Chapter Twelve
Preston
Between work, soccer practices, parenting, and planning for this birthday party, the days all seemed to blend into one another. It was a constant blur of activity and motion and before I knew it, it was Wednesday. It was Wednesday and it occurred to me that I hadn't heard from Camille in days. I couldn't help myself from starting to worry. Our last interaction hadn't gone over too well, but I hadn't had the chance to fix things with her. I needed her to know she was important to me, but with so much going on, I just hadn't had the time to make sure she knew that.
I needed her to know. I needed to fix things with her because I didn't want to lose her. Not for a second time.
After Carter's game, I tucked him into bed before settling in my own room. I was beyond exhausted, but that was no excuse to put it off any longer. I needed to start setting things right, so I grabbed my phone and called Camille.
It went straight to voicemail.
I tried again. Same thing.
Huh, I thought. Maybe her phone's dead? Maybe she's already sleeping?
I thought for a moment and keyed in a quick text message to her.
Thinking of you. Sorry for being distant, but I'd really like to catch up soon.
It was the truth. Spending practically every waking minute with Melody made me miss Camille even more. Her easy-going, quiet personality, her adorable smile, the way she laughed at old jokes that only the two of us would understand. I felt like I could be myself around her. I didn't have to worry about status or impressing the Joneses.
Melody ate it all up though. All of it. She lived for that sort of life and all of the fancy trappings that went with it. Which was why she was happy I wanted to be a doctor – because I made a very good living at it. Except for the fact that I wasn't doing it for the money. I did it for my parents, who I lost far too young.
My father was a doctor, my mother died of ovarian cancer. Melody got pregnant early in our relationship, in college, and I did the right thing and married her, because that's what men did when they got somebody pregnant. Or at least, I thought that's what they did.
To be honest, I never regretted that decision. Even now. It was the right thing to do at the time, and I loved my son more than anything in the world. I adored him and wanted to give him the best life possible. It was hard though, when his mother wanted one lifestyle, and I wanted another for him. I wanted him to be grounded and centered. Appreciative of life and all it had to offer. His mother wanted him to be of the upper crust. The elite. She wanted him to hobnob with the wealthy and powerful. She wanted him to attain status. I just wanted him to be happy.
Suffice it to say, our parenting styles often clashed.
I let out a long breath and stared down at my phone again. No response, and my heart sank just a little bit more. I feared that I'd really screwed things up with her in a big way.
God, I missed Camille. I felt empty without her. I hated to admit it, even to myself. I knew it was all moving too fast, but that's the way I felt about her. One day, I hoped to introduce her to Carter. I knew he'd like her and that they'd be thick as thieves. I know they'd probably geek out over their shared love of the X-Men – something Camille used to enjoy back in high school. Man, it was so hard to know what she liked anymore though. I really needed to spend more time getting to know her. To find out what she liked and didn't like anymore.
After waiting for over an hour and getting no response to my text, I finally got ready for bed and called it a night. As I drifted off to sleep, I dreamt of a different future. One where I'd married Camille instead of Melody, because I'd waited for Camille like I'd promised her I would.
Instead of that coming to fruition, of course, the distance between us became too much for us to handle and we'd broken up. Melody was there. She was simply a convenient rebound that turned into something more by chance. I knew at the time that she was a rebound, but I was lonely. What if things had been different, though?
Of course, if it had all gone differently, I wouldn't have Carter, and that alone wouldn't work for me. No, I loved my son, and because of that, there was nothing I'd do differently. Certainly not if it meant losing him. Carter was everything to me. He was my world.
But, if there was a way to have Camille and Carter – both in the same future? Then hell yeah, that would be one happy dream alright. It was a dream I'd fight for. A dream I'd do everything in my power to bring to fruition.
***
“Rise and shine, slacker!”
A shrill voice pulled me from my dreams. Still groggy and my head feeling like it had been stuffed with cotton, I opened my eyes to see Melody standing over me, arms crossed in front of her in that ever so familiar pose of discontent. She was fully dressed in a pencil skirt and white button up top, ready for the office. Instead of leaving for work though, she was standing over me with a scowl on her face.
“What time is it?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.
“It's five-thirty,” she said.
I fell back into bed and closed my eyes, pulling the blankets up over my head, and wishing her away. At least for a little while longer. I wanted to get some damn sleep. Was that too much to ask?
“Preston, are you seriously going back to sleep on me?” she screeched.
Apparently, it was too much to ask. She punched me in the arm, and for a little thing, she sure managed to pack a wallop. My arm stung where she'd connected. I pulled the blanket off of my head and glared at her.
“Yes, I am. I don't need to be up for several more hours,” I said. “And why are you awake and bothering me this early?”
“We still have so much to do to get ready for the party, so, I figured we'd get an early start,” she said, pulling out her trusted and revered checklist – something that, in that moment, I wanted to shove somewhere very uncomfortable for her. “Like get the stage built and set up in the back. You're building the stage, right?”
“Stage?” I grumbled.
“For the band, of course,” she snapped. “We talked about this months ago, don't pretend you don't remember.”
“Who says I'm pretending?”
She punched me again, and I sat up, knowing there was no hope in me getting anymore sleep. Not with her standing there, in a drill sergeant kind of mood.
“We got the band from Kidz Zoo to perform,” she growled. “Preston, that's a huge deal! They're very popular YouTube stars with all the kids today! The other parents are going to be so jealous. I can hardly wait to see their faces. This will put those pony rides to shame, I tell you.”
“Uh huh,” I said,
With a disgruntled sigh, I climbed out from under my cozy and warm blankets, scratching my face as I walked toward the bathroom. Melody followed me, talking about the specs and details on this so-called stage, which in reality, would take me weeks to build.
Considering the fact that I had a full-time job, not to mention a host of other obligations, I really didn't expect it to get done. Not that I'd tell her that. That would only be opening up a can of worms all over myself that I didn't particularly feel like dealing with in that moment.
I reached the bathroom door with Melody was still on my heels, still chirping away about this and that needing to get done. I turned around and glared at her balefully.
“Some privacy, please,” I growled.
She stopped outside the door and pursed her lips. “Well – hurry then, please,” she said. “You can shower later. Right now, we need to get started before Carter wakes up.”
I shook my head and went into the bathroom, happy to shut the door behind me. At least in there, in the bathroom, I could have some measure of peace and quiet. I sat down on the closed toilet seat, resting my head in my hands and yawned wide. I almost fell back asleep sitting there, but then Melody knocked on the door, startling me awake again. Dammit. “Preston, it's coming up on six,” she called. “Carter wakes up at –”
“I know what time my son wakes up, dammit,” I said.
I grumbled under my breath and stood up, deciding I had no choice but to face the beast head on.