Always been you

2021 (52)

"How's Camila? Is she there?", my mom asks me on the phone. There's a cheerful note to her voice.

My stomach shrinks.

"Uh, she's good. She isn't here. She, uh, she's getting a new job soon", I say.

We didn't talk about it, but I guess it was a silent agreement that we wouldn't tell our families about our current situation.

"Oh, that's good. New beginnings are always nice. Tell her I say hi. I miss her".

"Right... I'll tell her. She probably misses you too".

"Are you ok, babe? You sound weird".

Busted.

I clear my throat before speaking again so she doesn't notice any hesitation in my voice.

"I'm fine", I murmur. "Just tired".

"How's work?", she asks me.

"Good, everything's good. Don't worry".

"I would love if you and Camila could come back home soon and take a break, that would help you", she recommends innocently.

"Yeah... I don't think it's a good idea. We are pretty busy now".

"Alright. I'll stop", she sighs.

"Say hi to dad and Aaliyah", I tell her trying to end the call.

"Sure thing, babe. Get some rest, Shawn".

"Yes, mom. Bye, love you".

"Love you too".

I sigh loudly and put the phone down. It's so weird to lie to my mom when it's not about something fun or exciting. I just don't want her to know that I'm hurt. I've been through a lot but I honestly feel I'm doing better than other times, so I don't want to worry her.

I hear a knock on the door and stand up. I'm not up for visitors but the only person that comes by is Camila, so I'm on my feet as soon as I hear the noise. I fix myself quickly before opening the door.

"Hi", she says.

It's not who I was expecting and my heart sinks.

"Daisy...", I whisper surprised at her visit. "Um, hi".

"I was around and I thought I could stop and say hi. I know you've been a bit down lately, and I brought beer", she smiles and shows me the bottles.

"Uh", I murmur and doubt for a second. "Yeah, thanks. Come in".

She makes her way in while I feel the disappointment run down my spine. The rush of adrenaline is gone and it's replace with this void feeling inside me. I breathe deeply before turning around with a smile on my face. Daisy isn't responsible for this and she's just trying to be nice.

"So, this is where you live", she says standing in my living room with her hands in her pocket and looking around. "I like it, it's very nice".

"Thanks", I say and open one beer and give it to her.

"So no friday night plans?", she sits down.

I quickly wonder how she got my address but she works in finances, so she probably has access to that kind of information about employees.

"No", I say and open my bottle, although I don't drink from it.

"I'm always so tired on fridays too", she comments. "I usually just stay home in bed, watching a movie or something, but I haven't gone home yet. I went straight to my friend's house after work".