2 | Exposed ( ETHAN DOLAN )

TWENTY SEVEN

E X P O S E D
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y S E V E N

FIVE hours and twenty minutes was more than enough time for Andrea to simply think.

Think about everything she had done wrong and think about the situation she had gotten herself into.

Only as the plane took off did she realise fuck. I'm on a plane going to the other side of the country with not a single thing planned.

Maybe they have parachutes on board she thought, a feeling of panic creeping up on her, as well as the temptation to ask one of the air hostesses if they actually had parachutes on board. No, I have to do this for Ethan.

Within a few minutes, Andrea was able to fall asleep, having lost a few hours during the previous night. Her slumber lasted the rest of the journey until the thump of the plane hitting the ground as it landed jolted her awake.

Her heart was pounding against her chest as she got off the plane. She pulled out her phone again, shooting Veronica a quick 'I'm okay' text and in the meantime finding a text from Cameron saying that she would be in the arrivals area waiting for her.

Andrea feared the worst from Cameron, who had a little brother to protect. She knew Veronica would be ready to kill if Andrea was in Ethan's position.

So when Cameron threw her arms around Andrea and held her tight, it was safe to say that Andrea was rather shocked. She couldn't quite hug the oldest Dolan sibling back, too overwhelmed by the surprising warm welcome.

Then again, it wasn't all that surprising. Cameron was the one to offer her help to Andrea after all.

Eventually Andrea's arms wrapped around Cameron in return and squeezed her. It almost felt like she was back in Ethan's arms once again, but simultaneously it was so far from being the same.

"How was your flight?" Cameron asked, letting go of the girl.

"I slept through the whole thing," Andrea told her, still doubtful. She was prepared for Cameron to snap any second.

"That's good. Come on, my car's not parked too far."

The two girls left the airport. Andrea's heart was still thumping hard. Her stomach ached with a bad gut feeling.

"Cam, wait," Andrea said, stopping in the middle of the car park.

"What is it? Are you okay?"

Just get a cab to the city and leave the Dolans alone. If Ethan wants to see you, he'll let you know. But what if he wants to see me and doesn't let me know? If I don't apologise in person, he may never forgive me.

"Nothing, I just, uh, thought I forgot something from back home. I didn't, by the way." Andrea flashed a fake smile.

Soon, they reached Cam's car and she helped Andrea load her suitcase into the backseat. Once they were comfortable and buckled in, Cameron drove off.

"So, this is your first time in Jersey, right?"

"Yeah. I've never had a reason to come until now."

"Ah, I see. I cleaned the spare room for you, so I hope you haven't booked a hotel," Cameron chuckled.

Andrea was silent for a moment, trying to add everything up in her mind. "Cam, why are you being so nice to me?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Didn't Ethan tell you why he left San Fran a week early?"

"Yeah, he said you were hooking up with Grayson behind his back."

"So, why aren't you mad? You're supposed to be Ethan's protective older sister."

"Because I want Ethan to have someone like you in his life—"

"But I'm toxic to him."

"Then why did you come here?" Cameron questioned, knowing that Andrea knew deep down that she wanted to be in Ethan's life, too.

"I need to apologise to him," Andrea mumbled.

"You're not toxic to him. He's been so much happier since he met you, noticeably. And also... there's something you need to know about Grayson."

"What's that?"

"Well... how do I put this so that it's not harsh?" Cameron sighed. "He doesn't really have feelings for you. Ever since you started talking to Ethan, he felt like you were taking his twin brother away from him, so he wanted to get close to you so you could mess up your relationship and be out of the picture. Andrea, I'm sorry."