Cam POV

The firework display finished just short of midnight. I'd texted my mom to let her know that I was on my way home. Macey offered to give me, Jonas and Zach a ride.

'Are you sure you're alright, Cammie?' Macey kept looking at me through the mirror.

'I'm fine, Mace. Honestly. I think it's time me and mom had a little chat'

Macey nodded. Jonas was shotgun, he was staying over at Zach's whilst his mom was out of town. Zach was in the back of the car with me; his broad legs were spread wide in the tiny space making contact between us inevitable. His leg brushed up against mine. No words were said, but the contact alone made my heart race. I glanced over to look at him; Zach's brow was furrowed, he clearly wanted to ask me a question but didn't want to do so in front of everyone. I sent him a quick reassuring smile.

The rest of the journey went by quickly. When Macey pulled up outside my house, Zach's leg turned away from me. I wished the journey was longer.

'When are you back at school, Cam?' Jonas asked

'Monday' I sighed 'And the principle said that I've got to have a meeting with Jo- Mr Solomon to work out better ways to release my anger'

'I could think of a few' Zach whispered, low enough that only I would hear. I blushed immediately.

'Well, I guess I'll see you all on Monday' I said

'Do you want me to give you a ride?' Macey asked. I tried not to glance at Zach, knowing that he would give me a ride if I asked, but he didn't want to tell anyone about our relationship until we were sure.

'Yes please' I said. After saying goodbye to the Jonas, Zach and Macey, I made my way home.

'Hey kiddo' My mom was sitting on the sofa watching a romcom with a glass of wine and popcorn covered in maltesers. 'How was your evening?'

'I need to talk to you' I placed my bag down.

'Uh, oh. What's happened?' She paused the film. Put down her treats and turned her whole attention to me. I sat down next to her.

'Nothing bad...just…' I sighed 'We went to the funfair-'

'Oh kiddo, did you remember dad?'

'No' I shook my head 'That's the problem. I forgot about him! Macey asked if I was okay and then I remembered and felt bad and starting crying. Does this make me a bad daughter?'

'No sweetheart' She held my hand in her own 'You were having a good time with your friends, you did nothing wrong'

'But I didn't think about him at all! This whole time I've been fighting the whole moving thing because I didn't want to move on from Dad but now I'm moving on anyway!'

'Kiddo' She pulled me into a hug and soothed my hair 'Our life in D.C. was perfect. However, we can both agree that after Matthew died, a lot of things changed'

'Mainly me' I muttered

'We both changed' My mom angled my head to look at me better 'I didn't think about how you would react to it all, and I wish that I'd paid closer attention to you. If I did, then maybe you wouldn't have ended up in the hospital' Tears formed in her eyes.

'In a sad, twisted way, being sent to the hospital was exactly what I needed to realise how fucked up I was acting'

'Language, Cam' She warned, although the treat was half hearted

'Mom, I'm sorry. I wish that I'd been a better daughter to you as well. I know that losing Dad was hard on both of us, but I found it easier to just lock everything away'

'We all deal with grief in different ways, Cammie. Abby usually runs away from her problems, which is why she's in Europe at the moment. Matthew used to literally run; he'd go out jogging come rain or shine whenever there was something on his mind. Then he'd come home, shower, sit me down with a cup of coffee that he made and we'd just talk about everything'.

'Did it work?' I asked. She shrugged

'Most of the time. Sometimes we needed something a little stronger than coffee' She smiled. I laughed lightly.

'I miss this' My mom kissed my forehead. 'I miss you being able to talk to me'

'I miss it too' I hugged her back

'I don't want you to promise to talk to me if and when something is bothering you; however, I want you to know that you can talk to me and that I will always listen'

'I know' I told her 'I'm just still adjusting'

'Me too, kiddo. It's going to be hard for a long time. There will be moments when you are so happy and then memory with suddenly hit you, and it'll seem as though your world is crumbling, but it's okay Cammie. Your life will still go on even when others end'

'I love you, mom'

'I love you too, Kiddo'

'Since we're sharing things…' I sat up so I could have a better look at her

'Yeah?' She raised her eyebrow

'I had a kiss tonight…' I waited for her to scowled me or warn me off men completely considering what happened with Josh. I did not expect her excited reaction.

'Oh kiddo!' Her eyes widened and her smile grew. 'How do you feel about it? How do you feel about him? Was it a him or her? Who was it?'

'I feel happy' I couldn't stop the smile growing on my face 'He makes me feel safe'

'That's brilliant sweetheart. I'm so happy for you'

'Thanks. We're not labelling anything until we're sure'

'Are you okay with that arrangement?' She asked. I nodded.

'It was just a kiss'

'But are there feelings involved?' I pondered her question, thinking back to the knee buckling kiss, the intense look in his eyes, the several moments that we've almost kissed. Yep, feelings were definitely involved.

'I don't know' I waved it away

'As long as you are being safe kiddo, that's all that matters. I don't have to have the mom talk with you, do I?' She raised her eyebrow

'Nope. All fine' I stretched out suppressing a yawn. 'I'm going to go to bed. Night mom'

'Night, Cammie. Sleep well'

Author's note: Not as exciting as the last chapter, but progress between Cammie and her mom. A well needed chat. See you all next time xxx

Guest: I've got an idea about how Joe finds out about Zammie...it'll be very interesting xxx

GallagherGirlEmbassyRowFan: Same. I cry when I laugh literally every time so yeah, I get you when you say you cry easily. I'm so happy that Zammie had a kiss as well! You'll find out next chapter about exactly who will be back in Cammie's life. xxx

Smiles180: Aw, thank you so much! Yes, there will definitely be something in their way. Next chapter! xxx

Avyen7654: Thank you! I'm so happy that they kissed too! xxx

OriginalGallaghergirl: Genuinely when I read those first few words of your review, I got really emotional. A simple written thank you doesn't seem to justify how much that actually meant to me. Thank you. I completely agree about coursework and everything. I agree with you, I love that Zach and Cammie can still be themselves the way Ally Carter wrote them without all the spy and espionage stuff. Thank you very much, the kiss was a long time coming and I rewatched Love, Simon and was like 'I need them to kiss on a Ferris Wheel'. TOTALLY SWOON WORTHY! I totally get what you mean, it's hard to come up with ideas that are completely original when there's a lot of similarities. I love the friendship between the characters too. In the books, I always thought that Macey & Cam had a really good potential friendship, but Bex always seemed to be Cammie's go to person. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Bex, but I wish that the level of friendship between all of the characters was spread just a little more evenly. Thank you once again and I hope to see you next time xxx