The Godbrothers (1D Fiction)

9. Pressure

The next day I was set on skipping the tour and going home on Thursday, which had been the original plan. I knew I had promised myself I wasn’t staying in the past, but that didn’t mean that there was any future for me here.

I had been alone all day. Mark took Beth and Rex to the boys’ rehearsal. And despite the designers asking me to come in to help them with lighting design, I kept away from that place.

But now that I finally had time with my own thoughts, it was exactly what I didn’t need. There was too much to think about, and the most occurring subjects floating through my head were Niall, Harry, my father’s death, and the impending separation from my two younger siblings.

So instead, I had a really long video chat with Daniel to get some things off of my chest, despite the time difference between here and L.A. He, too, encouraged me to go on tour with the guys.

“I can’t just do that,” I said, exasperated.

“Why, because you hooked up with too many of them by this point? Have you fucked the drummer too?” Daniel got sassy when he was tired, and I did wake him up at a ridiculous hour. “I’m sorry, Cam. I didn’t mean that. You know I didn’t.”

“It’s fine,” I blew it off. “And no, I haven’t done anything with anyone. I told you… there’s nothing going on. With anyone.”

“Uh huh…” Daniel went on, not believing a word I was saying. “So what was with those pictures with Mr. Styles?”

“Nothing,” I said innocently. “Zayn was there too.”

“Yes, but Zayn wasn’t holding your hand.”

“Wow,” I couldn’t believe the minute details people got into. Not just Daniel but other fans too. “That’s just… I can explain that.”

“I’d love to hear it,” he said, amused. “Because people back home are having a field day. Girls are freaking out, and I literally have at this moment three guys asking me for your number.” He flashed his phone at the webcam, but it was indistinguishable.

“You’re kidding.”

“That’s the price of fame, baby,” he told me in his flamboyant tone. “Everyone wants to be your friend. Hell, even people want to be my friend by association.” He now got serious on me. “But, Cam, when you come home what are you expecting?”

Not what has been occurring here. Not the craziness or the fans or even the boys.

I shrugged. “Not this.”

“I hate to break it to you, baby doll, but it’s not going to be the same when you come back. Especially now. It might be better if you rode this one out,” he said sincerely. “I would love it if you came home. I miss you. But if you did, bitches still gon’ be crazy, and you’d have to deal with it alone.”

“Even if you’re right, I think I could handle it,” I said, mainly trying to convince myself.

“There’s more to it than that, isn’t there?” Daniel saw right through me. “Are you afraid of spending more time with them? You can tell me now, honestly, since your three days are up and anything you say now won’t count against you.”

I laughed at the mention of our bet. But when I really thought about it, had that bet saved me? Without the challenge of not falling for any of the boys holding me back, would I have been able to hold my ground against their charms that way I did?

“I don’t know,” I told him honestly. “I don’t know how I feel. About anything.”

A sad, sharp exhale escaped my lips. The way that Liam, Niall, and even Eleanor had gotten me to open up about my dad and my life in general was incredible and unforeseen. And the way Louis and Zayn handled Beth and Rex melted my heart. And then there was Harry, who I just couldn’t figure out for the life of me, but just had something about him.