Page 41 of Salvation
“You know—the father. Is that who you are going to call?” She waves her hand as if what she’s saying should be obvious. The gesture reminds me of Campbell, and my stomach clenches.
“Um—yeah. I mean, is that okay?”
I hold my breath while I wait for her to answer. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable, but I also don’t want to leave Campbell out of this.
Willow doesn’t answer at first. She spins back around and walks over to the end table where my grandparents’ Bible still sits. Her fingers trace the letters, and just when I think I might explode from nerves, she says, “Sure. I guess—at least you two stuck together.”
The words knock the wind from my lungs, like a fall from a skyscraper. A punch to the gut would have hurt less.
“Yeah,” I say, turning away from her. “Something like that.”
Chapter 21
Ivy
16 Years Old
The wind blows my hair, slipping under my jacket and sending a chill over my skin.
It’s Friday night, and in Benton Falls, that means football. Pretty much everyone in town is packed into the bleachers. They are all here to watch the game. I’m here to watch Campbell. I haven’t missed one of his home games since he started playing. I sit in the same spot and wear the same thing every time. Top right-hand corner and a jersey with his number on it. It’s our tradition.
The band begins to play the fight song, and anticipation buzzes through my veins. It’s always this way when I know I’m about to see him. My hands get clammy, and my heart starts beating a little harder.
I think I love him. No, I know I love him. I just haven’t told him.
We’ve been dating for a year, but neither of us has said it. The idea of saying those three words, of making my feelings known even though I’m pretty sure he feels the same way, terrifies me because what if there is a chance he doesn’t? I’d lose him. He’s my best friend, and I’d rather keep those words to myself than take that chance.
The first boys break through the banner held by cheerleaders on either side, with Hayes and Langston leading the pack. The stadium roars their names, chanting as they run toward the sideline. They are the hometown heroes, the ones who will lead our team to state, but my attention isn’t on them. It’s on a dark-haired boy with piercing blue eyes who is currently smiling back at me.
Campbell is holding his helmet in his hands, and his hair is rumpled like he’s run his fingers through it a hundred times. I have to bite back a smile because I don’t think I’ve ever seen Campbell completely put together. I don’t mind, though. It’s one of my favorite things about him. In my grandparents’ world, perfection is the expectation, but when I’m with Campbell, it feels like I have the freedom to be imperfect.
He keeps running, his eyes never leaving mine as he draws closer and closer to the middle of the field. I hold my breath the whole time, waiting for that moment that always makes me feel like I’m the center of his whole world.
When he reaches the middle, he stops and winks, his smile growing impossibly wide. My cheeks hurt from smiling back. To everyone around me, I probably look like an idiot, but I don’t care because when Campbell looks at me like that, the rest of the world ceases to exist.
A whistle blows, and he’s called over to the sideline. I watch him go, never taking my eyes off him, even as his attention goes to the game.
I stay that way all evening, and when it’s over, I follow the crowd down the bleachers to wait outside the locker room, just like I do after every home game.
Standing off to the side, I make myself as small as possible so other people can pass by. The girls we go to school with giggle in groups as they wait to flirt with the players. Sometimes I wish I had friends like that—girls to talk to andlaugh with—but I have Campbell. And no one can beat his friendship anyway.
The locker room door opens, and several players start trickling out. Rising on my tiptoes, I try to see around them, looking for him—always—and when he comes into view, my heart skips one beat and then two.
His hair is wet from his shower, and he’s smiling at me again. I love it when he smiles at me.
A couple of the girls try to stop him, but he keeps walking, never taking his eyes off me. My bottom lip slips between my teeth, and his eyes turn heated. I know Campbell finds me attractive, but I want him to love me. At this point, it’s not even a want. It’s a need. I need him to love me like I need the next breath in my lungs.
He reaches me and looks down, a dimple poking in his cheek, and all I see is him.
“Happy birthday, sunshine,” he says, leaning down to press a kiss to my cheek. Heat follows the path of his lips, and I try not to shiver. “I’m sorry you spent it watching me play.”
Birthdays don’t mean the same thing to me as they do to Campbell. His mom bakes him a cake and cooks his favorite meal every year on his. I’m not even sure my grandparents remember that it’s mine. Honestly, I’d be happy to forget, too, if it weren’t for Campbell. So, I play along.
“I wouldn’t have wanted to spend it any other way.”
His smile turns into a smirk, his eyes dancing as he reaches up, wraps one of my curls around his finger, and tugs. I try to swat away his hand, but he catches it in his other one, pressing a kiss to the pulse point in my wrist.
I forget how to breathe.
