Chapter Three

While only three months had passed since the beginning of the school year, Cameron had already begun to feel the mounting pressures that accompanied her choice of a college career. She vacantly stared at the chemistry project sitting on the desk in front of her, praying for some sort of inspiration. Running a hand through her hair, she sighed and leaned back in her chair. "What ever possessed me to do this?" She whined, resting her head in her hands. A slight vibration came from beside her and she picked her cellphone up from the desk. Flipping it open, she quickly dismissed the alarm and began clearing up her work.


"Do you think you're ever going to take a breath and just relax for once? Get out and smell the roses?" "One: I can't smell any roses during the winter and two: you know I would if I had the time." She continued buzzing around the small room, gathering up a few items before pulling on a blue Duquesne hoodie that was draped over her chair. "Cameron, you don't make the time. That's your problem." She raised her head to look at Jil, who was leaning against the door frame. "Jil, I don't have the time to make," she replied, brushing past her.


Cameron made what seemed to be the the trek to her car and slid into the drivers seat. The chill from the winter air remained fresh on her skin and she took a moment to warm up before pulling the keys from her pocket. She closed her eyes and slipped one into the ignition, trusting that it would roar to life and she would be on her way. The sound emanating from the engine made it seem as if it would turn over at any second, giving her a new heir of confidence. "Come on, baby. You can do it," she cooed, using her left hand to rub the steering wheel. She cringed, however, when she heard the engine begin to sputter. Within a few short seconds, her new found confidence in the car had vanished and she walked back to the apartment in anguish.


"Back so soon?" "Yes. I don't know why I thought it would start in the first place. I guess I'm going to have to schedule a date with the mechanic," she groaned, sinking into a seat at the island. "This is just starting to get old, you know? I fight the same battle everyday. I haven't even been able to get to the hospital in a week." She reached for the Coke that Jil had placed in front of her and took a swig of it. The old Ford had seen it's glory days quite some time ago. There was no disputing that, and there was no shame in the way the car had been acting. But despite the trials and tribulations she faced with it, Cameron could not part with her prized red 1965 Mustang. She had been thrilled when her dad pulled up in it at her 16th birthday party and dropped the keys in her hands. She treated it like it was her own child, never letting a speck of dirt come in contact with it and making sure it was in tip-top shape at all times. Over the years, though, it had slowly began to deteriorate and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to let go of it.


"Well, if you'd like, you can borrow my car for the time being," Jil offered. Cameron looked up at her in disbelief. "Seriously? You'd do that?" "Cam, it's not like you're some idiot that'll beat my car to death. Look at the way you treat yours. You'd think it was gold." "Hey, it is," she shot back defensively. "Okay, okay.. But, I'm only letting you borrow it on one condition." "What?" "You go out with us tomorrow night," Jil smirked. "But, I have so much work to do. I can't. I still have-" "Either you come with us or you're not borrowing my car and you can sit here everyday." She lifted her head and cast daggers at Jil. "So, what'll it be?"

Cameron lowered her gaze and placed her hands on the half-empty glass of Coke occupying the space in front of her. She twirled it around the counter top for a few minutes before glancing up at Jil, whose lips were still curled into the same smirk. "I'm not budging if that's what you think." She continued to throw dirty looks at Jil until she finally picked herself up from the bar stool and begrudgingly walked into the living room.

After almost an hour, Cameron let out a heavy sigh and trudged back into the kitchen. "Give me your keys," she groaned. ""I knew you'd cave," Jil boasted triumphantly, tossing them over to her. "Shut up," Cameron grumbled, stomping to the door. "You'll thank me later," were the last words she heard as she stepped into the hallway. 'Yeah. I'll thank you later. Later, when all my grades are in the toilet.'

Cameron treaded through the snowy parking lot and stomped the white fluff off of her boots as she entered the Children's Hospital. As she made her way into the nearest elevator, she carefully unraveled the black scarf from her neck and slipped out of her coat. Holding the clothing in her right hand, she exited the elevator and walked over to the nurses station. "Hey, Cam! Haven't seen you in a while," she was greeted as she checked in. "Yeah. My car's broke down, but Jil's letting me borrow her's until I can get it fixed. So what's new Holls?" "Not to much. Except for this!" She beamed, extending her left hand to reveal a diamond gleaming from her ring finger. "Oh my God! Why the hell didn't you call me?!" Cameron squealed, inspecting the diamond. "I wanted to see your reaction." "So when, where, and how did this happen. I want every detail. And I mean every single tiny detail."

The two sat talking about the engagement over a few cups of coffee for the next half hour, until Cameron decided she should let Hollie get back to work. "Cameron, there's a cart full of food that needs to be taken around to the patients if you're not busy," Emma called from behind the light of her computer. "Alright," she replied heading around the corner and grabbing the cart. As she started though the hall, Cameron could hear a few male voices coming from the first room to her right. She knocked on the open door and slowly walked in, catching the eye of a tall shaggy haired blonde with bright blue eyes. Pushing the cart further into the room she could see two men standing beside the bed, one with long brown hair flowing out of the hat that sat atop his head and the other a bit shorter in height with somewhat curly brown hair. Each of the men were wearing black jersey's with penguins on the front, hockey stick in hand. "Hey, I'm Jordan," the blonde smiled, sauntering over to her. "Hi. I'm, I'm Cameron," she stuttered, gazing up at him. "I'm Kris." "And I'm Tyler," the other men greeted. "Nice to meet you," she grinned. "You guys play hockey?" "Yeah, we play for the Pens." "Oh, cool... Hey Noah. How are we doing today?" She made her way over to the small boy laying in the bed. "I'm good. I missed you." "Aw, I missed you too, buddy," she smiled, ruffling his hair. "You want anything? I have soda, cookies.. ice cream.." "Is there chocolate ice cream?" "Always." Before she could get to the cart, Jordan had already picked up a cup of chocolate ice cream and handed it to her. "Here ya go, kiddo. You guys want anything?" She said, redirecting her attention to the three. "Nah, but thanks," Kris replied, a French accent playing with his words. "Okay. Well, I better get going. More rooms to do. It was nice to meet you guys. See ya later, Noah!" She waved as she strolled out of the room.

An hour later, Cameron had finished her trip around the floor and was pushing the empty cart back to the nurses station. She looked up to the clock hanging on the wall. 2:00. "I have class in about an hour, so hopefully I'll be back tomorrow. Bye," she smiled, picking up her scarf and coat and walking to the elevator.

Sidney and the boys had just finished their visit and were now walking out of the last room. "See ya later, Brandon," he and Max Talbot uttered, starting down the hallway. As they walked past the nurses station, Sidney noticed something glittering from the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw a diamond heart dangling off of a silver chain. The necklace looked familiar to him. His eyes followed the chain upwards to the owner's neck. He let his gaze draw further up and to the woman's face. A pair of smokey blue eyes burned his memory. 'Cameron.'