Ch. 11

He said to ask Cameron. AHH but what DO I ask Cameron. I mean if he knew who it was, don't you think that he would have told me? If only I had dreamt another dream last night telling me that my dad knew who it was. Maybe Cameron lost some memory of what had happened. I guess I will ask him when I go visit him today. I mean the doctors can't keep me out forever.

It was the morning after Tessa had that dream. She was sitting in the corner of the room where her bed and the wall met. There was a little gap of space where only about one person could fit. This space wasn't visible to the rest of the room. Tessa had spent most of the time that she had been there in that space either reading or writing or thinking. About the only thing that she has been thinking about lately was her desperate need to see her father. Like he was on the first of November, not like he was yesterday. She wanted him to wake her up for school on Monday, like he did every other Monday.

The door of the room opened. She heard footsteps and then saw someone's shoes. They were worn and half of them were covered with jeans that were ripped at the edges. Tessa slipped under the bed. There was enough room under there for her so she could get closer to whoever it was and still not have them see her. She saw another pair of feet. This person had the dirtiest shoes of anyone that she had ever seen. The two people were leaning over her bed. They were looking for something.

"I got it Ace, it is right here. Paige was right." Tessa heard one of them say. Who ever it was, was a guy. He was standing right next to her. She knew who it was, it was Eyeball just because he sounded so much like Chris. Him and Ace were looking for something of hers that Paige knew about. She wanted to see what it was but also didn't want to get killed so she stayed put.

"C'mon man, let's go, she may be coming."

"Tessa isn't here. You didn't see her right?"

"Right."

The two people left. Tessa got up and ran to the window. She saw Ace and Eyeball get into a car with Paige and Olivia in the back and Eyeball was holding a book.

Tessa went over to her cloths and all the rest of her stuff, Frantically, she looked through all her stuff. She wanted to find out what they had taken. She only had two books that she knew about her book for English class and…

Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. Her diary. He took her diary.

She breathed with a sigh of relief. No one could read her diary. She had the code and the code was so hard that Cameron stayed up for days on end trying to figure it out. She had made it so difficult to figure it out; no one in the Cobras will have the brainpower to figure it out.

Tessa made the code so that it changed daily. if you knew the code for November 12th then you could read the diary entries for the 12th of every month and that was it. That was what confused people.

That was good, but she still didn't know who killed her dad and didn't know why Ace and Eyeball needed her diary. She decided to go to her house and see if she had left anything there.

"Mrs. Carver?"

"Yes Tessa, everything all right?"

"Yea, everything is fine, I am going to go down to my house and see if I left anything there ok?"

"Sure." She looked up and smiled at Tessa. Tessa walked out the door. She walked down to her old block. She looked at the house that was once hers. She pulled her key out of her pocket and turned it. Everything looked so distant. So not real she almost wanted to turn around and go back to Paige's house. Tessa knew that she couldn't do that though.  Tessa walked into the living room.

She looked through the draws. There was a newspaper that her dad was reading the day he died. A pen and paper. I guess that was in case someone called. There was nothing that was Tessa's in there. She walked into her old room. It was so empty. The only things left were her bed and her dressers. She looked in the dresser. There was a big book.

It was all dusty. She wiped away the dust and opened the book. It was a picture book of when her and Cameron were littler. Cameron was in a suit and Tessa was in a lacy pink dress. She smiled. Her mom was in the picture. That was one of the only pictures that she had ever seen of her. She wondered why her dad didn't tell her about the album.

Tessa didn't go into Cameron's room; she figured that would be invading his space.

She was hesitant about going into her father's room, but managed to get in. It smelled like him. His cologne, she remembered distinctly. She felt like he was still there. She wanted him to be there. She looked around for things that she may want to take to remember him. She took his cologne. Tessa took his favorite shirt and a picture of him when he was about Cameron's age.

She started to put all the things that she had taken into the bag that she brought when the phone rang.

She went into the living room and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey I am glad that I got you before you left."

"Hey Teddy," She smiled, "How did you know that I was here and that I was about to leave?"

"Go up to your room and look out the window."

Tessa was so happy to hear from a friend that she hung up and ran to her room.

She opened the window.

"Hey! You hung up on me!" Teddy yelled from Chris's room.

"Sorry, come on over!"

"Be right there."

To her surprise, he came by himself. He grabbed her and gave her a hug like he hadn't seen her in 2 years. Then he kissed her more passionately than he ever had before.

"Why don't we get away from this place and go to the movies. I'll pay and I think that you need something to take your mind off everything."

"Sure, but I am paying for my ticket."

"Only if I get popcorn."

"Deal."

As they were walking there, Tessa was slowly forgetting everything that had been going on and starting to enjoy herself.

"Teddy, what movie are we seeing?"

"To Kill a Mocking Bird."

"But, mocking birds are cool."

"Yea, that is why we have to see it, to see who is trying to kill a mocking bird. Besides, Tobii and Gordie said it was good." Teddy smiled and playfully punched Tessa.

"Hey!" She jumped on his back.

"Your crazy girl."

"Your to be talking… I have heard about your train and truck dodging days."

"Yea, from who?"

"Chris."

"Yea, he didn't let me do the train dodge, son-of-a-whore pulled me off before I could even get to jump."

"Uh huh." She was still on his back. He carried her until they got to the movies. 

They both ordered their tickets and Teddy bought the popcorn. He also got one drink for them to share. They found two seats in the back. The movie was so good. Tessa and Teddy both agreed that Atticus should have won the trial and Boo should have had more speaking lines.

They had a large argument after the movie over whether they should have killed the rabid dog. Teddy, of course thought that they should have because it was really "cool" and Tessa thought it was mean.

"You know Tess, you are going to become an animal rights vegetarian lady when you grow up."

"So what if I do."

"I am not coming to your house for dinner." Tessa laughed… she was thinking that he would anyway and she would make him a nice veggie burger. 

Teddy pulled her into his arms. "I miss this Tessa. She has been hiding for the past couple of days."

"Well, what would you do, go on being happy like nothing happened… I mean on top of that, what would you do if you knew that you would have to wake up across the room from Ace everyday?"

"Fine, fine, your right… but if I was you, I would put a hate letter from Ace in her underwear draw."

"That's real nice, is this what you think about all day?"

"When I am not thinking about you yea."

"AWW. Teddy, I love you."  She kissed him and then they started walking home.

They walked by the train station. Tessa remembered her dream. "Teddy, come sit down with me."

"Is everything ok?" Teddy said looking at the worried expression on her face.

"I have to tell you about this dream I had."

"Tell."

"Well, oh yea, they didn't tell Cameron about my dad like you asked them to. So I started to yell at them… a lot and now he knows, but I got kicked out after I yelled. And I came here. And I fell asleep and had a dream, my mom and dad were in it. My dad told me to ask Cameron about who killed him. He said that he knew. Oh and my mom was really scary, I told her that I remembered her hair and how long it was and and and…" She started to cry, remembering how scary her father looked in the dream.

"He told you to ask Cameron?"

"Yea."

"Then it's about time to go ask him… this is a matter of life and death… sort of."

Teddy stood up and helped Tessa up. They walked to the hospital, which was only about a block away and went to see Cameron.

The doctors weren't too keen on letting them into the room after yesterday but reluctantly let them in.  

"Cameron, who hit you? We know you saw. Who killed dad?"

"Yea Tess, I do know."

Dear Diary,

            He knows, the doctor told us to leave for a minute while he gets his heart monitor check up something or other. Teddy and I are waiting in the waiting room for another minute… I am not really writing in my diary since that ass goblin Ace has it, but I guess it pays to have taken that pen and paper that was in the draw in the living room. I am writing on that. We saw To Kill a Mockingbird and it was an amazing movie… it was about misconception, of Boo, Jem and Scout didn't really understand him until the end and of the movie. There was also Tom Robinson, who only Atticus believed. There was also this really dick headed guy who was drunk and evil his name was Bob Ewell. They had to shoot a rabid dog too which I thought was terrible. Teddy was making fun of me but that's ok… I am going to go now… I think the doctors are finished with Cameron.

                                                                                                ~Tessa333