Cameron Grey Bukowski.
Seventeen years old, Doug's sister, Bobby & Brenda's best friend. On her way to San Diego with her brother and friends for their parents 25Th anniversary. Stopped n the middle of nowhere for gas. What could go wrong?
It was hot. Simple as that. Riding through the New Mexico desert in the middle of the summer was worse that jumping into a pile of burning logs. The only thing that made it better was the fact that my two best friends were on either side of me. Brenda was laying up against the window, earphones in her ear, sleeping. Bobby, who I had always had a deeper, More touchy-feely relationship with, was leaned up against the other door, with a mini-fan in one hand, pointed at us, and his other arm wrapped around my shoulder, pulling me closer, one ear bud in (the other was in my ear), and my head on his shoulder. I don't think he was asleep, because he kept rubbing my shoulder with his thumb. Of course, he does that constantly, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if he was doing it in his sleep. I fell asleep to thoughts of how much fun I was going to have with my two best friends in California.
When I woke up, we were parked at a gas statoin, literally in the middle of nowhere. Bobby had nudged me awake, then reached over and hit Brenda awake.
"Get up jackass." He told her.
"Bobby!" She complained, hitting his hand away.
"Guys, can we please just get out? I need to stretch." I told them sternly. I was always the mediator between the two. I understood siblings fight, but i mean, come ON! They both opened their doors and slid out. As Bobby still had his arm around me, I followed him. When he shut the door, I started to walk away, but he grabbed my hand.
"Cammie?" He stopped me, looking like he was about to confess to a crime. I turned around and just kind of stared at him, waiting for him to say something. Eventually he started.
"Look, I know we're be-"
"Cam! Bobby!" Brenda interrupted. "Come here!"
I noticed bobby looked aggravated at being interrupted, so I decided Brenda could wait. "Go on." I urged him.
"Look, I know we're best friends, and I Don't want to take a chance on ruining tha-"
"GUYS!" Brenda ran up to where we had been standing. Bobby trailed off exhasteratedly. "Didn't you hear me calling you?"
"Yeah, Bren. We were just talking." I told her, not taking my eyes off Bobby, who was now staring at the ground. "We'll be there in a sec."
"Well, hurry up. I'm lonely." she said before walking the way she came. Bobby still had a hold of my hand, so I pulled him to the side of the gas station, where we hopefully wouldn't be interrupted again. I wrapped my arms around his very small waist comfortingly, and leaned back to look at him.
"Okay, now, what?"
He looked at me and smiled sadly. "Never mind. It's nothing, really. Just forget about it." He pulled me tighter to him, kissed my hair and grabbed my hand again to pull me over to where Brenda was sitting, petting a pig. I let him pull me as I stared blankly ahead, caught up in my thoughts. We went through all that trouble just for him to say never mind? That it's nothing? No way. Some thing's up. I had been so sure that he was finally going to ask me out. I'd had a huge crush on him the first time I met him. That crush only grew every time I saw, heard, or even thought about him. Maybe he just doesn't feel the same. That would break my heart, but i think I'd rather know and start moving on, than not know and just keep tagging along. I decided i would talk to him after the trip, but I would distance myself from him, just to see how he reacts.
"Cam? Cammie? CAMERON GREY!" I heard Brenda yelling.
"WHAT?" I yelled, not mad or anything, just surprised out of deep thought.
"Are you okay? You were kinda spacing there. I said your name like, ten times before you responded..."
"I'm fine, Bren. I was just thinking."
"Right... Look at this cute pig!" Man she has a short attention span. And the simplest things excite her.
"Wow, that's so random. But he's so cute!" I said excitedly as I squatted beside her to pet it.
"Yeah, y'all make a perfect pair." Bobby said laughing, as he patted my head then flashed me that adorable smile as he walked away. I didn't pay him much attention until I heard Brenda yell, "EWW! Gross! What are you doing? You can't pee there!"
I turned and saw his pants half way undone. "What the h*ll do you care? Just turn around for a minute!" He retaliated.
"Bobby! Can't you see that?" I asked, pointing to the outhouse, not even twenty feet away. "It's there for a reason, you know."
He looked from the outhouse to Brenda and I in an I-Can't-Believe-You're-Making-Me-Do-This way. Then he zipped his pants and walked over and into the outhouse.
"So, how creepy is this place?" I said, turning back to Brenda.
"God, I know! Totally creepy. I still don't understand why we couldn't just fly. We could already be on the beach by now!"
Just then, Bobby bust out of the outhouse and yelled something about us being pervs. Brenda and I shared a confused look, then followed him over to a water pump, where Brenda and I washed out hands and faces. I noticed Bobby was just standing there, and when I finally caught his eyes, he walked up to me. "Ride with me? In the trailer? Please?"
I sighed. So much for ignoring him. But I can't say no when he looks down at me through his hair like that. "Sure Bobby."
He smiled his big toothy grin and walked off. Brenda watched this whole exchange with a raised eyebrow. "What's going on with you two? First by the car, and now the way you're talking to each other is just... strange. Are you guys okay? Are you fighting about something I didn't hear about?"
"Idunno, Brenda. I really like Bobby. I mean, I love him, yeah, like I love you. But I also... might...LIKE... him. And I thought he was going to ask me out earlier, then he... just didn't. So I figured I'd talk to him, when we get back from California, and just stay away from him until then. But, obviously, that's not gonna happen." I just let it all come out. Brenda had her mouth in the hugest smirk I've ever seen.
"Cammie... Cammie, Cammie, Cammie. I've wondered for years when you would finally admit all this. As for Bobby, just give him time. He loves you, he's just afraid to admit it. He's a litle freak, and he knows that it'd be a miracle for someone as amazing as you to actually like him." She half teased. She grabbed my hand and squeezed. "Everything will work out."
Just then, Big Bob honked the car horn, making us both jump a milk. We ran hand in hand to the truck. She got in and I walked back to the trailer. Lynn was just putting Beauty in and gave me a passing smile and arm squeeze. Bobby poked his head out the door to look for me, and as soon as he saw me his whole face lit up. He held his hand out and I, of course, grabbed on as he pulled me up into the camper and shut the door behind me. Through an open window, we heard the creepy gas station attendant telling Big Bob about a shortcut through the desert. Doug, my older brother and Bobby and Brenda's brother-in-law, said the words I was thinking.
"Another shortcut? Greeeat."
I raised my eyebrows in agreement and jumped up on the counter he was leaning against. I draped my arms over his shoulders and cooed into his neck,
"Oh c'mon, brava, you know you just loovee spending hours lost in a hot desert with your favorite little seesa!" He and I both laughed.
"You know what, seesa? You're absolutely right. You know your brava too well." Bobby rolled his eyes at our craziness.
Man, I was already starting to miss the air conditioning in the truck. The trailer was miserable. It started moving finally.
"Riding through the New Mexico desert, in the middle of summer, with a broken down air conditioner... great vacation!"
"Yeah, well I'm glad you two came, Cause I would have been so f*cking bored otherwise." Bobby supplied.
"So bored... Imagine that." I moaned.
Bobby got a step-stool and hopped up to try and fix the air conditioning. We hit a bump and he just about fell over, so I went and stood beside him and held him up by his waist. I heard Doug sigh.
"Bobby, give up on that man. The thing's ancient, needs re-wiring-" Dough started.
"There!" Bobby slammed the cover shut and stepped off the ladder, squeezing my arm in thanks for holding him up. "It was just the..uh...thermostat. It was broken." The cool air felt like Heaven on my skin. I threw myself down on the couch.
"Ah, well, at least we can breath now." Doug grabbed his pack of cigarettes, sat beside me on the couch, and lit one up.
"Hey man, I thought you quit smoking. Does my sister know?" Bobby asked.
"Hey man, f*ck your sister."
Bobby laughed and smiled his goofy, toothy grin. I grabbed a cigarette, lit it up, and took a long, much needed drag.
"Ya know, Big Bob'd get pretty pissed if he found out you were smoking in his newly renovated, '88 Airstream." Bobby continued.
"Really?"
"Mhmm."
"Well, f*ck Big Bob too. Here, try one." Doug held the pack out to Bobby, who got his famous Why-Not look on his face.
"No, Bobby." I said sternly. His outstretched hand fell immediately. Doug laughed.
"Your sister would cut my nuts off if you started smoking." Bobby came and sat right beside me.
"I think she already did that." I told him, laughing.
"I think you're right." he replied.
"So, hang on, Cameron. How come you can smoke, and I can't?" Bobby asked, finally catching on to the cigarette in my hand.
"Because, dear, it is a NASTY habit and I never should have even started in the first place, and you're my best friend and I love you and it's my job to make sure you don't do stupid crap, like start smoking." I replied in my sweet, Gotta-Love-Me voice that I knew Bobby found so cute. Bobby rolled his eyes.
"Right. So, Calif-" next thing I know, the trailer is spinning out of control and jerking everywhere. I fell off the couch, and felt someone fall on top of me, holding me in a protective trap between their body, the floor and the couch. The truck jerked one final time, then stopped. I looked up and saw Doug picking himself up off the kitchen floor. Bobby jumped up and pulled me up with him.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"I'm fine, Bobby, thanks. Go to your family." He gave my hand a squeeze and ran out the door. I picked up Doug's glasses and took them to him.
"Thanks, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Bobby pinned me to the floor, so I didn't get thrown around too much." I grabbed Dougs hand and we went outside. Ethyle, Big Bob and Bobby were at the front of the truck, and Big Bob was banging his hand on the bonnet of the truck over and over again, as if that was going to fix it. Lynn had brought Catherine over to Doug and I saw Brenda standing alone on the other side of the truck, staring at the endless rocky hills that were all we could see on all directions. I began walking around to her, but Ethyle called me over. "Katie, honey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Mom." I grabbed Bobby's arm in a thank you squeeze. Ethyle had requested years ago that I just call her mom, and it just kind of rolled off the tongue. Not to mention, it felt right. Ethyle had basically been the only mother figure I'd had, since my mom was too busy sleeping with as many guys as she could to even notice my existence. I started walking towards Brenda again, but Bobby stopped me. "Where are you going?"
"Oh, Idunno Bobby. I was thinking about walking to the mall, maybe going to catch a movie... Im going to talk with Brenda. Chill." He let go of my arm.
Where in the world did he possibly think I might be going? I wondered to myself. We were seriously, quite literally stranded in the middle of nowhere.
"Hey B."
"How ridiculous is this?My stupid dad and his stupid shortcuts, and that stupid trailer. I could've walked and gotten there better than this! Gah, CamBam, You must LOOOVE our family trips, huh? " she ranted.
"Oh yeah... they're...hot." I made at attempt and a corny joke. The heat must have gotten to our heads, cause we cracked up at that. I heard Bobby go running, calling the dogs names. It made me nervous, him going out into this hills on his own. What if he got lost? Or hurt? Brenda decided now would be a good time to lay out. She got out two lounge chairs, sat them at the back of the trailer, patted the other one, took off her shirt and began applying suntan lotion. I shrugged off my nervous feelings about Bobby and went and sat beside her, but did nothing more.
"Cammie, come ON. You're whiter than paper. You need this sun more than I do." I let her talk me into going into the trailer and changing my Nirvana band shirt for a cute Roxy bikini top, and my jeans for plaid Hollister board shorts. I also took a tank top, just in case I got to feeling uncomfortable. I stepped out of the trailer and heard a wolf whistle (Brenda) and someone yell, "AHH! I"M BLIND!" (Bobby). I stuck my tongue out at Bobby and went to sit by Brenda. I laid back and was enjoying the sun.
I heard Bobby tell his mom about rattlesnakes that can kill you in fifteen minutes. Wow, Bobby, I'm sure she was DYING to hear that. I got up to get a drink of water, and saw Bobby holding a gun up, making gun noises.
"Oh, Bobby, you're so tough, with your big, bad guns! Protect me Bobby!" I jokingly whispered in his ear. He turned around, smirking.
"Come here." He put the gun in my hands, turned me to face the open hills, and put his hands over my hands. "Does make you feel pretty tough, huh?"
Oddly, it did. Then again, the fact that Bobby was holding me, and the way he was holding me pretty much dimmed every thing else I was feeling.
"Cameron!" Big Bob called me over. "You wanna hold a real gun?" He handed me some long pistol. "How's that feel?"
"Heavy!" I laughed. I went and stood by Bobby, who was following Dougs every move with his gun.
"Hey Doug! You wanna try?" He yelled. Doug, of course, threw his hands in the air and yelled at Bobby not to point that "thing" at him. "Don't worry, man. The safety's on!"
"Hey, Bobby?" Big Bob said, coming out of the trailer. "Leave Doug alone. He's a Democrat, he doesn't believe in guns." Bobby chuckled.
"Oh, come on, Dougy, come here, just one shot! Holding it makes you feel kinda powerful! You might like it!" I yelled to him.
"Hey! Cameron Grey! Put that down! Come on! Besides, I'd probably just shoot my foot off!"
I handeed the gun to Big Bob, who agreed, "You know he's right? He'd probably just shoot his foot off."
I began walking to the trailer when I heard Doug yell, "Honey, would you bring me my jacket?"
Then I heard Brenda, in a sickly sweet voice, yell, "I'll be right there, honey!"
Lynn and I met in the trailer. I was putting on pants and a tank top and getting my water when I sw something on the rocks. "Lynn? Do you see that?" I asked.
She looked out the window. "The light on the rocks? Yeah, I do! It almost looks like a mirror signal..." We stood there staring for a second, when all of a sudden, a huge mass hit the trailer window, screaming.
