A/N

Re-posting this chapter... The edited one. :)

Aliquam to my beta, Will Always Be Anonymous!

(Latin for thank you!)

(Yes, my beta changed her name.)

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Chapter 7

It Starts With a Question

Monday Morning I stuffed that file I had found in my backpack. Whatever my dad was hiding I was determined to find out, along with what my friends were hiding from me. I'd start with the file.

"Good morning, sweetheart," my dad said as I came down the stair with Ray hot on my heels. He was sipping his coffee at the bar, a muffin in front of him.

"Hey, dad," I said, heading toward the fridge.

"So, Cammie," he asked, "How do you feel about heading out to the lake house this next weekend?"

I didn't face him. "Um… sure…" I answered twisting the lid off the orange juice.

"You don't sound so sure," Dad commented. "What's up?"

"Well… it's just there's so many memories… with mom." I said, turning and leaning against the counter.

My dad looked down at his coffee, frowning. "That's why we're going. To remember." He didn't meet my gaze.

"Dad, it's hard enough being here at home without mom," I sighed. "You really want to go to her favorite place in the world? She loved it there, and if we go, all we will see is her." I grabbed my water bottle, threw Ray's food in his bowl and ran out the door as my dad yells "CAMMIE!" behind me.

Getting to school, I made a beeline for Bex's locker, which thankfully she was not at. Quickly, I slid the file into her locker before running over to my locker on the other side.

"We are running out of time Zach," she said as she came down the hallway with Grant and Zach next to her.

"You know we are doing all we can," Grant sighed.

"We have to tell her sooner or later," Bex snapped at him. "She's getting suspicious as it is." They were moving out of my earshot so I moved so could hear them better.

I would not let this info past me. There was so much to put together and none of it was adding up. It was incredibly frustrating.

I snuck down out of the locker bay and into an alcove near Bex's locker. During this time, I missed a bit of their conversation.

"We never know when the next attack will be, but Solomon is sure it will be Cammie next," Zach said. This was the entire reason I wanted to listen to their conversations. My name kept cropping up every time they talked without me.

When Bex finally opened her locker the folder fell to the floor. Zach picked it up, and I cursed in my head. "Bex what's this?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" Bex asked. Zach held up the folder. "Where in the bloody world did that come from? Let me see that." She snatched the folder from his hand and jerked it open.

"Well?" Zach asked after a few silent moments. "What is it?"

"Guys…" she started, but trailed off. Grant and Zach looked over her shoulder.

Grant snapped the folder closed. "This is not the place to look at this." He quickly stuffed the folder in his backpack.

Zach agreed. "When are you going to tell Liz, Macey and Jonas about the emergency meeting Solomon wants to have?" he asked.

"I don't know," Bex said stiffly. "Later, I guess."

As soon as Grant and Zach left, looking a bit careful as they walked away, I slipped out of my hiding alcove. Bex did the same thing as she closed her locker door, her hand gripping her shoulder bag.

"Hey, Bex," I greeted her, falling into step beside her and matching her pace. "Oh… Hey, Cammie," she said, smiling.

"So I was wondering if you wanted to come over this afternoon and study for that history test we have Wednesday," I said. "We could go get smoothies, too. We haven't done that in forever."

Usually when Bex came over to study, we never actually studied. "This afternoon?" Bex asked, looking back to where Zach and Grant were talking to their other friends.

"Yeah," I said. "Why? Don't you want to?"

Bex turned her head back to me. "Can I take a rain-check?"

I blinked, but inside, I wasn't surprised. "Again? You asked for a rain-check yesterday too."

She sighed. "Okay, fine." She ran her hand through her hair. "I'll just cancel what I had to do this afternoon." She smiled at me, and I smiled back. Bex saw Liz and Macey coming towards us, and we caught up with them quickly.

"Bex… oh… hey, Cammie," Liz said hesitantly.

I raised my eyebrows. She sent me a warm smile. "Cammie, did you put any make-up on this morning?" Macey asked. "You look like you got no sleep this weekend."

I had spent my weekend in my room, thinking. "Ummmm…"

And with that, Macey whisked me off to the bathroom.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:

"What did you get for number 23?" I asked Bex as we worked on our history study guides.

Bex scanned her page. "Late thirteenth century. Brought Art, Literature and Philosophy to Europe." she said, taking a sip of her smoothie.

"Great," I said. "That's what I got."

Bex smirked down at her paper. From her bag her phone buzzed. She lent to pick it up and frowned at the number she saw. "What is it?" I asked. "Something about mortgage rates and texting stop back if you don't want any more of those messages." Out of the corner of my eye I saw her type more than just stop.

"So… How's your dad?" Bex asked about five minutes later. I looked up from my work.

"Oh," I breathed. "He's fine. He wants us to go to the lake house this weekend." Bex nodded, but I wasn't finished. "I told him there were too many memories there, and then I ran out."

"You probably shouldn't go there," Bex said, nodding. "At least, not alone with your dad."

"Why?"

"I just… I can't say anything," she said.

"Why?" I demanded again.

"Cammie," she sighed.

"Bex, seriously," I said, rolling my eyes. "What's up with you lately?"

"Cammie," Bex said softly, "Can I go with you guys to the lake house?"

I blinked, frowning. "Um… it's fine with me. Why?"

"I can't say anything."

"I'm not stupid Bex!" I finally exploded. I couldn't hold it in anymore. "Why is it that whenever you are with Zach, Grant, and Liz, you have these incredibly secret conversations, but then as soon as I come around, you all just stop talking and change the subject? I can clearly tell you all are up to something."

Bex bit her lip, but my dad yelled up to us before she could say anything.

"Cameron!" he yelled from the kitchen.

"What?" I answered impatiently.

"Have you seen a manila folder lying around here?" he asked me. "It has your mother's case work in it!"

He had to be talking about the folder I'd picked up from his office . . . but it hadn't looked like a case folder. "Uh, no, I don't think so," I replied calmly.

"It was you," Bex whispered. Her big, brown eyes met mine.

I shot her a confused look. "What?"

"It was you who put that folder in my locker," she gasped, "wasn't it?"

I smirked. "Yep. Maybe you'll give me answers."

She looked away. "I have to go." After snatching up her stuff, she was gone.

A/N

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