Not the Same

We Have a Problem

Kian’s POV

            What the hell?

            What just happened?

            What happened after I left Cam’s place?

            So many questions raced through my brain trying to process what just happened. Why is Cam suddenly became this huge homophobe and willing to threaten people for no reason. It’s like he has regressed back to his former self in high school. I walk into the restroom to look at my neck in the mirror. My neck looked to be very red and irritated from Cam pressing him arm into it. I gently glide my fingers over the mark and feel it sting.

            I come out of the restroom and head back into the front area. I look at the cash registers to see Ricky and Earl have a conversation about something. I look over to see Connor walking into the marketplace. I quickly walk over to him and ask, “Hey did Cam go out that way?”

            “No, why,” Connor responds.

            “Cam’s been acting weird lately,” I say.

            “How so,” Connor says with a concerned look.

            “I…” I stop when I see Earl coming closer. “I’ll explain later.” I point my eyes at Earl to inform Connor why I stopped.

            “Oh, okay,” Connor says. “I’ll talk to you later.”

            “Later,” I say and head over to grab the broom from behind the counter. I start sweeping the floors and fix the shelf displays. Time seemed to go by pretty fast. However, I never saw Cam again. Where’d he go? Did he go back home? Earl didn’t seem worried that he was gone, but that doesn’t make me feel any better.

            Work flew by somehow and we left the marketplace without saying goodbye to Earl. Connor called Sawyer and told him he would ride with us back to our place. When we got back, I called Shelby and Andrea. After calling, we instantly heard someone knocking at the door. I answer the door and say, “Hey, thanks for coming by? Sorry I haven’t talked to you all lately.”

            “No problem,” Shelby says. “We haven’t been doing much?”

            “Yeah,” Andrea utters. “It’s not like you forgot about us or anything.”

            We gather around in the living room and get comfortable. “So, why’d you call us over,” Andrea asks. “Ricky, do you know?”

            “No, but I’m assuming it has to do with Cam,” Ricky says.

            “That’s the thing,” I say. “He’s not going by Cam anymore.”