A/N: I'm sorry this chapter is absolutely awful and it's really short but it's a filler for the next chapter which I LOVE. There's some major Cammie+Aunt Abby bonding! So yeah, please ignore this awful attempt at a chapter, I hope you'll stick with me for the next chapter!
Previously:
I looked into her eyes, the lesson we'd had with Mr Solomon instantly came back to about how to tell when someone was lying. I looked to see if her eye was twitching. It wasn't. I listened to see if her breathing had increased. It hadn't.
"My dad's dead…" I whispered before the ground came up to meet me and blackness engulfed me.
()()()()
The first thing I felt was pain, a stabbing pain right in my heart. I opened my eyes and saw where my mom was talking with her back to me to one of the nurses. I hurriedly shut my eyes again.
"The bruises were weeks old" The nurse said.
"I had no idea" My mom chocked. "And you really think…"
"They were in the shape of someone's fingers, almost as if someone had grabbed her too hard… and then the bruises on her stomach… defiantly as if someone had hit her… although, that looked more recent. And god knows how she got that hit to her head"
"Should I talk to her about it?" My mom asked the nurse.
"Well… from what I hear you two haven't been on great terms… maybe you should give her some time"
"Yes" my mom agreed. I almost laughed. My mom really thought I would tell her what had happened to me? The thought was almost funny. And what even gave the nurses the right to look at my body?
"When do you think she'll wake up?" my mom asked.
"Soon" the nurse replied.
"Well… I think I should go… I don't think she'll want to speak to me"
The nurse agreed and I heard my mom leave. I pretended to wake up.
"Hello" the nurse smiled at me as she spotted me peering at her. "How are you feeling?"
I just found out my dad's dead, it feels like I can't breathe.
"Fine" I lied.
"Good" the nurse smiled. "So I've told Mr Solomon you won't be going on the mission today, you can just have a relaxing day in bed…"
"Wait!" I interrupted. "Today's Monday?" I asked.
"Yes" she frowned.
"I want to go on the CoveOps mission" I said suddenly.
"I'm not sure…"
"Please" I begged, attempting to get out of bed to show her I was fine.
"Well…" I could hear her weakening.
"I'll be careful" I promised. I wasn't even sure why I wanted to go… I guess I just wanted fresh air… I felt almost suffocated stuck in this mansion.
"Fine, but you better take it easy" She warned.
I nodded eagerly and rushed to change into my school uniform which had been washed, ironed and now lay on the end of my bed. I fixed my hair which looked like a birds nest and ran all the way to the main entrance where the whole of my CoveOps class were just about to leave.
"Wait!" I shouted out after Mr Solomon. He smiled but then frowned.
"Are you sure you should be here?" Mr Solomon asked. "Your mother said you were in the hospital wing"
"The nurse said I could come with you" I said angrily, the thought of my mom trying to stop me leaving made me angry.
"That's fine with me" Mr Solomon grinned and gave me a small pat on the back before he whispered to me "I heard that your mom had told you about your dad… I'm sorry, he was a great man"
I nodded, fighting back my tears and the lump that had formed in my throat.
I pushed to the front of the class until I found Macey, Bex, Liz and Zach. His hand immediately found mine. I heard Tina gasp from behind me but ignored her.
"Cammie!" Liz shouted happily as soon as she saw me. "How are you feeling? Your mom just told us you'd fainted or something"
"Did she say why?" I asked casually.
Liz shook her head. "She said it was probably because you were tired"
I nodded. "Yeah that was probably it… I'm fine now"
Zach gave my hand a quick squeeze before he whispered in my ear "Did you tell her?"
I shook my head, but thought of the way she was planning to ask me about the bruises on my arms. I decided to forget it… for just one day I wanted to forget about everything and have a normal day out.
We ended up in Roseville practising brush passes again. As we passed Roseville hospital I felt suddenly scared… but Zach gave my hand another quick squeeze and I pushed it out of my mind.
I hated to admit it but I had the best time. The sun was out and as I blended into the crowds, trying to steal the coin off of Bex I felt totally normal. When I wanted to buy an ice lolly; I did. When I wanted to go and watch the performers in the street; I did.
I found myself in the pharmacy at one point, simply because I wanted to take a look. A boy about my age was at the counter looking bored out of his mind, his face lighting up when he saw me.
"Hey there, can I help you?" He asked.
"Just looking" I said as I scanned the row of sweets.
I picked up some M&M's and when I turned to face him I saw his mouth drop open as he caught sight of the logo on my school uniform.
"The Gallagher Academy…" he said bluntly.
"Yep" I replied smirking. "You know what, maybe I can afford more than one packet of M&M's, after all, I am Princess of Asia and all that"
The boy didn't seem to get the joke and his mouth gaped open... He'd actually believed me! "Oh… yes, certainly… urm… Princess…" he stuttered.
I tried to stop from laughing out loud, and then Zach came into the shop obviously having heard my conversation on comms.
"Princess" he bowed as he saw me and then he turned to the boy. I turned too and saw the name on his name badge. Josh.
"Excuse me, but haven't you served this lady yet, she isn't a patient woman"
I gave Zach a nudge, trying to supress my laughter.
"Actually, don't worry about it; our carriage is awaiting our departure outside" Zach held his hand out regally towards me.
I almost screamed as Zach picked me up in a bridal carry.
"Farewell" I said to Josh who looked like he was about to pass out.
As soon as we'd got out of the shop me and Zach couldn't hold back the laughter any longer. I'd never laughed so much in all my life.
I walked back to the mansion with Bex, Liz, Macey and Zach. I felt like a totally new person as I laughed along to something Macey said.
"You know Cammie, you didn't turn out too bad" Macey smirked.
"Yeah, I agree, you aren't such a spoilt brat now" Zach grinned.
"Well, I thought you were pretty annoying at first too!" I protested jokily.
"Like Macey, when I first saw you I thought you'd be all stuck up, what with being a decedent of that Gillian Gallagher woman, but now…"
"What?"
We all stopped walking for a second at the note of danger in Macey's voice. She looked at me with such confusion in her eyes… and that was when I knew I'd said completely the wrong thing.
"What did you just say?" Macey asked calmly, her hands suddenly gripped onto my shoulders and she looked into my eyes.
"She didn't say anything Macey" Bex tried to shake it off but Macey's face was full of determination.
"What did you just say?" She repeated more urgently.
"Well… I saw it on the tapestry… I… thought… you… knew…" I stammered. Macey's hands let go of me and I could practically see her brain trying to piece things together. Then she turned away from me.
"Macey wait!" Bex yelled after her as she started to walk away. Bex tried to grab hold of her but Macey shrugged her off and broke into a run.
"Zach, go after her!" Bex yelled desperately. Zach did as he was told and broke into a sprint after Macey.
"I'm… sorry… I didn't know she didn't…"
"Just… leave it" Liz whispered in despair. We stood in silence until we saw Zach coming back… without Macey.
"She took off down some alleyways, I have no idea where she's gone!" he panted.
We all looked at each other in despair. I could tell that they were trying not to blame me, but I could see the disappointment in their eyes, and I felt it in my stomach. Right now I was sure they all hated me, but I was also sure no one hated me more than I hated myself. I had to find Macey.
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