Happy Endings Are for Optimists

When Cam opened the door, the first thing I did was take in his appearance. How he changed.

His hair was a lot shorter and a lot messier, then again I did just wake him up in the middle of the night. He was shirtless and in a pair of sweat pants, showing me easily that he had more tattoos and was more muscular than before. The lanky boy I left two years ago had grown into a man without me.

He rubbed his eyes for a moment, trying to make sure it was really me. “Kyle?” He asked, “What the hell are you doing here at..two in the morning?”

I hadn’t even realized it took that long to get here. I felt bad for waking him up at such a late hour.

Without a second though, Cam moved aside. I came in, still staying silent. I knew the second he got me to talk, I’d start bawling.

He walked me into the kitchen as I got a brief look around. He fixed himself a glass of water, hanging me the cup for a drink as well. I hardly noticed that he was examining me the entire time. When I handed him the cup back, he sighed.

“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you with Oli?” And that was all it took for me to break down.

First it was just tears. I had set my purse on the counter and tried dot hold myself up, but I ended up collapsing into a shaking, sobbing ball.

Cam couldn’t comprehend why I just suddenly broke down but, returning to the best friend I missed so much, he didn’t ask any questions as he picked me up and carried me to his room.

He let me get undressed before pulling me into his bed and under the covers. He held me to him and let me cry. All the tears I forced back and wouldn’t let go the entire time I was with Oli, every one of them was let out then. And the whole time, Cam just held me and told me it would be okay.

And I knew with him, it would.



I woke up that morning with my eyes sore. I should have expected that, since I fell asleep crying.

Soon after I woke up, Cameron started to move around. When he finally woke up, he look at me and asked me the question I knew was coming.

“What happened?”

I hesitated to tell him. In his own interest, and mine too, he got us both up and made coffee, letting us sit in the kitchen while he waited patiently for me to tell him.

Finally I broke down and told him. “Oli abused me” I whispered. And his reaction was exactly what I expected.

His grip on the mug tightened before he let it go and stood up.

“I’m gonna go kill that mother fucker” He said as he stormed to the door. I barely had time to jump out of my chair and stop him.

“No, that won’t fix anything. I don’t want him to know where I went” I told him, holding tight around his waist so he wouldn’t go anywhere.

He sighed before turning and hugging me. He pressed too tightly on one of my newly-formed bruises and, as hard as I tried to contain how much it hurt, a hiss still escaped my lips.

He pulled back and lifted my shirt, looking at the bruises. I could tell he was just getting more and more livid by the moment.

Then he pulled me over to the couch and sat us both down. He took my face in his hands and stared straight into my eyes.

“No one fucking hits you, you got that?” He told me. I just nodded. “You’re staying here with me now, I wouldn’t let you go back even if you wanted to.”

I hugged him, thanking him for this. I didn’t tell him the rest of the story. I didn’t tell him about the drugs or what Oli tried to make me do. I knew that would be a story suited for another day.

That afternoon, Cam took me to pawn all of the things I took from Oli. I felt like it was a consolation fee, so I didn’t have any regrets.

After everything I ended up with a little over $200. Cam told me he’d clear out space in his closet, and we went shopping for clothes for myself. I brought nothing with me, and I certainly wasn’t going back, so I’d have to just make a new life.

Cam surprised me the new day with a new iPhone. I didn’t ask how he had the money for it, but I knew I’d find out soon.

He never had told me what he did for a living, but I assumed it was for a good reason. I knew Cam wasn’t the type to get into illegal things, so I just waited until he was ready to tell me.

At that point, I knew I made the right choice.