I kinda love this chapter. I don't know why I love it so much, but I do. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it :)
Please tell me your thoughts!
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9. Road Trip
"Can I go on a trip with...a friend over spring break," I blurted over breakfast the next morning. I was able to get the sentence out with one pause, since I spoke so quickly. There was just the matter of if she understood me.
Mom turned to look at me, surprised I was actually still in the kitchen with her. She had gotten used to my frequent bailing. "What was that?" she asked.
"Can I go on a trip over break," I repeated quickly.
"With Daphne?" Mom assumed.
Crap, here I had to get sneaky. Going to an unknown place with Daphne-a girl-would've been perfectly fine for my parents. But I was actually going to be leaving with Cam-a guy-and that wouldn't go over as well. We would be sharing a room, after all, if we stayed in a hotel-and just being alone with a boy before they met him was completely uncalled for. Well, it would be more irresponsible, despite the fact that nothing bad they could possibly think of would ever happen.
"No, actually," I said. "With another friend...Cam-eron." I slurred into the last part of the name, realizing it right then. It would sound just like a girl name. I just had to be careful with the rest of the conversation.
"Oh?" Mom seemed to be happy that I had found another friend. I couldn't blame her for feeling that way. Daphne had been my only friend since the day we moved here.
"Yeah," I said, perking up. "Cameron's parents are allowing...her"-it was so strange to be referring to Cam as a she-"to bring a guest.... Can I go?"
"Where are the-?"
I only needed to hear the "where" to get it. "Um, they're...going to"-think, think-"Florida. Disney World."
"And they're-with them? That's-of money."
I studied her face for a moment, wishing that she hadn't said as much. I thought about what she said, hoping I got what she said and saying back, "Cameron's older brother...who's in college...was going to go too...but he has a lot of work...so he can't anymore.... They have an extra ticket."
"Oh, alright then.... As long as they don't mind."
I inwardly sighed that she paused between sentences. It was nice to hear whole sentences from her. "They're fine with it," I said quickly.
"You can go."
"Thank you!" I said excitedly. Then to prevent any more conversation, I shoved my breakfast into my mouth and left the kitchen.
"She let me go!" was the first thing I said to Cam as he came into the classroom and sat beside me.
"Who did what?" he asked, not sure of the subject.
"My mom," I explained. "She's letting me...go over the break.... She just thinks you're...a girl and we're going...to Disney World."
He glared at me. "You made me...a girl?"
I smiled. "Yup. But come on...my parents would...never let me go...anywhere alone with...a guy."
He smiled crookedly. "That's how it is...huh?"
I blushed, looking away from him. "Yeah, it is," I muttered.
"Anyway, my parents...let me go too."
"Where do they...think you're going?
"On a road trip...to Missouri with some...guys from baseball."
"Missouri? How'd you...come up with that?"
"Well...I didn't lie."
"What are you...talking about?"
"We're going to Missouri."
"Explain?"
"Last night I Googled...Carnell Laboratories.... I only found one thing...under that name...and when I clicked...the link...a picture of the man...we encountered...came up.... That has to be...the place."
"If the lab is...all the way...in Missouri...then why did he...come here to dump...his crap?"
"That is a...very good question."
It really made no sense. There were plenty of lakes where he was from I was sure. I was definitely going to ask him about that when-well, more like if-we ever got to the lab. Who said we were going to get in, first of all?
I flinched as a group of girls passed the doorway, shouting for someone. All noises irritated me, but I was able to ignore the pain when it was a soft sound causing it. But the loud noises were just too much to bear.
"Well, going to the...lab ought to stop...the pain."
"It better stop...everything," I mumbled.
"We can hope."
I nodded. "Now that we have...a plan, I just...really want to get...away from here."
"I'm sure you do.... It must be...really painful."
"Mmm hmm." Then I realized something. "Neither of us...know how to...get to Missouri."
He grinned. "That's where you're...wrong. I do...I got a map...this morning and...traced our path."
I stared at him. "Really?"
He nodded, smiling wide and puffing up with pride. "Yeah. It was...easier than I thought."
"Oh my god...Cam, you're amazing."
He looked down at his hands, sheepish. "Thanks. I just wan-"
"You forgot...to pause," I informed him.
"Oh," he looked even more sheepish, "I want to help."
"You really are," I assured him.
He smiled at me, then gave my hand the comforting squeeze he almost always gave before going to his seat. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the ringing in my head that the bell caused. I just wished I could stuff cotton balls in my ears and remove all sound.
That day went at a speed just a bit faster than a crawl. The only thing that kept me going was the thought that I was going to-hopefully-solve my power breach soon enough. The moment spring break came, Cam and I were out of here. I wasn't even gonna go home first.
"Last day," Cam said softly the next day.
I forced a grin. My headache was at its peak-it was like a fist was punching the inside of my head, trying to get out. To tell the truth, I wanted it out. I felt like getting a science scalpel and doing surgery on myself. That was obviously the absolute worst idea I could possibly think of, but I was desperate. I was in desperate need of silence, and a feeling of wellness.
He smiled back at me, and then neither of us were in a mood to have a regular conversation. Every once in a while, if I would look at him, he would give me an expression of assurance, as though he knew we could make me normal again. But then the look of pity that was almost there returned when I pressed my fingertips to my forehead as the bell rang. I could tell that that day was going to be another very long one for me.
"Hang in there," Cam whispered, stroking my hair as he stood up to go to his desk.
I whimpered in pain as I nodded.
"Oh, did Cam du-play toy?" Trisha asked as she walked down the aisle to her seat.
"Leave her al-sha. She is no mo-" Cam hissed to her.
Half the class, including me, lifted their heads to look at Cam and Trisha. I was surprised that Cam was capable of using such force in his voice. He was always so calm and collected.
Trisha was no doubt shocked as well. "I'm just say-never did deserve-ke you."
"We have never dat-we had, it is cer-siness of yours."
I gaped at the argument happening in front of me-for me. That included Cam. I always knew people got into arguments that dealt with me, but I was usually one of the people fighting-not the person people were fighting about. This concept just blew my mind.
"Well, Cam," Trisha replied. "You don't have-rude about it. I was just jok-"
"No, you weren't," Cam replied, and the interruption was from him, not the time freezing. "You torture her...."-I couldn't believe he actually paused. I wasn't sure whether to think he did it so I could hear what he had to say or if it was just dramatic pause-"You broke her arm-"
"Accidentally," Trisha protested, getting back and interrupting him.
"But you didn't care.... You've also made fun...threw things at her...and so much more. You're, well...you're a bitch."
I gaped at Cam as the rest of the class gasped. I quickly covered my mouth with my hand to make myself seem innocent as Trisha turned to glance at me quickly before looking at Cam again.
Trisha seemed close to tears. "Well, I-I...it's not like...well, um...." She sat down in her seat and started scribbling on her binder frantically, sliding lower and lower in her seat until she was out of sight. It was as though she wished she could just disappear under the floor.
When Cam looked at me, I returned his gaze with utter shock. I couldn't stop gaping at him. I was just so taken aback. He nodded to me passively before sitting in his seat.
Mr. Porter entered the room without a clue of what had just happened. All he said was, "Trisha, would you ple-sleep in my class.... I haven't ev-the class yet."
I bent my head to hide my laughter. Then I struggled my way through the class, only understanding a fraction of what was being taught. I was twitching at the end of the period, just like I always was now.
Cam took one look at me as we walked down the hallway to my next class. This was another usual thing: Cam walking me to every class, and being right outside the door afterwards. It was just like what a boyfriend would do, but I knew better. He just wanted to make sure I wouldn't crash into anyone that "suddenly" appeared out of nowhere, and just so he would know I didn't ditch any classes. He had never proved that last excuse, but I had a feeling.
Anyway, Cam took one look at me after the class. And it was a long look. He stopped us in the hallway and turned me to face him, despite the curses from the annoyed classmates around us. He studied my face for a long moment before finally saying, "Screw it."
I wasn't quite sure what to make of that. "Screw what?"
He didn't answer my question. He took my hand and started dragging me in the opposite direction of my second class.
"Where are we going?" I asked, surprisingly calm.
He still didn't answer. And he walked right out the school's front door, dragging me along with him.
"Cam!" I cried. "What are...you doing?"
"We're getting you...to Missouri."
"What about school?"
"Screw it," he repeated, and I finally understood him.
He had looked at me and saw how much pain I was in. He couldn't stand it anymore so he decided to take me away early. He was actually going to skip school-an act he had never committed in his life-for me.
Damn, I was one lucky chick.
"Is anyone at...your house...right now?" he asked gruffly as I slid into the front seat. He was so...nervous, maybe...that he actually leaned over me and buckled my seat belt.
"No," I replied. My mom was at home as I left and when I came back, but that was because she worked part-time at a daycare center. That's where she realized she wanted to have kids, and then figured out she was incapable of doing so. Then I came into the picture.
"Good...we have to...get you some...overnight stuff.... Same with me...but I know my...parents are gone."
I nodded, and Cam rushed around the front of the car to the driver's side. He hopped in, warned me to plug my ears, and started the engine. Despite holding my hands over my ears, my head still rang with the noise.
Then we were on our way, away from school.
I raced into my house the moment we stopped, really excited to begin our journey. The lock was the only thing that slowed me down. I didn't bring a key with me to school unless Mom said she would be late from work, and that day she had not-obviously-said anything. So I frantically searched for the hide-a-key, forgetting for a moment where exactly it had been placed. But I quickly remembered and shoved the key into the lock.
I sprinted up to my room, threw my schoolbag into the corner of my room, grabbing my extra backpack-it was really an old one that the zipper had broken off of in the side compartment. But since I had no need of a side compartment for this specific situation, I could use it now-and shoving in extra clothes. I grabbed T-shirts, long-sleeved T's-you never knew what the weather would be like-socks, undergarments, and an extra sweatshirt.
I went to the bathroom next. I shoved my toiletry bag into the front compartment after adding my toothbrush into it. I put my hairbrush in beside it, along with my shampoo, and just for the heck of it, some of my facial cream. I doubted I would use it, but it never hurt.
"Lex, are you ready?" I heard Cam call from downstairs.
"Almost!" I called back. I zipped all of the zippers closed, slung the bag over one shoulder, and bounded down the stairs. I didn't notice Cam standing right at the bottom until I crashed into him.
He steadied the both of us.
"Oh, sorry!" I cried, apologetic.
He chuckled-and I ignored the on and off. "Don't worry 'bout it."
I smiled, and he hurriedly led me out of my house, holding my arm just above the elbow.
"You know..." I said, amused, "I don't need...help walking...when no one's around."
He shrugged. "Never too safe."
He had a point, so I let him assist me as I sat in his car again. I waited as he went around the front again and got into his seat.
It didn't take too long to get to Cam's house, and when we arrived, it didn't take too long for him to pack his own bag. He was in and out in less than five minutes. I hadn't exactly been able to say the same for myself, but hey, I wasn't a guy. I actually checked to make sure all of my clothes matched. But when he got inside the truck again, instead of starting it, he turned and looked at me intensely.
"Are you ready...to do this?" he asked.
I nodded, not really surprised with the intensity. It was becoming an all the time thing now. "I want...this headache...gone."
He nodded back. "And it will...soon enough." He brushed my forehead with his fingertips before sitting forward and turning on the ignition.
Now...we were truly on our way. And it scared the hell out of me. I had no idea what was to come.
Somehow, I actually fell asleep during the ride. I was leaning on Cam, of course. But it was not a romantic leaning, as much as that disappointed me. He was just so...nevermind. I was supposed to be asleep.
When I awoke, the truck was at a halt.
"What's going on?" I asked groggily. "Where are we?"
"About three...hours away...from home."
I slumped against him with all my weight. He slid his arm around my waist, which surprised me, but I hid the feeling.
"That's it?" I asked.
Without having to look at his face, I could tell he was smiling. "It's hard to...drive across...two states at...a fast speed."
"That's why...there's a highway."
He chuckled. "It's not...that easy."
I traced the threading on my jeans-because tracing his would be weird. "How do you...know the way?"
"I traced the route."
"On what?"
"A map, remember?" He lifted a folded piece of paper from the dashboard that I hadn't noticed before. It was actually a map, a big one that had to be folded many times, and when opened probably took up most of the car.
"Oh. Right." I did remember him telling me about it in school.
"Yeah." He put it back.
For the first time, I looked out the windshield. "Why are we...stopped?"
"I thought we...should get...some grub."
I saw the Burger King sign. "That is...yeah, good."
He opened the driver's door and slid out, pulling me with him. Just as I had my foot on the step below the door, he suddenly stopped pulling me and looked right at my face.
"What?" I asked, anxious.
"Do you want...to stay...in here?" he asked. He motioned to me. "You know...your head."
Oh, right, all the noise and people would bother my headache until I was ready to explode. "I'll stay."
He nodded, taking his arm away from me and gently closing the door. He headed for the entrance.
"Wait!" I yelled to him, hoping he could hear me through the window. I pounded on the windshield for assurance.
He turned, raising his eyebrows questioningly.
I rubbed my thumb against my pointer and middle fingers, signaling money. Did he ever grab any from his house? I had forgotten to get any myself. I was an idiot. We were doing this for me and we might be broke. If we had to go home to grab money, all this travelling right now would have been for nothing.
He smiled, nodded, knowing what I was trying to ask. I immediately felt relief, but then knew I would have to pay him back the moment we got back home-if we made it back. Who knew what could happen to us if we tried to get in Carnell's way? I shivered at the thought.
Cam came back a few minutes later, holding two huge, bulging bags. He went around to the passenger side, which made me feel even worse. I stole his seat. A stupid thing to worry about, sure, but still.
He placed the bags between us. "I didn't know...what you like...so I got some...of everything."
I smiled. "That was nice."
His eyes glowed-in a calming way that didn't seem too happy or anything. It was just nice.
Wow, was I really going to start interpreting his actions? That was just creepy, even for me.
"Well," I said. "You bought it...you pick first."
"Oh no," he refused. "You go ahead."
I wasn't about to argue with him over who was going to dig into the fast food first, so I opened the first bag and searched for anything that looked good. I grabbed the first burger I saw, answering my now growling stomach. The smell just triggered my hunger.
Cam grabbed some chicken strips and we both started eating our extremely healthy meal.
As we ate, we didn't speak at all. We just ate the food-all of it-and then sat there for a few minutes in an awkward silence.
"Well," Cam finally broke the silence between us. "We should...get on the...road again."
I nodded in agreement. "We should...switch seats then."
"Yeah." He slipped his arm around my waist again and got a good grip on my hip, holding the other with his second hand. Then he lifted me and slid me over his lap. My heart sparked and sent butterflies to my stomach as he did that, but I hid my reaction, just barely swallowing a gasp.
When I looked at him as I landed on his other side, I noticed his face had an odd expression on it, as though he had had the same reaction and was confused as to how to think of it.
Seriously? Interpreting his actions again? This was going to be a long trip.
As Cam snapped out of whatever reverie he was in, he didn't meet my gaze and turned the key in the ignition. For once I ignored the banging in my head and successfully zoned out of everything around me. I leaned my head on the back of the seat, having to slide down so my butt was practically hanging off the seat to do so, and closed my eyes. I didn't want to sleep, I just wanted to at least relax.
After a few quiet moments-well, minus the engine seemingly going on and off-I felt beneath me the car accelerate. I opened my eyes and barely caught a glimpse of the speed limit sign. It said 65 miles-per-hour, and when I looked at the speedometer, it read that we were moving at almost 75 miles-per-hour.
I knew Cam knew what he was doing, so I wondered why Cam was being such a rebel today. First he had us skip school, we had "broken" into my house, and now he was defying the speed limit. This wasn't the Cam I knew, and it was really weird to be experiencing this side of him.
Obviously it wasn't like I was never like that, because I defied people and rules all the time. It was just the fact that someone as big a goody-two-shoes like Cam never did things similar to what he was doing now. I didn't want to be rubbing my bad manners off on him or something like that.
Oh boy, Cam had then switched over to the left lane on the highway. He was really in the mood to put the pedal to the medal. I hoped it didn't result in us getting arrested.
I closed my eyes again, not wanting to be too dramatic about anything. He was doing this all for me, after all. It wouldn't be too good to resist help-I didn't really want to either.
"I wish..."-I opened my eyes as I listened to Cam speak-"I could give...you something to...pass the time.... I'm sure music...won't help."
I nodded. "Done that...don't work."
"That's what...I thought."
"I would try...to make conversation...but I don't...want to...distract you."
"I wouldn't mind...it won't distrac-me.... Sorry 'bout that."
I smiled. He was trying to talk to me so much that he accidentally went a little into the pause. But he had the sense to stop talking before he said the last word. I was amazed that he even knew when to pause. Not that I wasn't grateful, of course. It was just really lucky.
So, we talked. For quite a while actually. Of course, it had taken us twice as long as it really should have, given the circumstances, but whatever. At least we could communicate at all, as I had thought before. But as would be expected, we had to stop at some point to sleep.
Sure, some people go on road trips non-stop, even at night, but neither of us wanted to do that. We had to rest at some point, and Cam's front seat wasn't very good for something like that. The back was the only place that could be remotely comfortable, but it's kind of impossible to sleep when you hear cars all around you. The flat bed wasn't covered.
Therefore, we were going to stop-in the middle of the highway no less. I know, I know, it sounded bad, but we had gotten about halfway across Tennessee at the rate Cam had driven, so it wasn't like we were wasting time or anything. We had a week still of spring break.
Around eight o'clock, Cam began to slow down. I noticed that there weren't any cars on the road with us. I felt that to be a good sign, so people wouldn't think we were breaking down or anything. Cam took this as the perfect opportunity to pull off the road, past the shoulder, and onto the grass beside the road. There was a small downward hill there, and he kept driving until the car was under the cover of trees. Then he relieved my headache and me of the sound of the ignition and pulled the key out, shoving it in the glove compartment.
"This is where we're going to spend the night," I observed, content with my surroundings. "Peaceful."
"What was that?" Cam asked.
I shook my head, realizing I hadn't paused. "Don't worry...about it."
He shrugged. "Okay." He stepped out of the car.
I turned in the seat to see what he was doing. I watched-having to look hard to see in the darkness-as he walked around to the side of the truck and reached for something in the flat bed. He ripped a tarp off of something, then looked up at me and met eye contact. He motioned for me to join him.
I hopped out of the truck too and went to the opposite side of the trunk. "What's up?"
"Grab the blanket," he ordered.
I looked in the bed, and saw some sort of bundle. Assuming it was the blanket, I grabbed it, and Cam grabbed something else that was there. Just barely, I saw him jerk with his head, which I took as a sign to follow him. I did, and he led me towards the opening of the trees.
"Lay the blanket out," he said.
I figured out that that was what I was hold and did, and then he placed the things he was holding towards the edge of it.
"'Night...sleep tight."
I laughed. "Hopefully." I walked to the 'foot' of the blanket and fell backwards. I realized that Cam had grabbed pillows when my head landed on one. I closed my eyes.
Cam dropped down on my left. "I hope...you don't...find this creepy."
Not at all, sexy.
"Where else...would we...sleep?" I asked, instead of voicing my real thoughts. I was in heaven.
"Exactly."
I opened my eyes and turned my head so I could look at him. All I could see was the outline of his figure, but it was good enough. "It's quiet," I breathed.
His head turned so he was facing me too. "Feel better?"
"A bit." I noticed my headache wasn't as strong. But my eyelids were very strong. I could feel them fighting against me to close. After I realized Cam wasn't going to say anything else, I let them win and shut my eyes. But before I had the chance to fall asleep, I felt Cam slip his arm around my shoulders and draw me close to him. I fell asleep with my head on his shoulder. I was glad it was his right shoulder. If I had had to listen to his heartbeat go on and off, I would've gone mad.