sweet instigator

eleven.

TW: beth lol

"I can't believe you met with Beth for coffee." Cameron frowned as he stood with Liz in the park.

Bird chirped, dogs barked and the city noises sounded around them as Cameron had his lips pressed together and Liz shrugged, "Cam, she asked. I-I couldn't just say no." She held her Border Collie - Ollie - on the leash as he attempted to chase a bird, tugging her forward a bit.

"You could've." He shrugged back and Liz exhaled a breath, "What's the big deal?"

Cameron pressed his lips together, "There's no big deal." He denied, "It's just... weird."

Liz didn't respond, her blonde hair in a messy ponytail today as she stared at Cameron who just shrugged again, "You know... she's my ex, you're my friend. Not hers."

"I know that." Liz nodded quickly, "and she knows that too. It was just a drink."

Cameron stubbornly chipped away at the trunk of the tree he was leaning against, dropping his eyes to see Ollie sniffing everywhere. The park usually wasn't that great of an idea. Liz and Micah's dog got overly excited and it basically meant they just had to follow him around everywhere. Whoever held his leash - the dog was walking them instead of the other way around.

He saw Liz struggling and offered out his hand. She sighed and handed Cam the leash, immediately making his biceps bulge at the grip he had to take to keep Ollie at bay before he went running off and they'd get fined again for walking a loose dog.

"Did you talk about me?" He asked, almost afraid of the answer. Liz' silence was loud enough and Cameron bitterly chuckled, "Really? So all she did was complain about me?" His chest hurt a little.

Liz pressed her lips together, "I told her not to. I said I didn't want to be in the middle of things, but... yes, she kept bringing stuff up."

"I don't get it." Cam mumbled, flicking his eyes to the side where he saw Micah and Theodora playing football on the field of grass in the sun. Cameron swallowed, "I mean, it's been a year. She's happy, right? With that... Greg-guy." He shrugged, hating the way he was saying that, "I don't get why she keeps hashing up stuff from the past." He mumbled.

Liz exhaled through her nose, crouching down to pet Ollie, "Well, she's still hurt, I suppose."

"Hurt?" Cameron huffed, nibbling his lip as he shook his head, "Does she think she's the only one? Does she think I wanted this divorce?"

"Cam, it's not because she's the one who made the decision, that she's happy." Liz frowned, "You were together for over a decade."

"And now we can't even be in the same room together." He sharply spoke, glancing at Liz, "How sad is that? Most of all for Theodora?"

Liz swallowed, "To be fair, 'm not sure if Theodora wants the two of you in the same room if you can't have a decent conversation."

"I don't wanna talk to her if all she's gonna do is complain and curse me out." He huffed, "Because isn't that what she did?"

"Don't drag me into this." Liz stood up again and Cam stared at her, "No, seriously. What did she say this time, hm?"

Liz turned her head and clenched her jaw, shaking her head to herself. Cameron knew he was putting her in an impossible position but he was too stubborn and set in his ways to back down. The entire thing with Beth was... painful to say the least. He never saw it coming. Cameron knew their spark had died down but he assumed they were just... happy. Sure, they didn't talk all that much and their sex-life had fizzled a bit into nothing, but he felt like they were partners.