*Faith POV*
It’s funny how much your life and what you think you know about it can change overnight. One minute you’re laughing and happy, the next your mom is a backstabbing liar and your best friend confesses he is the reason you were almost beaten to death. Just a typical day for your average teenage girl. I mean, what else could go wrong.
At Least I still have Cameron. A smile crosses my face at the thought of him and I nibble my bottom lip, trying not to giggle at the memory of last night. ‘Keep on falling for me, Faith. I’ve already fallen and I’m waiting anxiously for you down here.’ Giggling, I stir my hot cocoa and spin around, sporting a goofy grin.
“Faith?”
“Ah! Hot hot! Shoot. Noah! Why are you sneaking up on me” I look up startled, spilling slightly all over my hand and down my leg.
“I’ve been waiting down here since Mia let me in.” he says
“How lon
It’s not normal for me to put a lot of effort into my appearance, yet here I am standing in front of the mirror in the locker room making sure my hair looks ok and swiping on some mascara. Cameron fell for me in my natural state but I want to improve upon that, call it love or fear I don’t care, either way, I’m looking pretty good if I do say so myself. I flatten my shirt in a nervous, excited state and nod to my reflection. Here we go. I’m going to be bold. I’m going to walk right up to him and see how he responds. There’s a little extra pep in my step this morning as I walk out of the locker room expecting to see Cameron waiting for me like he always did when we were just friends. The lack of his presence instantly mars my good mood, and for a moment, an inkling of doubt creeps in. Shake it off, Faith. He is probably just running late, it’s fine. I readjust my mindset. I will see him when I see him. It’s fine, everything will be fine. Gosh, why
Angela saunters over to our table, all eyes following her as she cuddles with her oversized stuffed bear. The small square box doesn’t go unnoticed by me as it comes to a stop right in front of me. For a moment Angela stands in silence, waiting for me to start the conversation. I have no words, and I have no idea what she is expecting from me. I could throw a fit, cry, get angry and attack her, but if what she says is true. If by some crazy miracle she is pregnant with Cameron’s baby, I would never do anything to injure it. Even if its mother is the spawn of a demon. “Look at how sweet he is.” She says, referring to Cameron as she opens the little box revealing a thin gold bracelet with a small flat gold piece with an engraving. “It says ‘Have Faith in me.’ it’s his promise to always come through for us.” she focuses her eyes on mine, just waiting for me to break. I can’t break. I won’t, not here and not because of her. “I almost fo
“Toss it here,” Mia says, opening her mouth in anticipation of the small chocolatey morsel I lob through the air. It bounces off her forehead, promptly landing on the comforter of the bed. Laughing, I grab a handful of popcorn and toss it at her. “You suck!” she chuckles as she searches through the crumpled blanket for the chocolate, and finding it, she gleefully pops it in her mouth, munching. We have spent the last 4 hours laughing nonstop. Reminiscing about our old sleepover day, talking about our celebrity crushes, and arguing over which books are better. My mind still wanders to Cameron now and then, but the second I look like I might turn down a rabbit hole, Mia cracks a joke or throws something at me. “Ok. I’m getting hungry for like, actual food.” Mia announces. Standing up she walks over to my desk and grabs 3 takeout menus. “Pizza?” I ask. “Please! We are
The nightmares came back. Maybe it’s just the stress of everything, heck it could be even the fever I’m running, but either way I’m sweaty, achy, and my brain hurts. I roll to my side, breathing fast. This dream had been worse than normal. No longer are they relived memories. Each night, they morph further from real life and dive deeper into my subconscious fears. Tonight had been about Cameron, and it has been the scariest one yet. Every time I close my eyes, I see his limp, lifeless body staring at me from the dream. My heart is racing at what happens next. I whimper as I quickly sit up from my bed. Pulling my comforter closer to my body. The tears come as they always seem to these days and I sob into my blanket. I know it’s just a dream, and that Cameron broke my heart, but seeing him like that has been far worse than the pain of him not wanting me. My door slowly creeks open and I see a head pop in, my heart pounds as I find my voice.
I just stare at her, blinking in confusion. Why on earth is Cameron’s grandma coming to my house? She looks at me grinning as if she knows me on a more personal level than she does. “Uh, hello” I offer, feeling awkward. Noah nudges me and I snap out of my stare. “Oh sorry, um. Did you want to come in?” “Oh, that sounds lovely dear.” she hobbles through the door, patting my arm as she walks past me, leaving the smell of cinnamon and honey in her wake. She looks and smells how I imagine a loving kind grandma would. I hadn’t been lucky enough to grow up with grandparents. She turns into the living room, humming a cheerful tune along the way. Noah and I follow, stunned. She heads for the chair while Noah and I proceed to the couch, waiting with bated breath for her to explain her random visit in the middle of what would be a school day. “Would you be a dear and get me something cold to drink?” She says with a sweet smile, turn
“Maybe he ran away to think?” I Offer while we drive aimlessly around town searching for any sign of Cameron. The arcade on 16th St had been our first stop. We were there at Edith’s suggestion, so I had run in only to appease her. I couldn’t imagine Cameron coming to a gaming hole, not as a 17-year-old jock, anyway. After thanking the woman behind the counter who said she hadn’t seen him, I raced back out to the running car. Edith frowns as she stares out the window. We are running out of places to look.We have checked the mall, the football field, weight room, yacht club. The yacht club was interesting trying to get in. Edith faked a heart attack while I snuck behind the desk checking their log. For 3 hours we have done nothing but search all the places she used to take him when he was a little boy. I feel useless as I have nothing to offer other than my average driving skills. I know Cameron well, bu
If Angela thinks she can get rid of me that easily, she has another thing coming. Plastering on a fake smile, I turn and offer a sarcastic thank you to the security guard, who smirks at me. The metal doors close slowly on him as I grab out my phone and immediately call for backup. “Mia.” I sigh relieved, “I need you to grab Noah and meet me at Memorial hospital.” “What? Are you okay? What happened?” “It’s not me, it’s Cameron,” I say quickly, there’s silence on the other end. “I’ll call you when we get there.” and with that, she hangs up. Now to wait the approximate 30 minutes before they arrive. I wander around with no destination in mind, finding myself in the cafeteria. Diving into my bag, I dig to the bottom and only come up with two dollars and thirty-seven cents. Sighing, I look around to finding a snack cart and walk over to see if there is anything I can actually afford. Thankfully, they are having a two-
*Cameron POV* An incessant ringing continues to grow louder and louder, tugging at my consciousness. Each decibel brings with it a higher amount of pain until it becomes so sharp it disappears altogether and I can hear nothing but my own labored breathing. Every part of me aches in unison, as I can feel the whole of me waking up. My back feels stiff as if I am pinned to a board and my legs tingle as if on a bed of needles. I try but fail, to open my led-laden eyes, annoyed that even the most simple of tasks is just out of reach. Something near me creaks and I try to turn towards the sound, finding that my neck is also protesting my brain’s demands of movement as I lay motionless. The sound of rustling fabric and a slight breeze tell me that someone is sitting by my bedside, moving around. My mind goes instantly to grandma who I know must be here waiting for any sign that I am still inside this shell of a body that keeps m