A/N: This chapter makes me sad! So in this chapter you finally find out a little more about what happened to Cammie, and there's a bit of a twist too. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for the reviews.
Previously:
"Of course not" I tried my best to laugh mockingly. "Why would he? He's my boyfriend, I love him"
"Right" Zach's hands let go of my shoulders and dropped dead to his sides. His expression was unreadable. He reached to his ear and turned back on his comms.
"See you later" He said without looking at me as he stormed down the alleyway.
"Zach!" I yelled after him but he didn't even slow.
It was a while before I realised that my phone that lay smashed on the floor was vibrating against my foot… continually… meaning someone was calling me. I felt sick to my stomach as I picked it up and held it against my ear.
"Hi Dillon…"
()()()()
"Everything okay Cammie?" Mr Solomon asked as I emerged out of the alleyway. I shot Zach a look.
"Fine" I lied.
"Why did you turn your comms unit off?" Mr Solomon asked.
I felt up to my ear with shaking hands. "Oh… sorry, I must have done it by accident"
That was obviously the wrong answer as Mr Solomon frowned at me sceptically.
"Well, seeming as we're out now, I want to try a slightly more advanced practise, if you'd all like to follow me into the woods we can…"
"Why the woods?" I asked him frantically.
"Because I don't think the townsfolk would appreciate what we're about to do" Smirked Mr Solomon as he gave me a pat on the shoulder. I followed behind him glumly.
"Right, spies primarily rely on eyesight" Mr Solomon told us. "So, I want to see if you can track each other down and pin someone else to the ground… while blindfolded"
The others all exchanged looks of glee while I looked down at the earthy ground, my mind focused solely on Dillon.
"Cammie, as this is a little advanced for you I'd like you to be the one that Zach will aim to pin down"
"Whatever" I sighed as if this were beneath me. Mr Solomon rolled his eyes at my attitude.
He put a blindfold over my eyes and led me a little further into the woods. I shivered.
"Okay Zach off you go"
I could hear Zach's footsteps crunching on the sticks beneath our feet, I could imagine Zach hands feeling along the trees. I let out a small sigh and shifted my weight onto my other foot. Suddenly I felt someone collide straight into me, causing my feet to give way as I tumbled onto the floor. The girls giggled and I could hear the smugness in Zach's voice as he said "Oops".
()()()()
"Just let me go Dillon, I told you, it's over!" I stormed angrily through the forest towards the Golden Lion Academy.
"No!" Dillon grabbed my arm and yanked me backwards.
"Ouch!" I cried out indignantly.
"You can't break up with me!" Dillon yelled. "You can't"
"I can and I have" I said trying to pull my arm out of his grasp, but his grip was too tight; it was starting to turn my skin a pale white.
"You're hurting me" I whimpered, trying again to pull away.
"Good" Dillon hissed. "You deserve it"
"I haven't done anything… I…"
"You're frigid" Dillon sniggered.
"I'm just not ready yet" I said and winced as Dillon's hands found my waist.
"Well I am" Dillon smirked as pushed me against a nearby tree, causing me to fall flat onto the soil.
"Get off!" I yelled, but Dillon hand found my mouth and his hand clasped tightly over my lips.
"Shhh" He mocked. "It will be over before you can blink, if you just cooperate"
"Please Dillon!" I begged with a muffled voice under his hand, my eyes were obscured by my tears
Dillon pushed me into the floor even more, coating me with dirt, his hands were all over me…
()()()()
"I… I'm sorry… did I hurt you?"
I blinked twice as Zach's face obscured my vision and it took a while for me to realise where I was.
"No…" I whispered through my tears.
I noticed Zach look to Mr Solomon for help with a bewildered look in his eyes.
"Maybe we should take her to the nurse?" Mr Solomon asked as if he too were unsure what was happening.
"I told you I'm fine!" I yelled as I got up from the floor, brushing the dirt off of my uniform. I stalked back the way we'd come.
I heard footsteps following me for a while but eventually they subsided and I heard Mr Solomon say "Leave her, she just needs some time alone"
I thought back to the girls who'd all been watching me get pinned down by Zach, the way their laughter had turned to stunned silence as I'd begun to thrash about in Zach's arms as he looked at me in bewilderment. To them it had just been a CoveOps exercise; to me it had been the second worst moment of my life. I'd promised myself I would never relive that night… but now not only had I relived it but the whole of Gallagher would think I was a freak.
I went into one of the local café's that Roseville was full of; the woman on the counter eyed my filthy uniform with distain but served me my hot chocolate anyway. I sat staring at it for hours, watching as it turned cold and the sky outside turned from a bright blue to an eerie grey; reflecting my mood perfectly.
"Would you like another one of those?" A boy asked me.
I instinctively shook my head, hoping he'd get the message and leave but instead he sat down. Something about him seemed familiar but I just couldn't put my finger on it.
"Would you like to talk about it?" The boy asked. "I'm a good listener"
I smiled but shook my head.
The boy peered closer at my uniform and frowned. "Oh… The Gallagher academy, isn't that some kind of snooty boarding school?"
I opened my mouth to correct him and tell him that a snooty boarding school was the last thing it was but something held me back. Didn't I want to expose the Gallagher Academy and get it shut down? Didn't I want the girls to get a good reality check? Didn't I want to revenge my mother?
"Yes, it is a snooty boarding school" I sighed.
The boy blinked at me in shock for a while; and then smiled. "I've heard some strange things about that school…" the boy pushed on.
"Oh have you?" I asked sarcastically. "Well I heard the moon may be made of cheese but I don't believe it"
The boy laughed out loud.
Just as he was about to ask me something else I heard my phone beep.
"Who's the lucky guy?" He joked as I fished it out of my pocket. But I didn't smile at his joke.
I found out your school is in Roseville, I'll meet you at Roseville train station tomorrow at 10. Remember; I don't take no for an answer.
I shuddered.
"Problem?" the boy asked with genuine concern.
I shook my head but stared at the text thoughtfully.
"What did you say your name was again?" I asked the boy.
The question seemed to throw him off track a little but then he grinned. "Tyler" He said with confidence. "You?" he asked.
"Cammie" I told him. And then looked back at my phone. Was I really about to confide in a stranger? But something about the boy put me at ease, the way he knew nothing about my life unlike the people at Gallagher, he had a kind of calming air about him.
"Tyler… If you had… a girl that wouldn't leave you alone… what would you do?"
The boy frowned in confusion at my question.
"Don't worry… It was a stupid question" I said blushing and shoving my phone back in my pocket. I got up to leave but his hand pulled me back down.
"Well Cammie, you seem like a strong, pretty and intelligent girl, I would have thought no one would have been able to boss you around"
"But what if they had… a hold over you?" I shuddered.
Tyler frowned. "Well, I don't see why you don't just dump your phone in a nearby bin and carry on with your life, is there no one you can talk to about this… boy?"
"I never said I asked the question in relation to me!" I said suddenly alert. "It was… for a friend"
"Right" the boy nodded as if he knew I was lying. "Well, like I said, is there no one you can tell?"
I thought back to all the people I'd known at The Golden Lion Academy, all the girls who I'd tried to make friends with but had all pushed me out, all the boys I'd kissed just as something to do, all the teachers who'd hated me from day one. Then I thought back to The Gallagher Academy where I had my mom who wanted so badly to get to know me, Mr Solomon who'd been so kind to me despite me being a brat. Bex, Macey and Liz who had tried to be nice but I hadn't given them a chance, and Zach who I'd also pushed away despite him wanting to help. That was when I realised maybe it was me who needed the reality check… but then I thought about the way my mom had left me, the way Bex and Macey had poured water over my head, the way Mr Solomon had asked me to apologise to his class for being late, Miss Cameron who'd tried to embarrass me in front of the whole class, and instantly my inner wall was back up.
"No" I said. "There's no one I can tell"
Tyler's face dropped as if he'd hoped I was about to tell him the whole story.
"Look, I have to go" I said suddenly. "I've been here too long, they'll be worried about me…" They probably forgot I'd gone missing.
I made a quick exit from the café and surprisingly Tyler didn't even bother to stop me. I hardly realised how dark it was as I traipsed through the town feeling sorry for myself, until someone grabbed me by the wrist. I let out a scream and spun around, but it was only Mr Solomon.
"It's just me" He reassured.
"Why did you have to sneak up on me like that?!" I asked in annoyance.
"I wanted to check it was you!" Mr Solomon exclaimed, didn't want to just jump on a random girl in the streets, I thought you wouldn't want to come back and I'd have to drag you back.
I allowed myself a small smile, but then I looked around the empty street. "But I'm like the only one out here" I frowned.
"You're… hard to spot" Mr Solomon told me and I heard a note of pride in his voice.
"I'm pretty sure for a girl that's a bad thing" I muttered.
"But for a spy Cammie… that is a unique gift, something that you should pride yourself on"
I thought about his words throughout the entire walk back to school, was it true? Could I have a gift as a spy that hardly anyone else had. I thought about the CoveOps exercise we'd done in town where Zach hadn't been able to see me and I instantly knew the answer. Yes. But whether I chose to embrace it or not was up to me… We finally reached the Gallagher Academy gates, and I felt realisation hit me like a bus.
"Where is Zach tonight?" I asked suddenly stopping mid-walk.
Mr Solomon paused beside me.
"Oh, he was out looking for you too" Mr Solomon said puzzled.
That was when I remembered the lesson we'd had on disguises with Mr Solomon. Yes; I'd sulked all through it but I could remember vital bits, like how a wig and some different coloured contacts could change you completely. I thought back to the way I'd remembered Tyler from somewhere. Then I knew; I'd been speaking to Zach in that café.
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