A/N: Hellooo! Welcome to my new story! As you can see, I'm getting pretty serious about this. Haha, hopefully I'll be more into this than some of my long fics. I've actually planned this and I know what I'm doing. And I really like this pairing, you see. :)
Well, this is just the introduction, before we get into full swing here! There's a part two of this, so watch out for that. Enjoy reading this, and please leave a review if you liked it!
Until We See The Sun
Prologue
During the fresh breeze of a lovely summer evening, Cam Roberts strolled through town. The lush air simmered over his mop of dirty blond hair while the caking dirt tickled his bare ankles. His slender hands were casually shoved in their pockets, like they usually were, and he stared at the ground, running the many lingering thoughts in his mind.
He honestly didn't know what to do. To bring the stray cat he found to the place where he and his parents stayed...That would be hell. The owner disliked cats and would request to put the poor animal down. It would never end, because Cam could never do such a thing to a poor soul.
The image of the wild cat lying within the bushes, cut up and bloodied would scar his mind forever. It was so frail and delicate, unable to move. It whimpered at his approach, itching to move away, for he could be a predator. What else could Cam do but tenderly pick it up and carry it back to town? He tried so hard...But he still had his doubts. If he didn't have such hope, he would have been sure the cat was facing the doors of death.
It was at Jessica's shop he left the animal. Jessica Morrison was the healer for animals. She helped in giving birth to new livestock and cured their sicknesses. Cam believed there was almost nothing Jessica couldn't do.
But could Jessica keep the cat? He wasn't too sure about that. She was indeed a busy woman, dealing with her livestock and helping out the local farmer with hers. There might not be enough time to care for another animal. The only option was for Cam to take the cat in; it was the most reasonable. He found it; he would take care of it.
A little angrily, Cam kicked a small cluster of rocks. He couldn't do anything. The owner despised animals. His parents disliked pets in general. It wouldn't be that simple to take it in.
He would have asked some of his closer friends like Lilly Ann Jones and Ash Morrison, but they had similar scenarios as Cam. Ash's mother was Jessica, so obviously he was always on the move, aiding her with her job. Then there was Lilly Ann's Father. Lilly Ann's father was very rough. The cat might be in worse hands if Cam left the cat with Lilly Ann.
Discouraged about the thoughts of Lilly Ann's father, Cam sat at the fountain. He let the soles of his rubber shoes skim across the surface. Water beautifully streamed out of the holes, trickling down along the marble structure and pooling into the space below. He loved the fountain. Just watching the water's flow was mesmerizing. The sounds of the droplets splashing echoed in the night. It was music to his ears.
"He should just leave me alone." The sentence was faint; almost a whisper, but Cam caught it with his own ears. He immediately sat up straighter, jade green eyes flashing around. The source was Lilly Ann; he was sure of it. He knew her voice anywhere. But what was she doing, and where was she?
He decided to call out, "Lilly Ann." Patiently, he hanged about for a response. While remaining at the fountain, he gently kicked his feet out and let them hit against the cool stone. Nobody instantly responded, but he knew she was there. He would wait. When it came to Lilly Ann, he would wait forever.
"I-I..." his voice faltered, as he searched for the words for her to reply to. She was a silent girl, barely uttering a word. Cam swung his legs over the fountain's perimeter, and he stood, hands knotted behind his back. "I know you're there, Lilly Ann."
An unexpected rustle brought his attention to the other side of the fountain. It was difficult to hear it over the surge of the water and he was unsure whether or not if it was a trick of the ears. Nonetheless, he made his way to the other side. Sure enough, Lilly Ann was crouched there, tears streaming down her face.
"If we could only turn back time," she choked in a thick voice. She buried her messy head into her legs as Cam knelt beside her, tentatively reaching out a hand. Lilly Ann rested her chin on her knees, staring into the trees. Her violet eyes glowed under the dim lamp light.
Reassuringly rubbing her back, Cam knew what was coming. This wasn't the first time he came across her crying, but it was definitely the first time he found her in front of the fountain. He discovered her in the oddest of places: like on the steps of the church, or under the counter of his parent's flower stands. Once he found her in his bedroom closet. How she got there – he didn't bother to ask.
"Mum would still be alive, and Dad wouldn't be drinking like this..." Lilly Ann continued to rant, and he smoothed down her frizzy, out of place brown hair. He attempted to give her a comforting smile, but they never worked. She just sobbed some more. They were quiet yet painful to hear in Cam's mind. It was hard to see her like this.
He flashed back to the memory shy of a year ago with the death of Lilly Ann Jones' mother. She was loved by all. The way she smiled and laughed, embracing the following day with open arms awed everyone. It was almost if nothing stopped her from taking another step forward into the world, bravely and daringly.
Simple gestures like traveling to the city to donate to the homeless or cooking meals on special occasions for all were inspirational. She would truly never be missed. Cam remembered her for buying many flowers at his parent's stand and joyfully planting them at her plentiful garden.
There were rows of the flowers at the farm, from tulips to petunias to pink cats. In the sunlight the petals glowed, radiant and sparkling with the last of water's touch grazing against the edges. People from all over town came to see them during the summer. They commented on the attractiveness and the lovely scene.
He remembered that Lilly Ann loved the attention. "Oh, you're the farmer's daughter!" or "You've probably inherited your parent's touch for art!" they would say. They showered Lilly Ann in compliments, especially on how pretty she was. Cam couldn't agree more.
The funeral was heartbreaking. The cause of death made them miserable even more. For such a young woman, nearing her forties, dying of stomach cancer saddened them all. Nearly everyone cried, but Cam swore Lilly Ann cried the most. She shut herself in her house for the following month, not daring to step outside to even peek at the warm sun. And when she finally came out, everyone knew that merry Lilly Ann Jones would never be the same.
"Lilly Ann," Cam whispered. He used his other sleeve to wipe the salty tears off her cracked cheeks. He then pushed back her bright orange headband so her long, wet bangs were pushed out of her face. "It's going to be okay."
He sat adjacent to her, thinking how terrible it was to be abused. He had never experienced it, but he had heard about it through Lilly Ann's words. She described the feelings of never being loved by her father, and he was angry when he was drunk – which was almost every night. He would strike at her with his fists if she stepped out of line. The pain was unbearable and never ending. To be hit by a loved one would leave a mark in her mind until the end.
"You should tell someone," he always pleadingly urged. Violence wasn't right. He had to be reported! "Or I will."
He tried so hard to convince her to account the truth, but she'd always stubbornly say no. "No questions," she'd sternly reply. "This is my problem and my problem alone. Don't do anything about it, Cam."
Cam shouldn't have listened to her all those times. Instead, he should have stepped up and taken initiative. Those many moments, he could have pressed her future and encouraged her. But he didn't. He never did.
Lilly Ann slowly shook her head, fighting back a loud wail. Shoulders slumped, defeated. She leaned back against the wall with a long sigh, her mind on something important. Then she said, "You always say that." Her head turned to look at him, eyes brimming with more fluid. "Cam, you always say it's going to get better. But will it really?"
That was an important question. Cam couldn't foresee the future. He simply failed to know. Because he was always honest with her, he admitted, "I don't know." His hands withdrew to his sides, feeling guilty about leading her on about the life ahead of them, without ill-treatment.
She drew her knees even closer to her chest. "That's the thing," she said with a throb of tiredness. "We don't know. And I don't think I can take it any longer."
He directly understood her meaning.
"No," he cried, instantaneously pulling up her sleeves. He had never given a second thought about her long sleeves hanging past her wrists. But now, it suddenly made sense. Displaying her pale forearms, he held it to the light.
"No, Lilly Ann," he shakily said. Quickly he ran his fingers over the jagged red bumps on her skin. The lines were scarring and etched in the flesh, crimson and raw and swollen. It was a dreadful sight. The sight of blood always made him sick to the stomach. But this ...he might have thrown up.
Cam uneasily swallowed, and then demanded, "How can you do this to yourself?" They were only fifteen years young, with a full life ahead of them. This was just wrong and sinful. How could she even...?
Forcefully she pulled the clothing back over her forearms. As fleetingly as they were in his sight, they disappeared. She glared at Cam, her eyes a hard masking shield once again. "I scraped it," she plainly lied, shaking her arms. In that split second she winced, and Cam knew it the complete truth. How could she hide it from him? It was obvious. They were too ferocious to be scrapes.
"Shut up," he said, grabbing her wrist. How could he believe that crap? Wildly he tugged her to her feet. Cam placed his hands on her shoulders, staring into those wide violet eyes once more. "You need therapy, Lilly Ann," he scolded, entwining her hands with his. "You can't solve anything by cutting yourself."
Lilly Ann untangled her hands from his, shoving them into her pockets. "Shut up, Cam," she seethed, eyes flashing. She stepped away, distancing them. "I hate this life. Nobody even likes me, or even cares about me. They all hate me. I'd be doing the world a whole lot of good if I just killed myself."
Cam stepped towards her. "I'm your best friend. Do you think I wouldn't care about you?," he harshly whispered, pointing at finger at her. With a growl, he clenched his fists. "Goddess, Lilly Ann, people care about you. You just don't see it."
"There's nothing to see!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up. For a second, he glimpsed those uneven slashes. He paused as she moved to poke him in the chest. She said, "If girls actually liked me, they wouldn't be excluding me half the time! If boys loved me, maybe this wouldn't be happening!"
"Yes, it would," Cam bluntly said, crossing his arms. Raising an eyebrow, he waited for her reaction. Lilly Ann simply returned the gesture, challenging, "Tell me what you mean." He took a deep breath. Then he said, "Lilly Ann, I love you."
He truly meant it. Lilly Ann Jones was all he could think about. He watched her from the Cafe, the way she glumly ambled down the road towards the library. Cam wished for her to have mutual feelings. She would realize there are the positive incomes in life, and life wasn't all about running away.
Cam honestly did not know why he was infatuated with her, or grown to love her over time. Maybe it started by her neediness for someone to care, and turned into a loving adoration. He admired how she took strong, but disapproved how she refused to report her father. He was determined to watch out for her, and to make her happy.
There were the odd times she could be happy and compassionate. Together, Cam and Lilly Ann once returned a chipmunk to its mother. They climbed trees and stared through the scenery, awed by the wonders of the lush golden and emerald green hills stretching before them.
Also, the way she cried was heartbreaking. It was like the whole world was falling apart when she sobbed. He couldn't stand it. He'd comfort her, rubbing her back or whispering in her ear. Lilly Ann even admitted that he made her feel better at her worst.
Lastly, Cam hoped he could change her negative overlook on the world. The way she viewed everything was dreadful. She'd look up at the sunny sky and say, "It's a terrible day today," or she'd see a stray animal and comment, "They need food or they're going to die."
Like the way she gazed at him now with a sorrowful expression on her face...Why couldn't she jump for joy and kiss him like normal girls did? Cam wished. But Lilly Ann could never be normal. She was Lilly Ann. He was expecting this cold reaction, warily staring at him. He half-expected her to say, "You're just saying that."
Whatever he anticipated, he was correct. Lilly Ann scowled, and continued. "I know we're best friends Cam, but you don't have to say you love me. I know you love me... just not in that way." She ran her fingers over his skimpy yellow tie hanging around his neck. Shivers ran up his spine. "And to tell the truth, I love you too. But not in that way."
His heart sank. So the truth had been spoken. The feelings weren't mutual. He loved her – in both ways, to be precise, but she only considered him as a loyal friend, and nothing more. Cam accepted the reality. What made him think that she could ever love him?
"I understand your feelings," he said, averting his gaze to the ground. He traced the footsteps etched in the dirt path, not wishing to look her in the eye. He couldn't look at her the same again. She didn't love him back. That would remain with him for a while.
But the thing that struck him the most is what she said.
"If boys loved me, maybe this wouldn't be happening." What did that mean? He loved her, and this was still happening. Yet, Lilly Ann was on the verge of death, torn in half between life and hell. Cam scuffed the ground. "Sorry." Lilly Ann, I'm sorry for everything.
Lilly Ann shrugged. Tears on her face were beginning to dry, but he believed that inside she felt torn as ever. She bit her chapped lip, and slowly nodded. "It's fine, Cam," she said, crossing her thin arms over her chest. Their bodies were still close, he noticed. Barely was he tempted to give her a lingering kiss, just in case he couldn't in the future.
But he didn't.
He then tilted his head up. He forced himself to look into those everlasting purple orbs that would stay etched in his mind. He told himself he had to say the thing he wanted to say most now, otherwise she might be gone and it would be his entire fault. Cam gulped, unsure about her reaction.
"Are you okay?" Lilly Ann asked.
"Don't kill yourself," he said warningly. Lilly Ann flinched. He realized his mistake by harshly instructing her not to. He tried to lighten the mood by saying, "Or I might have to come after you."
Then he smiled, hoping she would too. Cam brushed another strand of fallen hair out of her eyes and whispered, "Promise me, okay?"
Lilly Ann forced a smile, but nodded. "I promise," she whispered back.
At that moment, she seemed so fragile and skinny, about to break under the slightest amount of pressure. Cam then silently vowed to protect her even more. As they twisted their pinkies together, officially sealing the promise, she said, "I won't ever leave you, Cam."
It was good to hear. A light blush spread across Cam's cheeks, touched by her words. "I won't leave you, Lilly Ann," he reassured her.
"Listen, Cam, I should get going," she suddenly said, brushing past him. Their hands rubbed against one another, and Cam's heart skipped a beat. "Dad needs me to care for the chickens 'cause of the festival tomorrow."
The way she said it with such disdain disgusted him. It was difficult to understand why she stuck to her father's side while he treated her like so. However, Cam was raised differently. He was taught to stand up for himself, no matter what.
Cam nodded. "Bye, Lilly Ann," he called as she walked away.
Staying put, he watched her raise a pale hand in response, then smile. She departed the center of the village. Her hair billowed past her shoulders, fluttering in the heated wind. Sounds of sneakers crunching against the gravel reached his ears. And the last he saw of her before disappearing from sight was a flash of her long yellow summery dress.
Sighing, Cam hoped that maybe that day, she would be treated better by her father. Gripping his hands together, he stared at the glittering stars in the blackened atmosphere and whispered, "Harvest Goddess, Bless Lilly Ann. I pray that her life will turn out okay, and that I can help her in some way."
After thinking about his words, Cam decided it wasn't enough. When it came to Lilly Ann, it might never be enough. Before ending his prayer, he added with deep conviction, "But until the end, Lilly Ann, I'll care for you."