Accidental Roommate (NEW)

4

"Are you sure no one would recognise you?"Sharon asked Cameron as they walked into Walmart. She had to stifle a laugh as he bumped into an idle shopping cart. He was still not used to his disguise. It consisted of a pillow stuffed under his shirt, which she had insisted on, and a black wig, both for the head and face, that he happened to have in his car. In all he looked very different from the man who had managed to convince her to get out of the apartment. Hopefully, no one would recognise him.

After she grabbed a cart, she went to the nearest aisle to browse around, surprised when Cameron tagged along. She thought he would want to get his own stuff. It was weird and disconcerting to shop with someone. Ever since she had taken over the cooking when she had turned sixteen, the household shopping had always been her responsibility. With her new license, she had always gone alone. Her mother had been too busy and Amelia was uninterested. So to have someone peer over her shoulder every time she picked something was unsettling.

"So we aren't just going to get frozen meals?"Cameron asked after they had traversed two aisles. She gave him horrified look and he nodded, barely stopping from bumping into the sauce section with his "stomach". He glared down at it, not noticing the stares he was attracting. Not wanting more attention to be on him, she quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him along. He was surprised by her touch but went with her. "What was that about?"

"Didn't you see all the attention on you?"she hissed, releasing him as she dropped several cans of stews into the cart, leveling a glower at him. Even with the beard covering him, she could still see his surprise in his eyes. "You are so used to the attention that you don't even notice it. Has your time with the paparazzis numbed you?"

"I guess,"he said, his brows drawing together. He looked decidedly uncomfortable and his eyes kept jumping, landing briefly on the shoppers before flitting away to another shopper. Then his eyes connected with her. "I didn't realise I have become used to the attention. They have been harassing me for the past two weeks since that game and I had to pretend that they were not there to just function like a normal human being."

Looking up at him, she disliked the stark and lost look in his eyes. Even though she didn't follow football, she gathered that it had to be something drastic, career-changing for the press to be after him. There were hundreds of misbehaving football players all over the USA. Covering Cameron must not be that lucrative even if he was the starting quarterback for the Giants, she was guessing. Her curiosity overwhelming her, she asked,"So why are they chasing after you?"

"Don't you know?"he asked incredulously.

"Nope. I don't read gossip nor sports mags. I don't like the way they report Ames. And I don't like sports in general" Checking the rotisserie chicken, she asked,"Do you think this tastes nice?"

"I don't know. I've never eaten it before."

"Since you always eat food from the frozen aisle. Must be so healthy for a football player." She had to hide a smile when he glared at her. "So you didn't answer my question."

"Why don't you just read all those mags? I don't want to relive it,"he said sullenly as he dropped a rotisserie chicken into the cart. She shot him a quick look and didn't say anything when he returned her look with one that dared her to question him.

"But they always skew the truth, if there is even any truths in them. I want the truth as you see it." Sharon hoped she hadn't offended him. She feared that she had when he was silent for so long but she continued with her shopping. She had only the produce section left. When he spoke, she was so startled she almost dropped the tomatoes. Luckily, he was there to catch it.

"I tore a tendon on my shoulder. It's a tough recovery process as it is and with my age, it'll be difficult to get it back to my pre-injury state,"he said softly and she could hear the grief and anger in his voice. She might not be well-versed in sports but she didn't think that it would be something that would cause much waves in the news.