Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
After Hazel left, Britney gripped her fork and slowly ate the meal Hazel had prepared.
The food was delicious, but it might as well have been cardboard in her mouth.
Hazel had made enough for two people, and Britney forced down most of it. She scraped the leftovers into the trash, then washed the dishes and fork until they gleamed before putting them in the cabinet.
Once everything was cleaned up, Britney settled onto the couch and pulled out her phone.
She messaged Gavin: [Gavin, thank you for everything these past few months. I’m planning to move back to my own place tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know.]
When she hit send, Britney tossed her phone aside like it was burning her fingers and headed to the bathroom for a shower.
When Gavin received Britney’s message, he instantly shot up from his chair.
“Gavin?” Cameron looked up from her plate.
Anxiety creased Gavin’s handsome features. “Britney’s moving out!”
“Hey, relax. Let me see.” Cameron gently pulled Gavin back into his seat and took the phone from his hands.
Bradley leaned over to look at the screen, too.
“Gavin, hasn’t Britney asked why you haven’t been home these past few days?” Bradley asked.
Gavin’s eyes turned sharp as daggers, cutting straight through Bradley.
Bradley cleared his throat. “What I mean is-maybe Britney sent you this message on purpose. You know, to get you to tell her where you’ve been?”
Uuy
Gavin studied Bradley carefully, weighing whether his words made sense.
Cameron waved the phone at Gavin to get his attention. “Gavin, do you really want to know once and for all if Britney has feelings for you?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Gavin nodded. “Of course I do.”
“Then let’s go big,” Cameron said with a mysterious smile.
“What do you mean?” Gavin asked.
Cameron just grinned without explaining.
While Britney was in the shower, she couldn’t stop thinking about how Gavin would respond to her message. ‘Will he try to convince me to stay?’ she thought. ‘He has to, right?’
Britney took her time washing up and blow-drying her hair, but even then, she didn’t rush to check her phone.
Instead, she started packing up her belongings, planning to take everything to the dressing room tomorrow morning so she could grab it all and head straight home after work. There was no need to come back here again.
By the time Britney finished everything, a full hour had passed since she’d sent her message.
Meanwhile, Cameron had drafted a reply for Gavin and sent it to Britney. But there was still no response from her.
Gavin slumped in his chair, staying completely silent. /
“Maybe Britney just hasn’t seen the message yet,” Bradley said.
“Let’s wait a little longer,” Cameron added.
Gavin didn’t say anything.
Ten minutes passed, and Gavin’s face darkened. “Cam, can you delete that message?”
“Sorry Gavin, I can’t,” Cameron replied.
Gavin looked even more miserable.
Half an hour later, Gavin said, “I should just call Britney.”
“Let me handle it, Gavin,” Cameron said.
Cameron found Britney’s number and called her, using Gavin’s phone.
But the call went straight to voicemail after ringing through completely. Britney never picked up.
“She’s probably busy doing something and left her phone somewhere,” Cameron said matter-of-factly.
Gavin let out a bitter laugh. “I hope that’s all it is.”
They waited another half hour. When Gavin started to accept that he meant nothing to Britney, his phone started ringing.
All three of them immediately looked at the screen. Britney’s name flashing on the display looked like a beacon of hope.
“Gavin, it’s Britney calling. You two stay quiet,” Cameron said.
“Answer it!” Gavin said anxiously.
“Wait, Cam, don’t pick up right away. Let it ring once,” Bradley suggested.
Gavin shot Bradley a look, but Cameron took his advice and aited a moment before answering, “Hello, Ms. Watson.”
“Hey Cam, where’s Gavin?” Britney’s voice came through the phone with a noticeable tremor, like she’d been crying.
Gavin’s heart clenched immediately.
Cameron watched his reaction and quickly slapped her hand over his mouth to keep him quiet.
Gavin fell silent.
Cameron held the phone in her other hand, her voice exhausted. “Ms. Watson, Gavin is still in the ICU right now, and you
“Which hospital?” Britney asked through her tears.
Britney had expected Gavin to try convincing her to stay, but when she finally checked her phone, all she found was a missed call from him.
She opened WhatsApp and saw Gavin’s message, and her entire y went rigid.
The message read: [Hello, Ms. Watson, this is Cameron, Gavin’s sister. Gavin was in a car accident yesterday and he’s still in the hospital. If you need to contact him about anything, please wait until later.]
The moment Britney saw those words on her screen, she stopped breathing.
Tears started streaming down her face uncontrollably, and her hands began shaking as she gripped her phone. Soon, her whole body was trembling.
Britney tried calling Gavin back, but her fingers wouldn’t cooperate. She had to tap the screen several times before finally dialing his number.
The phone rang and rang with no answer, and her heart practically jumped into her throat before she finally heard Cameron’s voice.
“Crownhill Hospital,” Cameron said tiredly. “Ms. Watson, Gavin is
“Crownhill Hospital, right? I’m coming right now!” Britney interrupted, her voice urgent and desperate. Her words came out broken and fragile, thick with tears.
When the call ended, Gavin was on the verge of a complete breakdown. “She was crying,” he said, his brows furrowed with worry.
“Britney cried because she cares about you and she’s worried,” Cameron said.
Bradley nodded. “Gavin, it looks like Britney really does have feelings for you.”
Gavin’s eyes lit up for a moment. He grabbed the phone from Cameron’s hand and headed for the door.
“Gavin!” Cameron caught his arm. “Don’t blow this now. We need to see this through to the end.”
Cameron took the phone back from Gavin. “Come on, let’s go to Crownhill Hospital.”
Britney ran out of her apartment complex and jumped into a taxi. Only then did she realize she was still wearing her pajamas and slippers, with nothing but her phone in her hand. But she couldn’t worry about that right now.
The driver saw her tear-streaked face and noticed they were heading to a hospital, so he stepped on the gas and drove as fast as he could.
When Britney reached the hospital entrance, she quickly paid the driver and rushed inside.
One of her slippers fell off as she ran, but she didn’t stop to pick it up. She ran straight to the ICU on the third floor.
Cameron and Bradley were standing guard outside when they heard footsteps. They turned to see Britney looking completely disheveled, wearing only one slipper. They froze for a moment.
Then, they looked at each other and shared a knowing smile. ‘Britney cares about Gavin way more than we thought,’ they both thought.
“Cameron! Where’s Gavin? Where is he?” Britney stumbled toward Cameron and Bradley, her voice shaking.
Since she’d stayed with the Yates family before, she naturally knew Cameron.
“Cam?” A familiar voice came from behind them.
