I won't give up

chapter twenty: the final chapter

Cam spotted Shirley on the Golden Gate Bridge. It was undergoing repair so there were no cars on the bridge and she just laid down in the middle of the road in a red long dress. They both dressed formal. Ironic.

Cam walked over to her and he got about an inch away and he looked down at her and she looked back up at him with a blank stare and then towards the sky.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you hate me. I wanted to push you away."

Cam sighed and laid down next to her. His suit would probably get wet but he didn't care. He was a dead man anyways.

"You did a pretty good job of it. I thought you hated me" Cam said, looking up at the sky.

He turned his face to Shirley and examined her for what might be the last time as she stared at the sky. Her beautiful red dress, her pale soft skin, her dark eyelashes and eyebrows, the shape of her small nose, the way her cheeks laid on her face, and the way her brown chestnut hair laid on the road.

She looked back at him with big brown eyes. He replayed the truth she had told him earlier in the hotel room in his head.

"We were in love, Cam. We laughed, hugged, cuddled, it was perfect. We wanted to have our first kiss but as I was driving on a bridge one night in Allentown and you told me to kiss you, and even though I was driving, I did it anyway. I drove off the bridge because we kissed. We were both in the car, and Tyler jumped in the water to save us with his dad's submarine equipment, but he only had air enough to save one of us. You pointed to me and you wouldn't let him take you out of the water because you wanted to save me. He got me out of the water and he went back to get you, but your condition had worsened. In the hospital they told me that you had lost your memory of me. You didn't remember who I was. I went to your hospital room to try to remind you but then I saw one of the medical equipment drop when I tried to kiss you. You almost died again. I waited a little while longer and pretended I was a nurse helping you out to your car and tried to kiss you again to see if it really was true. And sure enough, a car swerved and almost hit you. Tyler saw all of this and he knew that I had to get away from you. Fate kills you if we kiss. Tyler said there can't be that many coincidences, and I supposed I believed him. But I'm telling you this because I don't want to fight it anymore Cam. I want you to know the truth.That's why I pushed you away. And that's why I went to punish myself in Allentown for the guilt. And that's why I cried on prom night. We were supposed to be dates, but you had forgotten me and went with Taylor instead. Ty convinced you somehow that you had been dating her to fill in the memory gaps and you believed him instantly. I was entering the school and you didn't even look my way. I went to the bathroom to cry and you were there, I told you that the person I loved had forgotten me. It was you."

When she had said that in the hotel, Cam was stunned and back away from her. But now, looking at her in the moonlight, he couldn't think of a reason why he wouldn't risk his life again to be with her.

Shirley looked at Cam, "I think it will be different this time. That time in the snow our lips almost met. Nothing bad happened."

Cam looked at her, scared. He didn't want to die. Peyton was right he had his whole life ahead of him.
Was it worth it for this one girl?

She spoke softly, "I love you Cam"

The answer: yes

Cam said "I love you Shirley" as he took a breath and pressed his lips to hers and touched the back of her neck and brushed his fingers through her hair. They kissed for what felt like forever. An amazing forever.

And when they pulled apart, Cam hadn't died.

Cam stood up and reached out a hand and she took it. He smiled. She was right. It was different this time. Taking that risk worked in their favor.

Cam picked her up by her waist, kissed her, and spun her around.

And love prevailed.

—

Ten years later

Bell Briel

Bell traveled the world and made a full time career out of making tours in California of rich people's homes. She visits Cam on the weekends.

Gary Briel

Returning from Alcoholics Anonymous, Gary became sober and started to work at the bank and earn a living. He stayed in New York and Cam visits him for Christmas.

Peyton and Julie

After the scandal, no one heard from them again. Legend has it they moved to England and started a gossip site about the royals

Taylor and Tyler

Yes, these two contrasting personalities managed to get engaged. Taylor and Tyler moved to Las Vegas for the party scene and lived on a hotel on the strip. Cam would visit them fairly often for a night out.

Cam and Shirley

Cam and Shirley sat together on the California beach in the afternoon and smiled at each other. The blue waves crashed into the shore behind them and the sun gave them both a light tan. Billius sat by Cam, now a bit older but still active.

They were married now and Shirley had a beautiful big diamond wedding ring as Cam became a veterinarian and made a good amount of money.

They went inside their beach home and were followed by Billius when Cam sat down at his desk wondering what to do. Shirley went to go get changed for sleep, but Cam's mind was still awake. All he could think about was how his love with Shirley, and his life had been so dramatic in the past. Their love was made for books or movie screens.

Wait.

Cam got out a notebook. And he wrote it all down.

The End