepped out of the building, empty handed this time, she looked and sure enough, there he was. Still across the street, but a lot closer this time, so she could see he was definitely looking right at her. People walked past and around her, but his stance and his head never once shifted.
It was as if he was deliberately baiting her, waiting for her to go to him.
Shit. How long do I have to put up with this?she thought in frustration.
She was no longer frazzled by his appearance though just annoyed that he was resorting to this.
Camila normally didn’t get out of her home much anyway, so she was tempted to see how long he could play this game before he grew tired. However, it would get tiring eventually. It was tiring even now and she didn’t think she could take being holed up in her home anymore. Not because of work, but because she didn’t want to bump into him again. Even if he wasn’t actually going near her.
With a sigh, Camila moved up to the edge of the curb instead of walking away. She was at a cross point in the road, so she watched out for cars, and ran across when the light showed red.
Time to get this over with,she thought.
She never did think to consider however, exactly how he kept finding her wherever she went, when he shouldn’t have been able to.
“Adrien,” she called as she walked up to him, not even bothering to hide her annoyance, and ready to start lecturing him.
Only, she stopped when she saw his expression. She hadn't expected for his face to light up when he saw her coming toward him, and her footsteps even stumbled a bit. She slowed her walk, but still moved forward until she stopped right in front of him.
“Hey,” he said, sounding so unbelievably happy.
Camila had to keep herself from wincing. She frowned at him, hard.
“I thought you’d never come up to me. I don’t know what I did to make you mad, but… do you think you could give me a chance to apologize and not run away every moment you see me?”
By the end of his little speech, his words had turned into pleading. His face, which she could have compared to a kid seeing an offered ice cream, changed, and he now looked like a kicked puppy. Camila actually felt a twinge in her heart.
No!her head cried out. What are you doing? You’re supposed to be making a clean break…
Adrien, unaware of her inner turmoil, took a tiny step closer to her, slouching his back and hunching his shoulders, as if he was trying to make himself appear smaller. Not that it helped much since she still had to tilt her head back just to be able to see him.
“I’m sorry about before,” he said sincerity clear in his eyes. “Just saying it might not be enough, but please, don’t keep running from me, okay? I was really hoping that things between us could work out. I fucked up, but I’ll fix it.”
As he spoke, Camila could feel herself slowly softening toward him. He’d been hanging around so much because he was waiting for her to approach? But then she frowned and shook her head.
“I don’t think this is something you can fix, Adrien.”
He winced like her words physically pained him. “Don’t say that. Everything was going so great. You aren’t like anyone else I’ve been with before, Camila. You’re special. What we had was special. Just tell me how I fucked up. I know it’s important to women to cuddle after sex and next time I promise, I’ll—”
“I didn’t leave because you didn’t cuddle,” she said sharply, shocked. Was that really what he thought? He’d seen the blood. And he had to have realized she hadn’t gotten off or been into the sex with how rough he was being. Right?
His brow furrowed. “Then… why? You rushed off the boat and then just started ignoring me, without even a word. I’ve been trying to give you your space but I miss you.” He took the smallest step closer, eyes searching hers. “I miss us.”
Camila’s mouth dropped open. Could it really have been a misunderstanding? She guessed… well, it had only happened once, and he was right, she hadn't even said what was wrong. And while it was happening, had she actually asked him to stop? She frowned and scrunched her forehead. No, thinking back, she didn’t think she had.
Maybe… if she actually told him how bad it had been for her, then it wouldn’t happen a second time? Communication was key, everyone said that. But she hadn’t even tried explaining. And here he’d been every day, trying to make amends but waiting until she was ready to come to him.
“I don’t know,” she murmured, the still annoyed side of her rearing up. Even if it had just been bad sex, it’d been really bad sex. And it hadn’t been the only problem in their relationship.
“Come to lunch with me,” he said quickly, seeing her vacillating. “My place. Please?”
Camila wavered for a bit longer, but she had this feeling that if she said no, he would continue with his persistence. She didn’t want that. It was wearing her down, but it couldn’t be any easier for him, tracking her down just to apologize and spending so much effort.