Reviews make my day! Anyone/thing that you don't know are/is mine. Other than that, they belong to JE. We also get inside Kyle's head for a little bit, so tell me if I outdid myself on his cars. I may make a little get-to-know-the-characters section at the end of one of the chapters soon, but just FYI, Cami's about 5'11" or 6' and Kyle is about 6'1" or 6'2". I don't like my characters to be short.
Kyle POV:
My life was fairly normal until I met Cami. I had a regular routine, I would wake up, get dressed, and head to the track for the day until Lorenzo would clear me for leaving and I'd come home. The only things abnormal where my job, the fact that I didn't have a father, and that I didn't have a girlfriend despite the efforts of the team. I drove a 1975 Mustang Fastback or a 1968 Chevelle and in my spare time I would drive my Aston Martin One 77 or take my Ford Raptor off-roading.
The day I met Cami was the change of all that. I almost never had time to work on my mustang, I only drove my dad's mustang to the track because I never had time to deal with the Chevelle being moody, I only thought about her, and I'd leave the track without Lorenzo knowing.
Now, as I watch her discuss with my team alternatives to fixing her friend Harmony's Evo, I finally realize how much this one girl has changed my life without even knowing. She's always on my mind, I find myself drifting away from conversations and I can't pay attention when she's around, I'm always watching her.
"She's amazing, isn't she?" I hear from behind me. I turn towards the voice to find her father standing and watching her reach into the area where the drive shaft should be and feel around, finally withdrawing it and turning to the rest of the crew.
I nod slowly in response, never taking my eyes off of her.
"Even though she has Epilepsy, she keeps going. The last time she had a seizure, she was running when she fell. She sprained her back and cracked her hip. When we took her to the hospital, she was laughing and they asked her why." He smiled at the memory "She told them that 'If I don't laugh about it, I cry about it. And who would rather cry than laugh?'" He laughed and continued "They examined her and told her she wouldn't be able to walk for six months. She flipped them off and told them that she was running a marathon in three and if they didn't help her rehab, she'd do it herself."
I couldn't help but laugh at that. "Something she would do" I stated and walked over to Lorenzo's door to alert her that we had a couple minutes till we had to pull on the protective gear that was required in a race but not practice.
I walked in right as she was having a panic attack over Lorenzo moving her up another two levels.
"You'll do great" I reassured her, smiling when she seemed a little bit more confident in her abilities.
Cami POV
Lorenzo scattered shortly after some announcement sounded over the speakers. Before Kyle could even speak, Lorenzo was back.
"What, Lorenzo?" I asked, watching him come back into the office.
"You have a while. There's been a crash and they have to clean up. You probably have two hours before you need to be on the grid." He told us. Kyle nodded and I shrugged my shoulders.
"Okay" I said, looking behind him through the door and noticing the lack of my parents. I raised an eyebrow at Lorenzo.
"Your father had a problem with an account." He explained. Of course he did. Why the hell would the damned company run itself for a day? I thought, mumbling the first part aloud.
"Don't say it, Lorenzo" I told him when he opened his mouth to say something. I followed Kyle out the door, leaving Lorenzo alone.
While we were waiting for the race, we hung out with the pit crew and listened to whatever was on the radio. There was a small lounge/hangout area in the corner-three couches put together to form a U with a table in the center and a speaker system set up to connect to Jake's iPod. Kyle and I where on the one that formed the base sitting together with me snuggled into his side and his arm thrown over the back of the couch. At some point, Ashley and Harmony snuck in and started joking around with us.
Dancing with tears in my eyes by Ke$ha came on about five minutes after Harmony started to sing along. "I'm losing it!" She declared.
"You never had it" I mumbled, shaking my head and cracking a smile. She glared at me and we all burst out laughing uncontrollably.
Ashley moved from her spot next to Mark and came over to us. "Okay you two break it up" She said, waving her hand. I moved over so she would have room. "Nope, keep moving" I moved further and looked at her. "More, go on." I moved all the way to the end and crossed my legs Indian style. "Good." She stated, getting two pillows and putting one in my lap and one in Kyle's.
"What are you doing?" I laughed. Jake and Harmony where talking and laughing together while Mark was watching Ashley intently with a smile on his face. Kyle looked at me with a 'what the heck?' expression and I just shrugged and held my hands up- 'don't look at me, I don't know'.
"You'll see." She stated, kicking off her shoes and leaping in to the air, landing on the couch on her back with her head on the pillow in my lap and her feet on the pillow in Kyle's. She smiled and crossed her hands behind her head and her ankles.
"Are you comfortable now?" Kyle asked her.
"Yes, this is much better!" She announced, closing her eyes and falling asleep.
"What do we do?" Kyle asked me, looking very confused.
"Roll her off!" Harmony suggested, smiling and bouncing on the couch she and Jake had been on. I grinned at Kyle and he silently nodded his head in agreement. I placed my hands cupping one shoulder and slipped one under her hip by pressing down on the soft leather couch gently. I grinned at Kyle and we flipped her over and off of the couch in one swift movement. She landed with one arm reached behind her balancing on her left heel. She groaned and opened her eyes.
"You tricky little…" She hissed at me, narrowing her eyes and launching at me from below. Before she could hit me, though, I caught her fist and snatched her ankle as she went to kick my temple in. I stood and tossed her back on the other couch, spinning on my heel to get my Acer from the LFA. I heard her footsteps behind me and laughed.
"You never could catch me off guard" I told her, slipping out to my car and grabbing my tablet before going back inside to find everyone shell-shocked with their jaws on the floor. When they finally thawed out, Ashley was glaring at me.
"What did I do to you?" I teased, walking by her and smirking.
"I hate you. I hate you so much." I flopped next to Kyle again and turned on the tablet. I raised an eyebrow at her. She flipped me off.
I chuckled and checked my e-mail. Nothing. I checked my messages for work. Three. Nothing good enough to hold my attention though, so I directed my attention to Jake, who was asking me 'how did you do that!?'
I almost answered but the answer was blurted out by Harmony's voice before I could open my mouth. "She's just like her father, that's how." She paused, thinking. "It also helps that Ashley is always the one to spar with her since she knows what buttons to push… and if anyone else takes her on, she hands them their ass on a silver plate before they can say sorry" I grinned proudly after she finished, interrupting and correcting her "Not everyone, Mom and Striker can delay me"
Jake asked me "Striker?"
"Trainer, Friend, Coach…" I was explaining when Harmony snorted "Hah! Like that's all"
"What? Any chance of that ended when I shot him" I rolled my eyes.
"When did you shoot him?" Ashley asked, completely unsurprised.
"On my birthday, when I got that shotgun. I was in the range and he snuck up behind me and scared me.
I placed my tablet on the table, curling into Kyle's side and tucking my legs under myself. I closed my eyes and relaxed, listening to the conversation that flowed naturally through the team and my friends.
We heard the door open and everyone but I turned towards the noise. I trust my hearing better than my sight and I recognized this person's footsteps, but I don't know why... I didn't bother opening my eyes to see who it was because they entered Lorenzo's office and I heard the door close. I shivered when a gush of cool air came in and Kyle wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer-if it was possible. I wasn't cold any longer, but I was still shaking. The shaking increased until I knew exactly what was happening. Kyle had already diverted his full attention to me and I whispered the one word that would explained everything. Seizure. Harmony came over to me and Kyle and sat beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I held onto Kyle's hand as I felt the first wave come on and blacked out.
I heard a beeping noise. I went to move my head to see what it was. I am so sore. I'm in the hospital. I looked down at my body. I have a splint on my left wrist and it looks like someone has bandaged my right ankle recently with a yellow wrap. Ashley. Oh fantastic, I'm in one of those stupid hospital gowns. I look to my right and see Kyle passed out in a chair. He had dark circles under his eyes and he looked as if he hadn't slept for a week-And that's hard to pull off when you're as handsome as him! I heard a soft moan and glanced to my left and saw Ashley stretch in Mark's arms, stirring long enough to see me awake. Harmony was lying with her head on Jake's shoulder and her legs stretched out over a couch that was against the wall, probably put there by the staff since it looks like the team has spent however long I've been here living here
"Cami!" She shouted, bursting out of Mark's arms and waking Harmony and Kyle too. Mark groaned and stretched, prying his eyes open and grinning lazily at me.
"So Sleeping Beauty decided to join us again?" He yawned.
I stuck my tongue out at him and looked over to Kyle and scanned him over more. "You look hideous. Have you slept in the last week?" He shook his head and I rolled my eyes. I remembered to ask Ashley what day it was shortly after he leaned over to kiss my forehead. Guess my lips are pretty torn up from me clamping onto them during my seizure.
"Well, its Sunday" I sighed in relief. I'd only been out a day. "Two weeks after the race" She finished. I sat bolt upright only to groan in pain when my vision clouded and I felt the world swirl around me. I slowly lie back down and let the pain subside. There was a knock on the door and a short, gray-haired doctor came in with a clipboard in hand. He looked up and abruptly said
"Anyone who isn't blood related needs to leave now." When they all stood up, he sighed and told them that half of them could stay, but the patient had to choose who.
I looked at Ashley "Can you get me the duffel bag from the trunk of my car?" I asked, tossing her the keys after I had snatched them from the side table when I reached for them and Kyle covered them with his had. She nodded and walked out of the room. I glanced at Jake and Mark and smiled sweetly "Shouldn't you be at the track?"
They stubbornly shook their heads. I rolled my eyes and restated my question. "Get out"
"Okay" they said removing themselves leaving Kyle and Harmony with me. The doctor started listing everything that had to be done to me in the previous weeks.
I had died twice during my little episode, I had to have surgery on my chest to repair the severe lacerations that had cut deeply into my flesh when I convulsed and fell off of the couch and onto the glass table, I had another surgery to repair my left wrist and my ankle was wrapped because I had dislocated it when the first wave hit.
I looked up at him. "Can I drive?" No. "Can I run?" Start walking. "Swim? Spar? Skip hunt?" Yes, lightly after two weeks, after a month. I had one more question but that could wait until no one else was in the room. Kyle was drug out by Harmony, who wanted him to come with her to get my parents. After the door closed, I looked at the doctor and he didn't even look up from taking his notes on the clipboard.
"I don't suggest straining your body for ten days, but after the time period and your stitches have healed up, it won't matter." I looked at not that surprised.
"I was actually going to ask what else you did to me because I know you didn't only work on my limbs and chest. When I went to sit up, it really hurt." He looked me dead in the eye.
"We had to perform a surgery to your abdomen to remove an infected piece of flesh that we had believed to be severely infected." If they had told Kyle this, no wonder he hadn't slept in a week.
"And?" I asked, urging him to continue.
"It wasn't that bad, it was where you hadn't taken great care of a wound when you were maturing and it infected the tissue beneath it. Nothing serious, it's fine now." He waved me off and tossed me a bottle of pills. I think he was talking about when I accidentally shot myself with my own arrow. I don't really know how it happened, but the arrow reflected back and pierced my abdomen, giving me an infection that had hospitalized me for a mont. "That's pain meds, they also work as a really good tranquilizer…we snuck some in your boyfriend's drink last night."
"With good reason?" I asked.
"He hadn't slept in three days and just now was the first he's left your side since you came here." He informed me as Kyle and Harmony came back in with my mom.
"When can I get out of here?" I asked the doctor.
"Next week." I groaned and asked why "because you won't listen to me if I say you can go home."
"And I'm supposed to sit here doing nothing? Fantastic." I rolled my eyes.
"You can do whatever you'd like as long as you follow my instructions and don't strain your body too much." He told me, walking from the room. I looked to my mom.
"Do you have my tablet?" I asked. She nodded and handed it to me. I powered it up and started to work on a new video. I didn't even bother to look up to ask Harmony to sync her camera to my network. A moment later the window popped up and I went back into my own little 'world' to edit my project.
An hour later, I had finished the first half and was locking it onto the video track when I heard Kyle, Ashley, and Harmony talking. I looked over at them and whistled quietly to get their attention.
"Did you bring those clothes for me?" I asked Harmony. I was hoping to get out of this stupid gown before I was tempted to rip the darn piece of polyester off.
"Yea, over there." She pointed to black duffel and I swung my legs off of the hospital bed and stood up, bending to pick up the bag and going to the bathroom to change. I returned in a pair of silky black yoga pants with a pink waistband and a black tank top with rainbow colored sunglasses all over it. I dropped the bag by the door and walked over to where the staff had set up a small table against the wall with four chairs. I pulled one out and sat down, putting my head in my arms and closing my eyes.
"You okay Cami?" Kyle asked, resting his hand on my shoulder. I raised my head slightly so that I could look at him with one eye.
"Yeah, just tired." I said closing my eyes again and letting myself relax.
"Let me know if you need anything, Cami. I'm going to get some food for us." Harmony told us, pushing her chair back and leaving the room. I felt someone move my chair away from the table and I groaned and covered my eyes with my arms. They picked me up and set me back on that damned bed again. I mumbled a 'thank you' and rolled over to cover my head with a pillow and take a nap.
~~Kyle's~~~POV~~
When she'd blacked out she'd whispered the three words I'd never thought she would say. I love you. I'd been stunned and hadn't necessarily responded like I should have. After she seemed to have ridden the seizure out, we called an ambulance when she didn't come back to consciousness. I had picked her up and she started seizing again and she punched me in the face, shocking me and causing me to drop her. She fell into the glass table. Three inch deep lacerations that caused her to lose so much blood she needed a donation. My fault. Her mother, Harmony, and I gave blood, and it was barely enough because she kept seizing and re-opening her wounds. When they got her in, they found a shard of glass piercing her abdomen and they had to surgically repair the damage it inflicted when it shattered as they tried to remove it. When she fell into the glass, she fractured her left wrist and her right ankle was dislocated as she fought the metal frame that nearly impaled her. Little did she know, they had thought she wouldn't make it for another day, and that if she did, she'd never be able to function again. By getting up and moving around the room, even though it nearly exhausted her, she made it and it meant that with time, she could be back to functioning in a couple months. Until then, she'd have to take it easy and not strain herself.
There was a soft knock on the door and Cami's father came in, silently moving over to sit next to his wife, barely acknowledging me sitting right behind their daughter. I hope that's good, but more likely he's ignoring me hoping I'll go away. Pfft. He'll have to kill me first.
"I will if you hurt her" He threatened, reading my thoughts. I glared up at him, barely taking my eyes off of Cami before returning my gaze back to her.
"If I hurt her-even though I never would, she's too perfect to ruin- it won't be you I have to worry about. It'll be me." I said with cold venom that always killed my team. It had no effect on him but he studied me for a second before returning his attention back to Cami's mom. Cami stirred in her sleep and rolled over grabbing my left hand before falling back asleep. I watched her sleep for a few minutes and then closed my own eyes, knowing very well that I needed my own rest. I leaned against my right arm and let myself drift off for a few minutes at a time.
~Cami POV~
Ow. Don't move your neck. Ow. Or arm. Ow. Just don't move.
"Cami" I hear my name called. I turn my head towards the voice and blink a couple times to clear my foggy vision. Kyle is sitting in a chair next to my damned hospital bed.
"Morning" I mumble, not bothering to look at the clock.
"Its noon" He corrects. I shake my head and roll onto my back.
"Same thing." I took a deep breath and smelled fried chicken. I crack an eye open and look around the room. Cluck in a Bucket. Lula. Lots and lots of Cluck in a Bucket. I sit up and point at one bin of it. "Can I have some?" She nodded with her mouth stuffed full of chicken and passed me the bucket of chicken. I picked out a drumstick and held it with my one hand, eating it off the bone and then throwing it in the empty bucket of bones with the scraps of everyone else's. I grabbed another piece and chewed away at it, looking around the room to find Kyle, Harmony, Ashley, Mark, Jake, Lester, Mom, Dad, Lula, and Tank crammed into my room. I wasn't in this room before though. They must have moved me, because this one was much larger, almost like a hotel room. The door opened and my youngest sister and the older of my twin brothers walked in, bickering. I laughed quietly and they turned from their argument.
"I brought you something!" My brother said, holding up a bag.
"Uh oh." I responded, taking it from him when he walked over and held it out for me. I dumped it on my lap and spread out my coursework that I'd missed. "How long did they say I have this time?" I asked him, not even looking up as I pulled a binder full of worksheets towards myself.
"Three days" My little sister told me.
"It'll be done in two" I said.
"How much that she finishes it today?" Lester asked Tank.
"A hundred dollars says she's done tomorrow" Tank replied.
"Three says your both wrong" I smirked, opening my Advanced Trigonometry book and starting to write the answers on the corresponding paper. Thirty minutes later, I was finished with all of my Advanced courses for 11th and had started on 12th. After staring at the paper for an hour and a half, I finally gave up and jotted down a random guess, closing the book and placing it in my 'finished' pile.
A/AN: For me, school will be starting soon, so don't get high hopes for a thousand and a half chapters, but I have a new idea. I really need some medicine for my case of writer's ADD…oooh that's shiny! What was I saying? Crud.
