Captivated Hearts

Chapter 22

Arya spent the next few days worrying out of her mind what Jeremy would do with the information he now had. She wasn't sure if he would tell his friend group, the whole neighborhood or, even Cam for that matter. Her heart sank thinking of him but, she was too nervous to call or text him. She worried that if he knew, he wouldn't pick up and she'd just have to handle the rejection.

They'd go back to being strangers that lived next to each other and, saw each other occasionally. Or worse, he would pick up the phone and tell her that he never wanted to talk to her again because she hid a major secret from him. Cam wouldn't do something like that if he was the kind person he claimed he was.

Arya sighed. She was at the beach that day, her mind racing with questions she seemed to keep answered herself. She was reading 'Dear John' by Nicholas Sparks but, just couldn't seem to focus.

She was to worried about things going on in her life, unsure of where she was headed next. She had barely got through a sentence before the thoughts took over what she was doing once again.

The sound of the ocean's waves roared in her ears at a consistent pace. The seagulls were having a field day in the water, flying their beaks in and out of the water for food.

At some point, Arya heard sand being thrown behind her and she figured someone was probably just coming to do what she was trying to do at the beach that day. Read a book and forget about life. Maybe that would be hard for them too.

For a while Arya had remembered life being easy. She remembered the times she played in the sand with her mother and father at the beach because she was an only child, they were the only people she had to play with. Kids her age thought she was weird and wouldn't even think about approaching her and asking her to play.

The days she spent on the beach as a kid she recalled eating ham and cheese sandwiches with sour cream and onion chips and, her dad would always cut her sandwich in the shape of a heart. He'd tell her, 'My love for you is bigger than your sandwich.'

She never understood why he said this but, each time she ate a sandwich she was reminded of it. Because she could never finish it, and she would run to her dad full. He would always tell her, 'My love for you is so big you just can't consume it all.'

She'd always laugh and told him that he was lying, there was no way that his love could ever make her feel so full. But, sitting here on the beach she knew it was true.

The footsteps came closer, until they finally stopped. It was silent for a moment, and she was sure that the person either stopped to take a photo or found a spot to relax that just happened to be beside her. But, when she heard a voice call out her name, she knew it wasn't just someone trying to read and relax on the beach.

It was Cam.

"Arya?" He repeated.

Arya didn't turn her head; in fact, she didn't move at all. In that moment she felt nauseous, like everything was going wrong and the world was against her once again.

When Arya finally had the courage to turn her head and face in Cam's direction, the first thing she noticed was his eyes and how tired he looked. The bags under his eyes were humongous and his eyes themselves were turning a bloody red.

"Can we talk?" He asked.

Arya shook her head, hoping he might just get the hint the same way he did a few weeks ago after she stopped texting him and just went silent.

"Cam, please."

Arya hoped he would just go if she begged, she would beg until he was storming of the beach, trying to get away from her and, she was sure she wouldn't go after him.