Elijah: [Not at Noble Vista? Where did you go?]


    Austin: [d to hear that. Cam, could I stay at your ce tomorrow? I just can''t...]


    Cameron sat on the edge of the bed, replying to Elijah: [Away for a bit. If it''s not urgent, we''ll talk on Sunday at school.)


    Elijah, ever tactful, didn''t ask anymore. [Sure. Nothing urgent. Good night.]


    Cameron: (Good night.]


    Then she replied to Austin: [You''re wee to use my ce. I''ll send the passcode. But I won''t be there for a couple of days.]


    At the beginning of that message, Austin felt a flicker of excitement. But when he read thest part, his brow furrowed slightly. He sent: [You''re not going to be


    there? Where are you staying then?]


    Cameron: [I can''t tell you for now.].


    Before this, she had been staying in Noble Vista peacefully until Xander and Elijah shared the address. She felt like living in a dorm again. So she decided not to share her new location for now.


    Austin: [Alright then. Since you''re not at home, I won''te over. It wouldn''t feel right being alone in your ce.] He just wanted to see Cameron.


    Samuel had gone on a business trip anyway, and no one bothered Austin.


    Cameron: [Is Samuel giving you trouble?]


    Austin: [Don''t worry, Cam. I''ve survived the past 18 years like this. I''ll be fine.]


    Cameron stared at the message for a while before letting out a soft sigh. She was just an outsider. It wasn''t her turn to interfere. Austin had to deal with it by himself.


    Cameron: [Good night.]


    Austin: [Good night.]


    Cameron set the phone down andy on the bed.


    Just then, there was a knock on the door.


    "Who is it?" she called.


    Bradley''s voice sounded, "It''s me. I brought you fresh clothes."


    Cameron nced down at her towel. "Thanks, but I''m already in bed."


    "I''ll hang them here."


    "Thank you, Brad."


    "No problem. Good night."


    "Good night."


    Cameron heard footsteps fade away, guessing Bradley had left. After a while, she reached out with a hand to pull the garment bag inside and then quickly shut the door.


    Surprisingly, Bradley hadn''t left yet. He stood outside and happened to see Cameron''s arm appearing through the crack. It was delicana sa translucent, with faint blue veins beneath the skin.


    Bradley had only caught a glimpse of Cameron''s arm. He was still surprised, thinking, ''Cameron''s wrist is so delicate?"


    Bradley soon shook his head. Sometimes, Cameron was so guarded, like a shy girl. Yet Cameron carried himself with such masculine confidence.


    The following day, Cameron was woken up by a WhatsApp message from Xander. She had forgotten to mute the phone.


    It was a voice message: [Hey, you awake? We were supposed to start online tutoring. Time to start it!]


    Cameron tossed the phone aside on the bed. She got up, went into the bathroom to shower, and changed into the clothes Bradley had left for herst night.


    The light-blue men''s T-shirt and stone-gray trousers, definitely Bradley''s style, were too mature for Cameron. She thought, ''I have to go back to Noble Vista and grab some of my clothester.''


    By the time she came out of the bathroom, Xander had sent several more voice messages: [Cameron, where the hell are you? If you were a teacher, you''d already be fired.]


    Cameron didn''t even bother listening to the rest. They were probably full ofints anyway. She sent him a voice reply: [I''m having breakfast. I''ll call you in a minute.]


    Then she tossed the phone onto the nightstand and headed downstairs.


    AD


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