CHAPTER 6

Zach POV

That night I watched Cammie sleep again. It's not like I'm a stalker or some dude who takes pleasure in such stuff, but it just amazes me of the vulnerability I see in her when she's not guarded, when her walls are down. But as I watched, she tensed. I flashed back to the plane and realised she was doing it again. I watched as she trashed and her face contorted, as if she was watching something so heart-breaking right in front of her eyes. She let out a small moan and her mouth opened to scream, but no sound came out. I couldn't help it. I pulled her into my arms and smoothed her hair, rocked her gently, doing anything I could to try to shake her from her world of terror. After a while, it seemed to work, she went back into a peaceful sleep. But I couldn't sleep. I had to know what had happened, what made sleeping such a terrorizing event for my Gallagher Girl. Tomorrow I will find answers.

…

"Um, Bex?" I said, a little nervously to the back of Bex's head who was reading a newspaper, "can we… talk?" Bex turned around and stared at me hard. She knew something was up and she knew it was about Cammie.

"Sure," she said as I slid into the seat across from her. No one else was up yet, Cammie was still sleeping peacefully. Or so I hoped.

"So, Bex, does Cammie ever have trouble, ah, sleeping?" I asked, uncertainty creeping into my voice. Bex looked sad, she stared at the table as she bit her lip. Uh oh.

"She's had… a rough past," Bex said at last, looking up into my eyes. I thought to how Cammie was so fearless, so brave. Then I realised. She was so strong when she was awake that she didn't let her past get to her, but when she was asleep she couldn't help it.

"What, um, happened?" I knew I probably shouldn't ask too much, it was Cammie's past after all; not mine.

"Well, her dad's had been MIA for years, but then she found him. Or the remains of him," Bex whispered, looking lost. I swallowed. Imagine finding the body of your father who had been missing for years of your life?

"And her relationships…" Bex started, not meeting my eye. Suddenly I felt something rage inside me. Did they do anything to Cammie?

"She had… 1 and a half boyfriends, I guess," Bex said, her voice small, "the first was Josh, but that was like, when we were 15. It was mutual, their still friends now. But…" Bex looked up into my eyes and I felt like I was stepping into foreign territory.

"Jonathan Ross," was all she said. And that was all she needed to say. I gasped.

"The Jonathan Ross?" I asked, mind flying. She nodded. I thought back to the stories about Jonathan Ross. He had been an amazing spy, he and his field partner were some of the most amazing of the time. But then during one mission, something went wrong, and Jonathan Ross took a bullet meant for his partner. His partner knocked out the guys and basically finished the mission but when she got to Jonathan, he was almost dead. He died in the operative's arms. And now I know who the operative was. Cammie.

"So were they, you know…" I asked, not sure of the answer.

"They were best friends. They were partners in the field and she trusted him more than anyone. They were considering going out but they thought it might ruin their friendship. Then…" she trailed off, not wanting to say anymore. I thought of the horror of having your best friend die in your arms, dead for a bullet meant for you. I couldn't blame Cammie for nightmares, in fact I admired how she could be so strong.

"How did she… how was she after…" I asked wondering how she dealt with it in the beginning, how she dealt with it now. It had been 3 years ago.

"She was broken," someone said from the door. We turned around and found Macey standing in the doorway, watching us. I knew she had probably heard most of the conversation.

"Look Zach," Macey started, not moving from the door, "I think you're an ok guy. Just…" she trailed of, searching for the right words, "don't do something that will hurt yourself in front of her, okay? She's had to deal with a lot and I don't want to see her like that again," she finished, looking sad. Bex got up and walked to the door. But I had one last question.

"Where…" I didn't want to finish the question. Bex stopped and looked back. She stared at me and whispered,

"Venice."