truth or dare - game on series #1

Stella

I sat on my bed, arms wrapped around my knees, staring blankly at the wall. My mind was a battlefield—thoughts clashing, colliding, leaving me exhausted.

Cameron.

It all came down to Cameron.

He had texted me that morning, letting me know he wouldn't be able to talk much because of the away game. Finals. A huge deal. And yet, he still made sure to tell me. To reassure me.

That small text—Hey, just letting you know I won't be able to text today, we're heading out early. Hope you have a good day—shouldn't have meant so much. But it did.

It meant he was thinking about me. It meant he didn't want me to worry. It meant he cared.

And that scared the hell out of me.

I sighed, running my hands through my hair.

I had to make a choice.

Keep running? Keep pretending I could hold myself together without him? That I wasn't constantly thinking about him, worrying about him, wondering if he was okay?

Or finally let go? Let myself be happy. Let myself trust him.

I knew what I wanted.

I wanted Cameron.

I wanted the way he looked at me like I was the most important thing in the world. The way he listened—really listened—to me. The way he didn't treat me like I was fragile or different, but still cared enough to make sure I was okay.

But wanting something didn't make it easy.

My whole life, people had walked away. Some slowly. Some all at once.

I had been left behind before.

What if Cameron left too?

What if I let myself love him and he woke up one day and realized it was too much?

But then I thought about his face when he told me he loved me.

And I thought about how tired I was of being afraid.

Maybe Bree was right. Maybe love was always a risk.

But maybe Cameron was worth it.

The moment Bree stepped into our dorm, I didn't even hesitate.

"I need help," I blurted out.

She froze, her eyes wide with alarm. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yes. No. I don't know!" I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "I just—I need to talk about it again."

Bree blinked. "It?"

"Cameron."

At that, she rolled her eyes but grinned. "Oh, shocking."

"I know we've talked about this a million times," I rushed to say before she could tease me further. "And you're probably sick of hearing it, but—"

"Never," she cut in immediately, dropping onto the edge of my bed. "You know I live for this. Go on."

I exhaled slowly, my heart hammering. "I think... I think I want to try again. With him."

Her face lit up like Christmas morning. "Finally."

"I just—I love him, Bree," I admitted, the words tumbling out of me. "And I don't want to keep running away from that. He's proving over and over again that he means it, that he really wants to be with me. And I—" My voice caught for a second. "I want to be with him too."

Bree beamed, looking like she was ready to burst. "You are so lucky I love you, or else I'd be saying 'I told you so' right now."

I groaned, covering my face with my hands.

"But," she continued, "this does mean I'll have to deal with Liam's terrible flirting even more now."

I laughed despite myself. "God, you're right."

"See? I am always right." She winked. Then, more seriously, she took my hands and squeezed them. "I'm really happy for you, though."

I smiled. "Thanks, Bree."

And then, out of nowhere, she stood up like she had just had a revelation. "Okay, so now you need to tell him."

I nodded. "I will. When he gets back."

"No," Bree said, shaking her head. "You need to call him. Right now."

I sighed. "He won't pick up. He always puts his phone on silent before a game so he can focus."

Without hesitation, Bree grabbed her phone and started dialing.

I watched her, confused. "Uh, Bree? What are you doing?"

She put the phone to her ear and spoke quickly. "Hi, I need a taxi as soon as possible."

My mouth fell open. "Bree, what the hell?"

She just grinned as she hung up.

"It's an hour drive!" I exclaimed. "The taxi is going to be so expensive."

Bree shrugged like it was nothing. "It's for love."