11:11 | Cameron Boyce Story

August 20, 2013. 6:39pm

Cameron

"Happy 14th, gorgeous." I say to Isabella as she walks downstairs looking beautiful as always.
She smiles and kisses my cheek, "Happy anniversary, handsome."
We've been together for a year now and, however dumb it makes me sound, I don't think I've ever loved someone as much as I love Isabella.
My dad walks out into the hallway and grins at us, "You two ready to go?"
I nod and take Bella's hand, leading her out into my dad's car.
He drives us to the restaurant and leaves us to go inside before driving home. There's a couple girls that recognize us, but we tell them that we're spending our night together and we don't want to be hassled. The easiest thing to do is tell them you'll follow them on twitter, even if you never do.
The waitress guides us over to our table at the back of the restaurant. It's cute: candlelit, flowers, I just hope she's alright with it.
"Bella," I push in her chair after she sits and then sit down in mine, "I hope this is okay with you. I know we don't usually do fancy dinners like this."
Staring at the flame of the candle, she smiles, "No, don't be silly. It's lovely. I really love it."
She looks blankly at her feet and then up at me, flashing a quick and fake smile.
I place my hand on top of hers, "Isabella."
"Cameron." She laughs awkwardly, trying to avoid making eye contact with me.
"Tell me what's on your mind. You know I'm here to help."
Bella swallows, "It's nothing. I promise you. It's just...it's my birthday and my parents aren't here to see me. Not that they would care anyways."
She's not lying, I know that for sure. And I know that she would never hide anything from me so I try to shake it off.
"I know, but you have to remember that you're safer without them. You're safer here with me. I love you, and I'll look after you." I tell her sympathetically.
"Thank you. I...I love you too."
I know something else is wrong by her eyes. There's no passion. She looks so unhappy, and she doesn't smile like she used to.
Rushing, she gets up, "I'm just going to the bathroom. I'll be back in a second."
I give her some type of gesture to show I understand, and then when she turns her back, I grab her phone from her purse and skim through her texts and notes to try and find something that will tell me why she's acting differently.
I search and search but there's nothing, just times and dates from catwalk shows.
"Yo, I'm back."
I look up and frantically drop her phone back into her purse, "Heh, you were quick."
"I was? Anyway, what were you looking at?" She asks.
I lean into the table, trying to cover up my nervousness, "Oh, nothing. Just my mom...asking what time we'd be back."
"Right, okay. So, shall we order?"
Her face looks pale and she's hiding her arms under the table.
I look down at Bella's phone and it flashes as someone sends her a text. It's too far away, I can't read it.
"Yeah, you go on ahead. I gotta use the bathroom now," I pick up her phone discreetly and jog off toward the bathroom with it behind my back, "I'll just be a couple seconds."