Cameron keeps watch over Nash while he sleeps. He occasionally leaves the room to check on Hayes and Skylynn. Skylynn asks where her older brother and Cameron tells her that he's sick and doesn't want to get her sick.
Skylynn accepts his answer and continues to play with the dollhouse in the game room. She sings to herself as she plays and Cameron's heart warms at that sight. He makes sure they're fed and he goes back to check on Nash.
Nash is awake again and he's still laying on his side. It's so painful to even move a little bit. He had tried sitting up while Cameron was downstairs but the shooting pain didn't allow him to. He's pretty sure he has a fractured rib and he's worried because that means that he won't be able to work until it's healed.
Cameron enters the room and Nash smiles sleepily at him, the pain medicine made him drowsy.
"How are the kids?" He asks softly as Cameron slides into bed next to him.
"They're fine. I made sure they had all their meals. Sky is playing with a dollhouse and Hayes is playing on the Xbox." Cameron tells him, he strokes Nash's cheek gently. Nash's eyes flutter shut as he enjoys Cameron's touch.
"Do you need more pain medicine, baby?" He asks gently.
"No, the pain is bearable as long as I don't move," Nash replies, he still has butterflies because Cameron is being so affectionate with him. He hopes that when he's better Cameron still continues to be this sweet. Nash is ready to take the next step in their relationship but he's too shy to tell Cameron directly. He decides to drop hints when he's better but for now he'll just enjoy Cameron's attention.
"You haven't eaten at all, Nash. I'll get you something to eat, what do you want?" Cameron asks him. He doesn't want Nash to get dehydrated, that would be bad.
"I have no appetite," Nash responds flatly, but Cameron gets up anyway and goes to the kitchen. He cuts up fresh fruit and grabs some water bottles from the fridge. He goes back up to his room and places the plate and water on the nightstand table.
"You're going to eat and drink, baby. I'll help you okay?" Cameron says and he crawls to the bed and grabs the plate and water bottle. He takes a strawberry and holds it to Nash's mouth. Nash opens his mouth reluctantly, only to humor Cameron, and takes the strawberry from his fingers. He chews it slowly, savoring the taste it's actually pretty good.
"Mmm, that's good," Nash says as he swallows the fruit. Cameron keeps feeding him the cut up fruit with a smile on his face. It feels very intimate as he lies there feeding Nash. He wants to lean in and kiss his lips but they're still swollen from the punch and he knows that it would hurt Nash. So he holds back his desires and finishes feeding him the plate of fruit.
"Do you want more, baby?" He asks tenderly, he likes to use that pet name with Nash. He never really called anyone baby, he didn't care enough to give them any sort of nickname. But Nash has captured his heart in a way no one else could. He's infatuated with this boy, he thinks about him all the time. It's like an obsession and even though it's a bad situation he's happy to have Nash in his bed.
"No, that was good. Thank you, Cam... truly." He replies softly.
"What are you thanking me for?" Cameron asks as he places the plate back on the nightstand, he turns back to Nash.
"For taking care of me, for taking care of my brother and sister when I can't. You're... so amazing and I'm so grateful that you're in my life. You make everything so much better," Nash confesses shyly. Cameron smile widely at him, his heart is about to burst with happiness from Nash's words.
"You don't have to thank me, baby. I want to do this for you, I want to take care of you and help you with anything you need." Cameron tells him fervently. He wonders if now is a good time to bring up the phone.
"I... I've been thinking, Nash. And I want you to hear me out on this, please." Cameron starts and he pauses for Nash's reaction. Nash nods at him and Cameron continues talking.
"You need a phone. You need it because if there's any emergency, you have to have a way to be contacted. Like if anything happened to one of the kids how would they get in touch with you? And you need a phone so I can contact you and you can contact me. I just... want to make sure I have a way to call you. If Hayes hadn't heard the door and I couldn't call you or anything I probably would have gone insane. I just... please Nash?" He pleads softly and his moves his fingers gently across Nash's cheek. He dares to place a light kiss on Nash's lips, just a soft brush so he doesn't cause him pain.
Nash looks at him with wide eyes, his heart beats fast from Cameron's kisses and his touch. It's the first time anyone has ever pressed their lips to his. He wishes so badly that he could give him a real kiss but for now he'll settle for the light kisses that Cameron is giving him. His mind is also going over what Cameron said and Nash knows he's right. He does need a phone, but he can never afford to get one.
"Please, baby?" He pleads again, pressing another light kiss on his lips.
"I can't afford it, Cam." He replies simply. "If I could I would definitely get one, but I just can't."
"I have an old phone that I don't use anyone," Cameron starts off tentatively. Nash has a thoughtful look on his face. "I can just add it to my plan and it's only like 10 dollars extra a month with is nothing. My plan is like... unlimited everything."
"You would do that for me?" Nash asks softly, he's starting to feel the pain again and he shifts and grimaces.
"I would do anything for you," Cameron replies, continuing to stroke his cheek gently.
"Okay," Nash responds, agreeing with Cameron shyly. His heart flips at Cameron's words, he knows that Cameron is being sincere. He wants to cry tears of happiness because he finally found someone who loves him just the way he is. Someone who doesn't judge him for being dirt poor. Someone who sees the sacrifices he's made so that the kids have the best life he could possibly provide them. It's just so amazing that it's Cameron, the boy he watched from afar, the boy he loved from afar. He almost can't believe it's true, nothing good happens in his life. But this did and he's going to savor every moment.
"Once you're better I'll show you how to use it," he says still smiling happily. Nash smiles back at him despite the pain it causes from his swollen mouth. The smile falls as he begins to feel the shooting, throbbing pain again, it almost brings tears to his eyes but he blinks that back.
"The pain is coming back," he whimpers softly. Cameron heart tightens at Nash's whimper and he immediately reaches for the bottle of pills, he takes out 2 and grabs the water bottle. He puts the pills in Nash's mouth and then holds the bottle to his mouth. Nash drinks all of the water.
"I...I didn't realize how thirsty I was," he comments as Cameron puts the bottle and pills back on the nightstand table.
Nash is grimacing at the pain, he squeezes his eyes shut. Cameron hovers worriedly.
"What can I do to help you, baby? Tell me what to do," he tells Nash, the desperation is clear in his voice. He hates to see Nash in pain, it kills him. He wishes he had insisted that Nash take the pills earlier when he ask about it. That way the pain stays away instead of letting the medicine wear off and be in excruciating pain until the medicine kicks in.
"I..." he gasps as the throbbing grows worse, it's on the side he's lying on. He might feel better if he laid on his back. "I think maybe I should lie on my back."
Cameron takes away the pillows that are propping Nash up and helps him onto his back. He lets out a side of relief as the shooting pain abates, the throbbing still remains but it's definitely more manageable.
Cameron stands and goes to his parents bathroom, his mother has some healing massage oil that she swears by. He takes one of the bottles and returns to his bedroom.
"My mom uses this to massage her muscles when she's in pain. I want to try it on you, on your legs, your arms, well anywhere you can tolerate," Cameron explains quietly. Nash nods grimacing at the pain, giving him permission to begin. Cameron pours some of the oil in his hands.
Cameron starts with Nash's arms, he massages them gently with the oil and Nash's eyes drift closed as he enjoys Cameron's soothing touch.
"Mmm... that makes me feel so much better, baby. Thank you so much, I don't deserve you," Nash tells him tenderly.
Cameron's stomach flips when Nash calls him baby, he's so happy that Nash is returning his affection, that it's not one-sided. He continues to massage him gently moving to each limb. He saves some of the oil for later for when Nash will be able to tolerate sitting up a bit and he can rub it on his back and his shoulders.
Nash falls asleep again, feeling safe and loved.
Cameron washes his hands and then goes downstairs to check on the children. Hayes is still playing on the Xbox and Skylynn has moved to painting with some supplies that Hayes found in one of the closest where they keep entertainment stuff. It's getting late so they need to get washed up and in bed.
"Come on guys, it's a little late and you guys still need to get cleaned up before you go to bed." He tells them, hoping that they don't give him too much of a fight. To his surprise they obey him right away. Hayes turns off the game after saving his progress and he helps Skylynn clean up the area she was painting.
Sky walks up to him a smile of her face. "Look at what I drawed."
Cameron takes the painting from her and he looks down at it. He smiles as he notices that Skylynn has drawn their family but she has added Cameron which she drew next to Nash.
"I love it, princess. I'm going to hang it up in my room," he tells her and he's being honest. He's happy that Sky has included him in her family. Sky may be young but she's pretty perceptive for her age.
Cameron leans down and presses a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Thank you for the painting."
"You're welcome!" She says clapping happily because Cameron liked her drawing. They head upstairs and Hayes helps Skylynn gets washed up first and in her pajamas. He tucks her into bed before he does the same.
He's coming out of the bathroom when he bumps into Cameron.
"Oh sorry," he says.
"Nah, it's cool. I should have been paying attention where I was walking and not looking down at my phone." Cameron says to Hayes.
"How is he?" He asks softly. He didn't really visit Nash at all, he was too scared to see him all beat up like that and in pain. He wouldn't be able to bear it. He feels like a failure because of all the problems he caused, just because of that stupid skateboard.
"I can understand why you haven't visited Nash. It's hard to see a loved one in distress and all bruised and beat up. I'll let you know when he's better and you can see him. Okay, bud?" Cameron tells him understandingly.
It's almost as if Cameron read his mind but he doesn't say anything and just nods at him. He continues to the guest bathroom after they say their goodnights. He slides under the covers onto the most comfortable bed he's ever slept on. It doesn't take him very long to fall asleep.
Cameron is about to enter his room when his phone starts buzzing in his pocket. He pulls it out and looks at the screen. He sighs when he sees that it's Taylor. Why is he calling him when Cameron specifically told him that he would call him.
Taylor has always been inpatient and pushy. Cameron knows if he doesn't pick up he'll continue to call. He presses the green button.
"Yeah?" Is what he says to greet Taylor.
"Is that the way you greet your best friend?" Taylor complains immediately making Cameron rolls his eyes. He rubs his eyes, he really doesn't want to do this right now, he's exhausted mentally and physically.
"What do you want, Taylor?" He asks in a tired tone.
"I want answers. I want you to tell me what's going on. You're obviously hiding something. I know you Cameron, you're behaving differently." Taylor tells him right away. He doesn't play games especially when he want answers.
Cameron is torn, Taylor has been his friend since they were practically babies. Their two families have had a long standing frienship and that's something that he and Taylor continued. But on the other hand, there's no way he will betray Nash's trust.
He has to choose between his old best friend and his new love.
He isn't sure what he's going to do.
A/N- Did you enjoy this chapter? Another update coming soon! I'm on a roll! Please keep commenting! It really motivates me to keep writing! Ily <3