The Girl Next Door ➸ camren

eleven

"I thought you were leaving tomorrow," Lauren says when she finds Brad packing his bags Friday afternoon.

He sighs. "Not anymore."

"Babe, what's going on?" she asks.

"I just can't stay anymore," he says. "I can't watch you love someone else."

She sits down on the edge of her bed. "What are you talking about?"

He takes a seat next to her. "I know you love Camila. It's obvious. I don't know if you know you do, but I can tell."

Lauren shakes her head. "That's not true." She places a hand on his cheek, but he brushes it away. "I love you."

Brad looks down at his hands and wrings them. "I see the way you look at her and how she looks back at you. You look at people you love in a certain way, and I know your look because it's the way you used to look at me. You don't anymore, and that's okay. Long distance is hard, and Camila is a great girl. I'd probably love her if I was you, too."

She rests her head on his arm and says, "I'm sorry. I didn't... I didn't mean to. I'd never hurt you intentionally. It just happened."

Brad wraps his arms around her. "It's okay, babe. I just... I can't watch it anymore, so I'm going home."

She nods and kisses his cheek. "Tell everyone I say hi."

"I will," he tells her. "Don't let her get away."