Chapter 20

Complicated Matters

Rachel's POV

I watch as Joe walks out of Cammie's room.

Right now she is sleeping peacefully but I don't know how much longer it will last before she starts screaming. She has been asleep for around an hour, this is usually when it starts.

I wait until Joe's footsteps fade away before creeping into her room.

She looks so small and fragile lying there.

It's like I am watching her fade away before my eyes.

She has none of the spark that she used to have. When ever she is awake, her eyes look dead and empty, like the flame behind them has been extinguished. That's the only way to describe it. She is just wasting away.

I wish I could help her but she won't let anyone in. She keeps her thoughts locked inside and doesn't share a single thought or feeling.

It's almost as if she is a ghost.

I sit next to her on the bed and gently pull her hand into mine; my thumb traces patterns on the back of her hand.

She breathes a soft sigh before rolling over.

She seems to gravitate towards me and suddenly she has her head against my stomach.

I lean back so I am lying against the pillows. Cammie immediately snuggles into me. A sigh of contentment leaves her lips.

She hasn't done this since she was a little girl. Not since before Chris went missing. After that she seemed to grow up overnight. She changed so much during that time that it was like she was a whole new girl.

I wrap my arms around her and pull her closer, the way I used to, before it all changed.

I remember the nights when Chris would leave on missions and Cammie would always seem to know what was going on. She would follow me around like a shadow, almost as if she thought that if she lost sight of me I would go missing. She was never happy unless we were both within her sights.

Every night I would light a fire and we would cuddle together in front of it, just waiting for news about when he would come home. We wouldn't talk; just draw comfort from being together.

I wish we could go back to that.

Back to when she believed that a hug from me would cure everything.

Cammie starts to struggle to get out of my grip.

I hold her closer, trying to calm her.

"It's alright Cammie, I'm here." I whisper into her hair, "I won't anyone hurt you. You're ok, I promise."

She starts to scream.

"DON'T HURT HIM!" She hollers loudly, "DON'T HURT HIM PLEASE!"

"Cammie, no one is being hurt." I lie, knowing full well that Bex and Macey are out there somewhere. "Every one is fine."

"DON'T LIE!" She screams, "I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING TO HIM! LET HIM GO!"

"CAMMIE!" I shout, trying to get her to wake up.

"Someone, please help me," She begs, sobbing quietly. "Please, I don't know how to help him, he's hurt."

"Cammie, its ok. Its ok." I soothed. "Just wake up and it will all be fine."

She struggles even more, trying to push me away from her.

"DADDY!" She cries.

Her eyes fly open and she sits up hurriedly, a look of panic on her face.

She looks around before bursting into tears.

I try to hug her but she shies away from me.

Just as I was about to say something, Joe comes flying into the room followed by a couple of other people. His gun was drawn and he scanned the room quickly before lowering it slightly.

"What's wrong?" he asks anxiously, "We heard screaming."

"Cammie had a bad dream." I reassure, "everything's fine."

"NO IT'S NOT!" Cammie screams. "NOTHING ABOUT THIS IS FINE! GET OUT OF MY ROOM! ALL OF YOU!"

"Cammie…" I start but I am cut off when she throws a pillow at me.

"JUST GET OUT!" She yells, tears streaming down her face.

I put my hands up in surrender before backing out of the room, taking everyone else with me.

Everyone has a look of sympathy on their faces.

"It will get better." Patricia (?) Buckingham says, squeezing my shoulder before walking away.

I just nod dejectedly.

I slump down in the chairs placed around the waiting room.

I notice Joe sit down beside me.

He doesn't need to say anything. The look on his face says it all.

"She knows doesn't she?" I whisper.

"I think so." He murmurs.

"How did everything get so messed up?" I ask.

"If only we knew." Joe replied.

We sit in silence for a few moments, neither of us knowing what to say.

Suddenly the ringing of my phone breaks the silence.

I quickly answer it.

"Ms. Morgan," a voice I recognise as the director says. "We have found the location of a Miss Rebecca Baxter and a Miss Macey McHenry."

"That's great." I answer, my hopes getting higher. "Can we send in a team immediately?"

"This is where it gets complicated..." he answers.

I listen silently as he fills me in on the information he has.

"Oh, I see." I whisper. "So what do we do?"

"That I am afraid is up to you," he answers. "We don't have enough people available to go in. If we do anything it would have to be your girls who do it."

"Ok thank you, Sir." I respond, my mind already going a hundred miles an hour. "I will get back to you shortly."

"Ok, be safe." He answers.

"Yes Sir, you too. Bye" I hang up the phone before turning to Joe.

From the look on his face I can tell he heard everything.

"What should we do?"