Cam seemed very receptive to a little TLC.  She and I spent Saturday having a girl's day.  We got our nails done, chatted at Starbucks, and did a little shopping.  There was no better therapy than retail therapy.  We returned home in the afternoon and she had a smile on her face.  I was glad I was able to make her feel a bit better.  Hopefully, it would last.

Lin was grateful I'd put Cam back in a relatively good mood.  She even helped with laundry and did her chores without having to be reminded.  Later in the afternoon, she volunteered to take the twins to the park.  We gratefully agreed, as the twins were getting rather rambunctious.  Lin and I relaxed on the couch after they'd gone.

"So apparently this America girl down the hall is a boyfriend snatcher," I told him as we snuggled.

"Yeah, she mentioned that," Lin agreed.  "She said that was the main reason for the bathroom incident. She and her friends were getting revenge."

I sighed, "Girl drama."

"Tell me about it," he said, scrubbing a hand over his face.  I'd had a fairly drama-free group of friends in high school, so a lot of this was new to me.  Cam had shown me pictures of this boy she'd been dating and I didn't think he was anything to write home about.  She saw something in him, though.  And apparently, so did America.

About an hour later, Cam walked back in with the twins.  They were all a bit subdued, and when I looked over I realized why.  Cam was crying.  I stood up and started walking over.

"Cam, what happened?  Are you alright?"

She couldn't seem to get anything out, so I just wrapped her up in a hug as she cried.  "Cam saw her boyfriend kissing another girl and it made her sad," Raina reported.  Lin swooped in and grabbed some snacks from the pantry and coaxed the twins to the living room.  He turned on the TV so they'd have a distraction.

Lin walked over, standing close by as Cam kept crying.  "You're not hurt are you, sweetheart?" he asked gently.  She shook her head as she pulled back.

"It's just...she's doing it on purpose," she told us, wiping under her eyes.  "I don't think she even likes him.  She probably saw me out there from her apartment and met him there just so they could make out in front of me.  She's such a bitch."

I rubbed at her arm supportively.  "That's pretty low," I agreed.  If this sort of behavior was coming from a 16 year old, what was her mother capable of? 

"Cam, you deserve way better," Lin told his daughter.  "This boy isn't worth another second of your emotions."

"Daaad," she complained, thinking he didn't understand.  "It's not that easy."

"I know it's not easy," he said, taking her hand.  "Believe me, I've had my heart broken.  It hurts.  Just remember you're very special and you deserve a guy who will treat you right.  Not this guy."

I looked at her sympathetically.  "Do we need to go get some more ice cream?  Maybe a mani this time?" I joked.  She laughed a little.

"No thanks," she said.  "I think I'll just go to my room."

"Call us if you need anything," I told her as she wandered off.  Lin let out a breath and went to the fridge to get a drink.

"Lin, do you think we need to talk to her mom about this?" I asked.  "I mean, I don't want this escalating.  Maybe her mother can tell her to back off a bit."

"The mother who's been coming on to me?" he asked as he popped open a soda.  "You think she'll talk some sense into her daughter?"

I sighed and crossed my arms.  That didn't sound like a good solution.  "I don't know, Lin.  I just hate to see her hurting like this."

"Me too," he agreed, taking a swig of soda.  "She's a strong kid, though.  I think she'll get through this."

We let Cam be for the evening.  Around 9:00, there was a knock at the door.  A young man stood at the door.  His hat was on a sideways and his pants sagged.

"Uh...hi," he said hesitantly.  "Is Cam home?"

I studied him for a moment and narrowed my eyes at him.  "William?"

"Yeah," he said.  I turned back to Lin and he got off the couch to come over.

"You're William?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," he answered politely, sensing he better be minding his manners.

"I think you need to stay away from my daughter," he told the teenage boy.  "You've caused her a lot of pain."

"Sir, I think I made a big mistake-"

"William?" We heard Cam call from the hallway.  We all turned to look at her.  She looked surprised - pleasantly surprised - to see William at the door.  "What are you doing here?"

"Umm...can we talk?"

Cam looked at her father.  "Dad, can we go up to the roof?"

I could tell Lin was reluctant to let this happen.  Neither of us trusted or liked this boy.  He sighed and reluctantly agreed.

"Ten minutes," he told her.  "If you're not back, I'm coming up."

Cam slipped on some shoes by the door and started to follow William out.  "And keep that thing in your pouch!" he yelled after William.

"Lin!" I chastised him.

"What?" he asked, busying himself around the kitchen.  We were both wondering what was being said.  We hoped she was telling him to get lost.  About ten minutes later, when she came back, she had a small smirk on her face.  She closed the door and locked it and began to walk away without saying anything to us.

"Well?" I asked her, causing her to pause.

"We made up," she said.  Lin and I looked at each other, worried.

"Cam-" Lin called after her, but she continued to her room.

"Let me talk to her," I told him, putting a hand on his chest.  Lin wouldn't be able to handle this right.  Fathers were protective of their daughters and rightly so.  Maybe I could get her to see this all in another light.

I knocked on her bedroom door and came in.  She was sitting on her bed, her music already playing again.  She still didn't have her phone, so she had no one to text.  I sat down on her bed.

"So....what happened?" I probed.

"He said America turned out to be some really crazy bitch, which I could have told him," she said.  "She kept texting him all the time, and got really jealous if she even saw him talking to another girl.  Total control freak."

"But Cam," I treaded lightly.  "This William doesn't seem like such a good guy.  He cheated on you with America while you were still together.  Multiple times."

"He's really sorry about it," she said.  "He made a mistake.  Now that he sees how good he has it, I doubt he'll cheat again."

I had a sick feeling in my stomach.  Teenage love could be so blind.  "Cam, I respect your decision, but I want you to be really careful, okay?  There's something about William that I don't trust.  He's not pressuring you to do anything is he?"

"Not really," she said, which didn't make me feel any better.

"Cam," I said seriously.  "You are way too young to be having sex.  Please tell me you're not thinking about it."

"Maybe a couple months down the road," she said.  "But don't worry.  We'll use protection."

I sighed, feeling worse and worse.  "Cam, please.  You need to take things slow.  No sex.  And no boys in this house unsupervised.  Is that clear?"

She furrowed her eyebrows like she was wondering why I was trying to come off like a parent.  I didn't usually lay down expectations like this, but I thought it might be more meaningful coming from a female.  If Lin told her not to, she'd be even more determined.

"Okay, Pippa," she said dismissively.  "Jeez."

"I'm not joking, Camila," I told her.  "I don't want you to make a decision you'll regret."

I stood up, looking at her for a long while.  She seemed a bit taken aback by my seriousness.

"Good night," I told her, then left and closed the door.

Lin was pacing the living room, a beer now in his hand.  When he saw me walk out, his eyes looked at me, somewhat petrified.  "What did she say?"

I sighed heavily.  "They're back together," I reported reluctantly.  "He said being with America was a big mistake, and she bought it."

He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.  "Shiiiit."

"I know," I said, plopping on the sofa.  "I told her she needs to be really careful and take things slowly."

Lin continued to pace, hands on his hips.  "Do you think I should ban her from seeing him?"

"Lin, that's gonna make her want to be with him more," I told him.

"I can't just sit by and let this douchebag break my daughter's heart again," he said.  "I want to wring his stupid neck."

"I know, Lin," I agreed.  "I know.  But we have to respect the fact that she's 16 and she'll be making her own decisions in a few years as an adult.  There's nothing we'll be able to do to stop her."

"But I can stop her now," he ventured, rubbing his neck.

"Lin," I said seriously.  "Don't go there.  We need to reason with her.  We need to be patient with her.  If you give her an ultimatum, she's gonna rebel."

Lin knew Cam better than anybody, and he had to know this was true.  She wasn't a bad kid, but as a teenager, she had a tendency to think her parents were stupid and she knew everything. 

I stood up and walked over to him, then rubbed his chest supportively.  "Come on," I urged, taking his hand.  "Let's go to bed.  There's nothing more we can do tonight."

He let himself be tugged along.  As we walked past Cam's door, I felt him resist a bit more.  I tugged harder and pulled him into the bedroom.

"Go brush your teeth," I told him, standing by the door to make sure he didn't dart out.  If he went into Cam's room right now and forbade her from seeing him, we'd be in store for a real shit show.  I had to save him from himself.

Lin reluctantly wandered into the bathroom and brushed his teeth.  He stripped down to his boxer briefs and climbed into bed.  When I climbed into bed next to him a few minutes later, I could tell he was still tense.  I again rubbed at his chest, trying to calm him.

"Lin," I said.  "Breathe."

"She doesn't know what she's doing," he told me.

"No, but sometimes you have to let your kid make mistakes," I said.  "It's the only way to learn."

"What if she ends up pregnant and she's attached to this dick for the rest of her life?"

"Lin, you're getting a little ahead of yourself," I told him.  "Look.  If it makes you feel better, I mentioned sex to her and she said they're not even thinking about it yet."

"Yet?!" he asked, exasperated.  I sighed heavily and rolled over, facing away from him.

"I give up," I said.  I turned off my bedside lamp and the silence between us was palpable.  Lin couldn't freak out about this.  But why again was I defending Cam?  I didn't want her to be with William any more than Lin wanted it.  I just knew Cam would break away if she felt she was trying to be told what to do.

After a few minutes of silence, I finally spoke again.  "Lin, you need to trust your daughter.  You've done an amazing job raising her, and she's not gonna let some 17 year old chump mess up her life.  Now chill."

Lin didn't respond and settled into bed next to me.  I felt his chest up against my back and sensed him smell my hair.  He was obsessed with my hair.  Finally, he pressed a little kiss to my neck and pulled me a little tighter.  Maybe he was going to trust me on this one.