Hey guys!

This is the 2nd Chapter! I just want to thank zoehumi who is the first person to review my chapter! thank you so much, you're amazing :D

And another thing, I have rated this T JUST IN CASE, I don't really think it's a T but I don't know if the action in it will be suitable for K+ or something. Oh well.

I'm feeling a bit proud of myself, I uploaded two chapters in one night! I'm very glad, even if they aren't that long.

Anyway, on with Chapter 2!

Chapter 2

The moment I noticed this, I turned back and walked away from the motel. If someone was tracking me, then they couldn't know where I was going. Keeping the man in my line of view, I slipped through the crowd, up the high street. The spy hadn't noticed that I had noticed him, so in a way that was a good thing.

I saw as he put his phone away and started walking up the high street also. He kept on glancing at me, so when his eyes snapped away as I put on a show of looking to the road; I quickly ducked into the crowd and made my way back to the motel. Once I was at the doorway, the spy was looking through the crowd, for me supposedly. Checking that no one was watching me in the shadows, I leaned against the doorway and let it shut slowly and softly behind me.

I trudged up to the counter and wearily checked the clock on the wall. 11pm. Yawning, I tapped the bell on the counter.

A middle-aged woman sitting on a chair on wheels with a cigarette hanging from her mouth and a magazine in her hands swivelled into view. "Yes?" She asked, with a bored tone.

"Uh, can I get a room?" I asked, hitching my backpack further up my shoulder.

"One bedroom?" She asked, her tone still bored as she tapped a few keys on her keyboard, her eyes trained on the screen.

"Yeah, the cheapest you have. I'll be leaving tomorrow morning." I told her. She didn't reply or spare me a glance as she clicked her mouse and tapped on her keyboard.

"Alright, room 2b's free." She drawled, putting out her cigarette in an ash tray. I wrinkled my nose as the smell of smoke drifted over to me. I bit back my retort on her smoking and the No Smoking sign beside the door, and nodded.

I threw a fifty on the counter, and she handed me some change along with the key. I thanked her half-heartedly and took the stairs instead of the shiny, gross-smelling elevator besides it. I didn't trust elevators.

Once I got to the 2nd floor, I slotted the key into the keyhole and had to shove the door three times before I got in. I flicked the light on and shut the door behind me. Flinging the backpack onto my bed, I turned the bedside lamp on and locked the door. Making sure the windows were locked too, I drew the curtains and made a quick trip to the bathroom. Once I was done, I splashed some water on my face, pulled off my worn-out boots, shrugged off my ripped, muddy jacket and set the small alarm on my bedside table to wake me up at ten to six. Crawling under the covers, I fell asleep almost immediately, ignoring the growl of my stomach.

The small beeping of the alarm woke me up at dawn. I groaned and buried my face back into the pillow, before I remembered my situation and bolted out of my bed. Turning off the alarm, I hastily made my bed and sprinted into the bathroom. There was a small shower in the room, and despite the behaviour of the lady at the desk downstairs, the place wasn't quite so bad. I turned on the shower, stripped off and stood under the hot water. If I had my way, I would've stayed under that amazing shower for a month, but I knew that I had to be downstairs by six, and I spent a few minutes there.

Turning off the blissful hot water, I stepped out into the cold air and grabbed a towel. Making my way back to the room, I pulled on some unintentionally ripped jeans, a white tank top and a woolly green cardigan. My last outfit in the backpack. Wiping the hair out of my face (as I didn't have a hair tie) I grabbed my backpack and hurried out the door. Once I was downstairs, I dropped the keys on the counter and jogged outside. My internal clock told me that I had a few minutes left, so I decided to walk down to the Geographic café. Once I got there, I bought a caramel latte, a ham and cheese toastie and a chocolate chip muffin. The cashier didn't look too happy when I handed him the 50 dollar note, but I was just grateful that he wasn't the same cashier from yesterday. I took the food gratefully and dug in the moment I left. By the time I got back to the motel, I had finished the toastie and muffin, and sipped on the latte, waiting for the car.

In less than a minute, a limo appeared and I instantly knew that it was my ride. But I took precaution anyhow.

The limo stopped beside me, and the window rolled down, revealing a lady with a blonde bob, a business suit and shades.

"What day do me and my mom spend eating dinner together?" I asked, automatically.

The lady answered almost straight away with, "Sunday."

"And what's our safe word?" I asked.

"Dandelions." The lady replied. I nodded and got into the passenger's seat. Whenever someone picked me up, in order to make sure that the person was from Gallagher, we had a question, and our secret word that my mom and I shared. I remembered, one holiday when we were in Nebraska and I was five, my mom told me that we needed a 'safe word', so that I knew I was safe. I had dandelions on my t-shirt, so my mom tells me, and was holding one that I had picked by the lake, so my mom suggested it, and I had apparently jumped at the suggestion, as my favourite flower was supposedly dandelions.

Well, that's what she tells me anyway.

During the journey, I was practically bouncing on my seat, with the excitement of seeing everyone. School would resume in a month, and I could not wait.

The driver and I did not talk throughout the journey, but I was used to not interacting with her. I had been driven around a lot by people, and we just kept to ourselves.

The hour and a half was the longest amount of time that I ever had to endure. It felt like months had passed, when we entered Virginia, but my excitement only grew.

And finally, oh finally, I saw the towering castle of the academy on the hills. The grin on my face had my cheeks aching but the smile stayed put.

When the limo pulled up at the gates, I was aware of the driver going through the security process, but my eyes stayed transfixed on the grand castle in front of me. The car moved forward, and I felt the glare of the red scanner lights on me. This finished and the limo pulled up in the drive. I flung the door open and threw myself out of the car, before I saw my mom hurrying down the steps towards me. She looked glamorous as always, but I could barely see through the tears that streamed down my face. She was crying too as she pulled me into a hug. We whirled around as we both cried and cried, mumbling about how we missed each other so much. After about five minutes of hugging, she pulled me back and looked me up and down.

"Cammie, what happened to you?" She exclaimed, wiping the tears off her face.

"I don't know." I sniffled, still smiling.

She sniffled as well, and laughed and airy laugh as she turned around.

"Come on Cammie, your friends will be waiting." Her voice was still a little thick from tears, but she brushed it off and went into 'headmistress mode', as I'd like to call it.

She guided me into the academy, turning back into the headmistress that she was more well-known as.

No-one was there, but a second later, there was some crashing upstairs, with some screeches, "She's here! She's here!" I smiled weakly as I saw my friends bounding down the stairs towards me. Liz, being Liz was already in tears as she ran towards me and enveloped me in a hug. Tears were threatening to come out when the presence of my friends appeared but I just buried my head on Liz's shoulder as we hugged. She pulled away and I looked at Bex, who looked, well, not at all Bexish for once. She looked close to tears, but seemed confused, not knowing if she should cry and hug me, or scream and hit me for running away. She sniffled and walked up to me. She's gonna hit me. I thought, but I guessed I deserved it. But instead of pounding me with her ferocious fists, she pulled me into a hug. Then, she pulled back, her face angry.

"Cameron Ann Morgan." She never called me this; my mom was the only one to use my full name, so I knew she was beyond furious. "How dare you run off like that? We were worried sick." Each word rang with authority and anger, as if she was threatening to explode. "We didn't know if you were dead or alive. If you ever-"

"I know, I know Bex. I'm so sorry." I told her. "I just don't know what happened, I can't remember anything. I'm so, so, so, so sorry Bex."

She looked like she was about to burst into tears, which wasn't like Bex at all. Bex never cried. Ever. But I guess there's always a first for something.

She then pulled me into a huge bear hug and I felt her tears as something wet leaked onto my shoulder.

After a minute of hugging, she pulled back and just said, "Don't ever do that again, Cammie. We can't afford to lose you."

Her words hit me pretty hard, and I had to work hard to keep myself from crying.

Then, I turned to Macey. Who, for once, didn't look bored. Her eyes were wide, but unforgiving.

"Macey..." I said, eager to break the unbearable silence.

"No Cam."

"Macey, please."

"Cam, just be quiet for a second." I stayed silent.

"If you ever do anything like that again, I will hunt you down and kill you." I flinched mentally, but stayed silent. Then, Macey McHenry came forward and actually hugged me. That's when I broke down again and started crying. Bex and Liz joined us and we all group hugged.

We were all crying, and when I looked behind me, my mom was standing there, smiling sadly. She nodded at us and then walked off to her office. "Make sure she gets some rest and some food, girls." She said, before disappearing. I smiled at my friends and looked up at the academy, my home.

"Cam, there's someone here to see you." Bex told me, smiling.

"Who?" I asked, everyone who I really wanted to see was here. But, could they mean...

"Hey Gallagher Girl."