"Morning, sunshine," Cam said from his locker.

I ignored him, entering my combination and taking out my textbooks.

"Summer? Are you still mad?" I saw the wounded puppy dog look he gave me in my peripheral. "I know I screwed up, and...." The bell interrupted his little speech.

I slammed my locker shut and walked around him.

Cam followed close behind. I felt his body heat. "This isn't over," he whispered in my ear. "I didn't fight for us before, but that doesn't mean I won't do it now. I'll walk you to class."

I didn't say anything about that either. I'd let him sweat it out a bit.

Operation: "Taste of his own medicine" was in full swing. Let's see how long Cam would last with this treatment.

Cam passed me sticky notes with apologetic faces scribbled on them and sweet little sayings throughout the class.

One of them had lyrics to "You are my sunshine." I nearly lost it right there and gave in.

But I didn't, and I carried on with this act all the way to lunch.

I could see Cam getting agitated. His leg kept bouncing up and down as he stared at me. Being ignored by the person you cared about the most sucked, and I was evilly laughing on the inside.

"Did you two get into a fight?" Suho asked.

I shook my head. "Nope. I'm just not talking to him right now."

"That sounds an awful lot like a fight," Vance said. "I should know. Yesterday Kenny wasn't talking to me because I made a comment about how she had bad taste in guys. We went back and forth until she stopped talking to me altogether. See, fighting."

Kenny rolled her eyes and muttered something.

"Don't be like that," Vance said. "All I meant was they weren't on your level."

"Oh yeah, and you are?"

Vance slowly grinned, leaning into her as she leaned away. "Maybe."

Kenny's lips parted with an audible gasp.

Then Vance changed the subject, focusing back on Cam and me.

"I've been filled in, and I think you have every right to give him the cold shoulder, Summer."

"Dude!" Cam shouted. "You're supposed to be on my side."

Vance shrugged unapologetically.

"I don't like being out of the loop. Does this have anything to do with the event on Saturday?" Suho looked at everyone.

"We'll fill you in later." I patted his back.

After school, I hitched a ride with Rosie and Kenny.

Cam had swooped in from behind me and planted a kiss on my cheek. I hadn't expected that since he had asked to take me home first, and I declined.

But that kiss had me stuttering in shock until I ran off to Rosie's car.

"Are you really mad at him or just pretending?" Rosie asked, pulling from the curb.

"The second one." I grinned evilly.

"Oooh. She's making him grovel as she should. He's had it coming for a while now." Kenny would be the one to agree to my methods of torture.

Rosie looked like she felt a little bad, but then she said, "I understand. I would probably do the same. I think..."

"Nope. You're too nice to pull it off," Kenny told her, and Rosie proceeded to pout.

"I guess you two are just the perfect amount of savage then."

Kenny's and I exchanged looks, then said, "Agreed."

Mom wasn't home yet when I invited the girls inside.

I wanted to know if she was still working at the Mayor's office or if she had run off somewhere else.

This morning when Mom saw me, she hadn't said anything much. She only slid over a plate of blueberry waffles, and maple syrup on the counter then smiled sadly before heading out.

I wrote a thank you on the mini whiteboard on the refrigerator for her to see when she got back.

The girls and I said we would hang out and work on some assignments, but it turned into us watching a movie and ordering Pizza on a Tuesday afternoon. I think this was well needed. We didn't hang out as often as we would like, with Rosie working a lot after school and Kenny always doing something sporty. Then me, I was pretty boring. I spent most of my time thinking of something to write for my blog, researching how to manage a blog, and getting lost in a TV show or reading a book.

I was every parent's dream child. All you had to do was feed me and leave me to do my thing in peace.

It was around 6 pm when the girls decided to head out. And that was also around the time I opened my front door and spotted a familiar figure standing by his jeep with a bouquet.

"Oh, Cam! What a complete and utter surprise!" Kenny said, skipping out the front door.

She walked over to him and hugged him.

"Oh my gosh! Is that Cameron St. James? We did not expect to see you here at all," Rosie said next, also receiving a hug.

I eyed the two of them suspiciously and thought back to how they had been texting nonstop for the last 15 minutes. They were tipping him off. Figures.

I folded my arms, looking to the sky.

"Well, you two have fun!" Kenny called out, getting into the car.

"XOXO!" Rosie replied after her.

I wiggled my fingers, muttering a goodbye.

Cam swaggered over to me, his eyes deep and intense. "Hey, sunshine." He held out pink and white peonies. "These are for you."

I stared at them. They were one of the most beautiful things I had been given. "Don't try to butter me up. I'm still mad at you." I gently took the flowers out of his hands as if I were afraid I would hurt them. "Thank you," I mumbled, sniffing them.

"I wanted to apologize again," Cam spoke the words with a rushed breath.

"That's not good enough, Cam. I trusted you, and I wanted you to be honest with me after everything we've been through."

"I made a mistake."

"Hmmm. That's an understatement."

Cam swallowed. "I didn't want to let you go like that. I thought after everything that maybe you wouldn't look at me the same. A part of me was ashamed of my actions because the people I cared about were getting hurt. I wasn't sure how I could explain the situation and if you'd understand. I was so wrong." Cam adjusted his stance. For the last minute or so, he hasn't been able to keep steady. He's been fidgeting, combing his fingers through his hair, and taking little nips at his bottom lip as I spoke. "I'll beg for your forgiveness if I have to, Summer. The length you went through to reach out to me and be a friend when I swore I didn't want or need one...." Cam hung his head. "I can't let this go. I can't let you go."

Oh gosh, my heart.

The next thing I'm about to isn't going to be nice, but it's me making a point.

"Listen, I think it would be best if we just went our separate ways for now. I need space, and you need time to think." Cam's lips parted as he let out a sharp exhale. "These past few days have been a lot for you, and I think a relationship with me could complicate that."

"Summer..." My name came out as a desperate plea. He shook his head rapidly and reached out for me, but I stepped back, slamming the door shut in his face.

Gosh. I felt like a witch for doing that.

After a few seconds, I opened it again.

I found Cam standing there with his arms hanging limply at his sides. Slowly he lifted his head, and his eyes met mine.

"I bet that hurt, didn't it? Me pushing you away when all you want was to be my side?"

Cam's scrunched his brows, perplexed and baffled all at once.

"I don't understand..." he trailed off, trying to figure it out.

"I'm not mad at you, Cam. I can't stay mad at you."

"B-b-but..."

I gave him one of those shut-up kisses. Cam hadn't kissed me back, though, probably reeling from the whiplash I'd just given him. "I'm sorry," I grabbed hold of his hand. "That was mean and possibly unnecessary. But how you're feeling now is how I felt for a while when you left me behind." I stepped up to him. "Don't ever do that again."

"You were... so everything you said...." He let me fill in the blanks.

"I didn't mean it. I was angry, but I understand that you were in a rough spot. I don't know how I would have handled it either. I wish you would've chosen to go to your Mom and or me. Us watching you hurting and suffering because of what they made you promise and the threats they hung over your head without us knowing...." I shook my head with tears clouding my vision. "On behalf of my mother, I owe you an apology too."

"No, Nope." Cam cupped my cheeks. "You don't have to apologize for her. Don't ever do that again." He threw my own words back at me as his eyes searched mine as if trying to decipher whether or not I understood him.

I smiled despite everything. I would've liked to patch things up with Cam like this weeks ago, but I guess some things need to happen on their own time.

But either way, I was grateful to see him at my doorstep. I was ecstatic to hear him say he wouldn't stop fighting for me. I mean, what girl didn't want to hear that.

For a while, I tried to talk myself into thinking this was one-sided because then I could let go of the idea of what I thought Cam and I had, but that was never the case.

But this was just proof of what the girls said the other day.

Cam and I were the real deal.

"I have a secret to tell you too." My heart got all giddy inside.

Cam schooled his features. "Oh yeah..." He cleared his throat, and his face became neutral. "What's up, Sunshine?"

I lifted the hand he had been holding and moved it to the back of his neck. "I think I'm in love with you." I didn't think. I was sure.

Cam gasped softly. If I hadn't been so close, I would have heard it.

I continued, "I'm kind of crazy about you. I want to stick by your side. Ride or die. Love you to the moon and back, kind of crazy about you."

Cam blinked twice. "You love me?" He's asked me hoarsely.

I froze up, captivated by how his eyes softened but held an immeasurable intensity.

Clearing my throat, "I do."

He rested his forehead against mine. "I wanted to be the one to tell you first."

I required a cardiologist. My heart skipped a beat, and I was terrified I would flatline soon.

Cam added, "I wanted to make it special. You deserve that. I can't tell you how long I've been holding those words in." Cam chuckled.

"Is that you saying you love me too?" I blurted out.

"Yeah, sunshine. I love you so much." His lips pressed a soft kiss to my forehead then his eyes locked with mine. "And I love you because you're fierce, persistent, and passionate about whatever you put your mind to. You're the best friend who looks out for someone even when they insist that they don't need anyone. I don't call you sunshine for nothing. It's because you bring all the light to my life."

Ah, man. Here come the tears I fought off earlier.

"I'm crazy about you, Summer, and I swear, no one will get into the way of that again."

Cam ducked his head, and my eyes fluttered shut, awaiting his kiss.

Cam's lips brushed mine gently once, then he got impatient and went for it.

Warmth blossomed throughout my chest. This right here was all I would ever need. Nothing compared to having Cam's lips on mine.

"Wait, does this mean we're back together?" Cam asked, pulling away for a second.

"Technically, we never broke up."

"OH! So we never broke up, but you went on a date?"

My mouth formed an O. "That wasn't a date. It was an outing with a guy that asked me to go somewhere with him."

Cam lifted a brow.

Dang. He got me there.

"That didn't count, okay. As a matter of fact, we were broken up. You didn't text or call me for two months. So that's as good as we're over. In the books, when that one person runs off without saying anything, the other person is like, well, I guess they didn't want to be with me anymore. That was me. I was the second person. So yeah."

Cam stared at me for a long time. "I read all the text messages. I wanted to give us a clean break. And..." He shook his head with a small smile. "It doesn't matter anymore. As I said, I'm with you now, and I'm not leaving again. At least not without telling you or taking you with me. We're in this together. All of it."

"Good." I winked at him.

Cam didn't stick around long, he promised to cook dinner for his Mom, and if I hadn't already devoured some pizza with the girls, I would have tagged along. But Cam promised we could have a date where he made me dinner, and we watched a movie.

I finally gathered the motivation to get some school work done. If I had known, my work would have taken me no more than an hour to complete; maybe I would have started it earlier. Maybe.

I stared at the flowers in a vase from where I lay on my bed. I still couldn't believe Cam told me he loved me. I squealed, kicking my feet up in the air.

The knock at my door stopped me in my mid-happy feet dance.

"Yes?"

The door opened, and she pushed half her body inside. "Can we talk, please?"

I sat up, folding one leg under the other, then I patted the empty spot next to me.

Mom crept in, accepting the invitation.

"Where have you been?" I asked. She left early this morning, she hadn't texted me all day, and now it was 7 pm, and she was just getting in.

"I needed some time to think. I spent most of the day by your dad's grave. Then the other half was me walking circles around downtown with a half-eaten pretzels. I probably looked sad and pathetic as I felt. But moving on from that." Mom angled her body toward me.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for her next words.

"Summer, I owe you an apology. I owe a lot of people that. My actions were beyond selfish and cruel. I am ashamed of myself, and I don't expect you to forgive me right away, but I'll work up to that. I don't want to be the Mother that sets that kind of example for you, and most importantly, if this news had gotten out, I know it would have made your life harder than necessary. After the past few years, you've had, that's not something you deserve."

We kept eye contact, but that last sentence made me break it.

Mom was talking about us losing Dad. That wasn't a topic we touched on often, but I wanted to change that.

"And as far as Cameron is concerned, I see how happy he's made you, and I took that away. I'm glad you two got back together because I only want to see you happy. I know that might be hard to believe, but I swear, from now on, I won't let anything jeopardize that."

Mom held her out to me with her palm facing up. I stared at it, knowing this was her gesture of peace. I rested my hands in hers, and she covered it with the next.

"I'm not perfect, and I need to learn from my mistakes. I also want you to know that I have quit my job and I will find a new one. Paul and I aren't together anymore. I couldn't be with a man that violated a woman like that. I shouldn't have been with him, period, but after your dad, he had a way of making me feel like I could love again. It was all a hoax, but my feelings were real, which sucked, but I'll live."

I nodded, not knowing if any of my words would help her feel better. "Mom, I will take your apology into consideration. You're going to have to earn it. I'm talking a few shopping trips and girl's night with a trip to Red Lobster's." I started to list a ton of activities off my fingers.

Mom nodded eagerly. "I'll do anything for you, Summer. I know we can't bond like you and your father did, but I want to try like we used to before I ruined it."

"Alright." I patted her hand. "We can do that. I don't want to stay mad at you, Mom. This family isn't big enough for me to cut off relatives, and we live under the same household, so that would be weird." I joked.

"Right." Mom smiled a bit, then said something I hadn't heard in a while. "I love you." She smoothed down my unruly hair.

"I love you too," I told her.

Our relationship was going to take a while to patch up, but the act of making an effort in the first place was going to make it worth it.