The first cicadas had begun chirping their nightly song when Cameron pulled to a stop in front of Andra's house. He reluctantly stepped out of the car and leaned against the door inhaling deeply. The evening breeze filled his lungs with the mingled scents of honeysuckle and night-blooming jasmine doing what the drive over could not clearing his head and calming his frayed and battered nerves.
From where he stood he could see that the house was dark except for two rooms. The window on the first floor was lit by a warm flickering light that Cameron knew to be the tv in the family room. The dim light coming through the blinds on the second floor would be from Andra's desk lamp.
He could imagine her even now at her computer poring over her notes and scouring the internet for any trace of Savannah. In his mind's eye, he visualized her sitting bent over her keyboard her brow furrowed in concentration.
Sighing dejectedly at the outrageousness of the situation he found himself in he leaned back into the car to grab the small leather-bound book off the passenger seat. Inwardly he cringed at the thought of touching it again. Something about the book just felt off. Maybe it stemmed from the fact that he had witnessed the horrific creature it had once belonged to this afternoon. Whatever the reason everything about it felt almost dirty to him.
Grasping the book gingerly he slid it into the waistband of his jeans and then pulled his shirt down to hide it. He didn't want Denise or Andra for that matter to see it before he was ready. Denise asking questions would be bad for both of them. He also couldn't deny that he wanted a chance to speak with Andra before she took possession of the journal.
Starting down the walkway to the porch he steeled himself for the confrontation he knew was coming. He was fairly certain that Andra wouldn't agree with him but he had no idea where things would go from there. Worse yet he had no idea what he would do if she didn't. Did he feel strongly enough that he could walk away if it came to that? It was a question he wasn't sure he had an answer for yet.
Slowly climbing the stairs to the porch he hesitated for a split second before ringing the bell. Cameron could feel the little journal pressing against him as he waited, too cool and unnaturally smooth against the skin of his bare back. It felt alive he thought shuddering
At last, after what seemed an eternity he heard footsteps approaching the door. He was certain it must be Andra and it sounded like she was taking the stairs two at a time. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard her voice from the entryway. "I've got it, Mom!" She yelled swinging the door wide.
Andra stood there in front of him her long auburn hair hanging loosely over her small shoulders. The faint light from the entryway illuminated her from behind turning her hair the color of glowing embers. Cameron felt his resolve waver.
He had studied her face so often that even now with her features mostly obscured in shadow he could read the excitement in her eyes. He would like to think that look had more to do with him and less to do with Savannah's journal but he was far from certain that was the case.
Andra turned her face up to better see his and she gave him a wide beaming smile. He felt his heart beating in a loud erratic rhythm. She seemed genuinely happy to see him. "I've been waiting for you." She said still smiling.
A desperate need to protect her suddenly washed over him. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to scoop her up and take her away from here. Unfortunately, he was sure that it wouldn't solve anything. Andra was a huge part of the problem and he had no idea how to protect her from herself.
"Well consider your wait over." He said returning her smile. When she took his hand there was a warm electric sensation where the skin of their fingers met and it caused him to shiver a bit. Andra didn't seem to notice as she tugged him excitedly into the house. He just managed to kick the door shut behind them as she pulled him toward the stairs.
"Hi, Cameron," Denise called from the living room as they passed. She was curled up in the corner of the large brown sectional that dominated the main living space. There was a white fluffy blanket pulled up over her legs and a bowl of popcorn balanced on her lap. Her attention was turned toward the large flat screen tv on the opposite wall where an elderly woman in turn-of-the-century dress was being pushed over the banister of a second-floor landing by an enraged teenage boy. The elderly woman's screams filled the room and Cameron shivered again but this time it had nothing to do with Andra.
"Hi, Ms. Morris," Cameron answered in reply waving quickly as Andra continued her hurried retreat toward the stairs with Cameron in tow.
"Andra?" Denise called to her daughter.
"I know mom," Andra called back without stopping. "We'll keep the door open," Denise called back a response but Cameron couldn't make out the words because they were already at the top of the stairs and moving towards Andras room.
Once they were safely inside and out of earshot Andra started firing questions at him quicker than any machine gun. "So what happened? Were you able to get inside? Did you find the book? You brought it with you, right? Please tell me you were able to get it."
Cameron's heart fell as he watched the excited flush rising in her cheeks. She had been happy to see him but he had been right in assuming that it had more to do with the book than his presence. Knowing all this did nothing to change the way he felt about her. His ego might have taken a hit but even so, his fear for her safety was reaching new heights.
"I have it." He told her quietly. "Where is it then?" She asked almost bouncing in her excitement. "Before I give it to you we need to talk." He said.
She gave him a wary look but there was an undercurrent of something else. He was unsure if it was curiosity or frustration he was reading there. At that moment he wished desperately that he had some idea of what was going through her head.
"What's going on Cameron?" She said crossing her arms over her chest. Yep definitely frustration he thought but there's no going back now. With a sigh of resignation, he began to speak.
"Look," he said quickly. "I understand why you want to do this. I do. I get it and I'll be here to help you figure out what happened to Savannah. I want to find out who killed her as badly as you do."
He understood the truth of the lie even as the words fell from his lips. The truth was he could care less who did it. He had seen enough this afternoon to convince him that all of this was way past the point of being corrected. It just needed to be left alone.
"We'll follow this thing to the end if that's what you want but I don't think going back to that house is a good idea. I think it's dangerous."
They were standing facing each other so close he could see the flush when it rose to her cheeks. "So you're saying you don't want to go back?"
The words came out with an edge of steel to them and he found himself getting angry. He had gone into that cursed house for her! He had very nearly lost his life and his head to the moldering witch that still lived there and she was angry with him for not wanting to do it again?!
"That's exactly what I'm saying." He said the words laced with the incredulousness he felt. "I went into that place because you asked me to but this is getting ridiculous!" He hissed, just barely remembering to keep his voice down so Denise wouldn't hear.
"You're flitting around here like this is some kind of Friday night reality show but I've got news for you, An, this is no game and someone's going to end up as dead as Savannah if you don't let this go! Whatever is living in that house hasn't been Savannah for a long time and whatever it wants from you can't be good!"
Andra's face suddenly changed but it wasn't the anger he had expected or even the remorse he had hoped for. The fevered look had returned to her eyes and she was almost humming with excitement.
"Wait," she said quickly. "You said whatever is living in that house. What did you mean? You saw something didn't you?" She said this last unable to contain her curiosity.
Fabulous, Cameron thought to himself, of course, that's the thing she latched onto. "Yes I saw something, Andra." The words dripping with sarcasm and anger. "I also met something." He pulled the book out from behind his back and tossed it onto her bed feeling a sharp sense of relief that it was no longer touching his skin.
He didn't miss the way Andra's eyes hungrily followed its flight to the place it landed on her bed. His speech had some effect though. She stopped short of just grabbing for it as she no doubt wanted to. Turning slowly he lifted his shirt exposing his muscular back and the three large gashes that extended across it from the center of his spine to midrib.
He heard a quick intake of breath from behind him and thought maybe this if nothing else would make her understand. Reaching up slowly she gingerly traced the jagged cuts to their end. Under her touch, the smooth skin of his back felt warm and electric. He tensed afraid that his feelings for her were clouding his good judgment. Feeling the change she pulled her hand back. "I'm sorry. I didn't hurt you did I?"
"No. I'm fine." He said lowering his shirt to cover the deep lacerations before turning to face her. "Your friend Savannah gave me those as a little souvenir of my visit to Pinewood Drive. She would have taken my head off if Rob hadn't been there. The worst part," he said his voice starting to break a little, " is that she was calling for you. Your name that's what she was saying. I don't know what we've started but you're in danger." He said pleading with her to understand. "Going back into that house is just going to make it worse."
He watched as her eyes welled up and she put her hands over her face struggling with her composure. He started to approach but she shook her head and took a step back. He waited quietly as she got control of herself and when she spoke Cameron's heart dropped into his stomach.
"You just said it." She replied quietly. "We started this. Maybe we shouldn't have but we did and I have to be the one to finish it. She needs me."
His first thought was that she was genuinely insane and then he saw a look flit across her face that at first, he couldn't quite decipher. She was unsure, he thought.
Suddenly he understood and in his disbelief, he stumbled back widening the space between them. "You already know how dangerous she is don't you?" He asked astonishment in his voice.
She stared back into his dark eyes unflinching her chin raised in a show of defiance. "She was here last night." Was her only reply and he could hear the steel creeping back into her voice.
"You knew and you still sent me to that house. You knew and you still plan on looking for her there." It wasn't a question now just a statement of fact. He was completely floored.
"She needs me," Andra answered in response. No emotion in her voice now just resolve.
"Good for Savannah." He said angrily. "Be sure to let me know how that works out for you."
Cameron turned and stalked out of the room. She called after him once before he hit the stairs but he didn't turn around nor did he answer Denise when she told him to drive safe. He didn't allow himself to feel the pain of her acknowledgment until he was safe back in his car. He pulled out into the street put the gas pedal to the floor and tore off into the night.