Unedited
Cameron Dyers,
If you knew what I knew, you would have reacted the same as I did. The lies; the deceit; the truth. It was all too much and it caused me to react this way. It was never about you, honestly. You were just a small piece of the bigger picture. The massive, messed up picture that we call life.
If I could start at the beginning again, before I met you for the first time in Charlie's Corner Café, I would have killed you sooner. Letting you meet with your brothers, it was a waste of time. I could have accomplished this goal sooner, although I must admit, you all made it interesting.
But all things come back to the start, like one giant circle. Back to the very beginning. Or the end in your case.
For you, the end was multiple things.
It was death.
It was seeing my parents die.
It was seeing your brother drown beside you.
Well, that last one only counts if you survived longer than he did. Maybe he watched you drown instead.
Oh well. How unfortunate.
Now I'm going to take my leave, as I no longer need to be here as I know you will be gone and your body beside three others, nd smile knowing I have achieved my first goal. Revenge.
Yours faithfully,
Ashley Selby
Cameron blinked her pickled eyes open, silence reaching her ears. No sound of water, no fear of drowning, no cold. She took in a deep breath in through her nose, the dingy smell of damp no longer invading her sense, replaced by the sanitary smell of cleaning products with a tinge of something familiar.
It was refreshing.
Something heavy was on her body as she lay on her back on something soft. She lifted her neck, glancing down and finding a range of blankets, all multiple colours and sizes thrown on top of her. She was lay on a bed that was surrounded by white curtains about a meter away, blocking her view from what was on the other side. Pulling her arm from the pile on top of her, she used it to lift herself into a sitting position.
Her arm shook with small tremors, the strain of pushing herself up, making her muscles ache. Moving her other arm, she huffed as there was a pinch of pain as something pulled on her skin. She frowned when she found a needle sticking in her hand, taped down to keep in there.
She followed the tube to a bag of clear liquid with her eyes, understanding it was an IV.
That meant she shouldn't pull it out.
Oops.
She hissed, sliding the needle out carefully. She clenched her teeth, happy once it was out and throwing it towards the hook the bag of liquid was hanging on.
"Stupid needles." She muttered, kicking the blankets so they would fall onto the floor. Frustration ebbed into her as the blankets tangled around her legs, doing the opposite of what she wanted them to do. "Stupid blankets."
"You're awake."
Cameron jumped. A yelp left her as the bed disappeared from beneath her and she was sent sprawling to the floor, the blankets following.
"Fudge nuggets," She groaned in pain, taking in sharp breaths, the air having been knocked out of her lungs.
Feet rushed over to her, boots she could recognize, once they came into her line of sight on the floor. Hands wrapped around the top of her arms as the hoisted her up. She kicked the blankets off her legs, successfully this time.
The hands left her when she was stood, steady on her bare feet. Where her shoes were, she had no idea, but they were most likely ruined from the amount of water they must have soaked up.
Now that she checking over herself, she had been changed into a pair of baggy joggers and someone's grey hoodie. It was not hers, she would remember owning something so comfortable. Maybe it could be hers though, if she never gave it back.
"Sorry Cam, didn't realize you hadn't heard me come in."
Finally glancing up, she came face to face with her usually fairly angry brother. A sheepish smile was given to her, his hand running through the longer bits of hair on the top of his head. He wore a dark t-shirt, his leather jacket strangely not in sight.
A rush of emotions ran through at seeing a familiar face, one she hadn't thought she was ever going to truly see again. Pressure built in her eyes as she jumped forward and wrapped her arms around his form, heart clenching with relief.
"Woah," Diego huffed, wrapping his arms back around her. He rested his chin on the top of her head, digging it in slightly, not too much to hurt, but to let her know he was there. Not that his arms arms didn't let her know that. "This is the first hug you've given me."
Cameron smiled, keeping her tears behind her eye lids. This wasn't the first hug she had given a brother but-
"Arlo," She gasped, pulling back quickly. She had been hugging him in the water. "Where is he? Is he okay? What-."
"Hey," A hand clamped down on each of her shoulders, halting her rambling. She stared at Diego, waiting for him to speak. "Arlo is fine, he's resting behind them curtains."
Cameron didn't waste any time and rushed through the curtains. They rattled on the pole as they were shoved to the side, opening to reveal Arlo.
His eyes were shut, his breathing steady. His skin had been rid of the pale sickly colour it had when she had last seen him. He had been changed as well, into similar clothes that she was wearing. No wires were attached to him, not like the IV she had had stuck in her hand.
She breathed a sigh of comfort. They were both safe; warm.
"He woke up a couple of hours ago." Diego mentioned, coming to stand beside her.
Cameron nodded, staring at the be. "Was he okay?"
Diego hummed in thought, his usual smirk befalling his lips. "He panicked and wouldn't calm down until he knew you were okay. Something about a gun and your parents."
"They're not my parents." Cameron said quickly, but with no heat behind it. An image of their dead bodies slowly being covered by the water flashed through her head, one she shook away. She didn't want to even think about them. "They weren't my parents."
The rattling of the curtain being pushed back made her glance over her shoulder, away from her staring point on the bed.
"It's time for din-." Lloyd froze, staring in shock at his sister as she gave a small smile and waved. "-ner. You're awake?"
"Uh." She briefly looked at Diego before looking back to the youngest of her older brothers. His hair was messier than she had ever seen it, his glasses no where to be seen revealing dark circles under his bright green eyes. "I think so."
"Okay." Lloyd nodded, in a daze. "Dinner's ready." He walked away.
Cameron frowned, not understanding that reaction. She turned to Diego, and gestured to where Lloyd had left the curtain open.
"You shocked him," he explained, walking towards the gap in the curtains. "He likes to know about things before they change, otherwise he doesn't react well to it. Give him a minute to get over it."
Cameron nodded, accepting his explanation. She would have to remember that for future reference. After all, she was going to be with them now, unless she just went back to her apartment. The apartment that Ashley knew about; that she helped find.
That was a no-go then.
If Ashley was still about that is.
"Are you coming?" Diego questioned, waiting patiently on the other side of the curtains. "Myles made dinner."
Cameron smiled, a gentle relaxed smile. "If Myles made it, then I must have some."
"What? So if I had made it, you wouldn't want any?" Diego questioned jokingly, a hand over his chest where his heart sat. "You wound me dear sister."
Cameron rolled her eyes. "You keep telling yourself that brother dearest."
Following him out from behind the curtains, the familiar, large warehouse spread out in front of her. They left the medical area behind them and walked to the dining table, small chatter filling the air around them as they got closer. Cameron's gentle smile grew larger, into a small grin when she saw the rest of her brothers.
No one sat at the head of the table, as there was no chair sat there. Kalmin sat at the end of the right side, his lips quirked upwards slightly as he conversed with Myles, who sat across from him. Lloyd was seated beside Kalmin, his laptop sat on his lap as he typed away, his eyebrows creased in concentration. Reid sat beside Lloyd, patiently waiting, his long inky black hair out of it's usual bun.
They all wore some sort of casual clothing, not their usual smart coats and leather jackets.
Six bowls sat on the table; two with empty chairs. Each bowl held a steaming, creamy coloured soup. The smell of the hot meal was pleasant, and made her stomach rumble.
Diego slipped into the seat in front of Reid, which gave her the chair between him and Myles.
"How are you doing kitten?" Myles asked as she sat down beside him. She shuffled the chair forward, so she was sat properly.
"Good, I think." Cameron debated over how she truly felt. "Definitely better than I was doing, but partly confused, relieved, pissed and traumatized for life, all at the same time."
She bit her lip, not knowing if that was the response they wanted, but knew that it was the truth so it was the only one they were getting. A few nods of understanding was what she received, making her feel better.
"Makes sense." Lloyd nodded, lifting his eyes up from the screen. "It's not every day your old friend tries to drown you and your newly found brother."
"Adopted sister." Cameron corrected. Seeing the muddled looks of her brothers, she elaborated. "Ashely was the real daughter of my adoptive parents, who are now dead by the way. Ashley really had it out for them, worse than me apparently."
"So, what? She did worse than try to drown them?" Diego inquired, raising a single eyebrow.
Cameron shrugged, then shook her head. "She shot them both. Then left them in the room with us when she left."
Cameron supposed she did have it better then them both. She was alive, if not a bit traumatized, and they were not. She got to see her family again, they didn't get to see another day.
"You're very calm about this." Kalmin stated, giving her a quizzical look. She could see a glint of concern within his dark pickled orbs.
She hummed, giving a nod in agreement. "Yeah. Once it all catches up, I'll probably breakdown or just get over it."
"And with that statement, can we eat?" Diego requested, rubbing his hands together.
Cameron gave a chuckle as Myles reprimanded him over her head. It was weirdly comforting not having to keep it all bottled up inside like she used to. She never had time to think over what had gone on in her life. It was always move on or let it catch up to you and drag you down with it.
She knew bad things had happened to her, but to finally face it and put it behind her. Well, it lifted a great deal of unknown stress she had had off her shoulders.
It was nice.
So was the soup that Myles had made.
"Obvious question, but what actually happened to Ashley?" Cameron placed her spoon in the empty bowl with a little clink. She waited, glancing at each of her brothers, as if trying to figure out who was going to answer. She leant her elbows on the table, placing her cheek on her hand.
"She was gone by the time we got there." Kalmin explained, his eyebrows creasing in discomfort and almost hidden annoyance. "She left some of her people behind-,"
"Which we took care of," Diego interrupted, smirking lazily, staring off at a wall. His smirk widened, and Cameron raised an eyebrow. "Great anger relievers."
"Yes, thank you for that summary which we all truly needed." Lloyd muttered sarcastically, his computer no where in sight after Myles had chastised him for 'ignoring his family in favour of a non living piece of technology at the dinner table'.
"You are most very welcome little brother." Diego said bitingly, baiting Lloyd to continue speaking.
Lloyd opened his mouth to retort, but Kalmin quickly intervened. "Anyway," He sent a sharp glare to the pair of brothers pulling silly faces at each other. "There was nothing to suggest where Ashely was heading-."
"Except for what we beat out of them," Diego grinned from ear to ear, clicking his knuckles.
Kalmin raised an eyebrow at the third eldest brother, his brow twitching a little. Cameron bit her cheek to keep herself from ruining the awkward atmosphere by chuckling. The few moments of quietness were tense, until Diego muttered something under his breath. Too lower for Cameron to hear and she was sat right next to him.
"As I have been trying to say," Kalmin paused for a second, glancing at Diego, then continued, "The people she had left were hired muscle, to put it simply. Most likely there as a distraction so she could get away. We were given some information about the building which we-," a cough erupted from beside Kalmin, "Lloyd used to track bank transfers from a couple months ago when the building had been brought and-."
"They have a location!"
Cameron spun in her seat, hair flying in her face from the swiftness.
Arlo.
A laugh escaped her, joy flowing through her veins. She pushed the chair back, the wooden legs scraping against the floor, and rushed the few feet to crush her brother into a hug. He didn't waste a second to return the favour, wrapping his arms around her slightly smaller form.
She found it comforting, a different type of hug to Diego's, yet an odd coldness spread through her. A strange reminder that the last time they had hugged, she had been keeping him from drowning in a room filled with freezing water.
"I'm glad your okay." Cameron muttered, tilting her head down slightly and closing her eyes.
"You're glad I'm okay? I don't even remember much of what happened." Arlo whispered, sounding choked up. "You- I- Just- You're the best sister we could have ever asked for. You saved my life."
"You wouldn't have even been in that situation if it wasn't for me." Cameron grumbled, knowing she deserved none of what Arlo had said. She was at fault.
Arlo grabbed onto her shoulders gently, and pushed her back softly to arms length. Cameron looked down, but when he remained silent she glanced up and made eye contact. His eyes were so earnest and his face serious, she couldn't look away.
"It was my decision to do what I did. You didn't make me."
"Yeah, but-." Cameron tried to interrupt, but Arlo wasn't budging. She had never seen him so serious. If she was honest, it freaked her out a bit.
"It was Ashley's fault for putting us in that position, for putting you in that position. It was not your fault."
Cameron clenched her fists. Sucking in a small breath, she tried to reign in the mad mix of emotions rushing through her. Relief, happiness, rage, acceptance, denial. Her heart was trying to beat out of her chest, palms sweaty and blood rushing through her ears. It was all too much for her but she stood her ground.
This was family. Her family.
"Okay." She accepted his words. It would take a little while for her to truly accept the meaning of them, but she had time now. "You said something about a location?"
"Great change of subject," Arlo whispered to her, before waking the few small steps with her back to their brothers. He spoke normally when they got to the table. "Yeah, our adorable younger brother here, is quite amazing like that. Computer genius and all that."
Cameron chuckled at Lloyd's affronted look, while Diego put a mockingly confused look on his face.
"Genius? Since when did we have geniuses in this bloodline?"
A large amount of noise erupted after that rather joyful question. A yelp and a couple of bangs came from under the table, a glare swiftly replacing Diego's confused façade as he directed it towards the youngest brother.
"I hate you."
"Ditto."
"I love you all too!" Arlo skipped slowly to a seat next to Diego, a small but almost unnoticeable wince passing by through his cheerful grin as he sat down.
"Ignoring our lovely brothers kitten, don't worry about the location thing. Nothing much came from it." Myles explained as she retook her seat beside him.
Cameron opened her mouth to question it, but she didn't need to. A letter was dropped in front of her by Reid. It was a neatly folded note, on the paper from Charlie's Corner Café. The same that had been used for the notes delivered by Ashley. She could see through the back that this was a longer note, with her name written at the top.
Taking a deep breath, relaxing her shoulders and ignoring her brothers odd looks, she opened it and read.
Cameron Dyers...