The next morning, Pippa was looking at me funny.  I kept glancing at her as I got the twins' breakfast going.  She looked like she had something on her mind.  Raina was healthy again, so I didn't think it was about her.  We should have a few minutes alone together after the other kids had left for school.

I got Cam up, not letting her sleep in during her suspension.  Her attitude had been terrible all week and she was really getting under my skin, which I think she enjoyed.  I wondered if her mother was still around if she'd be fighting with her all the time like she did with me.

It was Friday, so I finally saw some relief in sight.  I had another full day ahead of me.  Molly took the twins to school with her and Cam was holed up in her room.  Pippa cleared the dishes from breakfast.

"Everything okay?" I asked her, jumping in to help.

"Fine," she said, but didn't elaborate.  I watched her for a moment, and I knew enough about her to know she was lying.

"You sure?" I asked, stopping and leaned against the counter.  She sighed and looked down.

"I saw a text on your phone last night," she said, drying her hands.  She turned and looked at me.  "From Sofia."

I sighed and crossed my arms.  "She's starting to make me a bit uncomfortable.  She's always asking me to do favors for her."

"Is that all?" she asked me, looking me directly in my face.  I couldn't lie to her.  I knew I had to come clean.

"She kissed me once," I confessed.  "When you were in Tennessee with Raina.  But I cut her off and told her I wasn't interested."

"She kissed you?" Pippa gaped.  "And you didn't tell me?"

"Pip, I didn't want to make a big deal out of it," I told her.  "I didn't want you to worry.  You already had enough going on worrying about Raina."

"I would've wanted to be told about this," she said, clearly hurt.  She fiddled around with some things on the counter.

"Pip-" I stepped towards her and took her hand, then pulled her to me.  "Look at me," I gently commanded, and she did.  "You are the only woman for me.  Ever.  You do not have to worry about Sofia."

"What if she comes on to you again?  What if she tries to kiss you again?" she asked.

"Then I'll firmly tell her no, and I'll break off all contact," I said.  "If it makes you uncomfortable, I won't help her anymore.  I'll tell her I can't."

"And she'll know I'm jealous," Pippa.

"Well, you have nothing to be jealous of," I told her.  "You're perfect and I'm in love with you."

She smiled a little and I kissed her slowly.

"Now stop worrying," I told her, my voice low.  We separated and I gave her hand a squeeze.  She disappeared to take a shower and I finished getting myself ready for the day.  I knocked on Cam's door and found her sitting at her desk, notebook open.

"I'll be back later," I told her. "Pippa will be around for a while.  How's the homework coming?"

"Fine," she said in an unfriendly tone.

I sighed and left her, then told Pippa goodbye.  I went about my day as usual.  It went by very quickly since I was so busy.  I texted Pip that I would pick up Chinese on the way home.  I knew everyone's favorites.  Around 7:00, I stepped off the elevator with two plastic bags of food in my hands.  When I walked in the door, everyone was excited to see me because I had food.  And, I think they kinda liked me too.

Cam was moping because she had to miss her school dance tonight.  She begged me again to let her go, but I wasn't budging.  What she'd done to America was terrible and the way she'd been acting, she didn't deserve any exceptions.

Cam went to her room immediately after dinner.  She'd been in her room so much later I didn't think anything of not seeing her all evening.  Around 10:00, I went to her room to check on her as I was going to bed.  Empty.

I torqued my jaw and breathed out in annoyance.  Had she really snuck out?  What made it worse was that she didn't have her cell phone right now so I couldn't call her or text her.  I realized she was probably at the dance, so I walked back out to the kitchen, where Pippa was folding a blanket.

"Cam snuck out," I told her, pulling on some tennis shoes.  "I'm going to the school."

"You're kidding," she said.

"Unfortunately not," I told her, heeling my foot in.  "I'll be back."

As I rode the subway, I checked the school's website about the dance.  It was supposed to finish about 10:00, so hopefully I'd catch her before she went somewhere else.  As I neared the school, the gym and the sidewalks around it were lit up and I could hear the sound of music coming from inside.  I went in the doors and checked in with one of the teachers, asking if they'd seen Cam.

I surveyed the room and couldn't find her initially.  I kept wandering around, asking kids and teachers.  Finally, someone said they'd seen her go to the bathroom a while ago.  I walked out and down the hallway to the restrooms.  I rested my ear against the door and didn't hear anything, but it was noisy.  I pushed the door open slightly and heard crying.  I called out my daughter's name.  The crying stopped.

"Cam?" I said again.

"Dad?" I heard her say tearfully.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" I asked, concerned.  If my baby was hurt, that was my first concern.

"Not really," she sniffled.

"Come on out and I'll get you home," I told her.  I let the door close and waited outside.  A minute later, she emerged in a cute party dress, her eyes red.  Even though I was mad at her, I hated to see her upset.  I opened my arms and she stepped into them.  She cried some more as I hugged her tightly.

"Let's go and you can tell me what happened at home," I said, steering her towards the door.  I hailed us a cab and soon we were home.

"Go change and I'll come in to talk," I told her.  I went to my bedroom and changed into my PJs.  About ten minutes later, I went to Cam's room.  Her hair was up in a messy bun and all her tear-stained makeup had been removed.  I sat on her bed, where she was sitting pretzel-style.

"I'm upset that you snuck out, but I more concerned that you're upset," I began.  "Did something happen?"

"William broke up with me," she told me.  "I never told you about him, but we've been dating for, like, two months."

I was surprised she'd kept this from me.  I thought we had a pretty open relationship and that she trusted me.  That wasn't important now, though.  She was obviously upset.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said.  "Was he in your grade?"

"He's a junior," she said.

"Did he break up with you at the dance?"

"Yeah," she said quietly.  I put my arm around her shoulders and kissed her head.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," I said softly.  "That's rough.  Do you wanna talk about it?"

She went into a bit of a monologue about how they'd met and what they'd been doing, and how it turned out that America, our new neighbor, had been trying to steal him away.  She'd caught them making out in the hallway and confronted him.

"So, the bullying incident the other day," I stopped her.  "Was that about this?"

"Partially," she said.  "Yeah, mostly."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked her.

She shrugged.  "It was stupid."

"I can understand why you were so mad at her," I said.  "Doesn't condone what you did, but I understand better now."

As I rubbed Cam's back I thought more about her mother Sofia.  Apparently the apple didn't fall too far from the tree.  It was a family of conniving women.

I hugged her close to me and rested her head against my shoulder.  "I know it seems like the end of the world right now, but there will be other boys.  Boys that deserve you and treat you right."

She nodded and sniffled a little.  "Let's get you tucked in."

Cam scooted over as I stood, pulling the covers over her.  I kissed my teenager on the forehead and told her good night.  As I closed the door, I quickly peeked in on the other kids.  They were all fast asleep.  Even though it hadn't been a fun reason, it felt nice that Cam had needed me tonight.  She spent so much of her energy trying to be independent and grown-up, but she was still just a kid.  She'd had her first heartbreak, and I was glad I was able to be there for her.

As I climbed into bed, Pippa asked what had happened and I explained.

"I might have to take her out for ice cream tomorrow," Pippa suggested.  "And maybe some shopping."

I settled in and smiled a little.  "I think she'd like that.  First heartbreak isn't easy."

The next morning, Cam slept in.  Pippa made pancakes and I saved her some, otherwise the twins would have gobbled them down.  Around 11:00, I went to her room to see how she was doing.  She was laying awake in bed.  I gave her a small smile as I sat on her bed and gently rubbed her arm.

"How you feeling?"

"Sad," she said.  "But kind of glad I don't have my phone right now."

I chuckled a little and gave her a kiss on the forehead.  "I saved you some pancakes.  When you're ready, come on out.  Pippa has some plans for you this afternoon."

"Does it involve indentured servitude?" she asked as I got up.

"Nope," I said.  "I think you'll enjoy it."

I knew Cam didn't always open up to Pippa, but I saw a small file on her face as I left the room.