Page 23 of HER SISTER

Cam furrowed her brows, "I assumed you heard about my situation with Mili, and that's why you grew distant?" she said, clearly confused by my own confusion.

And just like that a relief flooded through me, realizing that this had nothing to do with me whatsoever.

However, I quickly realized what Cam had said—

"What situation?" I said as confusion grew clear on my face.

Cam pursed her lips, "Oh, so you didn't know," she breathed out, leaning back in her seat as she took a brief sip of her wine, "I guess here goes nothing," she said, clearly nervous about what she was about to tell me.

I tilted my head, "What is it? What happened?" I couldn't help but ask, wondering what had occurred between Mili and Cam.

Cam sighed, "A little over a year ago, Mili had decided to start pursuing her degree online while traveling the world. The only issue was that she and Alyssa were still together—so she would have to fly in frequently to visit her."

I nodded, hating even the idea of Alyssa and Mili being together at some point in time.

"Around this time, me and my ex were having issues, and she ended up breaking up with me on the night of our anniversary," Cam explained, and I couldn't help but frown, knowing that dumping someone on your anniversary with them was brutal.

Cam took another sip of her wine, but this time it was longer—it seemed like she was really nervous.

Cam swallowed the wine, "Alyssa was there for me during the break up—she made sure to check up on me, helped me remain consistent in classes, and she also made sure I ate proper meals.

.." she trailed off, suddenly looking away from me as she said, "And one night.

.. one night she um..." she trailed off yet again, shaking her head to herself.

And I seemingly knew what came next.

It was painfully obvious, but I knew I wouldn't believe it until I heard her say it.

"She kissed me," Cam finally forced out as she continued to avoid my stare, "And I kissed her back—and we knew it was wrong. We both knew she was still in a relationship with Mili, but we couldn't stop. And one thing led to another and—"

"Wow," I couldn't help but breathe out, suddenly thinking about Mili.

I couldn't believe Alyssa cheated on her while she was traveling for her career.

That had to be really hard to go through.

"I'm still ashamed to this day—and I swear me and Alyssa are just friends. It was just an impulsive hook-up," Cam added, shaking her head to herself.

And I knew Cam was definitely in the wrong for hooking up with Alyssa while she was with Mili.

But at the same time, Cam was reeling from an emotional long-term breakup—Alyssa should've taken that into account.

And on top of that Mili wasn't dating Cam, she was dating Alyssa.

The other person is still in the wrong, but the person that I feel like should take the majority of the blame is the person in the relationship.

"Say something please," Cam said, hoping to hear my thoughts and opinion on this.

I sighed, furrowing my brows slightly, "You were both wrong," I said, knowing that there was no denying that.

It takes two people to do what they did.

Cam nodded, looking away from me as she took another sip of her wine.

It was so painfully clear how ashamed and embarrassed she felt.

"But at the same time, she was more in the wrong.

You were vulnerable and going through a fresh breakup.

Validation and feeling wanted after someone breaks up with you can lead you down a slippery road," I said, carefully trying to explain my own thoughts, "And at the same time, she was the one dating Mili and the one in the relationship—she was also the one who cheated. "

Cam visibly relaxed, clearly relieved by what I had said.

"But—you were still partially in the wrong," I said, knowing that she still slept with her, but in my eyes, the fresh breakup kind of explains why.

Genuinely, Cam seemed like a morally good person, especially with how ashamed she looked sitting right here in front of me.

She knows that she was wrong.

I think she just had a bad moment, which we all have had.

I mean, I can't really judge her when I'm still actively playing the field between her and Mili while also lying to my best friend.

We all have our moments. We all make hard decisions and bad choices because we're human.

I suddenly reached out for Cam, pulling her into a hug, "It's okay to make mistakes—clearly, you're owning up to them and trying to make better decisions, and I think that's all that matters," I said, softening my tone as Cam hesitantly hugged me back.

"Yeah, I just feel like I kind of got let off the hook too easily. I mean, Mili didn't tell anyone—not even Mya," Cam whispered, her voice broken and weak—and god did she sound so vulnerable, "I'm honestly waiting for the day she gets her revenge because of how calmly she handled it."

I froze slightly, but almost immediately I shook the thought away.

It was crazy and I was clearly trying to self-sabotage whatever I had with Mili.

I mean... she's not using me for revenge.

Right?

She didn't know I was with Cam when we kissed in that bar bathroom.

She didn't know I was talking to Cam until later that night when everyone came over.

So how come, my thoughts are spiraling?

How come, I'm starting to analyze every altercation, picking apart each detail—from how cocky she was to how she suddenly took me—took us seriously.

I'm overthinking it—Cam was clearly just joking.

Besides, Mili wouldn't do that.

Cam suddenly pulled back from the hug, "This kind of got deep really fast—are you okay?"

I couldn't help but melt at the words, realizing that she was checking in on me when she was the one obviously still hurting from her past.

I smiled, "I'm more than okay—thank you for opening up to me," I said, hoping that she could see that I appreciated her effort.

Cam pursed her lips into a smile, "Thank you for listening," she whispered, looking between my eyes.

And suddenly the moment felt intimate.

With the still quietness of the apartment, the wine flowing through our bodies, and the vulnerability—it seemed like things were about to escalate.

But it felt far past wrong to allow them to, especially since I was just with Mili just a couple of hours ago.

And now knowing a part of Mili's past, this all felt weird, especially since both situations involved Cam.

"How about we watch a movie?" I suddenly blurted out.

It wasn't really thought through, but it would stop her from kissing me and then me having to awkwardly reject her.

It would also prevent us from talking further and things possibly escalating again.

Cam nodded, smiling slightly, "That sounds good to me. What were you thinking about watching?" she asked, standing from her chair.

I shrugged, knowing my mind was completely blank right now, "I'm not sure, you get the honor of picking," I said, standing from my own chair and following her over to the couch.

And as we sat down, I made sure to keep a respectful amount of space, sitting beside her as I leaned into the couch on my other side.

Meanwhile, Cam seemed to be entirely immersed in the TV, clicking through movies that we could watch.

However, within seconds she was choosing The Nightmare Before Christmas, knowing that Halloween was approaching in the coming weeks and then later Christmas in the next couple of months.

Soon we were settling into the couch, focusing on the movie as we both got comfortable.

A little bit into the movie, I unconsciously stretched my legs out over Cam's lap, causing her hands to rest on my legs covered by my matching pajamas while she leaned into the other side of the couch.

With the stillness combined with the dimmed lights, I could easily feel myself dozing off as we watched the movie.

And while I tried to actively fight the temptation to fall asleep, I came up short—easily giving into my sleepiness as I nuzzled into the soft couch.