The office was bustling with people moving in and out of the meeting rooms. Some were meeting clients while others had a discussion with their peers. Sharon had just had one of those discussions and was heading back to her desk.

A long breath escaped her as she dropped onto her chair. The afternoon had been so busy that she barely had time to think, much less breathe. Now that the day was almost over, she could finally catch a breather.

Spinning lazily in her chair, she looked around her cubicle listlessly and caught movement around her peripheral. Ignoring her colleagues, her eyes were continually checking on the time. She couldn't wait for the day to end. Meeting Amelia in the middle of the day was a mistake. She had just spoiled her entire afternoon. Why had she even agreed to do that?

Cursing her brilliant plan, she stopped the spinning. Her eyes happened to land on her phone and her curiosity was aroused when she saw the notification light. Wondering who was trying to contact her, she was reaching out but stopped.

It occurred to her that it could very well be her sister. A lot of things could be said about Amelia and persistent was one of them. Hesitant, she was thinking about checking it later but her curiosity, once aroused, wouldn't be ignored. Disgruntled, she hurriedly unlock her phone.

What greeted her made her pause. It made her question her eyesight. She was surprised. No, shocked was a better description. There was so many missed calls. All of them were made some time during that afternoon. If that wasn't enough, they all came from the same person. They were all from Cameron.

-----@@@----

In his empty apartment, Cameron stared unblinkingly into his ceiling. He was in his room, laying in his bed and hadn't moved an inch since he'd returned. He had stayed in the same position for hours. And while, usually, that would cause some body aches, his mind was elsewhere. It was drifting in a sea of nothingness where thoughts of his bedroom ceiling and Sharon would sometimes emerge.

Speaking of Sharon, his hands moved in a familiar pattern. He no longer had to look at the screen. He had done this so many times this afternoon. As he had done before, he was tryng to call her.

In these moments, he would be suffused with hope. Hope that she would finally pick up, that he could finally hear her voice, that he could finally talk to her. Hope which had been dashed so many times before. But that didn't stop him. Nothing would stop him. Not when he was desperate for her.

Resting his phone on his stomach, he put the call on speaker and allowed the ringing tone to fill the room. Even though he was hopeful, he was also anxious. He both wanted her to pick up and not. He both wanted to hear her voice and not. He both couldn't wait to talk and didn't. He didn't know what to feel.

As he was struggling with his emotions, the call ended without her picking up. Relief and cripping disappointment both fought for dominance while he placed his phone back on the bedside table and turned on his side.

He knew he was being contrary. But he couldn't help it. His mind was hiding a deep internal turmoil. And this was changing the very core of his being. This was making him question himself. This was making him look at himself.

Hugging a pillow, he wondered why this news had such a deep impact. Honestly, it shouldn't have been a surprise. He had postponed his treatment for so long that it was a given that he wouldn't recover fast enough. Even though he had made good progress, he was still a long way for training camp.

He knew that and yet, a part of couldn't help but hope. If that wasn't enough, it had been a big part of him that had hoped for the impossible. And why wouldn't he? Looking at the past, it hadn't taken him long to recover. In fact, one of his worst injuries had taken his much faster to heal than now.

But with his advanced age and the accumulated fatigue, his body just couldn't keep up. Just the basic, daily activities were getting harder to do. That included waking up, showering and staying up late. Often, he would find himself dozing off while watching television. It was just ridiculous.

With that, though, he couldn't help wondering what the future entailed. With his money parked in multi investment channels, he wasn't strapped for cash for the foreseeable future. He could even count on some endorsement deals if needed. But it was clear he wouldn't be playing forever. So what was he going to do?

Matt had broached the topic a couple of times in the past. He had wanted Cameron to try out different roles, be it in the sports industry or outside. He had tried getting Cameron into acting, modelling and even singing but he wasn't interested in any of that. He was only interested in football.

Where did that leave him? Coaching? Scouting? Starting his own business? None of them captured his attention. When he thought about football, it was always about playing. While he might have some say in the strategies, he mostly left it to the coach and his assistants. And he wasn't interested in flying all around the country to look for talented young athletes nor did he have the capabilities to manage a business and all that came with it.

Burying his head into the pillow, he let out a long groan. He just wanted to forget about this. It felt like he was just going in circles. As the proverbial ostrich, he wanted to bury his head in the ground and ignore everything that didn't make him happy.

Suddenly, his phone rang. Startled, he allowed it to go to voicemail. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone right now. Sighing in relief, he was settling into bed again when his phone began ringing again. Lifting his head up, he glared at the offending object, silently willing the person on the other side to hang up. But his head was lifted high enough that he could see the display. And Sharon's name was being flashed. He couldn't grab it fast enough.

"H-hello? Sharon?"he said, hoping he had picked up in time.

"Oh hi." Hearing her voice made him relax in relief. Laying on his back, he returned to staring at his ceiling but this time, the knot of uncertainty inside loosened. She was like a balm to his soul and all the problems that had been clogging his mind felt so inconsequential now. But it wasn't like he had forgotten about them. It was just felt that he could get over the problems now.

"So what's up?"

"Nothing much. I just made dinner so I was wondering whether you'd like to come over and eat together." She tried to hide it but he knew. From the tone of her voice, he could tell that she knew what happened. But while a part of him wanted to shy away, it also felt like a burden had been lifted from his chest. It was a reminder that he wasn't alone.

"I'm on the way." Raring to go to her, he paused while sitting up in bed. "Wait. You're back at the apartment? I thought you're still at work?"

"What are you talking about? Work ended a couple of hours ago-"

"Ah, shit,"he exclaimed under his breath. Looking out the window, it was clear that night had fallen. he hadn't even noticed, being caught up in his thoughts. But he wondered how he could have missed this. His room was shrouded in shadows while his apartment barely had any scrap of lighting.

"Cam? What's the matter?"

"Ah, it's nothing. No, I mean-" Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself. "Sorry. I didn't keep track of the time. Did you take the train?" Switching on the lights, he flinched at the sudden brightness but his sight cleared up eventually.

"Of course. Anything is better than the roads during rush hour,"she replied with a snort.

"Let me make it up to you." He felt guilty. Usually, he'd let her know if he couldn't pick her up. This time, because of this momentary blindness, he'd left her out to dry.

"It's fine, Cameron-"

"No, Sharon. I have to do this." He had to do this.

"Fine. Grab me that good ice-cream from last time,"she mumbled with a sigh. He could practically feel her breath blowing into his ear, it was so heavy. She could be so dramatic.

"Alright. See you in an hour,"he said and ended the call. And on his lips was the first smile of the day.

-----@@@@------

Cameron felt like he was in heaven. Slurping down the soup at an unimaginably fast speed, contentedness spread all over him. He needed this. Just a simple meal cooked by someone he loved in the company was enough to smooth over his thorny feelings. Putting down the bowl, he sat back, full and relaxed.

"Wow. Have you not eaten for years?"Sharon remarked with a laugh. She was still working through her meal and from the looks of it, she was barely halfway through.

"It felt like it,"he responded with a smile. It just occurred to him that he had skipped lunch the moment he entered her apartment. When the scent of dinner had trickled into his nose, his stomach growled and he felt like a ravenous bear. Now that he was done, the warmth of the dishes settled in and he was slowly getting sleepy.

"Sorry I didn't pick up your calls earlier. I was in meetings the entire day,"she suddenly said, grabbing his attention. He couldn't help but to sit up.

"It's fine. I understand." He was slowly tensing up and he couldn't help it. She was clearly uncomfortable but from the way she was looking at him, he felt her resolve.

"So Matt told me what happened. Do you want to talk about it?"

He knew what she was talking about and a part of him felt like turning her away. He could handle this on his own. But as he was opening his mouth to gently reject her offer, he found himself telling the entire story.

From the moment he found out to getting back and now. His thought process, his sorrow, his fears. By the time he stopped, he was in her embrace, hiding from the outside world and the uncertain future. She had come over to him and he just surrendered to her. It also helped that she was just so soft and cuddly.

"Everything's going to be fine,"she kept saying as she stroked his hair and back. Eventually his turbulent emotions settled down. Even so, he didn't push her away. He needed more time. Then she threw him for a curveball. "I'm thinking about heading back to my hometown for a while."

"What?"he asked, looking up from the abrupt subject change. She looked like she had just swallowed the most bitter medicine in the world. "I thought you hate going back. Your mom and Jasmine are there.."

"Well, yeah. But I still want to get all my stuff before Mom throws them away. With Jasmine's wedding this weekend, she'll be too busy. This is the perfect time." He wasn't buying this. She was being too forcefully, sounding too perky and bright. Something was up. Then she sighed. "And I thought it'd be a great idea for you to get out of town for a while. I mean, you helped me when I needed it. So maybe this can help, too."

At first, he was going to reject her outright. Clearly, this was going to be a painful trip for her. But when she earnestly explained the reason, he couldn't bear to do that. She was trying and he couldn't turn her away.

"Fine."

AN: Hey guys. Hope you like this chapter. I feel like the story is going to end soon. Maybe another 5-7 chapters to go. After that, I'm going to do a couple of one shots for the story, incorporating those scenes from the first draft. Like when they meet Cameron's parents or his cousins. Look out for that. 

Anyway, please VOTE and COMMENT if you liked the chapter. Please check out my book, Accidental Babies, out now on Amazon. 

THANKS