Unedited
"Well, that was a great get away," Arlo joked sarcastically.
Cameron rolled her eyes, shifting herself so she was sat properly in the middle seat. That was not a 'great' get away, as Arlo had said. It was more a run away than anything.
"What happened?" Kalmin questioned from the front.
Cameron grabbed hold of the back of the seat as the van took a sharp corner. When she could sit straight again, she put her seatbelt on. She didn't want to die because they crashed at the speed they were going.
"We were recognized." Reid supplied.
"Yeah, because someone forgot to get rid of the CCTV." Diego hissed.
Cameron peeked over the back of her seat to find Diego glaring at Lloyd, who was rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Oops?"
Everyone in the van seemed to all sigh out at once.
"I'll sort that out now." Lloyd reached to grab his laptop.
"There's no point." Cameron pointed out, her blunt nature taking over. "They've already broadcasted it all over the News. It's out there and the police most likely have it backed up."
"Cameron's right," Kalmin agreed. "They've seen our faces. We'll have to stay on the down low. A lot lower than we have been."
Cameron felt that was a dig at the explosion back at the bungalow. She wasn't the only one.
"Oh, come on. That wasn't our fault." Arlo whined, crossing his arms and leaning further back in his seat. "The bomb was already set. We're lucky Cami found the timer before we were blew to smithereens with the building."
Cameron froze at the nickname. The only person who called her that was Ashley. The one person she thought was a somewhat friend. Now, she didn't know what to think of her. The note still sat in her pocket from the parcel Ashley dropped off.
"Where are we heading anyway?" Diego asked, changing the topic as the tense atmosphere was making a reappearance again.
Cameron's interest was piqued at the question. The only place they had stayed was that hotel room, and that didn't even last a night.
"We're still figuring that out." Myles replied, his attention glued to his phone as he sat in the passenger seat. He must have found what he was looking for, because a smile appeared on his face and he turned to look at everyone in the back. "How does a motel sound?"
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The motel wasn't bad from what she had read on the board outside. It supposedly had a working shower, with warm water, it was fairly clean, and was mostly hidden away from the internet world. Meaning they shouldn't be recognized easily. It didn't stop them from taking precautions.
Cameron sent a dark look Myles' way as he tugged her hood further over her face. That was the third time he had done it now. His own face was covered, just like everyone else's.
Lloyd had been the one to go in, while everyone else waited outside, since he wasn't on the CCTV recording. All he needed to do was pay for three rooms for a couple of nights. If they stayed that long, that is.
The main door creaking alerted Cameron to Lloyd strolling out, three keys dangling in his hand. He passed them over to Kalmin, and they nodded to each other, having a silent conversation. Cameron scrunched her brows slightly. She would need to work out how they do that.
"Number 27 has three beds, the rest have two." Lloyd informed them as they walked back to the van to grab their bags. "Each room has a shower, but I could only get two rooms next to each other. The third, with the three beds, is a few rooms down."
"That's fine." Kalmin affirmed.
Cameron swung her rucksack over her shoulder, as that had all the stuff she needed. All her keepsakes were in the duffel bag still sat on the floor next to her seat. She wasn't totally sure what was in their, since Kalmin had packed it, but she wasn't too worried he had missed anything.
The bag pressed down on a couple of bruises and a burn on her back, but she ignored the twinge of pain that shot up her spine. She could sort it out properly when she had a shower.
"Okay, Diego and Arlo. Take 22." Kalmin instructed. He passed Arlo the key, as Diego had his hands full since Arlo was leaning against him for support, and he had his bag on his other side. "Myles and Reid, you'll have 23. I'll stay with Lloyd and Cameron in 27. Meet in our room in an hour. That should give everyone enough time to have a shower."
Cameron followed Kalmin, after he had gave the second key to Myles, her bag bouncing on her shoulders every step she took. If her back wasn't painful before, it was now.
"Cam, why don't you take the shower first?" Kalmin suggested once they had entered the room.
She looked to Lloyd to see if he was alright with that. He nodded.
"Okay."
She didn't take her bag off until she was in the bathroom. This was going to be painful.
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Pain. This was something she had been accustomed to the first sixteen years of her life. Until she had enough of the pain, and left. The two years leading up to now, even if quarter of it had been spent on the streets, had been the most relaxing two years of her life.
Sure, she had to work hard to keep her apartment but it was nice. No pain. Just hard work and cooking.
She pressed down on a patch of burned skin, the black towel soaking up the water and excess blood. This was the most pain she had felt in those two years and it had something to do with her fake-parents, again.
She sighed, dumping the now partly bloodied towel onto the half-clean tiled floor of the bathroom. She slipped on a new pair of clothes, leggings and an old, oversized t-shirt. Comfortable enough to sleep in, and warm enough in case they needed a quick get away.
She caught her own eyes in the mirror, dark bags underneath the pickle coloured orbs showing her exhaustion. She needed a good nights sleep. Tonight didn't seem like it was going to be that night.
"You all done Cam?" Lloyd asked. She nodded, rucksack over one shoulder and ruined clothes in her arms as she walked out the bathroom. Steam rolled out behind her.
"Lloyd, you can go next." Kalmin offered, sat on one of the three beds.
"Thanks."
Cameron dropped her bag onto the empty bed, taking note how it was the furthest away from the door and the single window. She was surprised she didn't feel any agitation at the thought of being blocked from the door.
"Weird," She muttered under her breath.
"What's weird?"
Cameron jumped, nearly dropping her burnt clothes onto the floor. She turned her startled gaze to Kalmin, who watched her with stoic eyes, waiting patiently for an answer.
"Everything." Cameron blurted out. She saw his eyebrows crinkle slightly and quickly explained. "The situation, the people, the lies. It's just all weird, and not normal, at least for me."
Kalmin hummed. Cameron bit her lip, not sure if she should say something else, or if he understood.
"It doesn't matter," She sighed. She looked down at the clothes in her arms. "Do you know if there's a bin somewhere I can dump these?"
"There's a dumpster around the side of the building." Kalmin explained.
Cameron nodded, acknowledging what he said. She did remember a dumpster peeking around the side of the Motel building, now that she thought about it.
She sat onto her bed, placing the clothes onto the floor beside her feet. Grabbing her trainers, she pulled on each of them without any socks covering her feet.
"I'll be back in a minute," Cameron stated, letting Kalmin know she was leaving.
"Okay, be safe." Was his response.
"I'll try."
She slipped out the door, spinning around only to almost crash into a Myles.
"Where you off to kitten?" He questioned, helping her steady herself with a hand on her shoulder.
"To put these in a bin," Cameron replied, nodding down to the clothes in her arms.
Myles glanced from the clothes to the direction in which she believed she had saw the dumpster. It was only a few rooms down and around the corner. Easy and simple. The worry in his eyes made her feel slightly less sure of herself.
"I'll be fine," Cameron assured him, already seeing him object about her going on her own. "It's literally a rooms down."
Myles nodded, though it seemed to be more to himself than to her. "Yeah, I know."
"Great, I'll be back in a minute." Cameron edged around him and walked in the direction she remembered seeing the dumpster.
The chilly breeze ruffled her damp hair, sending shivers down her spine as she listened to cars speed past on the nearby road. The dumpster was a little further than she remembered seeing it, but once she had dumped the clothes inside, the way back was quick.
Even though it had not taken her long to bin her clothes, when she came back all her brother's were in the room she had just came from. Each of them in their own versions of comfy clothes.
Lloyd was out of the bathroom, sat on his bed with wet hair and a towel around his shoulders. His glasses sat on a nearby bedside table, beside his laptop.
Myles was on Kalmin's bed, back against the headboard. Kalmin was not in the room, but since Cameron could hear the shower running she assumed that's where he was.
Reid was stood by the window, peeking out of the half shut blinds.
Arlo was sat at the very end of her bed, Diego stood next to him.
Cameron kicked her trainers off, and dropped onto the bed, her bag bouncing at the movement. She laid back, flopping very much like a fish would. She closed her eyes and relaxed, breathing out deeply. Her muscles relaxed and she let out a soft sigh of relief.
The quiet mumbling of Lloyd and Myles, with Arlo's excited input and Diego's grumpy comments was a nice background noise. She zoned out.
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The sound of a door opening, and the silence taking over the room, snapped her fully awake. She blinked her eyes open, peeking to find Kalmin walking out of the bathroom. Even wearing comfy clothes he still appeared better dressed than all of them.
She sat up, pushing herself so she could lean against the headboard, her legs crossed and pulled to her chest.
She glanced to each of her brother's. Each of them had their attention on Kalmin, watching as he took a seat on his bed. It was tension building, the silence, everyone waiting for him to speak.
It almost made her want to interrupt the tranquility that had befallen onto the room. Main word: almost.
That didn't stop Arlo though.
"I have invited you all here today-" Diego smacked his younger brother over the head, sending an annoyed look his way. Arlo smiled cheekily and gave an over-exaggerated shrug in return.
Cameron gave a quiet chuckle, feeling more relaxed at Arlo's joking nature. Her attention was quickly turned back to Kalmin when he spoke, his voice steady.
"The last few days have been-"
"The most horrible, happy, exciting, heart pumping, blood racing, crazy, terrifying days of our lives?" Arlo offered, a lopsided grin on his face.
Kalmin sighed, giving a quick nod. "I would have just gone with interesting."
Arlo shrugged. "I like my description better."
Cameron hid her grin behind her knees when Arlo sent his own grin her way.
"Anyway," Kalmin's voice hardened with seriousness. "We don't know who were dealing with, but someone out there has been keeping track of us, mainly Cameron." Her shoulders dropped as a few pairs of eyes turned her way. "We don't know how, we don't know why, we don't know where they are getting their information on us from."
"Do we know anything at all?" Diego questioned, agitation clear in his expression.
"Yes." Myles cut in. "They want Cameron."
"To bad." Arlo stated. Cameron squeaked when Arlo grabbed her, dragging her so she was wrapped in his arms. Much like a child would with a teddy bear. "They're not having her."
"Obviously." Diego scoffed, rolling his eyes.
Cameron squirmed, not used to being hugged so tightly, or at all.
"Lloyd, have you got any information on who we're dealing with?" Kalmin asked the youngest brother.
Lloyd scrunched his nose up, turning to grab his laptop off the bedside table. "Not exactly."
"What do you mean, not exactly?" Diego queried.
"What do I mean by not exactly?" Lloyd mocked under his breath, scoffing at the end. Diego growled at the imitation, taking a threatening step towards him. "I mean, I have some information but it's not really any information at all."
"That doesn't make any sense." Diego voiced.
"To you, maybe it won't." Lloyd jested. "But to me it does."
"Maybe you could explain it to us." Cameron spoke up, not wanting Diego to get any angrier.
"Of course my younger sister." Lloyd grinned, looking much like a mad scientist that it was slightly terrifying. "That girl, Ashley, that delivered the parcel, doesn't exist."
Cameron frowned, leaning back against Arlo. Of course Ashley existed, she had worked with her for just under two years. If Ashley didn't exist who had she worked with? Who had delivered the parcel?
"What do you mean she doesn't exist?" Kalmin inquired, leaning forward so his elbows were propped against his knees with a concentrated look on his face.
"The name Cam gave me, Ashley Willis, doesn't exist." Lloyd explained, eyes glued to the screen of his laptop as he typed away. Cameron felt sick. "At least, the name doesn't belong to the girl who dropped off the parcel at the hotel room."
"What?" Cameron choked out. She felt Arlo's arms tighten around her. "Who have I been working with then? Who helped me find an apartment to live in? Who is she?"
Cameron felt like curling up into a ball and hiding in a corner. Not only had her first sixteen years of living been full of lies, but now Ashley, if that's even her name, had lied to her.
"I don't know." Lloyd stated regretfully, sending an apologetic glance her way. His eyes hardened with determination. "But I'll find out."
Cameron nodded. She couldn't ask anything else of him. If he said he was going to find out, she had to trust he would do that.
"What about the bungalow? Were there any cameras?" Kalmin asked.
"One, on a lamp post a couple houses down from the bungalow," Lloyd clarified. He turned his laptop around so it was facing everyone. A blurry video of the street played, before it cut off, the video going black. "Someone tampered with the recording, meaning we can't see who went to the bungalow any time after 1am this morning."
"That's an inconvenience." Kalmin muttered, his face pinched with concentration.
"For us it is." Arlo added.
Cameron bit her cheek, lost in her thoughts. The brief silence was enough time for her thoughts to flash through all the information she had just been given. She would give more thought to it in the morning, when she didn't feel like the world was spinning.
A yawn tumbled from her lips, stifled behind her hand.
"Well, bed time it is." Arlo exclaimed, breaking the silence. He squeezed Cameron into a quick hug, before letting her go and jumping to his feet. He wobbled a bit, Diego having to come forward to support him. "Oops, forgot about my ankle."
Cameron chuckled in disbelief.
"Goodnight everybody!" Arlo shouted.
"Night." Diego muttered, supporting Arlo as he hobbled out the door.
"Sweet dreams." Myles waved his farewell, exiting through the door after his brothers.
Reid nodded his goodnights, shutting the door softly behind himself.
"Lloyd, no staying up late on your laptop." Kalmin warned, sorting his bed out to sleep in.
"Oh, come on." Lloyd whined. "That was one time."
"One time too many." Kalmin shot back. "Goodnight Cameron."
"Goodnight." Cameron replied, slipping under the duvet with another yawn.
"See you in the morning Cami."
"You too." Cameron replied to Lloyd, snuggling into the pillow.
The click of the light being switched off was faint as Cameron faded into sleep.