Sarah Campbell

Being the only sibling back home was an adjustment.

I was used to sharing the house with Joel during summer and winter breaks, sometimes Caden too. But now Caden had his own apartment. And Joel wasn't coming home.

Which just left me. The youngest of seven suddenly becoming an only child.

My parents were seemingly unbothered by my presence. They'd become accustomed to the life of empty-nesters, and their routine didn't change for me.

But I just felt... lonely. Without another brother in the house or Aubrey or even Adam, things were almost too quiet.

I slid next to my dad on the couch. He was reading the paper, his coffee resting on the coffee table.

"Good morning, honey," he said, without looking up from his paper. "Sleep well?"

Resting my head on his shoulder, I closed my eyes to take in the moment. When I was little, my dad would read articles from the paper to me as I sat in his lap, pretending to read alongside of him. And I wasn't ready to let those moments go.

"I love you," I said, quietly.

"Love you too, daughter of mine." He leaned over and kissed my forehead. "What time are you going up to the school today?"

Aubrey and I planned to finish packing today. We had to be completely moved out of the dorms by 4 PM, and we still hadn't moved any of our boxes.

"I'm getting ready to go now."

He closed the paper, resting it in his lap. "I was thinking of making dinner tonight, to celebrate the end of your first semester at Vandy. What do you say?"

"I say that sounds perfect."

He extended his arm around me, pulling me in close. "How does lasagna sound? I'll even make homemade garlic bread."

"Amazing. That sounds amazing."

He turned to look at me, a slight frown pulling at his lips. "I know these are some tough times we've found ourselves in. How're you holding up, honey?"

Not great. "I'm just happy you're here."

He sighed, closing his eyes as he nodded. "Me too. I'm happy I'm here with my girl."

~*~

My phone buzzed on my nightstand, and I glanced over as I continued packing.

Time was ticking as Aubrey and I tried to get our shit together. And we were nowhere near ready.

Aubrey came and rested her chin on my shoulder, glancing over the texts as well. "We should send him a care package."

Through Joel's first stint in rehab, Aubrey and I would send him weekly care packages filled with things to help keep him distracted.

"I'd like that. Thanks, Aubs."

As I began to move the contents of my closet into the open box behind me, a knock came on the doorframe.

"Well, well, well," Aubrey said.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Adam standing inside, his cheeks flushed a light red.

"Are you leaving?" Adam asked, his eyes flickering around the room.

"Dorm room move outs." Which of course, didn't apply to football players.

He tilted his head toward the door. "I was hoping we could talk for a sec?"

So much for getting anything done today.

"Okay, sure, leave me to do all the packing," Aubrey said, with a huff. "I won't forget this, Sarah Campbell."

That I knew to be true.

I followed him downstairs, Adam insisting on taking the stairs versus the elevator.

"It's game prep," he said, with an easygoing smile. "Got to keep up the cardio."

Maybe for him. But the most cardio I'd done this week is picking up my textbooks and handwriting study guides. And now that Finals were over... I had no intention of doing anything until Spring semester.

"I've been thinking about our kiss," Adam said, his eyes trained straight ahead as we walked. "A lot."

"Me too."

There was a possibility of chalking up kissing Adam one time to a mistake, a heat of the moment endeavor. But this seemed to be an ongoing thing between us. And as much as I hated to admit it, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Adam's stride slowed to a stop, and he turned to fully face me. "Then I hope we're on the same page when I ask you this."

My heart quickened in my chest as I tried to read his facial expression, get a clue as to what was coming next.

"Will you wear my jersey to the game?"

His jersey.

I knew enough about football to know that was a right of passage. In high school, it was the letterman jackets. And now we'd escalated to the jersey.

"You want me to wear your jersey?" I asked.

He nodded, his hands shoved into his pockets. "If you want to, that is."

This changed everything.

"You do realize... I can no longer be your peer mentor."

Adam threw his head back in laughter, his shoulders shaking. "Only you, Campbell, would be thinking about that right now."

It was the first thought that I could verbalize. Everything else was still swirling, a jumbled mess as I tried to comprehend the situation.

"You really want me to wear your jersey?" I asked, my eyes searching his.

"I do."

That was the most sincere I'd heard Adam, his head ducked low and shoulders tensing.

He was preparing for a rejection.

"I'd be honored to."

His eyes flickered up to meet mine, a full-blown smile stretching across his face. "Really? You would?"

Before I could properly respond, he was crushing me in a tight hug, his body deflating against mine. I laid my cheek against his torso, my eyes flickering shut as I melted into him.

I could stay like this forever.

I made a fluffy chapter. Because there's been a lot of sadness recently, so I thought we could use some Sarah & Adam loveee.

It's #MentalHealthAwareness Week. And I just want to remind you all that no matter where you are in your mental health journey, you deserve to choose happiness. If you're Adam, you deserve not to be a slave to alcohol. And if you're Joel, you deserve to fill your body with nutrients and give your body rest.

Teaser: Adam's POV. As Adam preps for game day, he realizes that he's pressured to partake in the pre-game festivities.

This book will update again on a Monday.