Chapter Six
The next couple of days proved to be quite stressful for Nick and Camille. They went about their own business, not really talking much to the other person. Nick went on with his preparations to move, as did Camille. It seemed as though this was the beginning of the end for their relationship.
Nick really didn’t know what to do or say to her. He was definitely upset about the fact that he was going to be leaving, while she was choosing to stay in Florida. He hadn’t expected her to stay. He’d really thought that after she complained about it for a bit, she would have given in a moved to LA with him. Unfortunately, that had not been the case. Sure, Nick was happy that Camille was now able to stay and finish her schooling in Florida like she’d wanted, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to miss her. Though, the fact that they’d been on the outs lately but a bit of a damper on that feeling.
The two of them were stubborn in their own ways. Neither of them wanted to apologize or be the first to admit that they were wrong. Add to the fact that they both thought they were in the right, making for some high tension among the two of them. Nick couldn’t see a much of a solution that didn’t involve either one of them giving in.
Camille didn’t want to leave Florida because her semester had just started. However, Nick figured that once her semester was over, she would be able to join him in LA and continue her schooling there. It was definitely something to think about, and perhaps she wouldn’t be opposed to the idea. After all, she wanted to live with him, didn’t she? To him, it seemed as though she enjoyed living in Florida more than she enjoyed living with him.
Still, it was worth a shot.
“Cam?” Nick asked, as he poked his head into their bedroom. She was laying on her stomach on the bed, listening to her headphones as she read through a textbook. Nick stepped into the room and sat down beside her. Gently touching her back, he glanced at the book she was reading. He had to give her credit, he didn’t understand half the things she was learning in University.
Camille pulled off her headphones and glanced at Nick. What could he possibly want? “Hi.”
“I was just wondering…” Nick started slowly. “Your semester is over in December, right?”
She nodded, wondering what he was getting at. “Yeah. December fourteenth.”
“Well, why don’t you move to LA with me when you’re done?” Nick suggested, hoping that this would ease the awkwardness between them. “That way, we’ll only be separated for like… a month.”
Camille considered that for a moment. Even if she did move to LA with Nick, it would only be for a short time considering that he wasn’t going to stay there for very long. Once they were finished with the album, there were probably going to be promotional tours and that sort of thing. If she went to LA, she’d be stuck there and alone while Nick was away on his tours.
As much as she loved Nick, and as much as she wanted to be with him it would only be for a short time until he had to leave again. She couldn’t just throw away her whole life in Florida to stay in LA with him for a few months.
“I don’t know, Nick.” She replied.
Nick’s face fell. It had been the perfect solution. “Why not? It makes perfect sense.”
She shrugged. “Not really. I’d move there, and then as soon as I got settled you’d be leaving again to do promo stuff.” She explained, turning back to her book and putting her headphones back on.
Nick sighed angrily and pulled her headphones off. He was sick of her avoiding their issues. If she wanted things to be fixed, she had to be willing to talk to him and come up with a compromise. “I want to fix this.” He said firmly.
She glared at him. “Fix what? Everything is fine, you’re leaving and I’m staying. I’m not throwing away all of my friends for you.” She replied, anger evident in her voice. After giving him one final look, she put her headphones back on and returned to her reading. Though she was happy that Nick seemed to care a little more about their situation than she’d thought he did, it still annoyed her that all his solutions seemed to be convenient only for him.
Frustrated, Nick left the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. There was no way he could see their relationship working for much longer with the status of things at that moment.
“Did you get your paper back from Western Civ yet?” Brittany asked as she and Camille walked around the University campus together the next day.
Camille only shrugged. She didn’t really feel like talking about school very much, especially since she didn’t think she’d done such a great job on that assignment. “No.”
Brittany gave Camille a strange look. Usually she was eager to get into a conversation about her homework assignments. She’d always enjoyed discussing what she was learning. “Cam? You okay?”
Again, Camille shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t really want to burden Brittany with her problems, especially since it seemed like she had her life on track. Still, she couldn’t get Nick out of her head. Maybe it would help to talk with someone about it. Someone who wasn’t Nick’s best friend. “No.” She replied honestly.
“Is it Nick?” Brittany asked cautiously. She’d known that Nick and Camille were having issues about the whole marriage idea, but she figured it wasn’t really a big problem.
Camille sighed. “Yes. Last week he just dropped this huge bomb on me saying that we’re moving to LA… and when I told him I didn’t want to go he just acted like he didn’t give a shit at all.” She said bitterly. Nick was confusing the hell out of her. One minute he acted like he didn’t care, the next he was coming up with solutions to get her to LA with him. He didn’t make any sense at all. If only she could understand what was going on in that head of his.
Brittany thought about that for a moment. “Well, maybe he’s kind of shocked. I mean, you were pretty quick to move down to Florida, weren’t you? You guys haven’t been going out that long.”
“I guess. But he can’t just expect me to move around with him everywhere he wants to go!”
“Especially since he’s not willing to marry you.” Brittany added, remembering her conversations with Camille and her annoyance at Nick’s attitude towards marriage.
“Exactly.” Camille said, figuring that it was unfair of Nick to ask so much of her when he wasn’t even willing to give her a solid commitment in return. “Exactly.”
Brittany smirked. “You should tell him that.”
“Tell him what?” Camille asked, confused. Every time she brought up the marriage subject, it resulted in an argument. Surely Brittany knew that by now.
“Tell him that you’re not going to move with him unless he’s willing to make that commitment to you. That’s fair, isn’t it?”
Camille considered that. It made a bit of sense to her, since Nick was asking her to do something she didn’t want to do, it was only fair that he gave her what she wanted as well. Unfortunately she couldn’t see that conversation going over very well. “I guess I could try that.”
“It’s worth a shot.” Brittany said, putting her arm around her friend. “What have you got to lose?”
“Nick.” Camille said sadly. Though they were having their fair share of problems lately, she still loved him and wanted to be with him.
“True, but if he’s not really to compromise, do you really want to be with him anyway?” Brittany reasoned.
“I guess not.” Camille said, though she still wasn’t exactly sure it was such a good idea.
