Chapter 12

It is about to get romantic… very! Don't worry, it's only kissing and hugging and telling each other how they feel. It doesn't get any worse than kissing. I promise. :) I would never write about something like that! :)

1 week later

I can feel the sun shining against my closed eyelids. My left leg has shooting pains running up and down it. I open my eyes with a little gasp. Beside me, Zach is holding my hand, asleep. I squirm out of the covers and sit up, still hand in hand with Zach. I lift the edge of my skirt up, and I can see a thick white bandage covering my thigh. Most of my other major wounds have been rebound and some even stitched up again.

I gasp as I realise what this means. It means that, for the first time since I got back, someone has seen me without something covering my legs. I turn to look at Zach, who is staring into my eyes. I hastily pull the cover back up over my legs. "Zach, did you-?" I start.

"Cammie," he whispers, pulling me towards him. His lips meet mine and his fingers get tangled in my hair. I'm shocked. He didn't call me Gallagher Girl, he called me Cammie. Then I allow myself to get lost in the moment. I ignore the pain racking through my whole body and only feel the love I feel for this boy, right in front of me.

All too soon, he breaks away. "Cammie," he whispers again. "Oh my god, we thought you were going to die!"

"What?" I ask. "Why would you think that?"

"Cammie, you've been in a coma for the last week."

Bex's POV

I finish packing up from Mr. Smith's COW class. I fall into step with Macey and Liz. Zach has ditched just about all his classes, staying at Cammie's bed night and day, just holding her hand, not moving. He barely ate anything. I think of how he must feel. How we all must feel. Cammie ran off thinking she was protecting us. She was missing for 6 months. She came back, acting slightly crazy; she won't ever allow her arms or legs to see daylight. She was attacked by Dan. She has been in a coma with life support for a week. It was enough to make any best friend and boyfriend crazy with grief.

As we exit the classroom, silent, we see Zach leaning against the door frame with Headmistress Morgan, Cammie's Aunt Abby and Mr. Solomon. They were all talking at the same time, asking Zach what on earth had dragged them from their classes to come wait for his friends come out from their COW class.

"Zach?" Macey asks. "What's wrong?"

"I think you should come see this," he says. He leads the way, refusing to answer any questions. As we near the hospital ward, Liz's face goes pale and I can tell everyone is freaking out.

He slowly pushes the door open, to show Cammie lying in bed. The cords and IV's have been pulled out of her arms and she is sitting up, smiling. "Cammie!" we all yell. Well actually, Liz, Macey and I yell. Headmistress Morgan, Cam's Aunt Abby and Mr. Solomon just get this really big, goofy grin and hurry to her side.

"Hey guys," she croaks. "Umm… would any of you like to explain how I got to be in a coma?"

Zach offers and starts explaining. "Cammie, when you got stabbed by the jerk, Dan, I carried you up here and the nurse sewed your leg back up. Then you sort of… stopped breathing and we couldn't feel your pulse. Luckily, we managed to get you hooked up to the life support system, and you've been in a coma for the past week."

Once Zach finished explaining to Cammie, the rest of us left, leaving those two alone.

Cammie's POV

I lower my head as my friends, teacher, aunt and mum leave, until Zach sits down beside me, lifting my chin with his finger.

"So, did you see…" I don't have to finish. He knows what I mean; my legs. And if he saw my legs, then he probably lifted my jumper sleeves to see my arms, and maybe even the big cut on my stomach.

He nods, pursing his lips. "Then, you must have stayed to break up with me."

Whatever he was expecting, it was obviously not this. "What?" he manages to gasp.

I lower my eyes again. "Because, you know… I look hideous! A normal girl shouldn't look like this. A normal girl shouldn't have scars because a normal girl isn't hunted down and tortured by an ancient evil terrorist organization! Every time you see me now, you'll be reminded of her. You'll be reminded of your mother." I feel a tear sliding down my cheek and I reach up to brush it away. "If we... went on a date, I wouldn't be able to wear a dress, or a skirt, or shorts. I wouldn't be able to look like a girl. You deserve better than that. You deserve someone who isn't afraid of showing off her skin. You deserve someone beautiful."

"Cammie," Zach whispers. "How could you even think that? To me, those scars aren't hideous. To me, those scars are beautiful. They show how you're willing to risk yourself to save those you love. They show your bravery. And I don't care who you remind me of, because all I'll ever see is you. Oh, and by the way, you. are. beautiful."

I look up to finally meet his eye, and once again I see his face come slanting across mine, his lips crashing against mine, and my body melting into his as he pulls me closer to him. He gasps against my mouth before closing his lips to mine again. His arms cross against my back as he tries to push us closer together, even though we can't possibly get any closer to each other. I wrap my arms around his neck and we freeze like this. I can't say how long it is until we break away, but it seems like not long enough.

"Oh my god, Cammie," he says. I unwind my arms from his neck and curl into his chest, where his hands hold me close. I can feel every muscle underneath his shirt. He absently strokes my hair. "I thought I had lost you. Those 6 months were the hardest of my life, because I knew that somewhere she was either hurting you, or you were on the run, being forced to live as a criminal. I knew that you were hurting, and that made me hurt."

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

He laughs. "You have a knack for finding trouble, don't you?" he asks. I can feel him smiling. He sighs. "And then this past week was just as hard. I thought not knowing where you were or what you were feeling was hard. This is harder. I could see you, hear you breathing, feel your hand in mine. I kept talking to you, making you eat and drink. I read to you, I kissed you and I did everything I could to make you wake up, but it was never enough." He lifts my head and holds it in both of his warm hands. "I love you, Cammie. Please, please, please don't ever scare me like that again." I open my mouth to reply, but there he is again, kissing me like it's the end of the world. This one doesn't last as long as before, but it's just as special.

As we kiss, his knee accidentally knocks into my stomach and I gasp, doubling over in pain. "Cammie?" he asks. "Cammie!" he yells louder.

As the pain recedes, I slowly sit up. He sighs, cuddling me again. "I am so, so sorry. You know I would never do anything to purposefully hurt you, right?"

"I know," I respond. "It wasn't you that hurt me, it was-" I break off, biting my lip.

He tenses up. "My mother. I am going to kill her! In fact, I think I'll go right now." He pulls away from me.

"Zach? Zach, no, please!" I beg him.

"Cammie, I need to," he whispers. He leans down and kisses me. I try to draw him closer, but he breaks away.

"Zach!" I cry out, tears streaming down my cheeks. "You said how hard it was for you, not knowing where I was, if I was being tortured or even alive. Do you want to make me go through that?"

He pauses. "I'm sorry, Cammie. I really am. I don't want to hurt you like this, but I need to have my revenge. She can't hurt the people I love and get away with it." He walks out the two tall grand wooden doors. He opens one back up slightly. "Oh, and I'm locking the door so you can't follow me. I don't want you getting hurt any more than you have to."