The Heartless Persona

31

A week later, Keri was hiding behind a pair of sunglasses and a beach hat. Part of it was because she looked fabulous in the hat and sunglasses, and the other part was beause she was hiding her puffy eyes and tear-stained skin. She was sitting outside, sipping on a smoothie at her favorite smoothie bar.

Earlier that day, she had received an anonymous note in the mail, telling her to be there at two o'clock. She checked her phone. It was two-oh-four.

This was a stupid idea. It was probably just some idiot kid trying to mess with her.

Before she made the decision to get up, a figure slid into the seat across from her.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was low.

"Honestly, Keri, what are you doing?"

"Did he send you here?" She started to panic. Mason leaned back in his seat, much more relaxed than Keri was.

"No. He doesn't even know I'm here."

"Why are you even here?"

He watched her for a moment, attempting to explain it by using the right words.

"Me and my ex-girlfriend would have never worked. I loved her, but it was the love that only lasted for a minute. But if it was the love that would have lasted for a lifetime, I would never stop fighting for her," he explained. "You and Cam have the love that lasts for a lifetime. Otherwise, the two of you wouldn't have even dated. Especially after what you did to him."

Keri's mouth was agape. "He told you about why we stopped being friends?"

Mason shook his head. "I figured it out on my own."

Her eyes fell to the table. She had felt so shitty about that choice she made years ago. If only she could change it and make everything perfect between her and Cam.

"You'd be stupid to let him go again," Mason spoke, softer this time.

"You don't understand. It'd be better for me--for the both of us--if we just let each other go." There was a sharp pain in her chest. "I can't hurt him again."

"Listen," he leaned forward. His voice was gentle and caring as he spoke. "You can't hurt him anymore than you already have. You're just making things more complicated."

He checked his phone for the time and stood up. A confused expression washed over Keri's face as she looked up at him.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"I have a date. I took your advice while we were in Puerto Rico. Maybe you should take mine."

"Wait," she caught his arm. He stopped. "How did you know? About me and Cam, I mean."

"I figured something happened when you came over that night looking for him. I forced him to tell me," he smiled at his last comment. "Don't be stupid, all right?"

She nodded her head and let go of him.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"Don't worry about it. Now we're even," he smirked before walking away.

She sat there for a moment thinking of possible ways to try to fix her relationship with Cam.

She now knew that pushing him away was the wrong move. She had to finally fix what she had broken.

Some time later, Keri sat on the swings of an old playground her and Cam used to meet up at. She had sent him a text asking him to meet her there. Although she was uncertain of the outcome of his appearance, it wasn't going to stop her from trying.

She left her sunglasses and hat in her car. She didn't want to be masked when she spoke to him.

Clicking the power button to her phone, she checked the time and to see if Cam had responded. She had been waiting there for over thirty minutes. The more time that had passed, the more hopeless she felt.

About five minutes later, she heard footsteps on the pavement. Whipping around, she found Cam walking towards her with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey," she stood up. Her voice had cracked.

"Hey," he bit down on his bottom lip.

"I didn't think you were going to come," she toyed with the bracelet on her wrist.

He scratched the back of his head, diverting his attention away from her. She noticed his behavior and was aware that he didn't want to be there.

"I didn't mean what I said the other day," her eyes fell to the pavement beneath her. "I dated you because I have feelings for you. Not to humiliate you."

Cam remained silent as he stared at his shoes. Cautiously, Keri took a step towards him and grabbed his hand, feeling his body tense at her touch.

"I only pushed you away because I didn't want to hurt you again," her voice was soft.

"So, what? I'm just supposed to forgive you?" He picked his head up to look at her.

"No," she bit down on the inside of her cheek. Taking a deep breath, she let her eyes fall away from his for a moment. "I just needed you to know a few things." She let go of his hand and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"I need you to know a few things, too," he added. Shocked, Keri's eyes met his. "You first."

"Oh...okay," she swallowed. "When you told me that you loved me since you were thirteen, I got scared. People fall into love just as easily as they fall out of it. And I didn't want to be a victim of that. I didn't want you to hurt me."

"I would never hurt you," his eyes met hers. A familiar pain in Keri's chest appeared.

"I know," she nodded her head. "I, um, also wanted you to know that it's okay if you hate me, but you need to believe me when I said that Jason kissed me. And I didn't want him to."

"I don't hate you," his voice was soft. "I want to forgive you.... for everything," he shook his head.

A small flicker of hope was lit inside of Keri. This was just their first fight. They would get through this and everything was going to be okay. Mason was right. All Keri had to do was fight for Cam and everything would work out.

"I just don't know if I can be in a relationship with you," he said.

Her heart had fell to her stomach and her hopeful expression had faded from her face. "W-what? I don't understand. I thought you said that you loved me."

"I do," he swallowed. "That's why this is so hard to do."

"You told me that you'd never hurt me," she took a step away from him. Blinking tears away, she choked on her words. "You're hurting me right now."

"Keri, I don't want to do this, but it'd be best for us," his voice was low as he reached for her hand.

"How? How is this better?"

He led her to a nearby bench and they both sat down. She tried her best to wipe away her tears and contain her emotions. He grabbed onto her hand and positioned his body towards her.

"If we got back together right now, we might grow to resent each other in the future. And I would never want that to happen," he explained.

"Can we still be friends?" She asked. Her eyes were wider than usual as she stared at him, waiting for a response.

"Of course," he ran his thumb across her hand. "We just have to try to move on from the past before we can talk about our future."

Keri took a deep breath. This wasn't the end of Keri and Cam. This was only the beginning.