( ACT THREE; CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE )

" the path taken "

THE VISITATION WAS NOTHING MORE THAN SORROWFUL CONVERSATIONS AND MOURNFUL TEARS. The casket had remained open, and the whole place reeked of the typical scent funeral homes gave off—one that stings the nose only if taken in through memory.

Angie was a mess the whole time, and it hurt Cami to watch her good friend try to keep herself together. After all, Cami knew more than she should that staying composed in front of those you care for is harder than most would try to realize.

Nevertheless, the event ended and afterwards Angie and Cami went out for a late night meal, trying to ease the tension.

"You have somewhere to be, don't you?" Angie spoke up, finishing her pasta. Cami looked at the time on her phone.

9:43 P.M.

( a/n i know they're british so technically
it'd be 21:43 but seeing as most of my
readers are americans pls bare w me )

"Shit! I..oh my God, I'm so sorry. I didn't even realize. I'll pay you back later!" Cami rushed, stuffing her jacket on her arms and grabbing her bag while heading for the door.

"It's fine. I'll see you tonight; I expect full details."

With a wink, Angie turned away and left Cami to her own adventure.

As Cami drove off, she refused to play music. It seemed the thoughts in her head would be too loud anyway. Her heart was already stained red with the sadness from grieving, and now the cycle was to start all over again.

She arrived at the pier at 10:04, walking to the southern end with a sort of defeatist way of stepping. Tonight would be the end, would it not? The end of the best relationship she had ever experienced, and so many other things.

When she got to the shore, she saw a quilt laid out. George sat on it, legs pulled to his chest as he stared at the ocean, the moon reflecting off each of the swirling waves. It was the same quilt from their first picnic.

"Hey," Cami uttered, putting her bag down and awkwardly sitting next to him. The distance between them wasn't much, but it was noticeable.

George turned fast, eyes lighting at up at the tear-stained face of the woman he continued thinking about.

"Hey! How was the visitation?"

She pointed to the smudged mascara, mostly wiped away, below her eyes. "It was sad, as expected."

George only hummed, peering back out to the ocean. They both sat in silence, deciphering how to start this.

"You know, I did eventually go to your apartment. Two weeks after the night of the stream. You were already moved out. It was only then that I saw your voicemail," he pointed out, looking down into his lap with elbows resting on his kneecaps.

Cami's neck craned, eyes shifted to him. "I'm sorry," was all she uttered.

George grimaced, then looked back to the ocean.

"Don't say sorry. You were scared. Anyone would've done what you did. I just wish we could've had more time. That's why I wanted to talk to you here in the first place."

Cami's heart wrenched, and she had to turn away to avoid further damage.

"Time is precious that way, isn't it?" she mumbled, playing with one of the rocks on the shore beneath them.

"Do...do you wish we could've had more time too?" George asked. It was the thing he had been wondering for months and months on end.

Cami's line of vision snapped to him, where he was already looking at her.

"Of course I do, George. Leaving you was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. I didn't want to go, and if anything, I wanted to stay here in Brighton. I wanted you in my life. It was just—well, it was terrifying."

George nodded, head falling to see his hands in his lap. He looked...defeated. Before she could say something else, he did instead.

"...do you still want me in your life?"

Rather than replying, the girl only watched the rolling tide splash against the rocks. She knew her answer.

The silence was loud. George spoke up once more.

"I'm sorry, that was a dumb question. I just was thinking this conversation would go differently than it has."

Her brunette locks danced in the breeze, and her entire body switched so it was facing him instead of the body of water.

"It wasn't a dumb question. I just don't like the answer," she stated. "I do want you in my life, George. I want a future with you. I just don't know if that's the best idea for us."

He nodded, mellow while understanding her words. Inside of him, his heart felt like it had stopped beating. Even if it hadn't, he sort of wished it did. Life didn't feel to be worth much then.

Attempting to snap his emotions into gear, he moved to face her as well. "Why can't we? I would know how to keep your information private, I wouldn't mess it all up again. Nobody would even know."

Cami snickered, glancing down with the sudden feeling of tears prickling her eyes. If only it were that simple, she thought.

"I don't want to live a life of hiding, George. I don't want to live in fear. As much as I...as much as I want to be with you again, there is no telling what could happen a second time."

"Camille, my viewers were furious after that night. The horrible people who did that to you were hunted down on, like, every platform. My fans stood up for you. They stood up for us. And if you stayed here, well, you could stay with me. Nothing would ever happen to you if you were with me. I would make sure of it."

She looked up, sniffling once and sighing at the brave look in his eyes. Both of their gazes were filling with tears, resembling the waves approaching the shore. Although he spoke with certainty, she saw the looming doubt behind his stare. But it wasn't the type of fear she had. While she feared getting her life ruined again, he feared a life without her.

"And...and if that's not enough then maybe I should just quit streaming all together. I could retire now and be fine. It doesn't matter. I would still have my friends, and I would have you. That's what matters to me, Camille," he spoke, struggling through crying.

She reached her hand up, and for the first time in ten months, he felt the warmth of her touch. Her hands were just as tender as he remembered, wiping away his tears with her thumb. Instinctively, his eyes shut and his head nodded toward her touch, savoring it like it would be the last time he would ever feel it. Perhaps it would be.

Cami inhaled once, teeth tightly grasping her bottom lip, trying to avoid breaking down. Watching the adoring boy in front of her, she wanted nothing more than to stay with him, to wrap her arms around him and never leave his side.

Exhaling the breath beholding a sob, she grinned, and chuckled. George's eyes opened, curiosity and pain in his face.

"I'm here for another week, George. And if that's all the time the universe is gonna give me left with you, then damnit, we'll make it the best week I've ever lived," she said, slightly regretting the words but still grateful to be by his side.

George took a second to comprehend what she said, a confused smile sparking on his face to match hers.

"What?"

"I don't know what I'm saying. I don't know what we're doing. I just...I don't know anything. I just want you in my life," she rambled, holding his face in both of her hands and looking from one of his eyes to the other.

His breath sped up, and his heart propped itself up, finally standing up from the depressive state he was left in. Chest rising and falling quicker and quicker, he kept his eyes locked with her's, still taking in the moment.

"I..."

He couldn't talk, though. There was too many things he wanted to say to her, but not a good way to put it. Instead, an idea struck him. His head shifted, using her hold on his cheekbones to his advantage while leaning in.

Taken back, she hesitated before going to meet him, but her body moved before she could. In milliseconds, their lips were touching, eyes shut in the moonlight, nothing but pure and untouched adoration encasing the moment. It all felt right, even if their time was limited.

He held her, and she held him, and in that moment, they knew they had picked the right path.

( AUTHOR'S NOTE! )

OHEMGEGEOMGOHEMGEE
NO THINK NO WORDS NO BRAIN
JUST GAMI<333

PLS DRINK SOME WATER AND
STAY HYPE BECAUSE ITS ALL
SMOOTH SAILING FROM HERE💃🕺

MAYBE DROP A VOTE OR SUM IDK
BYE HOTTIE🤌🤌🤌

-cal