"What?" Liam questioned under his breath and stood up to see who this Tyler was.
There was no way Camilla already had someone else after just two weeks.
He walked out of the room, his heart pounding, ignoring Sarah's gestures toward him as he hurried down to the entrance of the dormitory.
He saw Camilla laughing with a guy and immediately knew it was Tyler.
He had dark, short hair and light skin.
Liam approached them slowly and watched as Camilla hugged him before he left.
He had always believed Camilla was only that way with him, and seeing her hug another guy made his chest tighten in anger.
Camilla turned and saw Liam behind her, then stood in front of him.
She showed him the cold medicine he had bought for her and some snacks.
"I think he likes me," she said, blushing.
"Do you like him because you think he likes you?" he asked with a cold gaze.
"I just think he's cute. I might start dating before you do," she said jokingly, but her words hurt Liam deeply.
He tried to keep his expression calm, but it didn't work.
Camilla noticed immediately.
She knew that look—he always wore it when something upset him.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"It's nothing. Let me get you the things I bought," he said and headed toward the car, leaving her behind.
Camilla hurried after him, unsure of what she had done to annoy him, and took the bags from his hands.
"You haven't changed your number, right? I'll give you a call tonight," he said, still in a foul mood.
Camilla nodded obediently.
"Thanks, dude," she mumbled and held his hand briefly before he turned away and got into the car.
"I'll come visit you when our break starts," she said and waved at him, watching the car disappear before returning to her room.
---
"What are you doing?"
"I'm in bed. And you?"
"Just hanging out with some new friends. Briana told me you're having your first break next week…"
Camilla turned onto her side on the bed as she waited for Liam's reply and smiled when he promised to visit her when he was less busy.
The two of them kept in touch through phone calls, and Camilla reported every little thing that happened to her.
Like when she fought with Sarah, when one of her lecturers praised her, and how she sneaked out of school to watch a film with Tyler—along with the little things he did to impress her.
Just like that, a year passed with the two of them mostly talking on the phone, except for the few days they spent at home during holidays before returning to school.
Camilla's family business was doing fine now, but she had already given up on attending Heights.
"Liam, I have something to tell you," Camilla texted excitedly, adding a dancing emoji.
"Did something good happen?" he texted back.
"Tyler officially asked me out," she typed and sent it.
Liam didn't reply immediately.
A few minutes later, he sent a short congratulatory message and went offline.
Camilla tried calling him, but his line was unreachable.
She wanted to tell him everything, but it would have to wait. She dropped her phone and stood up from the bed.
"Your birthday is next month, right? How are you celebrating it?" Sarah asked, and Camilla told her.
Ever since Liam visited, Sarah had tried to learn more about him and eventually found out how close they were—and that they shared the same birthday.
"You're not celebrating with Liam this year? That's a good decision," Sarah said with a smile.
"I haven't told him yet. I don't know why his line is unreachable," Camilla said, concerned, as she sat on one of the chairs.
"You don't have to tell him everything. You're grown now, and you also have a boyfriend, remember?"
Camilla wasn't sure if Tyler truly counted as a boyfriend.
She hadn't given him a definite answer when he asked her out, though he promised to wait until she was ready.
"That doesn't matter. I have to tell him and see what he thinks before I start planning the party," she said, ignoring Sarah's words.
She sent Liam another text, which he didn't read.
Camilla wanted a proper birthday party since she was now an adult, but Liam wasn't the type who liked such things.
Even having a cake every year was something she usually had to force him to do, so inviting a crowd was definitely not his style.
"Hey, someone is knocking on the door," Sarah called out as Camilla tried calling Liam and Eric.
Camilla stood up and opened the door to see Liam standing there with some snacks.
She invited him in and soon forgot about her earlier worries.
….
Liam surprisingly agreed to Camilla's plan for a pool party to celebrate their birthday.
He was thankful she didn't ask why he hadn't spoken to her all day after learning she was in a relationship with Tyler.
He had decided to hide his feelings and bury them forever.
When his school went on a short break, he didn't visit her as promised, but he still kept in touch and acted like nothing was wrong.
Everyone around him, however, could tell he wasn't happy.
"What about you? Don't you have any girl you like?" Camilla asked one evening during a video call.
Liam almost exposed himself but quickly came up with a lie.
"Of course I do. She's older and studies at the same school," he said, scratching his head as he searched for more words, knowing how inquisitive Camilla could be.
"Really? Why haven't you told me about her? Who is she? What's her name?" Camilla fired the questions rapidly.
"Camilla…" he blurted out.
"What?"
"Camilla Walker. She's in her third year," he added quickly, though the lie didn't come out smoothly.
He prayed she wouldn't catch on and she didn't.
"I can't believe you like someone with the same name as me. I bet she's very beautiful," Camilla said, clueless to the panic on Liam's face.
"Yes, she is and she's very clueless," he replied.
"Is it a one-sided crush? Oh my God, Liam, you have a crush on a girl!" Camilla exclaimed excitedly, teasing him for several minutes before Liam made up an excuse to end the call.
"How clueless can she be?" Eric said as Liam dropped his phone and tossed him a towel.
"And if she's comfortable talking to you without your shirt on, then she clearly just sees you as a friend," Eric added, picking up a glass of juice.
"Mind your business," Liam muttered as he began to dress.
"Who are you going to introduce to her when she asks to meet your so-called crush during the summer vacation?" Eric asked.
Liam had no answer.
He wondered why he had told her he liked someone instead of saying the truth and rubbed his forehead gently as he sat back on the bed.