Chapter 13
Zach walked through the station's halls to another interrogation room, having requested to talk to the Circle member that the Roseville's Police Department had compromised. Despite Macey's advice to be calm and to go in with a clear head so he could get the information he wanted, he could feel his anger rising within his chest. Whoever sat on the other side of that door was a deadly terrorist who believed that their actions and the Circle's motives weren't immoral, but rather a way of life. That fact made him sick to his stomach, but he pushed through the door anyway, prepared to come face to face with one of his fellow members he once worked alongside.
What he wasn't prepared for was to see his best friend sitting on the far side of the interrogation table, anticipating his arrival.
"Andrew?" Zach asked in shock. He hadn't seen the man in years—since he abandoned the Circle during a mission in China.
"Hey, Zach!" Andrew exclaimed, almost as if he was excited to be seeing him again.
Ignoring him, he stumbled out, "You ratted me out?"
This couldn't be true. During his interrogation, Grant had told him that the Circle member they had in custody confessed to working with Zach as a part of the organization, but it couldn't have been this Circle member. There was no way Andrew would have done such a thing.
However, Andrew simply shrugged as if to say so, what if I did?
A whole different kind of anger began to build within Zach's chest as he asked, "I thought we were friends?"
"Come on, Zach. We're terrorists," Andrew started, his voice taking on a saddened tone, almost sounding ashamed of the fact. "We don't really have friends."
And that only angered Zach more. Practically growling, he argued, "You were my best man at my wedding. You were going to be our kids' godfather, if we ever had any. I trusted you."
"You left us," Andrew argued back, a fire in his eyes, as well. "Without any warning, you were gone. For years!"
Zach shook his head, knowing how Andrew might have felt betrayed by his early departure from the Circle, but also refusing to accept it as an honorable reason for turning him in. With no sympathy in his voice, he explained, "We always talked about leaving the Circle. It shouldn't have come as a surprise."
"We talked about leaving together! All of us!" Andrew yelled, slamming his fists on the metal table. "We were in it together."
"You could have still gotten out," Zach told him, as stubborn as ever to not give in and accept that he deserved Andrew's betrayal. "With Will and Erin's help, you all could've left just fine."
"We stayed because the Circle was going after you and we wanted to protect you," Andrew explained, quieting down.
"Well, you did a shitty job," Zach snapped, thinking back on everything that happened the past few years because of the Circle. "Two people are dead—Kate is dead—because of them, and they're still coming after me!"
Andrew snorted in response. "Well, that's one thing you're right about."
Zach just stared at him, finally remembering Macey's advice and starting to calm down. Andrew was beginning to surrender some information, and if Zach wanted more, he was going to have to keep his composure. "So, they are after me?" he asked, confirming what he already knew, still wishing he was wrong.
With a brief nod, Andrew explained, "And the next attack they're planning is pretty brutal."
Zach's eyes narrowed, wondering if his former friend was going to say anything else on the subject. But when he was given no further explanation, he pried, "What is it?"
A familiar smirk crossed Andrew's face—the same smirk that Zach had picked up from spending years on end with the man. "What makes you think I'm just going to tell you?" he asked, a mocking tone slipping into his voice.
But Zach wasn't in the mood for games, and his glare made that pretty clear, making Andrew sigh in response.
"Do you know what next Thursday is?"
A beat of hesitation passed between the two men, as if Zach needed a moment to build up the strength to answer him. Although he knew what the day in question was, it still sounded like a question when it escaped his lips. "Kate's birthday?"
With a dejected nod, Andrew said, "And the Circle is anticipating that you go to her grave to visit her like you did last year."
"How do they even know about that?" Zach asked. This time last year, he was running from the Circle all across Europe before losing them somewhere in Hungary, escaping back to the States just in time to visit Kate's grave located in North Carolina. He could've sworn that they had no clue of his whereabouts.
Without even a trace of regret or sympathy, Andrew informed him, "I told them."
And with that, the anger tripled than it had before. "You what?" Zach growled, feeling more pissed and betrayed than he thought he could.
"Who do you think came up with the idea?"
Zach's nostrils flared as he was seeing red. Maybe he deserved being ratted out to Grant and Macey, but for Andrew to have betrayed him to the Circle? No one he's ever met deserved such treachery. And that's saying something considering he worked with hundreds of terrorists.
"You son of a bitch."
"Are you serious? Do you really not understand what's going on here?" Andrew asked, completely baffled by how Zach could be missing the whole point. "I set up the attack, got myself compromised so I could warn you, and I plan on helping you figure out how to end things once and for all."
As the news sunk in, Zach's angry scowl on his face relaxed. Realization hit that Andrew was double-crossing the Circle, just like they had always planned on doing—just in a different way than abandoning the organization like he himself had done.
"Really?" he asked, holding onto that one last strand of hope before he completely trusted Andrew again.
With a small chuckle, Andrew said, "Dude, I was your best man. Of course I'm on your side."
A slight smile crossed Zach's face, a silent thanks passing through him and the man who sat across from him.
"So," Andrew started, looking up at Macey and Grant who were walking into the room after hearing everything they needed to. "What's the plan?"
Cammie walked into her house, completely in a daze about what had just went down at the station. Barely seconds after she announced the Circle was trying to kill Zach, Liz and her were rushed out of the room and asked to leave. Before they were out of earshot through, she could hear Macey telling Grant that they needed to speak with someone named Andrew, and that Zach wasn't allowed to leave her sight until the Circle was "brought down for good".
She must've been more out of touch with reality than she had thought, because she walked into her living room completely missing all the place cards spread about and the man sitting amongst them.
When she looked up, the sight of her fiancé made her jump as she placed a hand over racing heart.
"Josh, you scared me," she said, steading her breathing. She watched as he stood up, but he didn't make any effort to move in her direction. "What are you doing here?"
Gesturing to the mess surrounding them, he answered, "We were scheduled to pick out place cards this afternoon. You know, for our wedding?"
She looked around at all the tiny pieces of folded paper with different fonts etched into them, finally remembering that she forgot all about Josh the moment she stepped foot into the station.
"Where were you?" he asked when he saw she wasn't going to say anything.
"Um, I was with Macey at the station," she replied softly, trying to act like it was no big deal—like it was a daily occurrence.
But the confused look that crossed Josh's face told her he knew that it was a big deal. "Why?" he asked.
"I was helping her with something."
The vagueness of her answers revealed more than if she had just come right out and told him. She knew that. But she still couldn't get herself to admit the reasoning behind her actions, to herself or anyone else.
Josh, however, always knew her best, and he picked up on what she wasn't saying. "You were helping with Zach's investigation, weren't you?"
Feeling guilty, but trying to hide it, she cheerfully said, "If it's any consolation, we found out he's innocent because of me." She put on a fake smile that she hoped look innocent enough for his anger to ease away, but by the stern look he was giving her, she knew that wasn't the case.
"Am I supposed to be happy about that?" he asked, crossing his arms. "You helped you ex get released from jail. Does that sound like something I'd be thrilled about?"
"He was innocent, Josh," Cammie explained, hoping he would see her intentions weren't to win Zach back. "Innocent people shouldn't go to jail."
Silence.
That's what she was met with. And she hated it.
"What's going on?" she asked, internally freaking out. "You're not acting like yourself."
"Of course I'm not. I'm losing you to the guy who broke your heart and abandoned you!" Josh exclaimed, running a hand through his hair and turning away in frustration. "And all he had to do was come to town for you to forgive him."
Quietly, Cammie pointed out, "You did the same thing and I forgave you, too."
"Yes, but you never loved me again," he said, turning back to her, allowing her to see the pain etched in his eyes. "You've pretended liked everything was all good between us for the past few months, but you never truly fell back in love with me."
She felt the panic begin to rise in her chest, her heart beating twice as fast. Her stomach turned quickly, causing a pain to sweep through her entire body as the fear of him knowing her secret became a reality. "Josh—"
"I can see it on your face, Cam," he interrupted her, his words being spoken almost regretfully. "You're still in love with Zach. And who am I to compete with a guy like that?"
"Josh, that's not true," she told him, begging him to believe her.
"It's not?" he snapped, a small anger flaring up in his eyes. "Then tell me, Cammie, are you in love with me?"
With tears stinging her eyes, she answered, "Josh, we're getting married. Of course, I love you."
"But are you in love with me?"
Holding back the tears, she knew in her heart that she wasn't. He was right that things had been different between them, even though she always brushed it off as losing almost a year of time together. She refused to let herself think about any other possibilities, mainly because she was afraid that they might be right—that maybe her heart belonged to someone else. And now, Josh was suspecting the same thing and was on the verge of leaving her because of it, something she had been terrified of since the moment he came back. So, she swallowed the truth and the guilt along with it, and lied, "Yes."
"Wow," Josh sighed dejectedly. His eyes weighed heavily on her, disappointment pouring out of the blue irises. "You know, you are a lot of things, Cam, but I never thought a liar would be one of them."
As he started to storm off towards the front door, Cammie called after him, realizing her biggest fear was coming true.
Josh was leaving her. Again.
"So, I'm not in love with you. So, what?" she asked desperately. "I chose to marry you. Twice! I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Josh!"
"Why?" he asked, spinning back to her. "Because I'm safe and you know I'll never leave you again, unlike him? Face it, Cam, if you chose him, you'll be scared to death to go to sleep because you won't know if he'll still be there in the morning."
"So, what's wrong with being safe?" she asked, choking back the tears.
He shook his head, obviously angered again. Without another word, he turned to leave.
"I was in love with you once," Cammie blurted, giving it her last shot at convincing him to stay, despite her knowing that nothing could. "Maybe I can do it again?"
"No," he told her, not snapping at her like he had before, but calmly discarding her argument. "You can't. Because you're in love with Zach. And if he's the kind of man you want, then we'll never work out."
"I need you," she pleaded. "That's what I love most about you—that I know you'll be there for me."
When he looked over his shoulder at her, she could see tears forming in his eyes, as well. "That's not enough," he choked out, his voice cracking. "I need someone who's in love with all of me."
Her head hung low in defeat, tears slipping out softly and silently. She went to cover her face with her hands, but a different pair reached her cheeks before hers could. Josh brushed his thumb across her soft skin, then pulled her gently into his chest.
A brief hug was all he allowed, though, for he backed away after a few moments and grabbed her hands momentarily. Giving them a tight squeeze, he dropped them slowly, slipping the diamond ring off her finger in one motion.
As he slowly retreated to the door, she whimpered out an apology, which he nodded to with a small, sad smile before walking out on her and their wedding again.
Zach walked up to Cammie's door, knocking softer than anticipated from all his nerves. He hadn't spoken to Cam since that morning when he was whisked away in handcuffs, and he prayed that she didn't hate him for all the awful scenarios that may have been running through her mind since then. For all she knew, he was a criminal—a murderer—and that's exactly what he had come back to Roseville to fix; to clear his name to both Macey and Grant, as well as Cammie.
When there was no answer, he turned the knob and stepped inside. The house was eerily quiet, except for a small sobbing whimper coming from the living room. "Cammie?" he asked as he followed the heart wrenching noise.
There was no answer, but he knew she was there.
When he rounded the corner, he saw her sitting there in a ball on the floor, tears dampening her face.
"What's wrong?" he asked, frozen in place by fear. Had the Circle done something else while he was at the station?
At the sight of him standing in the doorway to her living room, Cammie stood up and quickly made her way over to him, throwing her arms around him and burying her face into his chest.
Almost instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her small body and pulled her even closer to him. "Cam, what happened?" he asked, gently rubbing up and down her arms in attempts to soothe her.
She backed away from his hard chest, shaking her head as if to tell him she couldn't say the painful words. She wiped away her tears with both hands, trying to dry her face, and when she did, Zach noticed the empty space on her ring finger where a big diamond used to sit. Suddenly it dawned on him.
Josh broke up with her.
With his voice drenched in sympathy and shock, he asked her, "He called off the wedding?"
She nodded, her eyes drying up. A sad laugh left her lips as her cheeks flamed red from embarrassment and not just the bawling she had done for the past three hours. "I don't even know why I'm crying," she told him, avoiding his eyes. "It's not like I was in love with him. He was just…safe."
"Is that why he broke it off?" he asked timidly.
She nodded, then added, "Part of it," as she slumped down onto the couch, feeling exhausted.
"What was the other part?" he asked, following suit and sitting down next to her.
With her bright blue eyes ringed with red, she turned and looked him dead in the eye, a more serious look passing over her usually soft features.
"You."
Stunned, shocked, and dumbfounded, he sat there, speechless.
She sniffled, wiping at her face once more to make sure her face was entirely dry. "You may not want to hear this from someone who's crying their eyes out, but…Zach, I'm still in love with you."
And again, he just continued to sit there, silently staring at her in shock.
Feeling the need to fill the silence, she continued, "And I know it's been a long time since we've been together, and you've probably been through a lot, so I understand if you don't feel the same way. But can you just…hold me? I don't think I can handle being rejected twice in one day." She chuckled, hoping it would break the thick tension between them.
Thankfully, it had, and he chuckled as he reached over to her and hugged her body close again. After a few moments, he placed a light kiss on her forehead, then leaned his head against hers. "So," he started, once again consoling her by rubbing her arms slowly, "you're really in love with me?"
"I've never stopped loving you," Cammie answered quietly.
He took a deep breath, slowly letting it out, but not saying anything in response.
"Do you still love me?"
He almost didn't hear her, and for a minute he thought maybe he imagined it. But then she moved against him and looked up, their eyes connecting.
He wanted so badly to tell her how he felt—how every day he was gone, his heart broke even more knowing the pain he caused her; how the only thing that kept him going and fighting for his life was the thought of maybe one day seeing her again; how he may have loved Kate with everything he had, but it was Cammie who held his heart and always would.
But he knew he couldn't tell her now for the same reasons he couldn't tell her that night he left; he had to protect her.
Running a hand through his hair, he avoided her eyes, knowing that she would be able to tell all the things he couldn't say. "Cam, this isn't the best time to have this conversation and you know it. I'm dealing with the most dangerous terrorist organization right now and—"
"You're right," she interrupted, pushing away from him and sliding herself a few inches down the couch so not even their knees were touching. "I was being selfish. I don't know what I was thinking giving you more to worry about. Forget I said anything," she quickly rattled off, avoiding his eyes as well.
"Hey," he said quickly, grabbing her chin and turning her to face him. Looking into her eyes, he told her, "I'm glad you told me." He wanted to tell her that of course, he felt the same way, and he came so close to letting it slip, but all thoughts left him the moment she reached out and hugged him again. With his arms snaking their way back around her, he mumbled into her hair pretty much the only truthful thing he could tell her at this point.
"I just wish things were different."
Hey everyone (: thanks for all those who have been reading my story (: I know it kind of takes me forever to update but there shouldn't be too many more chapters left sooooooo the torture won't last much longer lol
What'd you guys think ? (: there wasn't much exciting drama but Cammie confessed to loving Zach :D lol can't wait to hear what you guys think about that !
Shout out time !
BooksLover2000: it was still my favorite comment lol, and I hate it too, except I seem to do a lot of that…whoops
OhNobody: here's the update (: and thank you for your kind words
Tennage Gallagher Girl Spy: aw thank you so much ! I'm so glad you like it !
Miaadventure: yeah, things sometimes move along slowly in my stories. Sorry about that
TaylorS22: so I wrote more
XxCandyygirlxX: eeee I got so happy when I read your comment, thank you so much (:
Soccerlover21: Cammie's smart lol and good to see you're back, I've missed your reviews (:
Zara: well, thanks (: I like to think I have some good ideas in this old brain of mine lol
Gabergirl: thank you so much (:
BookGuru101: thanks, love :D
Richellestar: I love writing, but I think I love beta-ing/editing more. So if I was to go into the novel-creating business, I would more liking be an editor lol but thank you anyway, I really appreciate your support (: