Lost and Found
Chapter 4: Party Crashers (Part 1)
Two months later…
Ariel's POV
"Go left! No, your other left!"
"I am going left!"
"This is so going on the internet!"
"Rayna, don't you dare! Dylan, stop her!"
"What do you think I've been doing for the past ten minutes?!"
"Don't worry, dude, I got it. Rayna, give me the phone." Wes interjected.
"Nuh uh."
"Rayna…"
"Pleeeeaase?"
"No. The phone."
Rayna danced away from Wes.
"Catch me if you can."
"I don't believe this," Teddy muttered to me.
"Hah! Beat you!" I exclaimed.
"What?"
He grabbed me around my waist, tickling me.
"I think some Tickle Torture is in order."
"No...no…fine, you win, okay?"
"Yes, I do," Teddy smiled, kissing me.
"Ugh, can you guys stop kissing every five minutes?"
"Don't you have your own boyfriend to make out with, Mikayla?" I asked her.
"Yeah, where is Jared?"
"He's on his way. Got held up at the hospital. London is having trouble with Donny again." Mikayla replied.
"I thought he was told never to go back to Open Heart."
"You know Donny. Can't follow orders."
"Don't let Seth hear you say that."
"Seth isn't here."
"True."
I turned to Teddy.
"Rematch?"
"You know it."
"I think I'll go make some popcorn. This is better than watching TV." Mikayla said.
She went over to Rayna.
"You. With me. Now."
"Ooh…"
"Oh God. Can someone sedate her?"
"I got her."
Wes slung his arm around Rayna's shoulder.
"Hey, why don't I tell you a story?"
Rayna giggled.
"If you want."
Once she, Mikayla, and Wes were in the kitchen, Dylan plopped on the couch.
"Finally."
"Yeah, I thought she was going to fly to the ceiling or something." Teddy said.
"I'll make sure to leave the cabinet closed next time," I sighed.
"Yeah, we do not need a repeat of last time."
It was Friday night, and Teddy and I were hanging out with our friends. Well, his friends. Sort of.
After Teddy had been released from jail, he had gone to apologize to Wes and Dylan for what he'd done. They hadn't believed him at first, but he didn't give up. They'd finally come to a truce and were starting a tentative friendship. He'd told them about me, and they had wanted to meet me, so he'd introduced us. Now Dylan and I were becoming fast friends.
It felt pretty awkward at first, but Dylan told me she was really happy for Teddy.
"Jail really seemed to change him. I'm glad he has you. I've never seen him like this."
"You're not jealous?"
"Look, Teddy and I were over for a while before I met Wes. We just weren't going to work out. But I don't hate him. He was there for me when I needed him, and I'm grateful. And you make him happy."
"He makes me happy too."
I'd told her about Cam, not the part where I could see him or anything, just about our friendship and that he was Teddy's twin. She seemed to take it well, and said if I ever needed to talk or anything, she was always available. I'd also met Mikayla, and we hit it off almost immediately. She was one of the coolest people I knew.
It was weird, though. Mikayla and Wes looked exactly like Imogen Moreno and Jake Martin, respectively, two students I knew at Degrassi. Jake had graduated, but Imogen was still there. I was friends with most of the kids at Degrassi since my two older sisters had attended Degrassi at one point. My oldest sister, Naomi, had been the Class of 2007, and my second oldest sister, Clarissa, had been the Class of 2011. I'm the Class of 2015.
"So, guys, any plans for the weekend?" Dylan asked us.
"No, not really," Teddy replied.
My phone buzzed.
It was Maya.
"Sorry, guys, I have to take this. I'll be back." I told them.
I headed upstairs to my room, closing the door behind me.
"Hey, M, what's up?"
"Hey, I've been calling you on Skype for the past ten minutes. If this is a bad time…"
I wanted to hit myself in the head.
I'd completely forgotten I'd planned a Skype sesh with Maya.
"I'm so sorry, M. Some friends came over kind of last minute."
"It's okay, Ri."
I quickly texted Teddy.
Sorry, T. I forgot I promised Maya I was going to Skype with her.
No problem, Ariel. I'll tell the guys.
I found my laptop and logged on to Skype.
A few minutes later, Maya's face popped up on my screen.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself. What have you been up to?"
"Not much. Oh, I have something to tell you. Miles is planning a secret party and he's inviting everyone from Degrassi."
"I know. I saw the invite."
"Are you gonna come?"
"I'm not sure."
"I haven't seen you in ages, Ri. Besides, I want to meet that secret boyfriend of yours."
I froze.
"You know that's not a good idea."
"You haven't actually given me a reason why, Ri. Come on, what are you hiding? Is he ugly?"
"No, of course not."
"Is he a criminal or something?"
"Nope. Can you just drop it?"
"No. You've seen a pic of Miles, why can't you return the favor?"
"M, seriously, can you forget about it?"
"Ri, you know I'm not going to judge you. Talk to me. Please. I can handle it."
Tell her, Ri. I think she's finally moved on now.
Fine. You'll take responsibility for how she feels about it?
Yes. Tell her.
"Look, Maya, the reason I didn't tell you about Teddy is because, well, he's Cam's twin."
Maya stared at me. The silence seemed to drag on endlessly.
"M, please say something. Anything."
"Um, are you sure? Did you do a DNA test, or ancestry, or something?"
"No, not exactly, but the resemblance is there."
"Did you tell him about Cam?"
"Yes. He didn't take it well, but we worked through it."
"And the two of you are…together?"
"Yes. Please don't be upset."
"Did you start dating before or after you told him about Cam?"
"After. It was kind of how we met."
Maya sighed.
"Can I see his picture?"
"Are you sure you can…"
"Quit stalling, Ariel."
I found a picture of Teddy on my phone and sent it to her.
"You were right. That is…it's like…"
What have I done?
Relax, Ri. Give her a minute.
She put the phone down, then looked up at me, her expression unreadable.
"So it's true. Teddy and Cam are twins."
"Yes."
"Are you dating Teddy because you couldn't have Cam? Is that it?"
"What? No. I would never…how could you think that?"
"Because it's a really fucked up thing to do, Ri."
I had never heard Maya curse in her life. It was terrifying.
"M, I swear, I would never do anything like that. I love Teddy for who he is."
How many times would I have to say that?
"And I'm supposed to just believe you?"
"I'm not lying."
"Ri, look me in the eyes and tell me…tell me you didn't date Teddy Ralston because you were jealous of me."
"I didn't! I'll admit I was attracted to him, but…"
Instantly I knew I had said the wrong thing.
"You were what?"
"I didn't mean because of Cam. It could have been any other guy!"
"But it wasn't any other guy! It was him! A guy who happens to look EXACTLY like Campbell Saunders! And I know you had feelings for Cam!"
"So did every other girl in school!"
"Don't try to justify your actions to me, Ri. I know what you felt for Cam. I'm not stupid."
"We were friends!"
"Sure, keep telling yourself that!"
"I will! The same way I'll keep telling myself that you never loved Cam! You were always attracted to Zig, which is why you didn't stop him when he tried to kiss you at the pageant!"
"That is not true!"
"Really, because if you had loved Cam, you would have tried to help him instead of worrying about what other people thought of you! Newsflash, Maya Matlin, if you need a guy to tell you that you're pretty 24/7, then you have some serious issues."
"At least I don't go around pretending that I'm so sweet and innocent, when in reality I'm just a bitch!"
"Wow, you really are a piece of work, aren't you, M? Cam would have been better off with anyone except you."
"Yeah, and how do you figure that?" Maya retorted.
"He'd still be alive." I replied icily.
Maya let out a scream of frustration.
"Temper, temper. Or do you want all of Toronto to hear you?"
"I'm so glad you switched schools, Ariel. You and I are done!"
The screen went black and I threw my laptop across the room.
I got up, destroying everything in my way.
Ri! Ri, calm down!
Don't tell me to calm down! Why don't you go comfort your little girlfriend and LEAVE ME ALONE!
The next thing I knew, a pair of arms locked around my waist.
"Ariel! Ariel, stop! Don't do this! It's not worth it!"
I wrestled out of Teddy's grip.
"You don't get it! You never will!"
"What are you talking about?"
I began to pace frantically.
Teddy stopped me, his eyes filled with concern.
"Talk to me, Ariel. You know you can tell me anything. I love you."
"That's the problem!"
"What?"
"Everyone seems to think you and I shouldn't be in love, that it's too soon. Or they think that I'm only with you because of Cam. It's driving me insane!"
Teddy pulled me to him gently.
"It's okay, Ariel. It's okay."
"I love you. I do. And it's not because of Cam. How many times am I going to have to say that before people believe me?"
"I believe you. But can you be honest with me about something?"
"Yes."
"Is there…is there even a hint of truth to what Maya said? Were you attracted to me because of Cam?"
"I…I don't know."
"That wasn't a no."
I glared at him.
"Sorry."
I sighed.
"No, I'm the one who should apologize. I'm sorry. I get it if you don't want to see me again. Maya's right. What I did was messed up."
"So it is true."
I tried to keep the tears from flowing, but I couldn't help it.
"I…I can't do this anymore."
"Do what?"
"Any of this. I'm so tired."
Teddy rubbed circles on my back gently.
"I'm not going anywhere, Ariel. And I'm not upset. It doesn't matter how we started, all that matters is right now."
"What about Maya? I don't want to lose her friendship."
"Look, I think the biggest thing the two of you have in common is that you haven't actually dealt with Cam's death."
Teddy's right. You're still angry, Ri. And you try to hide it, but I know.
"Well, it's not like I can do anything about it."
Actually, I have an idea.
"I don't think I'm going to like this," Teddy said.
Trust me, you won't. But I think it'll help Ariel. If she's up for it.
I nodded.
"Whatever it takes."
Cam touched Teddy's hand and stood before us.
"It's good to have a body again, if even for a little while."
"Should I stay?" Teddy asked his twin.
"It's up to you."
"Actually, I think I'll give you two some privacy."
Once Teddy was gone, Cam turned to me.
"Ready?"
"Yes."
"Okay, I want you to take all your anger out on me. That's the only way this will work. Don't hold back."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
"I don't think…"
"Ri, just try."
"But I don't…"
Cam kissed me, a harsh, bruising kiss.
"What are you doing? Why would you do that?"
"Because I'm still attracted to you. And I'm tired of never being in control."
"And you thought kissing me against my will would help?"
Cam shrugged. "It works for the other guys on the team."
"Since when do you listen to them?!"
"What does it matter? You're my best friend."
"So? I love Teddy!
"Sure you do. You were attracted to him because of me. Can't say I blame you."
"This isn't you!"
"How would you know? Besides, I don't want to be known as the depressed loser who offed himself."
"But that's exactly what you did!"
"Yeah, and look how well that turned out."
"Why would you hurt me like that? Why would you hurt Maya like that? Don't you know how loved you were?"
"Loved?" Cam scoffed. "If you guys really loved me you wouldn't have let me kill myself."
"It was your decision!"
"And a bad one. I can't believe I gave up Earth for this. What a tradeoff. I can't rest until I help someone find peace. What a joke. It's not all bad, though. I still have you."
"But Maya is your girlfriend."
"Ex-girlfriend, Ri. As in former. No more."
"You seriously cannot be hitting on me. You're dead. I'm not!"
"I'm not dead right now. Why don't we celebrate?"
"I have no interest in celebrating with you right now, Cam."
"Aww, why not? I think you and I would have a lot of fun together."
"No. The only person I want is Teddy."
"Great. Using my brother to kill the mood. Real sweet, Ri."
"What is wrong with you?"
"Not a thing."
Cam smirked at me.
His callous disregard for everything made me so angry. Of course I knew he was just baiting me. The real Cam Saunders would never act like this.
But I continued to play along. Cam was right. I needed to deal with my anger in a constructive way.
"I hate you. I hate you for never speaking up and telling someone what you were going through. I hate you for killing yourself and leaving me and Maya and everyone else who cared about you to pick up the pieces. I don't think I can ever forgive you for that. You don't deserve forgiveness."
I was crying now, unable to stop the words from tumbling from my lips.
"What you did was the most cruel thing I can ever imagine. I know you were depressed, but you should have talked to me! I would have found someone to help you! I loved you, Cam! I still do! And it hurts knowing that it could have been prevented. It hurts that you're here, but you're not really here."
Cam nodded, his face wet with tears.
"I know, Ri. I know, and I'm so incredibly sorry."
He hugged me tightly.
"If I could go back to that day, I would."
Our eyes met, and he smiled.
"I love you, Ri. Always."
The look in his eyes warmed me to my toes.
He kissed my forehead.
"You did a great job, Ri."
"Thanks for insisting I do this."
"Of course."
He held me against him for a few more minutes.
"Don't worry about Maya. She'll come around."
"I have to apologize."
Suddenly I had a vision.
When I came out of my trance, I said, "I have to apologize to her as soon as possible."
Cam nodded.
"So I guess you're crashing the party."
"Yes. And I'm taking Teddy with me."
