Chapter Thirty-Six:
Home Sweet Home
____________________
Deuteronomy 5:16
"Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you."
"Turn here,"I pointed to my right and Cameron pulled the truck into my new driveway. My mom gave us the direction on the phone and I hung up with her just as we pulled into our road. Just as she said there would be, a one-story tan house sat where I would now call home.
I liked it; there was a wide garage door where the short driveway ends, connected to the house. There was already red flowers planted in the front from the previous owner, I guessed.
I looked over to see Cameron swallow and look out the window. This house was beautiful. Not as big as my old one, but it was good. It already felt like home because wherever my family was, that's where home was.
I hopped out of the truck as soon as it was put in park and grabbed the few bags I could. Without taking a second glance back at the truck or Cameron, the last piece of Virginia I had, I zoomed up to the front porch. Mom said it would be unlocked, so I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob and twisted it.
Inside, the house was bare. I walked down the short hallway that passed the bare, wood floor, living room and another door that was open. It was the bathroom. In the kitchen were a few empty McDonald's bags on the counter. Mom and dad must've come home at least once.
A note on the island in the middle of the open kitchen caught my eye. Maybe it was the bright pink sticky note, or the big 'Love Mom' written at the bottom. I grabbed the note like I couldn't live without it and read it carefully. It told me that my bedroom was third back the hall and to meet them at the hospital, third floor.
"What's that say?" Cameron's voice made me jump. I smiled a little at him, not wanting to rub it in that I didn't have to go back to Virginia and he did. Cameron gave me all the smile he could muster which was just the stretch of his lips.
"Um, my room is third back the hall. And mom wants us to meet her at the hospital after we get all my stuff in here." I said quietly, my energy level suddenly dropping. The look in Cameron's eyes kept me from moving for a moment as we stared at each other. Maybe I was feeling guilt?
Cameron looked down at the luggage in his hands and raised them up as if to tell me c'mon. I jerked back to reality and rushed down the hall. There were empty beds in each of the three bedrooms I passed. As soon as I reached the end of the hall, I took a right and there it was. My new bedroom. The walls were painted a light cream color and the bed was a canopy bed. I had a closet with those wooden sliding doors and a big window that looked out over the backyard. I sat my bags down and collapsed on the plastic-covered mattress. Someone must not have wanted this canopy bed. I didn't mind it.
I stood up and got a look of myself in a round mirror that hung on the wall.
"Ew. I need a shower. Do you wanna take one when I'm done?" I asked Cameron. He nodded his head as I grabbed some new clothes from my bag.
"I'll go grab the rest of the stuff and then check out the rest of the house." He said dismissively as he walked out the door. I forgot about the other bags. There should only be two more, so I'd thank Cameron later for helping me carry them in.
I hopped in the new shower and stood under the hot water for a few minutes. I couldn't wait to see my family again in just a little while. I wanted to hug them all so tight.
Once I was done in the shower, I put my good smelling clothes on a pulled my hair up so I wouldn't hair to worry about it. I found Cameron laying in my bed with his hands behind his head, feet crossed. His face was peaceful so I assumed he was napping. I decided not to wake him up since he was probably still tired from all the driving. It's almost dark now, we'd been driving all day. I drove a few times but we both figured out that he was a much better driver than me. I had rode rage.
I sat down at my bags and unzipped my biggest suitcase. It had a few of my favorite belongings in it that I didn't want strangers handling. The picture on top is what made me stop. It was my framed picture of Cameron and I. I forget when this picture was taken, but it was in his house. Maybe his mom or sister took it. I had my arms around Cameron as he leaned back on me. I was kissing his head while he smiled at the camera. It was such a precious moment in my life. Even if we weren't together, I wanted to keep the picture anyway. He was my first love, I wanted to remember that forever.
As I gently placed the photo on the white carpet, I heard the bed squeak. Cameron sat up, stretching and yawning at the same time. I smiled at him even though he didn't see me for his eyes being closed. He stood up and walked over to me.
"You can take a bath now." I told him and pointed down the hall. "The water feels awesome." He barely got a smile out as he disappeared down the hall. How could I do this to him? Or myself? I can he not see that I'm in love with him and I can't just suddenly stop because I'm moving away? I can't make a move, though. He was the one who broke it off with me. He might actually be over me although his body language says otherwise. I hated assuming things, though. It would be embarrassing on my part to tell him I can't let him go while he already let me go.
Instead of emptying the rest of my things, I grabbed the picture of us again. The more I stared at it, the more tears began to fill my eyes. Why was I crying?
I rubbed my knuckle under my eye to catch the tears before the fell. The last thing I felt like doing was crying right now. This was supposed to be a happy time. I was going to see my family in only a few hours. But I was fooling myself. I wasn't happy. I miserable. I had talked myself out of having such strong feelings for this boy that I thought I was happy with the situation I was in. I was moving away from him; I was never going to see him again; I wasn't going to be in love with him anymore.
That was enough to make me really sad.
I didn't notice Cameron standing in the doorway until he dropped the towel he was using to dry his hair. His face was emotionless which made it hard to see what he was thinking. He picked the towel back up and hung it over my bed post before sitting down beside me Indian style. His hair was soaked and black looking and disheveled.
I suddenly cracked a smile.
"What?" Cameron asked me with a smile tugging at his lips.
"Nothing." I chuckled. I couldn't tell him he looked sexy. That would do me over; I'd start kissing his face all over.
"I remember that picture. He said after staring at me for a moment. I looked down at the frame in my hand.
"Yeah, I really love this picture." I sniffed. I'm sure my eyes were puffy and my voice sounded like I was sick.
He took the frame from my hands and held it in his for a minute, staring at it intently. His eyebrows knit together and he looked up at me, eyes pleading.
"I love you, Sophia. I just..." he scratched the back of his head nervously, "I can't leave here without knowing you don't hate me. I know you probably do, but please. Please, just don't." When I heard his voice crack, I couldn't take it anymore. I cupped his face with my hands and forced him to look me in the eye.
"I love you too." I said before crashing my lips to his. I smiled into the kiss and moved my hands up to his wet hair. With hands tangled in his hair, I pushed him back so he was lying in the floor and I was on top of him.
"Sophia, Sophia." Cameron said against my lips. I frowned and my heart dropped, did I do something he didn't want? I lifted my head to look at his face, ready to yell at him. When he noticed my expression, he smiled and wrapped his arms around me to keep me in place on top of him. When I tried to wiggle free, he simply rolled us over to he was the one crushing me.
"This isn't funny," I warned him, my voice strained from him crushing my ribs. He lifted himself up on his knees and hands and smiled down at me.
"Does this mean what I think it means?" Cameron asked me with a smile still on his face. I stopped frowning and raised my eyebrow. He continued. "Sophia, I am willing to do anything to keep our relationship together. I hate that it's taken me this long the figure out that I can't live without being able to kiss you everyday." His face turned serious as he stared at me.
"I really want it to mean what you think it means." I told him honestly. "Because it does to me." He leaned down to kiss me softly on the lips before jumping up in his feet. I groaned and frowned at him and his hand that was stuck out for me to grab.
I liked what we were just doing.
"Don't you wanna see your family?" He asked playfully. There was no need to say anymore. As soon as the word family came out of his mouth I was up. My good moods always made me do weird things, so when I did what I did, I had an excuse.
When I jumped up off the ground, I went high up and just clung to my boyfriend. My legs wrapped around his waist, arms locking around his neck, and my face pressed against his.
"Let's go!" I pointed towards the door.
Cameron laughed and out his hands under my butt to hold me up. I quickly pushed his hands up to the small of my back.
"Watch it, buddy." I narrowed my eyes and pointed at him, touching the tip of his nose in the process. He scrunched it up and stuck his tongue out at me.
*
At the hospital, I waited behind one other person to get to the front desk to ask what room my brother was in. Mom left out that one specific detail.
Cameron put his arm over my shoulder and I reached my hand up to link fingers with his. He squeezed them reassuringly as the nervousness hit me. I haven't seen Matt in about a week and his appearance could have changed drastically.
"Can I help you?" The front desk lady asked. I moved up a step with Cameron still at my side.
"Yeah, I need to know what room my brother is in. Matthew Belle?" I told her. I could feel the anxiety building in my chest as my heart beat a little faster. Now I was minutes away from them.
"I need your name and relation, please." She asked as she typed something on her computer. I knew there was a family only policy when it's later than 8:30 pm.
"Sophia.. Bridges. Sister." I stuttered. Cameron smirked from beside me. He knew what I was doing.
"And you young man?" She asked him.
"Cameron Bridges. Brother-in-law." He said cockily. The lady eyed us suspiciously before telling us to go up to third floor and knock on room 5-C.
We got in the elevator and I had find memories of earlier today.
"If this gets stuck, I am not singing with you again." Cameron said as he leaned in the opposite wall as me.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because you ruined my melody." He joked and I laughed, shaking my head at his silliness.
"Mrs. Bridges." Cameron muttered under his breath. I laughed at his expression and went over to hug him right saying, "Maybe one day, in your dreams." He shoved me off playfully and then the elevator door opened on our floor.
I didn't even have to find room 5-C because as soon as I stepped off the elevator, swinging mine and Cameron's linked hands back and forth, I spotted him. Even without his hair, I knew it was bright-eyes little brother. Mom and dad were standing behind him watching him walk or talking to another mother or father with the same situation as them. My heart leaped and my hand broke from Cameron's. He let me go easily or he knew he'd lose an arm.
I found myself flying down the hall towards my family, past all the other people who gave me dirty looks. Right now, I didn't care that I was making someone else mad.
"Sissy!" Matt's voice made my smile grow wider. When I reached him, I stopped abruptly and got down on my knees, hugging my little brother like my life depended on it.
"I missed you so so much, little booger." I kissed his bald head and realized I was crying when a tear fell from my face and landed on my knee.
I looked up to see my parents giving Cameron a hug and thank you's.
Matt caught me staring at his shiny white head and giggled.
"We shaved it off since it was starting to come out a little. Do you like it?" He made his fingers into a gun and pointed at me to be cool.
"I love it." I laughed through my happy tears.
While we all sat in Matt's room eating pizza my dad went out to get, I couldn't help but stare at everyone of these people around me. As cheesy as it sounds, I'm totally blessed to have family like them. If there was one thing that I learned over these past few months, it's life's too short to sit on the side lines. You gotta get up and play the game to win.
So when my mom asked me to take a group picture with them all to remember what challenges God brought us through, I jumped right in.
And although we were in a hospital under horrible circumstances, I could say that with my family, I was finally at home sweet home.
_____________
Ahh.. this is the last chapter!
Don't worry, the next chapter will be the Epilogue!
[Video is I Love You More Than You Will Ever Know by Never Shout Never]
I can't believe it! God has definitely given me his blessing through all this writing! To be honest when I started writing this story, I never thought I'd actually follow through with it. I'm so happy I did.
I wanna thank you guys soooo much for reading, voting, commenting, following, oh, and breathing! haha.
I now know that I'm capable of completing my very own story and I'm definitely going to continue doing that.
Remember, I follow back, so follow me!!
Thanks again!