Chapter 53

Xander

Sometimes my obsession with social media comes in handy, like when I realized my girl needed rescuing after an unpleasant encounter with Mitch. A few people had live-streamed the argument, and now it was going viral. Cami wasn’t usually the type to freak out over attention related to the band, but it was different from what she normally dealt with. If fans had anything to say about her, it tended to be positive. After the videos went viral, there were still people defending her, but others had nothing nice to say.

Before heading over to Cami’s, I responded to the social media frenzy. Madi was going to be pissed when she found out, but I couldn’t just let my girl’s name get dragged through the mud.

I rang Cami’s bell and waited. She was home. I’d seen her car parked in her spot. It took so long for her to answer the door that I was about to call her. She peeked her head around the barely open door before gesturing for me to enter.

Wearing only a pale green bath towel, she greeted me. “Hey. I guess you saw everything already.” When I nodded, she continued. “I should have called you. Sorry about that. You may find this hard to believe, but I didn’t even think about you finding out.”

Taking two steps forward, I closed the distance between us and wrapped her in my arms. “You don’t need to apologize.” I stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. “What the fuck is up with Mitch? After I got the report back from the investigator, I was certain he’d go away.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” she said against my chest. “He was drinking, so maybe that’s part of the problem. Mitch never drank much when we were dating.”

I needed to ask the next question, but I was worried it would come off the wrong way. “Have you talked to him since the last email I know about?”

Cami pulled away from me and scowled. Her hands reached up to hold her towel in place. “What are you getting at, Xander? Do you think I’ve been cheating on you with Mitch? Do you honestly think that little of me?”

Though I’d expected her reaction, I was still pissed but trying to avoid letting it show too much. “I’m not accusing you of cheating on me or sneaking around behind my back. I just know that you’re nice—too nice most of the time. It seems possible that some innocent conversation you didn’t think to mention was taken the wrong way.”

My reasonable explanation did nothing to wipe the pissed look from her face. At least, she didn’t look hurt. “You already know about the last time I spoke to Mitch.” On those words, she turned and walked away. “I’m getting dressed before we finish this conversation.”

“What the fuck?” I muttered as I heard her bedroom door shut. She needed space; I got that. It made sense to give her a few minutes to cool down, but that’s not what I did. Instead, I stormed after her.

Her bedroom door slammed against the wall with more force than I’d intended, and she spun to face me in nothing but the black boy shorts she’d just slipped on. That’s when I noticed the tears.

“Fuck,” I muttered as I moved forward and wrapped her in my arms. “I’m sorry. Honestly, I wasn’t trying to accuse you of anything. I trust you.”

Her tears turned to sobs while I held her and whispered nonsense until her tears stopped. Pulling back some, I looked her in the eyes, cradling her face in my hands.

She let out a little hiccup before flashing me a small smile. “Sorry. Everything just caught up with me. It’s been a rough day.”

“You know I trust you, right?” I asked. “That’s important to me.”

“I know,” she replied. “It’s just this whole mess that’s getting to me. I really should have just stayed off all social media when I got home. I can’t help but wonder how many parents of my patients will hear about this. How am I supposed to make this go away?”

“It may not seem that way, but it will all blow over,” I assured her. “Your story isn’t all that interesting as far as celebrity gossip goes.”

“You’re right,” she agreed with a sniffle. “In the meantime, I’ll just have to figure out a way to make sure my partner and patients aren’t affected by what’s going on.”

“If they can handle us dating, they can handle some nut job spreading a few lies he can’t back up,” I assured her. “Why don’t you pack a bag and stay at my place tonight? I have practice in the morning, and I’ll need to meet with the label since I called a bunch of people assholes on social media tonight.”

Her eyes widened. “You didn’t.”

“They pissed me off,” was my response. “Anyway, my day’s going to start early, so it would be easier if we can stay at my place. I’ll stay here if you’d prefer that. Don’t even try pretending you don’t need me.”

“Don’t worry. I wasn’t about to pretend I don’t need you. Just let me get dressed and pack.”