Jasmine stood at the door, eyes narrowing in frustration as the silence between them grew. Cameron hadn't even bothered to answer her calls for days. No "Hey, how have you been?" or any signs of worry. Just cold, dismissive silence. She had tried being patient. She really had. But now she is done.
Cameron, lying motionless on her couch, gave no indication she even heard the door open. Her eyes didn't lift from the screen in her hands, flicking through a social media feed she barely cared about. Her body language screamed exhaustion, numbness, emptiness. Her lips pressed together in a thin, tight line, barely acknowledging Jasmine's presence.
"You've been ignoring me, Cam," Jasmine's voice broke through the stillness. Her tone wasn't soft, wasn't worried—it was irritated. "You've been out there, doing God knows what, and you couldn't even spare five minutes to talk to me? Really?"
Cameron didn't move. Her eyes remained locked on her phone, a thin veil of indifference between her and the girl who was standing in front of her, shaking with barely concealed annoyance.
"You don't even care, do you?" Jasmine continued, her tone edged with a bite, "You've just been... throwing yourself at anything and everyone, and it's not even about you anymore. It's just about fucking—like it always is. You couldn't even spare the time to think about me for a second. Just—" she cut herself off with a frustrated exhale. "Whatever happened to us, Cam? Are we really just nothing now?"
Jasmine's words hit the air like daggers, but Cameron remained stone-faced, every word bouncing off her like water off a wall. She didn't feel it. Didn't feel anything. Her body was there, but her mind was far gone.
A long moment passed before Cameron finally responded, her voice flat, empty. "I guess I don't feel anything either. So... it's fine."
Jasmine took a step closer, trying to read her. But there was nothing in her eyes. No spark. No fight. No anger. Just nothing. Cameron stared through her, eyes dull, like she was seeing nothing at all.
Jasmine's breath caught in her throat, her frustration boiling over. She needed Cameron to care. Needed her to feel something. But this emptiness, this void—it was so much worse than any anger. It made her feel like she was losing her hold on her.
"Come on, Cam," Jasmine's voice softened, but it was calculated, like a tug on a leash. "Look, I get it. You're pissed at me. But I'm pissed at you. Do you even understand how much it hurts when you just shut me out? Like I don't matter at all?" She reached forward, placing a hand on Cameron's knee, leaning in slightly to make her words more intimate. "You could be honest with me. You don't have to push me away just because you're hurting. I'm here, Cam. Always have been. You really think you're going to get better by fucking around and pushing people away? Just... Let me help you, okay? Stop running away from me."
Cameron's expression never changed. "I don't need help." Her voice didn't tremble. Didn't break. Just… flat. "I don't need anyone."
Jasmine's jaw tightened. She wasn't about to let Cameron slip through her fingers. Not like this. Not after everything they'd been through.
"You're wrong," Jasmine's voice lowered, but it was filled with a dangerous edge. "You do need me, Cam. You've always needed me. Whether you admit it or not. You know what? I've been patient with you. I've been waiting for you to come to your senses. But you're pushing me too far now."
Her hand slipped from Cameron's knee to her wrist, gently tightening around it, pulling her attention away from the phone she was mindlessly scrolling. Cameron looked up at her—finally, something in her eyes shifted. A brief flicker of awareness, but no strength, no conviction.
Jasmine's breath was shallow now, her voice turning softer, quieter, but dripping with manipulation. "You're not the same, Cam. I know you're scared. But it's not about anyone else. It's about me. It's always been about me. And you—" She paused, her fingers tightening a little more, "You think you can find someone else to fill the hole in you? No one's going to do that. Not the way I can. You need me. You've always needed me. Even when you were with Rosalie. Even when you tried to pretend she mattered to you. You don't want them, Cam. You never did. You want me. "
Her hand slid up to Cameron's arm, fingers trailing down her skin. It was slow, deliberate, as if every touch was reinforcing her hold over Cameron's fragile mind. Cameron didn't pull away. She barely flinched. It was as if Jasmine's grip was the only thing that tethered her to reality, and it made her sick to her stomach.
"You can't shut me out, Cam," Jasmine's voice was low and coaxing now, "You really can't. You're not strong enough for that. You never were."
The words were like a gentle poison, wrapping around Cameron's mind, filling her with the strange sensation that maybe she couldn't escape. Not from Jasmine. She didn't have the strength to fight anymore, didn't have the energy to claw her way back out of this mess she'd made of her life.
"You know what I want, Cameron," Jasmine whispered, her voice suddenly warm and intimate again. "I want you. I always have."
Cameron blinked slowly, still numb, still empty. "I don't know what you want from me, Jas."
Jasmine moved closer, brushing her lips against Cameron's ear, almost as if she was breathing her in. "I want you to stop fighting. I want you to stop pretending you're fine without me. I want you to come back to me, Cam. Come back to us."
Cameron's pulse fluttered. She could feel the weight of the words pressing on her chest, but still, she couldn't find the will to argue. It was too exhausting. Too draining. So, she did what she always did—she gave in.
Jasmine backed up a little, watching Cameron's face, her expression softening just enough to give the illusion of care. "I'm not asking for much, Cam. I'm just asking for you to come back to me. Please."
And Cameron, empty as ever, nodded. Just nodded. "Okay."
Jasmine's lips curved upward, a slow, triumphant smile that was completely at odds with the sadness in Cameron's eyes.
"Good girl," Jasmine murmured, her voice like velvet. "We'll fix this. You'll see."
But Cameron knew. She knew deep down, this would never be fixed. There was no escaping the chokehold Jasmine had on her, no way out. She had already surrendered. The only thing left now was for her to play her part.