ode to life | cameron dallas

Chapter 47

Two weeks later

He opened his eyes.

The room was still; quiet and dark with a royal blue tone that contrasted from the rising sun and glimmered through the window curtains. It was cold. The air thin and the bed half empty and it seemed as if the walls were closing in on him. The only sound was from the outside, water trickling down the balcony gutter and rain hitting the roof top like a piano melody. It was almost peaceful.

He remained curled up on the edge of his king-sized bed, eyes wide open, yet droopy and tired as if sleep was poisonous to him. His eyes were fixed on the bright red letters that glowed on the screen of the answering machine beside him. It read three new voicemails, twenty two deleted messages and one saved voicemail, which was Ariel's.

Cameron stretched his arm toward the answering machine, without looking and pressed buttons until he had pushed the right one.

"Three new voicemails," the machine alerted. "Cameron, It's Danny and Reily. I am so sorry for your loss, man. I didn't even know until we got the funeral invitation a few days ago. Reily and the kids and I are flying out to Toronto from Denver tonight. I can only imagine what you're going through. Believe me when I say I understand. Things like these just don't happen to people like Ariel and Grace. It isn't fair. I'll see you soon, man. Take care."

"Message deleted. Two new voicemails."

"Hi Cameron, I don't think we've ever formally met in person, but my name is Jesse Clark. You might remember me as Ariel's ex boyfriend a few years back before we finished PreMed together and chose different places for our internships. Uh, this may be a bit awkward, but I just need to give my condolences to somebody. With her parents dead and being an only child, I assume you are her only family. I also want to thank you. She chose you over me, and I can understand why. She made you decent, but in return, you made her so, completely and irretrievably happy. I will always be grateful to you for that. Take care, my friend."

"Message deleted. One new voicemail."

"Cam! It's Linda. You will never guess what Camille did this morning! I was up, making her breakfast in the kitchen and when I came back to the room, I saw her take three grand steps before well, of course, stumbling on to the floor. But three steps! I couldn't believe it. She's two and couple months and she's already walking. She's a bright kid, you know? By the way, I'd appreciate it if you answered my calls from time to time. I want to know how you're doing, Cam. I'll still watch Camille for however long you need me to, but I at least need to know you're doing okay. Go outside today, catch some sun. Well, it's raining but that's not the point. Just, continue living, Cameron please. I'll see you soon."

"Message deleted. There are no more messages. Main menu; To listen to your voic-"

Cameron slammed on the machine to cut it off. He slept over the blankets and was still in last night's clothes, shoes on and hair unkempt. He raised his right hand to his face to speculate over a dozen scratches and bruises on his knuckles under the dim light.

An hour passed, and Cameron had moved once, to the balcony where he smoked his lungs away in perhaps his fourth cigarette of the morning. It was still raining. Still in last night's clothes, he looked down at his wrinkled white shirt, and discovered dark red blood splattered subtly among his top.

It was nine o'clock now, and he was scheduled to meet someone at ten. He pushed himself towards his grand bathroom that pierced his eyes because of how bright the white and gold walls were. He stood in front of the clear, wide mirror before him and saw that his eye had been bruised badly, as well as a couple cuts trickling down the outline of his lips. Emotionless, he bent to the sink, and splashed water on his face.