Operation Heartbreak

-2-

"
Not every soulmate is meant to be together.
"
-Unknown

———

Aiden laughed slumping on the couch of his and Cameron's apartment before cleaning two beers, "You really don't want to go out to that party tonight?" he asked Cameron who was well deep into his phone. "What is up with you and this thing tonight?" Aiden continued to pester snatching the phone from his best friend. On the screen displayed Julie's name, "A girl? Wow, you mean you don't have to go out to score?"

"It's not like that, I'm not like that Aiden—you know that. Plus she's different, I really don't know there's something there though and I haven't felt this way about anyone. So no jokes, okay?" he raised his brows, watching Aiden scroll through their texts from the night before and into the Saturday day.

Aiden laughed, this had to be a joke, Cameron Michael was not one for commitment and he was infamous of this from all of his University. His laughter died down watching Cameron's face grow bitter, "Woah you're serious, from the looks of it you've been talking for about a day. Cameron..." he continued to lead on.

"I don't want to hear it. Not a single word Aiden Arguello." he warned but Aiden persisted, his mouth almost shaping into a word. "Zip. Zilch. Nope. I mean it, I really want to get to know her. And get to know her right you know, it's weird one night with this girl of just talking and she's honestly amazing. She goes to a nearby university, she's so smart and introspective. She understands me and we have similar backgrounds; she was born of young parents and wait I'm not allowed to say any more." Cameron boasted, his figure pacing in front of Aiden as he continued to scroll through his phone.

"I believe you," Aiden stated firmly, returning Cameron's phone to him, "she's texting you by the way, looks like she's about to reject you." he informed awaiting for his best friend's reaction. It was quick almost too quick that Cameron's pacing stopped and his hands grasped firmly at his phone to yank it away.

"What? Really? I thought I was a lot more convincing than that," he laughed nervously looking at his screen. "A yes...she said yes." Cameron smiled largely at his phone like any teenage girl would texting their crush.

Aiden laughed gently, "I'm glad, Cameron," he paused with a sigh, "but you're lying to this girl. This isn't you; a commitment person, you aren't that person. And everyone here knows that how do you expected to handle that once she finds out the truth?" he questioned with both care and concern.

"She knows. That's what's amazing about her; she's willing to give me a chance. I don't know Aiden I just met her but I haven't been in much of a committed relationship and let's be real I don't sleep with girls randomly. It's not just this random decision, it's like I knew when I saw her I wanted to try things with her and not sleeping with her but having a meaningful relationship with her," he shrugged slumping back onto the couch transitioning his apps from messages to his instagram. In his search engine, he typed in her username and from there on clicked on her profile. Of all the photos, he had to select one to show Aiden and it was proven a difficult choice but he knew exactly which to show. His finger pressed gently against the glass screen and onto the laziest, goofiest picture of her he could find. "Here, this is her," he handed his phone over. "We're the good ones that being said I don't want Josh knowing anything about this, Heaven knows he'll find some way to ruin this for me."

"Don't want me to know what?" Josh asked entering the door with another pack of beer and a pizza to go along with it. He made his way across the room to the tiny kitchen of his friend's apartment. "I promise whatever this is—I won't ruin it for you; I think you deserve that in the least." he joked, his hand wrapping around one of the beers he'd just bought.

Aiden's mouth formed and before Cameron could come to any reasonable lie, "CAMERON HAS A GIRLFRIEND." Aiden shouted aloud, watching the frown form on Cameron's lips. He should've known better than to trust Aiden with something so important. He knew as Josh's friend that he should trust him and tell him about all his successes and secret. Yet, Josh was a force to be reckoned with, girls chose him left and right—he didn't want Julie to be the same way.

"Wow, my man got the balls to ask a girl out? Good for you—what's her name? What does she look like?" Josh asked, wrapping his arm around Cameron, pressing his hand into his shoulder. Josh often quarreled with Josh—it was their personalities that clashed with one another.

Cameron pushed off Josh's hand, "Here this is the photo of her!" Aiden proceeded without filter. Cameron sneered at him, but he couldn't help himself it was a bubbling excitement for his friend. He'd never seen him so genuinely happy with a girl—it was as if for the first time he'd seen some sort of motivation Cameron lost awhile ago in his pursuit in love and even life.

Josh reaches for the phone, his cocky smile formed to a frown, "Y-you can't date her," he stuttered, tripping over his words. Night after night, day after day it seemed like he'd bring a girl home masking the pain that that girl had brought him. "Cameron, I mean it don't you dare touch her."

Cameron was perplexed, he wasn't the type to hurt a girl but in turn the one to be hurt, "Why? Because I have an actual chance with a girl Josh? A smart, gorgeous girl that you could never be capable of keeping because you're always too busy getting busy. Imagine how many chances you missed—I won't miss mine." he scorned, his hand wrapped around the neckline of his shirt.

Tears flossed Josh's eyes, "You can't date her because—she's my ex..." and in those moments he debated between a truth and a lie or maybe both. Either way Cameron's patience was slowly slipping away from him.

Cameron's heartbeat was rapidly beating—he hoped he wouldn't have to hear four dreaded words. Four words that he knew would end his chances, "She's your ex what?" he asked, grasping onto any last ounce of hope his body has left.

"...who cheated on me," Josh finished by the words might've been just as bad as if he said he'd still loved her. Still, Cameron's heart sunk and he let go of Josh dropping him to the ground. It was hard for him to muster the courage to say these next few words though, "I mean you can date her, just be careful, okay? For my sake. I mean honestly, she's a mess—she can't ever make up her mind. She told me she loved me too you know and she turned around and cheated on me."

It was that moment Cameron's heart completely shattered though, "She told you she loved you?" he questioned remembering back to just the night before. Each word that lingered in his mind with joy turned into bitterness and pain. He didn't quite understand it or get it—she seemed so different from Josh. Someone who'd know better than to hurt someone that way and yet she did.

"Yes," Josh simply replied, in these moments he hadn't been lying. She really did tell him she loved him but he hoped everything Josh said convinced him otherwise than to date her. He knew in his heart he wouldn't be able to bear the thought of them together. Or for that matter of fact Julie would be with anyone else but him. Despite what happened, he still loved her and that's the one thing he'd refuse to ever tell Cameron for his own personal reasons.