Two weeks had passed after receiving that text from Moose and Cam had yet to respond to it, she was planning to do it at some point, but there was something in her that kept bothering her. Why not reply? Maybe Moose had something important to tell her or at least he would man up and apologize to her for all the heartache he brought her way. Still, the part of Cam that wanted to move on was the one in control for now, and she was not ready to have any conversation that may lead to her wanting to punch Moose in the face. Last time he was lucky she only ended up slapping him because what she honestly intended was to punch him, it was just a last minute change of heart that stop her.
She found herself imagining how the conversation would go at least once a day, but it never ended right for her, she either felt heart broken by the "admission" of Moose to never really being into the relationship or anger enough to imagining hitting him. Finally, at the end of the third week, Cam had finally decided to reply to the messages telling him not to contact her again, but faith had a different plan for her, and she realized it in the worst way possible. Jacob had asked Cam to help him closing the coffee shop so he could go out with his girlfriend on their anniversary. Cam had reluctantly agreed to do it, and that's how she found herself alone on a Friday night looking at the clock waiting for it to turn to twelve so she could lock up the place. Sometimes she felt like a sucker for agreeing to this kind of favors but to see her friends happy was important to her and sadly it wasn't like she had any other plans for that night or any other night.
Three minutes before closing time she was already making her way to the door when it open, and a group of people came in talking without noticing her, Cam sighed and went back to start working on the orders. Ten minutes later she had managed to make a little over half the orders and also informed the people that she was closing after finishing their drinks. Some of them seemed apologetic about the situation they had put her in, but a couple of girls gave her nasty looks and continued to talk while waiting for their drinks, two drinks before finishing the orders the door open again, and she wanted to scream. She raised her eyes and froze, there in front of her was Moose with a girl curling up to his side, which Cam immediately assumed was Sophie. Yes, she had seen the girl in the park but was not sure about how she look because Cam had other things in mind at the moment, like not crying in public.
Cam cursed her luck and made a mental note never to do favors for Jacob again or at least remember to close the door exactly at midnight even if clients are in because she didn't need this. Finally, the orders were finish, and she was tempted to tell the newcomers that they were already close, but she knew Moose would probably take it to another level, and Cam wasn't going to give him the satisfaction to rattle her. Moose finally noticed her, and she saw in his eyes that he was not expecting her which at least gave her some peace that this wasn't him trying to corner her into having a talk.
Sophie pulled Moose toward her, but he seemed reluctant to come forward, and Cam was wondering if they were going to leave or order. Either way, she wanted this moment to end as soon as possible and with that thought in her mind, she asked them what they wanted. It didn't matter to her that they weren't even halfway to the counter maybe this way by the time they decided to move forward she could have their drinks ready. Sophie seemed taking aback by her behavior and pulled Moose harder until they were in front of Cam and proceed to order an elaborate drink.
Cam consider the fact that she didn't roll her eyes at this a personal victory and just to add to this victory she even turned and asked Moose with a straight face what he wanted too. Moose shook his head and gave her his credit card while charging him she wonder how funny would it be if she over charged him for the drink, also what did the people in Moose's bank think about his "caffeine addiction." Cam made Sophie's drink in record time and noticed that the couple had made their way to one of the tables in the corner, she was going to have to clean it again, this time with bleach just to get the image of them sitting there together off her mind. Usually, she would walk to their table and gave Sophie her drink and use the opportunity to tell them that it was closing time, but she felt so awkward just thinking about it that she clear her throat and signal to the drink.
Moose walked towards her, and Cam smiled politely at him and informed him that she was closing so they needed to go, without losing a second she turned and went to the back to get her things and stay there until she heard the bell on the door. She sighed and tried to collect her thoughts before going to the main area also making sure to turn off the lights when she got to the front Cam almost fainted, the couple was still there. Moose was the first to stand telling her that he was the one that close the door after a guy tried to get in to order some coffee. However, just a second later Sophie was walking her way at a fast pace leaving Moose behind and she was quick to hug Cam and now Cam was sure she was going to faint or puke one of those was definitely in her future. A couple of seconds later, exactly twenty but hey who is counting? Sophie let go of her and looked Cam right in her eyes.
"I want you to know that I didn't know about you two? He only told me he was going out with someone occasionally and when I came back he never mention you, not once. If I would've know that you existed, I would never have come here; please believe me. I'm not the kind of girl that would come between a couple." Sophie took Cam's hand and gave them a little squeeze while trying to convey her sincerity and if only she hadn't made that comment about Moose never mention her once or their relationship she would feel better about this conversation but hey at least she could put all the blame on him now.
Moose heard what Sophie told Cam, and he felt awful especially when she spoke about how he never told her that he was in a relationship although he was pretty sure that he had mentioned he was going out with someone special, not just a friend. Also, at the time when he was wooing Cam, he was sure that he had also written to Sophie that they were going steady maybe he never used the word girlfriend but he did mention her by name he might add. Cam told Sophie something and both girls started to walked his way Sophie was saying something, but he wasn't paying any attention to her he was desperately trying to make eye contact with Cam, but the girl was avoiding him like it was her job.
Finally, the three of them made their way outside, and Cam tried to say goodbye, but Sophie told her that they would wait until she locked everything up. Cam locked everything and this time she turned and said a quick goodbye not giving the couple any chance for further conversation and went home. Usually, she would take the train, but she decided against it not sure of what way of transportation was the couple going to use. She was lucky enough, finally, that after walking to the corner she managed to get a cab and after a while, she was finally home.
Andie saw her get out of the taxi and had to do a double-take, everybody knew how much Cab hated taking taxis and to see her getting out of one alone made Andie be on alert. The two girls started talking and went on Cam's apartment while she told Andie the story of how a boring night turned into a horror one. "So she never knew about us, he never told her anything. She just came into town to see her ex-boyfriend and rekindle their relationship because she missed him and of course like we all learned he was more than willing to do it."
"Well, he is more of a jerk than I thought then and trusted me when I say that that was pretty impossible until a couple of seconds ago. I hope he has the decency not to contact you again." The girls continue to talk for a while and Cam replay the conversation he had with Sophie in her mind the entire time, her friend caught on to this and tried her best to distract her. After a while, they decided to call for a pizza and Andie told Cam that she was going to her apartment to change into her PJ's so she could stay the night. Cam knew better than to argue with her especially if she was in an overprotective mode, so she just nodded and went on her way to do the same, but before she even made it to her room, there was a knock on the door.
Cam's stomach growl and she laugh at how a part of her just knew when food was near, and so she walked back to the door and opened it ready to paid for the pizza. "I'm not the pizza, but please listen to what I have to say before you close the door on my face." Moose stand there, and she blinked a couple of times to be sure that he was really there. Finally, she nodded and moved to the side closing the door behind her and turning to face the boy that at least seemed nervous enough that he was standing in the middle of her living room looking pale.
"I want to apologize. Honestly, apologize not what I did before, I promised you that I was sincere then too but still I express myself in the worst way possible. Can I sit?" He made a motion to approach her sofa but noticed how she shook her head and stopped.
"Look I appreciate you desired to apologize in a more proper way, but I don't want to hear it, especially after hearing your girlfriend. Because she is your girlfriend right?." Moose nod once. "So like I said I appreciate your intention, but she already explained the way you two got back together, and I don't think I want any more involvement in your life or hers. Obviously, we are going to cross path at some point because we have friends in common, and I'm not going to make things awkward for them, so I'll be civil, and I hope you do the same." The door started to open, and Cam could hear Andie's voice coming from the other side, and it seemed she was talking to the pizza guy.
"You better leave my friends dislike you now, and I don't blame them so goodbye." She motion for him to walk to the door and Moose was quick to do it, at the door, he came face to face with Andie and freaked a little when the girl gave him a killer look. Andie was going to ask Cam how things went, but the girl had already taken the pizza and started eating it.
The days turned into weeks and monotony settles into the group's lives. Cam goes to work; the pirates continue to manage their club and competing, and sometimes they invite the Cam and her friends to joined them. Finally three months later Andie and Chase are preparing to celebrate another year of been together, the pirates been now friends with them decided to make them a party at their club but their refuse. Luke and Natalie insist and organize a little dinner, nothing fancy, the pirates turned the entire first floor with twinkle lights and put some soft music so everyone can enjoy the conversation.
"I can't believe you guys have been together for so long." Natalie starts to tell Andie how awesome must be for her to be able to have someone like Chase in her life. She is very happy with Luke, but Andie and Chase had known each other since high school and been together for almost five years, is unreal to think that a couple like them exists. Andie laughs at how amazed Natalie seemed about their relationship and got ready for the usual question of why they are not married yet but to her surprise, Nat never asks it. Suddenly she noticed that everything is very quiet at first, and then she and Chase's song starts playing, Andie turns to say something to Chase and founds him kneeling down with a ring in his hand.
The next few minutes are a blur, but Andie found herself saying yes and kissing Chase, she then was embraced and congratulate by so many people that she lost count of how many pirates she thanked. It was a magical night for the couple, the only thing that could have make it more perfect was if Ty and Nora were there but they weren't able to make due to work obligations. Still, they facetime with the couple wishing them the best and inviting them to visit them soon so they could share a much needed time together. Later that night, well the next morning because they stayed at the vault until three am, Cam found herself alone in her apartment thinking back to the time when she was little, and her brothers talked about how their lives were going to be.
They even went as far as to say they would get married together but life had made that pretty much impossible now. Ty and Nora had been together for a longer time than Chase and Andie but for reasons unknown to Cam they had never taken the next step, a couple of years ago Cam went as far as to asked Ty if she was the reason but he told her that she wasn't and to let it go. Today, however, that doubt came back to Cam's mind, and again she wondered if she had anything to do with her brother not making Nora his wife. A week pass since the engagement and Cam found it very difficult to sleep wondering what was going on in his brother's love life did he not realize that not proposing to Nora could mean that the girl could think he didn't love her enough to think about spending his life with her? One day she finally had it and decided to confront him about it.
Cam went to the coffee shop the next day with a purpose; she had been taking fewer shifts there since she was a regular at the pre-school and had had a talked with Jacob about quitting in the next months due to her busy schedule. After her shift, she was going to have a talk with her brother that was going to end up in him proposing to Nora no matter what because Ty loves Nora, and she loves him back. Her shift was going great, for the most part, clients were normal with their orders, and Cam was managing even to study a little bit between preparing them. Of course, after weeks of not seeing Moose and his girlfriend this was the day that they choose to come back. Although she was certain that they had come here at another moment, none of her friends mention Moose or Sophie at any point, not even the pirates mention him in front of her.
Sophie greeted Cam and made her complicated order again, but before Cam could answer her greet, Jacob came to her side and told her that he would be making their order and that it was time for her break. Cam was going to argue that she had already taken her break, but she saw what he was trying to do and decided to take advantage of it, she moved to go to the break room, but Sophie intercepted her and asked her to join them at their table. Millions of excuses flew into Cam's mind but none good enough to use in this case and so she reluctantly followed the girl to a table while Moose paid and waited for their order.
"It's been a while since we saw each other and I was wondering how you've been?. I know that you've been to the vault and that your friends had a little reunion there." Cam looked surprised that Sophie would mention that, why would she care? part of her wanted to tell Sophie that, but the girl continued. "Cam, I understand that is difficult for you to see Moose and me together, but I want you to know that he is hurting. Moose went that day to the vault, and his friends told him that he needed to go because you were coming, can you imagine how awful he felt?"
Cam was about to respond when Moose appeared with the coffee and interrupted the conversation, "Sophie I asked you not to say anything. Cam I'm sorry, that has nothing to do with you."
Sophie huffed making the boy gave her a look that obviously meant that he wanted her to end the conversation at that point, Cam felt uncomfortable with the exchange and excuse herself saying that her break was over. Jacob made his way to her and apologized for putting her in that position, but she was quick to dismissed it there was no way he could have known. The hour's pass and more people came into the coffee shop which translated in Cam not paying any attention to the couple, after rush hour she finally looked for them and noticed that they weren't there anymore. Soon it was time for her to leave and after a quick goodbye to her friends, she made her way to the train ready to go home and finish to study.
There were a lot of people at the station which made it difficult for her to walk without getting push, suddenly she saw someone get in front of her and inadvertently open the way for her. She was glad about her good fortune until she recognized the person and she felt shocked invade her, she found herself in front of the platform soon enough ready to board before he turned and smiled shyly at her. "I noticed you were having some problems moving forward. I hope it is ok that I help you."
"Is alright, thank you that was very nice of you." Just then the train arrived, and she made a move to go in but stopped wondering why he wasn't getting in, it seemed Moose understood and got into the train with her. Soon enough they found each other been crash by the amount of people that were getting on the train; Cam was press against his chest, and he put a protective arm around her trying to move them into a more comfortable space. A couple of seconds later Cam's back was against the wall of the train, and Moose stand just in front of her covering her from the rest of the passengers that were still pushing to find a place to stand. They stood like that for a while and Cam's mind race a thousand miles an hour, Moose, clear his throat making her eyes raise to his face, and she felt herself blush at the way he was looking at her.
"Well, this is awkward. I wanted to apologize for what Sophie said; she had no right to bring that to your attention and trust me I completely understand why they didn't want me there. I can't imagine Chase or Andie wanting me to be there either, and it was a party for them. The only reason she knew that was because she was there with me, I would have never said anything to her about it or complain in any way." Moose continue to apologize, and Cam believed him but every time she tried to tell him that it was ok he wouldn't let her and by the time they arrived at her stop he was finishing apologizing for what had happened between them.
Finally, Cam told him to stop, and she saw how Moses's face dropped, but she was quick to tell him that he was forgiven. Enough time had passed for her to move on from what had happened; sure she wasn't inclined to spend time with him but she no longer felt like he owned her any more apologies. "Hey, this is my stop so you should probably move so I can get out. Once Moose move they noticed that there weren't as many people on the train anymore so there was had been no reason for them to be standing so close for that amount of time, a couple of old ladies were looking at them with a knowing smile making them blush.
Cam said goodbye and move quickly out of the train but felt Moose following her. "Hey please let me walk you home. I know that it may come with a possible Chase or Andie threat, but I would feel better to see you arrive safely."
She agreed, and they made small talk for a couple of blocks, both of them thinking back to the last time they had shared this walk when they were still dating. Funny to think that so much had passed since that time and that now they were able to walk just as a couple of acquaintance. Cam found out about how Moose had lost his internship and was shocked about it, but the boy didn't go into details still she could sense some regret when he spoke about it. Cam told him about how things were with her, and Moose was super excited when she told him about her job at the pre-school and the promised of making it full time soon.
Moose said his goodbyes just outside her building, and she went inside pondering exactly how weird this day had been and had completely forgotten that she had planned to call her brother that day. She went into her apartment and took a quick shower and proceed to call Ty, the first couple of minutes were great as always but then she mention the marriage theme, and he told her to drop it. Cam didn't drop the subject, and soon they were fighting, but she kept pushing the subject until Ty said a phrase that felt like a bucket of cold water to her. "You know why I'm not married to Nora? Because she said no when I asked her. Ok? Look, Cam, I don't want to talk anymore, so I'm just going to hang up. Take care."
And her day went to trash again, why didn't Nora want to marry Ty? Cam went to bed but couldn't sleep she laid there feeling awful about how the conversation with her brother had gone until she felt her phone beep. With the hope that the message was from Ty she reached for her phone but to her surprise the text was from Moose. He thanked her for the opportunity to apologize and asked her if it would be ok if they tried been friends. The first thought in her mind was to ask him if Sophie knew what he was doing but she let go of the idea, of course, she would know.
Cam texted Chase telling him what had happened between her and Ty and waited for him to respond, she was itchy to talk to someone, and so she ended up telling Moose about it. He called her and talked to her for a while at first about the call and then distracting her with the dumbest topics until Chase's voice break the silence of her apartment. "Chase is here, I need to go. Thanks for keeping me company."
"Anytime Cam, and keep me posted on how things go, ok?" With that, they both end the conversation. Cam walked into her living room right into Chase's arms and on the other side of town Moose went into his room and laid next a sleeping Sophie smiling at the thought that Cam and he could be friends in the end.
Notes
Hi, I'm really sorry for the delay on this chapter but I've been having some issues so I wasn't able to write but hey I'm here again and I have map out the rest of the story, so I hope you still read and review it.
To the guest that pointed out the mistake in the name of Ty's girlfriend, thank you very much. I have change the name to Nora.