9.
“You know I worry about you right?” Hunter asked me.
“Why? You shouldn’t worry about me.”
“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” Hunter said faltering.
I wrapped Hunter’s arms around me and said, “Babe I feel safe when I’m with you. I know you won’t do anything to me. It shouldn’t be your first priority to make me safe all the time.”
“I hate that you worry though.”
“Sweetheart, I understand and I love you for that. But you know I’m in a safe environment now.”
Hunter nodded, “Yes but I just want you to be safe. Cameron I will do whatever it takes to keep you out of harm.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too babe.”
Hunter kissed me and I pulled myself closer to him. He didn’t object and I gradually eased myself into lying on top of him. Not wanting to see how far I could persuade him, I pulled back.
“You know where I think we should go,” he stated.
“Where babe?”
“Indiana. I have family up there who live in a wooded area. There’s plenty of stuff to do up there that we would enjoy.”
I considered it for a moment, “That sounds great!”
“Great, we’ll go there as soon as I turn eighteen.”
“Perfect! Until then… we’ll alternate staying at each other’s houses,” I said winking.
Hunter pulled me closer and kissed me passionately. I smiled as he wrapped his arms around me and I put my hands around his neck. He shifted me into his lap, facing him and placed his hands on my lower back. Then I felt my shirt rise off and he kept his hands on the hook of my bra. My breath caught and I continued to kiss him, wondering how far I would go. His hands stayed there and I figured he wasn’t going to do anything at this point.
Hunter pulled back and looked at me.
“What?” I asked trying to figure out if I had done something wrong.
“You look sexy sweetheart, nothing to worry about.”
I giggled and said, “You look sexy as well babe.” I wriggled out of his grasp and screamed as he grabbed me by my waist and pulled me back.
“Who said you were leaving?” Hunter said kissing my neck.
“I have to pee,” I said which was partially true.
Hunter sighed and let me out of his grasp reluctantly as I ran to the bathroom. I was blushing as red as a cherry and tried to calm my breathing down before I went back out.
He welcomed me back with a warm and loving embrace and I leaned against him sighing.
“Romantic huh?” Hunter asked.
“Of course,” I said and smiled as he hugged me tighter.
“I wish we could stay like this forever,” I said and Hunter kissed my cheek.
“Me too baby,” his phone started vibrating and he sighed as he fished it out of his pocket. “Hey dad what’s up?”
He stayed silent as his dad said something and Hunter replied with, “What! But he’s guilty! You saw how she looked! There’s proof!” He got up and went into the bathroom to argue. My breathing quickened as I tried to make sense of what was happening. Garrett was guilty, what if they figured he wasn’t and…. Oh God, Brett. The color drained from my face and I shut my eyes to keep myself focused.
‘Please, please, please God. Don’t let it be what I think it is.’
Hunter came back out and pulled me into his lap as he rubbed my back and said, “Sweetheart you okay?”
“What did he say?” I said weakly.
“The courts don’t recognize Garrett harming you.”
“What! Does that mean Brett might be let out as well?”
“I don’t know,” Hunter said and he hugged me tightly as I sat mortified.
His phone rang again and he answered it, “Hello?”
He frowned and I jumped when Hunter yelled, “She’s not lying! What do you mean you believe him? I’m not lying either!” His voice lowered and he said, “Dad. I love her.”
A single tear fell from his face and I hugged him tightly as he finished up the conversation with his dad.
I got up then and stood by the windows with my arms crossed against my chest. “You can’t see me anymore can you?” I asked turning to face him.
“I’m sorry Cam. Garrett manipulated the situation somehow. I can still find a way to text you.”
“Hunter it won’t work. Don’t you see I can’t let you get in trouble?”
“I don’t care about that Cameron; all I care about is seeing you.”
Tears fell silently down my cheeks as Hunter embraced me and I lost all hope.
“Angel, I promise I will see you again. Until then, just think about how much stronger we’ll be after this?”
“I’m losing everything and the one person I love the most is being taken away from me!” I sobbed as Hunter continued to hold me and stroke my hair comfortingly.
“Cameron, shhh, it’s going to be okay,” Hunter said and I could tell he was having a hard time convincing the both of us.
“How’s it going to be okay?” I mumbled.
“Because I know you’re strong and you won’t let them win just because I can’t see you.”
I sniffled and wiped my tears as I knew he was right. The last thing the two of us wanted was for Brett, Deborah, Mason, and Garrett to think that they were winning by splitting us apart.
“Okay. I’ll do it for us,” I said and Hunter kissed me softly. He pulled back quicker than I would have preferred but I knew he had to go.
“Hey Cameron?” Hunter asked lingering on the door frame.
“Yea babe?”
“I have a car you know…” he trailed and started to leave as I said, “I love you Hunter.”
“Love you too sweetheart,” Hunter said and then he was gone.
I lost it again because I really couldn’t bear it. Shay entered and held me for a while as I cursed and blamed myself and God for this. My heart was breaking slowly and each tear that fell from my face was a small piece of my heart cracking and disappearing.
“Cameron. Don’t give up okay? Hunter loves you regardless and he’s swearing that he will do everything possible to be with you.”
“I know but I don’t understand why they would believe Garrett over Hunter?”
“I don’t know either Cam. I wish I had an answer for that.”
She got up and went to go do “homework” as I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. I moved towards the spot that Hunter had lain a few minutes beforehand and I curled myself up inhaling his scent. I cried myself to sleep and imagined that Hunter was holding me, like old times.
I arose to hear my phone beeping. Reaching for it I saw it was a text from Hunter.
‘Hey angel r u okay?’
I immediately texted him back with, ‘I thought u couldn’t talk 2 me? I’m ok wbu?’
‘Btr now bec I’m txting u ;) idc if I’m sposed 2 or not. They won’t catch me. Watcha wanna talk about sexy?’
I blushed and felt all warm insides as we texted back and forth for hours. I felt better knowing that he wasn’t going to change how he felt about me.
‘Alright sweetheart I need to get some rest… Mayb I’ll c u tomorrow while I’m out driving ;)’
I screamed inside my head and felt super excited as I responded with, ‘Sounds great! Nite Hunter, love you!’
‘Love you too! <3’
I deleted my messages and tried to get some rest as I waited for dawn to arrive.
The next morning I dressed quickly and told Shay I was going out running. I took my cellphone and secretly took all the money I had. I had a feeling that we might be going somewhere and I tried to be nonchalant as I slowly jogged to the park and then texted Hunter once I was far enough away from the house.
‘Hey baby where do u want to meet up?’
I sat down on a park bench as I waited for a response and listened to my iPod to kill time.
‘Where r u sweetheart?’
‘@ the park.’
‘K. B there in 5.’
I screamed silently in my head as I tried to wrap the thought around my head of actually getting in the car with Hunter and driving down to Indiana. It was something I had only imagined I would ever do in my life. The fact that this fairy-tale was happening in such a way to my advantage must have to mean something right?
A steel blue mustang appeared and I stood up slowly as I walked over to it and Hunter rolled down his window.
“Hey beautiful. Want a ride?”
“Of course,” I replied and hopped into the passenger seat and Hunter pulled away with me and drove to a parking lot that was somewhat deserted at the moment. He put the car in park, cut the engine, and pulled me close into a warm and loving embrace.
“I missed you so much sweetheart,” he murmured as I hugged him tighter feeling every inch of my body mold into his firm structure. After a few minutes we broke apart only a few inches and he caressed my cheek as I shut my eyes.
“I missed you too babe,” I said and looked at him to see the love and joyous expression that was sparking in his eyes at the sight of seeing me once again.
We sat there in silence, not knowing what to say but neither of us minded the silence at the moment. The fact that we were together once again was enough for us to be okay with not saying anything. My eyes seemed to be drinking him in during those few unspoken moments. Everything about him that I had seen every day seemed to be that much sexier since I knew we weren’t allowed to see each other. The way his lips curved into the seductive smile he always gave me which made me breathless every time was displayed on his lips. I reminded myself to breathe and Hunter chuckled as I saw him examining me as well.
Hunter put the car in drive, one hand on the wheel and the other intertwining his fingers with mine. We drove in silence and my heart was beating hard because for the first time that day I was scared of getting caught and knew once I did, everything would change.
“Sweetheart, I know you wanted to go to Indiana with me but some plans have changed.” Hunter said and looked at me out of the corner of his eyes to see my reaction. He squeezed my hand most likely because of my reaction which I wasn’t exactly sure what it was. I felt relief, which made me feel embarrassed and then I felt longing. I had wanted this moment to come and now for whatever reason it wasn’t going to happen.
“Why not babe?” I asked and I saw that Hunter was trying to figure out how to tell me as well as focus on what he was doing.
“Tell me after you figure out where you’re going,” I suggested and he nodded a thanks and pulled me as close as the car would allow for him to.
I inhaled silently and sighed at smelling his sweet scent that was always on him. Though today it smelled sweeter, like a mixture of pine and something which made me wonder if my senses were maybe just heightened or if I was imagining that he just smelled a whole lot better today than any other day.
“Okay so the reason we can’t go to Indiana right now is because the timing is really irrelevant. We need to wait a little bit longer in order to insure both of our parents that we’re being civil and mature. Maybe I can then convince them over time to let me see you without it being secretive. But I can’t risk us getting in more trouble later for just trying to pull something off right now. Do you understand sweetheart?”
I did but I honestly didn’t want too. I nodded solemnly and Hunter hugged me tighter as he continued to drive.
“How long?” I asked and though it was two words they held a lot of meaning and dynamics behind them.
Hunter glanced across to me and said, “At least until you’re junior year.”
I wanted to be upset and angry as soon as he said that, but I remained calm and I looked down as my cheeks flamed with fury.
He pulled off onto the side of the road and cut off the engine again. I avoided his gaze for a few moments and then looked at him feeling even worse. His reaction was disappointment as well, and I could tell it had bothered him to tell me, actually see what my reaction had been and the fact that he had debated on going through with telling me was written all over his face.
“Hunter I’m fine,” I said and he pulled his seat back and then sat me in his lap as he rubbed my back comfortingly and I laid my head against his chest.
“You know I love you right?” Hunter asked and I nodded just to ensure myself that I wouldn’t get all emotional and risk him seeing me break down or something by hearing the tone of my voice.
“You know I’m only doing this because I want you to be safe and that it will be better in the long run? If I thought you were safe now I would be doing this without a doubt.”
I nodded once again and Hunter held me tighter as I involuntarily shed two tears that grazed his shirt. He pulled my face up to his and he wiped them off as his lips brushed against mine. This kiss was full of wanting and what seemed like empty promises but I knew they weren’t. His hands were on my lower back, trailing up and down and I shivered as I knotted my fingers in his hair.
He moved his lips to my jaw and then trailed slowly to my neck as he murmured, “I love you Cameron.”
“I know baby,” I said and he pulled back for a second.
“I love you so much that I wish I wasn’t going back on my word.”
“You’re not Hunter, you’re doing what you think is best at the moment.” I didn’t think he had lost it, but he definitely wasn’t acting himself at the moment and I suddenly had a bad feeling.
His lips were on mine again and his hands ran up to where my bra was. I couldn’t feel anything anymore except that he was going to do something and I needed to stop him.
“Hunter,” I said moving my lips and he looked at me.
“You said you wanted this.”
“I know but not right now, you’re trying to make up for not fulfilling your promise right away and this is not how I want you to go about it.”
“But I’m trying to show you that I love you.”
“Sweetheart you show me that every day; now stop trying to take my clothes off.”
I pushed slowly back from him, but Hunter didn’t budge.
“Hunter,” I said suddenly frightened and irritated.
“No.” he said simply and I saw that he was being serious given the state he was in, but he was dead serious.
“Take your hands off. Now.” I said and pushed back harder and he did the exact opposite and pulled me closer.
“Cameron, I want you.”
“I understand that, but not like this. I’m not dealing with this at this age. So take your hands off me or I’ll move them myself and call the cops.”
Hunter didn’t think I was serious and I screamed as he tried to push me into the seat and straddle me.
“Stop Hunter!” I yelled and opened the car door as I feebly kicked him. He was shocked and that’s all I needed as I lunged out of the car and started running in the opposite direction. I had no idea where the hell I was, and I suddenly realized that I left my cell phone in the car.
“Shit,” I muttered and I kept running as I saw that Hunter had pulled the car around and he was driving towards me.
“Cameron,” Hunter said and I kept walking as he drove at a crawl to match my pace.
“Get away from me Hunter, there’s no way in hell I’m getting in your car if all you’re going to do is try and have sex with me.”
“Cameron,” Hunter said louder and I stopped as I saw that he was sad.
I put on my expressionless reaction and said, “What?” as acidly as I could muster. I was pissed off and I immediately regretted ever letting my guard down for one second with him. ‘Some things in life may be good for a while but not for long.’ My brain was insisting and I tried to not believe what I was thinking might be true.
“I’m sorry. You’re right I should’ve listened to you. It’s just you were always talking about it and I thought well maybe I can really show her how much I love her to make up for not taking us away from here.”
This I believed and I said, “Sweetheart I understand that, but that’s not how I want you to go about it. I’m waiting and if you don’t accept that, then things need to change starting now. Yes I wanted it, but I’m a girl for crying out loud who has hormones that change as fast as my emotions. I’m not going to do something I regret and like you said before, if it’s going to be something that people find out about, or makes me look easy… I’m not doing it.”
Hunter remained silent and then said, “Will you at least get in the car so I can drive you home?”
I considered it for a moment and got in the back for precautionary reasons, and didn’t look at his reaction as he drove me home in silence.
When he pulled up to my driveway, no one was home and I got out of the car. I went to the front and grabbed my cell phone.
“I’ll see you later,” I said looking at Hunter. Which either hadn’t been a good idea or maybe I thought that because he felt really bad for what he had done moments beforehand.
“If you want to see me,” he said and I sighed as I got in the front seat and shut the car door.
He looked at me in surprise and I said, “of course I want to see you. Just because you say one thing that may be a little…. Out there doesn’t mean I’m going to dump you and not want to have anything to do with you. Yes I know I said I would days earlier, but what would you expect me to say in this situation? If it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have had a choice.” I ended and looked him directly in the eyes as he was the first one to look away.
“I just… I feel awful. Cameron I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to come onto you like that. All I could think was that I needed to make it up to you.”
“And you will,” I said and added, “And I’ll be waiting for both of those days to come. But until then we wait, and play by the rules.”
Hunter nodded and looked somewhat relieved and said, “If I ever do that again, please tell me or do something. I need you to keep me in check so that I don’t become like Garrett.”
“Deal,” I said and I hugged him fiercely before pulling back.
“I love you sweetheart,” I said and kissed him gently and pulled back so I could get out.
“I love you too angel, text me when you can.”
“Will do babe,” I said and got out. I waved as he pulled out and I went inside my house to do homework just to get my mind off of what had just happened. I felt nauseated, disturbed, and yet relieved? I was glad that I had showed strength but also mad that he tried to do that. Either way, I knew I couldn’t be mad at him and decided to drop it. Pulling out my geometry homework I decided to work on it, and ended up looking ahead to see what we would be learning.
By the time that I was done with that, it was nearly two o’clock and I hadn’t texted Hunter. I pulled out my phone and wrote, ‘Hey baby what r u doing? <3’
‘Sitting on my bed and thinking about you. I’m sorry for what happened earlier…:( ’
‘It’s okay babe. I forgive you; don’t keep dwelling on the past. Love you!’
‘Love you too sweetheart!’
I was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and both Shay and Gwen called my name in unison, “Cameron are you home?”
Before I could even utter a response Shay had bounded up the stairs to my bedroom door and knocked on it rapidly. I got up and pulled open the door to see Shay breathless and an unsettling presence settled over the room.
“Shay what happened?”
“It’s Mia. She’s in ICU.”
“What? Why?”
Shay steadied herself as she said, “she was attacked walking home from the pool. In broad daylight! Some guy jumped her and stabbed her repeatedly. He kept pressuring her to tell him where you lived. Since she really had no idea, she got hurt and he ran.”
My blood ran cold and I asked, “Who was it?”
“I don’t know. Brett and his gang including Garrett are still in jail. Is there anyone else you know who would want to kill you that badly?”
Names and faces appeared in my head as I thought hard about all the guys Deborah had ever dated or even invited over for that matter. No one had been even as close as Brett on the crazy scale in my opinion. Unless there was someone I was completely forgetting because maybe I had been too young to remember.
Shaking my head I said, “Unless there’s someone I don’t remember because I was too young, then I have no idea.”
Something in my head was edging me to remember anything and I had a feeling I would maybe have some other hunch on who it could be. The reason for why he wanted to kill me was probably because I had gotten Deborah in jail. I then suddenly thought in my head, ‘Did Deborah have any brothers?’ I had never met anyone in the family that I could remember and I was pretty sure she only had a sister.
I went downstairs and Shay trailed behind without questioning. I went up to Gwen and asked, “I need to see Deborah’s family history. If she has a brother, he might be the one who jumped Mia.”
Gwen went over to the computer and pulled up her file that the adoption center had given us and she shook her head. “No she just has a younger sister,” and tapped at the picture on the screen.
“Can we go visit Mia right now? If she can describe what the man looked like, maybe I’ll have a better idea of who it is.”
We drove over there and when we got inside the building I shuddered at how I was here months ago. We went over to the receptionist who told us to wait and take a seat. The gray walls were gloomy and provided no comfort as I sat in the hard chair that smelled of rubbing alcohol and other bodily fluids that the cleaners had failed to miss. I watched the clock just too waste time and became impatient as I saw the clock was off and the minute hand wasn’t moving. Then I started counting the tile squares on the floor and ceiling instead.
I got to forty-eight on the tile floor when a nurse came out through the door and called my name. I got up and followed her past the ugly pale blue hallways and into the ICU wing. There were many machines beeping in some of the rooms and I felt clammy as the thought of me being in here instead of Mia was making me feel queasy.
She stopped at the last room on the right and opened the door, beckoning me in. I walked in and saw Mia hooked up to machines and saw that she was watching some television show that the hospital provided. I could tell it held no interest to her and her eyes sparked as she turned and saw me.
“Cameron,” she breathed and I sat down next to her, careful not to disturb anything as I hugged her. I glanced her over and held back the urge to gag as I saw the bandages on her. There was one on her stomach, and another on her shoulder that I could see.
“Mia, can you tell me everything that happened.”
She took a shaky breath and began. “I was walking home from the pool. I had wanted to practice my times for swimming and as I was walking I heard someone running behind me. I moved to the side thinking it was a runner and didn’t turn around as he tackled me to the ground and held a knife up to me and demanded to know where you lived. I honestly didn’t know your address and he thought I was lying. He stabbed my shoulder, stomach, and almost hit my chest but took off as some neighbor started screaming and people swarmed out of their houses.
He was at least six foot, dark black hair and deep brown eyes. He was tan and had a tattoo that I noticed on his neck that was in the shape of a skull. I don’t remember what he was wearing exactly.” She gave me an apologetic smile and I patted her hand. In the back of my mind I was trying to figure out if I knew the person she was speaking of.
When we returned home I saw my phone had numerous text messages from Hunter.
‘Hey r u okay?’
‘Is Mia okay? R u okay?’
‘Cam?’
‘Sweetheart, plz txt bck. I’m worried.’
I texted him back saying, ‘I’m here Hunter. Sorry was visiting Mia. She’s doing okay. I’m fine, I wasn’t harmed. Don’t know who it is thou…’
Hunter texted back immediately saying, ‘Good. Let me know if u need anything. Love you. :-*’
‘Thanks babe, love you too. :-*’
Our conversation after that consisted of various smiley faces and Hunter finally decreed that I had won the contest of thinking of the most creative ones.
‘Haha thanks babe. Do I win a prize? ;)’
‘Hm…. Yep! But you’ll have to wait to receive it k?’
‘Okay! ’
I felt somewhat uneasy about this prize he was telling me about but I knew he wasn’t hinting at anything. I put my phone up to charge and laid down on my bed as I sighed in frustration. The events with Mia were making my head spin. I fell asleep, oblivious to the fact that I had. The description Mia had given me was in my head and then I saw a face come out of her description. ‘Did she mention anything about a scar on his face?’ I thought as I envisioned a scar stretching across his eye.
I woke up and saw it was two o’clock in the morning. I had slept for a few hours and I felt fear creep up my spine as I recognized who had jumped Mia. I reached over to get my phone and called Hunter.
“Hello?” Hunter said with a heavy sound of sleep in his voice.
“Hunter its Cameron.”
“Cameron what’s wrong?” Hunter said wide awake now.
“I know who jumped Mia,” I said and I heard the line go quiet on the other end. I checked to see if my phone had lost service but it hadn’t and I said softly, “Hunter?”
“Yea, sorry. I don’t want anyone to know I’m up. Continue.”
“The person who jumped Mia is named Marcus. He was associated with a gang and knew Deborah very well through work and stuff. He has a scar from a knife fight that stretches across his right eye. If I’m correct he’s worse than Brett.”
The line went silent on Hunter’s side and I waited for him to say something. I then had an eerie feeling because I noticed the air conditioning was off in my house and it was strangely quiet. Not a single sound was being made and I had a sickening feeling.
“Cameron, I need to get you out of here. You’re not safe,” Hunter said and I nearly jumped as I heard a creak on the stairs.
“There’s someone in my house,” I whispered fiercely.
“I’m on my way.”
“Get the police.”
“I will, keep me on the line and hide yourself, don’t worry about your family at the moment Cameron.”
I slowly slid to the side of my bed and slid started to slide under when my door swung open and I held back a scream. I was on the side of the bed, quivering and I heard the sound of thick heavy boots come to where I was.
“Cameron Justice Madison, I’ve been waiting for this moment,” Marcus said and I screamed.
“Cameron!” Hunter yelled on the other line and I hung up as Marcus hovered over me and I tried to stand up and grab a weapon.
“Gwen! Kyle! Shay!” I cried and I threw a book at him as I jumped over the bed and ran downstairs. My family was gagged and surrounded by his gang members. I stopped and they all stared with their knives and guns pointed at my family.
“Cameron. Why don’t you cooperate so you’re family doesn’t get hurt?
“What do you want?” I asked my voice quivering and I tried to control my trembling.
“Simple, for Deborah and the rest of her posse to be released. Also for you to endure hell for putting her through hell.”
“Been there done that,” I spat at him and he grinned deviously saying, “Not by my standards.”
I backed up a step and he followed. I slowly glanced towards my options of escaping and how I could try and help my family. Shay met my eyes with fear and terror and I had a hard time keeping myself composed for her sake.
“If you let the three of them go, I’ll let you do whatever you want with me.”
Marcus blinked as to how easily I had given in and he shook his head. “No because they’ll go and get the authorities.”
I quickly tried to think of another offer but I was running out of time. Hunter wouldn’t get to me in time and who knows what he would find.
Marcus crept closer to me and Shay yelled, though her scream was muffled against the gag cloth. I tried to dodge Marcus as I saw the knife he held in his hand and I was terrified even more than when Brett or Garrett had held me against my will. He grabbed me by my shirt and held me up against the wall. My heart was pounding fast as I saw the silver flash in front of my face and I screamed as pain erupted in my abdominal region. Marcus enjoyed seeing me in pain and dug it in deeper. Shay was screaming and fighting the bonds that held her fast to the chair. One of the guys raised his hand and smacked her hard as she stopped and fell silent. I saw the red stain growing on my shirt and he pulled out the knife as he held it up again to strike.
“Boys,” he said and they all picked up my family and ran out.
Marcus took me upstairs to my bedroom and I tried to fight him but I couldn’t. He dropped me on the floor and drizzled gasoline on the stairs as he dropped a lit match and I saw the stairs flame up and the house quickly became engulfed in flames. My bedroom door was shut and I couldn’t stand up as I saw the smoke and heard sirens down the block. I tried moving towards the door but I was losing blood fast and I passed out as the heat became a scalding pain all around me.
“Cameron!” I heard who I thought was Hunter say and I looked up to see it was him. He was leaning over me and I tried to talk as debris fell around us and more flames flew up. He crouched over me and cradled me as I tried to understand how he got inside. I couldn’t cry any tears as he sheltered me against the heat and picked me up. Slowly he tried to take me to the window but we had become surrounded by the fire. He looked at me with his loving eyes and I saw the fear reflected in his eyes that was also in mine.
“I love you,” I whispered with as much effort as I could muster. Hunter could tell I was in excruciating pain as he held me tightly and tried to stop the bleeding from my wound. “I love you too sweetheart,” was his response.
We were going to die and we both knew it. I tried to hold onto him but I was losing conscious with all the blood I had trickling out. Hunter kissed me softly and I tried to yell as the something fell and he collapsed on top of me. I couldn’t tell if he was conscious or alive for that matter and I grabbed his hand tightly as I saw everything become blurry and I slipped into unconsciousness.
I felt like I had been dumped into a pool and electrocuted at the same time. Someone was pounding on my chest and I knew it wasn’t abusive but I couldn’t register anything as my mind went blank again.
‘Hunter. Something about Hunter.’ That’s what my mind was telling me as I was engulfed into darkness and couldn’t see anything else. Then everything came back to me in a flash as I remembered the arson and the stabbing from Marcus. Hunter had held me and he had fallen underneath the weight of the debris. ‘Was I dead? Was Hunter dead?’ I couldn’t focus and everything in my body was screaming from pain. Clearly if I was dead, then I wasn’t in heaven. Heaven didn’t allow pain, but I didn’t have any reason to believe I was in hell either. So I decided that I was still alive but was dying slowly.
There was a bright yellow light far in the darkness and then it was gone. I stared at where it had come from and heard voices. I couldn’t make them out and they all seemed slurred but I knew they were voices.
As if I had emerged from the depths of darkness, I awoke and saw the bright lights of the hospital and doctors taking notes. Shay, Kyle, and Gwen were sitting by my bedside and they all gasped as I sat there in confusion.
“Mom, dad, Shay, I’m sorry.” I blubbered and they all embraced me as I winced from my wound. All three of them retracted and they sat in their seats with forlorn looks on their faces. It didn’t occur to me that I probably was burned and disgusting. I could still smell the smoke in my hair and I pulled out some ashes that were embedded in my scalp.
“Where’s Hunter?” I asked and no one said anything for a moment. I felt a gut-wrenching pain and let tears fall.
“Is he dead?” I asked and Shay looked at our parents.
“Is he?” I demanded and one of the doctors looked at me and said, “We’re not sure. He’s unresponsive to the machines. We believe he is most likely in a coma.”
I shut my eyes as tears streamed down fast and I didn’t try and stop them for the first time. ‘This can’t be happening.’ I repeated to myself inside my head and I avoided everyones’ gaze. The doctors left and my parents got up to follow them out and receive instructions on my care. Shay stayed behind for a moment and said, “I’m sorry Cameron.” She hugged me and then left.
I sobbed and couldn’t stop. Hunter was either dead or semi-dead and I couldn’t grasp, no, I wouldn’t accept that. He wasn’t supposed to get hurt by anyone. I should not have called him; I shouldn’t have let him sacrifice himself for me.
My mind flashed back to when Hunter and I had been talking months ago. ‘I’d do anything for you Cameron, no matter what I’m going to keep you out of harm,’ Hunter had said.
‘This is my fault,’ I thought in my head and I cried myself into a deep sleep. I wished that Hunter was here to embrace me and console me, telling me that I had nothing to fear but I knew this time it wasn’t going to happen. I needed to be strong for the both of us. ‘But how could I? How do you make it up to someone when you screw everything up with them it seems like? It was going to take a miracle for Hunter to still love me after this,’ I thought.
I knew he loved me but this was pushing the limit and I suddenly thought about the day in the car. ‘If I had let him do what he and I both wanted, none of this would’ve happened. If I had never tried to escape that day… I never would have met him.’
I continued to cry and wished I could just disappear from the world and be punished for what I had done.
I went to go see Hunter and saw how lifeless he was. His body wasn’t burned but his breathing was ragged as if he had lung cancer.
“What are the conditions?” I asked the doctor.
“He’s in a coma. The fire didn’t scorch him but the smoke and fumes irritated his lungs. His breathing is ragged and it’s hard to keep him stable. We’re constantly losing him, so he’s on a breathing machine.”
One of the machines buzzed and the doctor yelled as he performed CPR. I sat mortified, as they tried to revive him. After a few minutes, his heart rate was steady and the doctor sat back. He and the nurse left and I sat by his bedside stroking his hand.
“I don’t know if you can hear me babe, but I need you to pull through this. I’m trying to be strong for the both of us, but it’s difficult. Hunter I’m scared and I wished I had gotten out so you wouldn’t be in this state. Please don’t leave me. I love you.”
Tears fell and I looked at his heart rate monitor. The beeping sound was comforting, symbolizing that he was alive. His breathing became less forced but slower. I watched his chest rise and fall every couple of seconds.
I laid my head on his chest and fell asleep to the sound of his breathing.
At some point I had been placed back in my hospital bed. I tried to get up, but I felt really sore and exhausted. My mind was racing and the question that kept popping up in my head was, ‘Is he alive?’ I then figured if he’d died someone would have told me, right?
The fact that I couldn’t talk to him because he was unresponsive was killing me. I wanted to hold his hand in mine and feel the warmth that always seemed to radiate from our touch.
I swung my feet over the side of the bed and steadied myself. Then I walked out and into the deserted and chilly hallway. It felt like a meat locker in here and the only light was coming from the moon’s glare on the windows. The walk to Hunter’s room was long but once I opened the door relief and security swept over me.
Hunter was still unconscious but his breathing was steadier and his heart rate was perfectly normal. I sat next to him and kissed his cheek. Tears fell again as I tried to compose myself. I intertwined my fingers in his and felt an odd peace overcome me.
I’m not sure how long I sat there but it was pretty much morning by the time I returned to my room. Now I knew I could sleep more easily after being with Hunter for hours last night.
Nurses came in to check on me and eventually they left me alone for a while. Falling into a deep sleep, I didn’t wake up until someone shook my shoulder. A doctor was standing before me with a blank look on his face.
“Miss Madison, I think you’ll want to see this,” he said and helped me up.
We walked down to Hunter’s room and I caught my breath. The only thought that kept running through my mind was, ‘Is he dead?’
The doctor turned the knob and slowly opened the door. He stepped aside and I gasped as I saw Hunter. He was sitting up and looking at the doctor and me.
“Hunter,” I breathed and walked as fast as I could so he could hold me.
“Hey baby,” he said hugging me and he kissed my hair as I let any tears I had been holding back fall.
He wiped them off and smiled his sexy, perfect, jaw-dropping smile. I kissed him softly and he continued to hold me. It was just like old times in a way. I suddenly wondered if he knew that I had stayed with him practically all night but decided it didn’t matter. I was at home, seeing Hunter again.
“How are you?” I asked looking into his chocolate brown eyes.
“I’ve been better, but right now I’m just content that I can finally see you. I’m sorry if you were trying to talk to me. How are you?”
“I’m great now that I know you’re awake. Don’t you ever scare me like that again Hunter. I thought I was going to lose you,” I said and he hugged me tightly.
“I know. It’s okay Cameron. I would do it again though, just to know that you’re safe and are alive.”
I felt a sharp stab of pain from where my wound was but I ignored it not wanting to ruin this perfect moment. I had finally realized how precious time was and every second I got to see Hunter was a blessing. At this point I looked forward to it every day. I moved myself so that I was fully extended which lessened the pain on my stomach and I relaxed.
Hunter continued to hold me in his arms and I could tell his eyes were on me. I was staring at the television but decided to look at him. His eyes were dark and I saw them fill with tears but he didn’t shed them. Leaning in, I brushed my lips against his cheek and then moved them to his soft and tender lips. I heard him sigh and I felt whole again.
“What are you thinking about?” Hunter asked trying to smooth the crease that was on my forehead.
“Hmmm? Oh nothing,” I said a little too quickly and Hunter frowned.
“Cam.”
I sighed and said, “I feel like at times I love you more than you love me and that no matter how much I try to express it to you, it’s not enough.”
Hunter stayed silent for a moment and I shut my mouth feeling bad for saying it but I was irritated. When he finally found words to utter he said, “You’re wrong. Cameron I love you a lot. I just don’t show it as openly as you do because some ways I’m not going to do first of all. Also I notice everything that you do and say. I’m sorry if you think I don’t love you as much because that’s not the case. I was hoping the fire would somehow explain it…”
“Hunter it did. I’m sorry, I’m just stressed out. I know you try to express how much you care on a daily basis. I just worry that I’m going to lose you and you won’t love me anymore. You’re much too important for me to lose in my life right now. I’m not strong,” I said my voice breaking. I cleared my throat and stared at the wall.
“Cameron Justice Madison, there will never be a day where I stop loving you.” Hunter said and I had to look at him then. His eyes were serious and he kissed me hard as I felt all the emotions we both had for each other reveal themselves in this kiss. When we broke, I scooted closer to Hunter and dozed off in his arms as he stroked my hair and murmured how much he loved me.