COMING HOME - A Cameron Boyce Love Story

35: mask off.

Ada gave a smile as Cameron rubbed her chin before he got up from the edge of the bed, leaving out of the room. He was heading out with Karan to go to the gym, and he and Ada had just finished their daily routine which was: Cameron getting ready to go somewhere, asking if Ada wants to come, her declining, him giving her some type of small affection, her giving him a forced smile and then him leaving.

And then she cries herself into a depression nap.

And as the days started to pile up, Cameron was starting to notice the shift in how they interacted. He wasn't used to her lack of clinginess. He missed her being by his side, giving her endless affection, enjoying her company. Having her lightly grip his jacket or his hand whenever they walked together. Having her lay on his lap or rest her head on his back as she hugged him from behind while he did the most mundane things, like washing dishes or brushing his teeth.

Just simply having her with him at all hours of the day.

That was his favorite part of their relationship. They didn't have to do much, all they needed was to be physically touching one another. The dynamic of their very intimate relationship was changing, and Cameron was starting to feel...

Distant.

But, he figured he just needed to get used to the "new" Ada. The "new Ada" seemed to not feel the need to be all up under Cameron anymore, which was something he would just have to try and adjust to. He figured that she was just growing stronger in her mental, and wasn't going to be so dependent on Cameron as much as he was used to her being. She seemed content only being with him at certain times of day instead of 24/7, staying home and doing whatever it is she liked to do while he went out and hung with friends or just ran errands. Or even just going downstairs to hang out with his roommates.

He figured that he and Ada just differed socially, with him being an extrovert and her being an introvert. He couldn't expect her to want to go out with him and his friends all of the time. And even though it was a bit difficult trying to adjust to not having her hand in his everywhere he went anymore, he sucked it up. He'd rather Ada be comfortable and happy.

Except he was mistaken. His analysis of Ada's sudden shift was completely wrong. She wasn't happy. Or comfortable. She was the complete opposite.

And he started to get the feeling that her newfound happiness in being alone was merely a façade when he got out of his car, jogging back into the house when he realized he forgot his wallet in his room.

He opened the door to his bedroom, seeing Ada laying down, facing the wall. This was different from the position she was in ten minutes prior when she was sitting criss crossed on the bed getting ready to busy herself with school work, smiling at him as he gave her a kiss goodbye. Now she was curled up a bit, the hood of her hoodie pulled up on her head.

"I left my wallet," Cameron chuckled as he entered, but paused when he realized he had startled her when she abruptly looked over her shoulder before quickly looking back at the wall. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, her voice sounding shaky and stuffy as she pulled her hood more to cover the exposed side of her face. She used all of her might to not sniff as she discretely wiped the tears off of her face in case he might have decided to come on the other side of the bed. He had caught her off guard. She could have sworn she heard him leave a few minutes ago.

"...You sure?" he asked, as he slowly grabbed his wallet from the dresser. He found it a bit odd that she kept facing the wall, not looking at him.

"Mhmm," she hummed, nodding a bit and mentally cursing herself when she sniffed on accident, but her nose was getting stopped up from crying and she couldn't help it. She reached for the comforter, pulling it up, causing her laptop and her notebook to slide down a bit. She secretly used the corner of the covers to help wipe her face off, knowing he was about to come over there.