The Heartless Persona

12

Keri and Cam had fallen asleep on the couch, with the TV on. They had stayed up all night watching old movies, which Keri loved.

She was lying on top of Cam, with her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. His hand was placed on her lower back as he lightly snored underneath her.

The sun peeked through the curtains, shining in Keri's face, causing her to stir in her sleep. She had eventually woken up and started to shift, waking up Cam.

"Sorry, do you want me to get up?" She murmured.

"No, it's fine. Stay," his voice was deeper than usual. He kept his eyes shut.

She lightly nodded her head before moving so that her face was closer to his neck. She continued to hold onto his torso with her dainty hands. Cam's eyes were partially open now and he was able to see Keri.

He noticed how innocent she looked when she was half-asleep. Or how her freckles were visible since she wasn't covering them with makeup. He especially noticed how her soft looking lips were parted in just the tiniest way.

His hand slowly made its way to hers. When he found her fingers, he gently grabbed onto them before closing his eyes again. Together, they fell back to sleep.

After blissfully staying asleep on Cam for about another two hours, Keri finally gently climbed off of him to answer her phone.

"Are you ignoring me?" Rebecca teased on the other end of the line.

"No, I'm not ignoring you. I was just busy, that's all," Keri lied.

The reason why Keri had been ignoring Rebecca was because she had dropped her alter-ego and she was afraid that Rebecca would realize that. But it was okay because Keri was going to put her persona back on once she got off of that island. That was a promise.

A part of Keri was uncertain of how her life would be once she returned home though. It was peculiar how she had started to reconnect with Cam, even though she told herself that she was only being friendly for the trip.

She opened the backdoor and walked off of the deck and onto the sand, still wearing her pajamas. Her toes burned from the grains beneath her.

The sun was already high in the sky and for the most part, the ocean was placid.

"Good. So, I take it everything is well?" Rebecca spoke.

"Yup," Keri's heart started to beat faster. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Everything's good back home?"

"Yup. I'm holding down the fort," Rebecca replied.

"Great..." Keri didn't know how to continue the conversation. It was her best friend and she felt like was lying to her in some sort of way. Or that they weren't friends anymore because Keri wasn't who Rebecca thought she was, at the moment.

Keri spied Cam through the kitchen window. He probably had just woken up.

A small flutter appeared in Keri's stomach once she saw him. She tried her best to ignore it, but it fueled her. It made her want to be around him. To be in his company and presence.

Memories of their friendship flooded her brain for a brief moment. Like that time they signed up for the talent show and won. Or when they saved a piglet on the side of the road and tried to hide it from their parents.

"Okay, well, I have to go," Keri mumbled as she watched Cam.

"Bye, Kay."

"Bye, Bec."

Keri hung up, built up some courage, and went inside to talk to Cam.