Love, Scars, & Shooting Stars

Chapter Twenty-Six

Julie could hear voices, although the sound was too far-off and garbled to tell what was being said or by whom, and it was dark.

And chilly, she thought, acutely aware of the goosebumps rising on her skin. And why is my head so cold?

Julie's arm seemed impossibly heavy, but she managed to raise a hand to her forehead, which was indeed cold and damp, although she couldn't imagine why. She slowly opened her eyes, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the light. The fan whirring on the ceiling above her was unfamiliar, and the couch or whatever she was lying on was not the one in her apartment. She blinked a few times to clear the fog from her head, and Cameron's face swam into view, his blue eyes kind and concerned as he dabbed a damp cloth to her skin.

"Too cold," she might have said, gently brushing his arm aside and struggling to sit up.

"Easy," Cameron urged, gently forcing her back down as he set the cloth aside. "You're okay, you only fainted."

"Fainted? No, that can't be. I've never fainted in my life."

"Well, there's a first time for everything," he said.

"But how— Oh, no! Did I ruin your friend's wedding?"

"Nah, don't worry about that," Cameron assured her. "Nobody even noticed."

"Really?"

Cam hesitated. "Well, almost no one," he amended. "Don't worry about it, though."

"Cam, I'm so sorry. I don't know what hap—" Julie started, but the words caught in her throat when another familiar face came into her view.

Garrett gave her a wary half-smile and took a step closer, peering over Cameron's shoulder from a guarded distance.

"Hey, Julie," Garrett ventured nervously. "Can't hold your liquor, or what?"

Cameron rose from his haunches and whipped around.

"She doesn't drink, asshole!"

"Oh, really?" Garrett sneered, puffing himself up to his full height and taking another step forward. "Is that what she told you? Because I seem to remember differently..."

It all came back to Julie then. She and Cameron had been on the dance floor when Jessica went storming by, and Julie had been teasing him about it, and then Garrett appeared, and... well, that was the last she could remember before waking up in what looked to be some kind of break room or something. Apparently Cameron wasn't kidding when he said that she'd fainted, and there was no telling what words had passed between him and her Ex while she was unconscious! Nothing good, that was certain, because Cameron's hands were curled into fists and his stance was menacing as he started to move toward Garrett. Julie reached out to grab his wrist as she swung her feet down to the floor, and whatever fate Cameron had in store for Garrett was abandoned as he moved to help her sit up.

"You okay?" he asked, crouching down before her.

"Yeah, I think so," she said, willing the spinning in her head to stop. She shot a quick glance over to Garrett, and then looked back to Cameron. "Can you give us a minute?"

Cameron looked hesitant to leave her, but he agreed. Standing tall, he turned to go, glancing back over his shoulder when he reached the door.

"I'll be right outside," he assured her, and then turned to Garrett with a menacing glare. "Right outside."

The door clicked closed behind him, and a long moment passed in heavy silence. Finally, Garrett crossed the room and sat down on the sofa beside Julie.