*Edited Version*
This chapter is like the deleted scenes of a movie. The flashbacks, or scenes, have no P.O.V. However it is still very relevant to the story and should be read like any other chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 9: Where was I for the Things in Between?
Cammie's P.O.V.
My hair blew violently in the wind. The night was feeling colder than usual.
It was feeling lonelier than usual.
I sighed deeply and I began to think about everything. The whole journey had scarred me in ways I didn't quite understand and it still wasn't over. I would come out stronger than I was before.
The moments that happened in between were what made everything worth it, but they were also what made me want to give up. There were these little things that confused me and left me wondering. For example, I still didn't know what happened between Liz and Grant. They were acting kind of weird throughout most of the trip.
*Flashback*
Liz sat at the desk in the hotel room she shared with Cammie and Macey. She had her head shoved in a book as she wrote notes on a note pad.
She wasn't studying though. She was thinking about last night. That kiss left her wondering, but she tried hard to push it aside and focus on studying. It wasn't even a real kiss, but it lasted a bit too long. It also wasn't smart of her to do it. She knew it was to distract him, but it felt like something else.
All of a sudden a knock came from the door and snapped her out of her thoughts. Liz pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and shouted, "come in."
She heard the door open and immediately click close. Liz didn't look up to see who it was, instead she kept her eyes glued to the page in front of her.
"Liz," She heard a voice say.
"Yeah," She stretched the word out, still trying to focus on her work.
"We need to talk," The voice said.
Liz froze suddenly and she recognized the owner of the voice. She lifted her head to find Grant, his head down and his hands in his pocket. A bad feeling in the pit of her stomach grew.
"If this is about the kiss, I can explain," Liz blurted out.
"Okay," Grant nodded. "Explain."
"I can't." Liz sighed. "I'm as confused as you."
"So you don't know why you did it?" he asked.
"Exactly. I didn't just wake up and say 'hey, I should kiss Grant today.'" She replied.
Grant scoffed and shook his head. "You don't actually expect me to believe that you had no reason to do it?"
Liz sighed and her eyes dropped to the floor. "Okay. Cammie and Macey thought you and Zach were hiding something so they decided to sneak into your room. I was lookout and had to tell them if I saw either one of you. It was going great until I saw you coming down the hall. When I tried to stall you, you were being difficult and immediately suspected something was going on. I couldn't think of anything, and you were asking all these questions, so I said 'what the hell' and I threw caution into the wind and kissed you. I didn't do it intentionally and I'm sorry I did it at all, but it's not like you have any right to confront me. You were the one that kissed me back after I gave you a small peck on the lips. You turned it into a make out session. So I should technically be asking the questions and you explaining."
With each word Liz's voice grew and her eyes returned to Grant. When she was done, she took a long breath and waited for him to respond.
Grant looked at her without saying a thing for a while. A small smile had formed on his face and he raised his arms up in mock defense.
"I was never here," He declared as he backed away to the door.
He turned his back to her and he left the room.
Liz sighed and she put her attention back on her book. She uncapped her pen and began to write when she heard the door open one more time. She looked up and saw that Grant had stuck his head in.
"By the way, you're right," he told her. "I did kiss back."
Once the words left his lips, he closed the door leaving Liz alone once more.
She sighed and tilted her head. "Boys… an unanswered question."
*End Flashback*
I lay down, looking at the ceiling above me. Time seemed to slip by as night changed to day. My mind was filling with unanswered questions and I desperately wanted to figure everything out. All those conversations I had missed left me questioning everything. I remember when Macey and Zach 'talked.' Now that was an odd conversation…
*Flashback*
Cammie sat on the coach bored out of her mind as she looked at the ceiling. She sighed and shifted before suddenly hearing noise coming from down the hall. She stood up and followed the hushed voices.
"Just spill it," A female voice said. Cammie immediately recognized it as Macey.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," A teasing voice replied. It was obviously Zach's.
"Don't make me kill you," she threatened.
"I'm so scared," he mocked her, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"You know I can," she told him.
"And you know I can also," he replied.
"Just say it, okay? Admit it Zach," Macey begged.
Zach stayed quiet.
"You know Cammie will eventually find out," Macey informed him.
'Find out what?' Cammie thought.
"I know, but it's not going to be me that tells her and it's certainly not going to be you," Zach told her.
She scoffed. "I can see through your stupid little games,"
"If you could see through them than you wouldn't be here asking questions,"
Macey didn't reply this time and Cammie could tell he was smirking without even having to look.
"Exactly," he sighed.
At that moment, Cammie heard footsteps approaching the door and she backed up slowly.
"Cammie knows. She just hasn't realized it yet," Zach added.
'Know what?' Cammie thought. 'I should really stop listening in on conversations because all I hear is cryptic stuff that I could've lived happily without knowing.'
*End Flashback*
That conversation was one of the many unanswered questions. I'm always in the middle of everything. I'm always on the inside. For once, I want to stay on the outside. I'm sick of being the actress in front of the curtain. I just want to be behind it and stay away from the action.
*Flashback*
Liz lay against the cold stone wall as she typed away on her laptop.
"Target spotted," Liz heard Cammie say through the headset.
"Wait for backup," Liz replied.
"Zach, sector a," Cammie said through the headset.
"Got it. Description?" Zach asked.
"Dark suit, briefcase," She told him.
"On my way," He responded.
Liz continued to type on her laptop, listening to the voices in her headset.
All of a sudden static rang in her ears. Liz pulled off her headset to rid herself of the earsplitting sound.
"What the heck?" She looked at the screen on the laptop and saw that it was fuzzy.
"Macey, answer? Grant? Cammie? Zach?"
Liz got nothing.
She sighed and set her laptop down before poking her head through the opening that exposed the area that surrounded the Eiffel Tower. Liz cautiously stepped out and walked further down. She could hear everything around her, yet she couldn't find the one voice she was actually searching for.
Liz shook her head and she stepped back, deciding to return to her post. That's when she walked into a tall body.
"Sorry," She immediately apologized.
She turned and saw a man in a black shirt and sweats. Her eyes travelled down as she examined him and she spotted him gripping an item. It looked like a gun.
Liz slowly backed up, fear filling her body, and she ran back to her hiding spot.
'Why don't I stick to staying behind the screen?' Liz thought to herself. She closed her laptop and made a run for the hotel.
*End Flashback*
I know it'll never happen though. I hate all the life experiences I've had. I can't take any more adventure and drama. And yet the mystery continues to consume me and everyone I love.
The worst thing is the secrets. I know everyone has them, but sometimes they prove to be deadly. Also, with secrets comes the lying. It's kind of hard to know when a spy is lying, but sometimes they might as well put a sign on them that says 'I'm not telling the truth' and Zach, well, he needed that sign sometimes.
*Flashback*
Cammie couldn't sleep, so she decided to roam the halls until she felt ready to pass out. As she made her way down a hall she spotted two figures moving.
"Grant? Zach?" She asked.
She turned on the light switch and both Grant and Zach looked at her.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"We're going to get some fresh air," Zach replied.
Cammie raised an eyebrow at the answer and nodded. "Uh huh. Well, enjoy that…air."
They nodded and made their way to the door.
If they thought she was that stupid there were wrong. Luckily, she was too tired to follow them.
"That was close," Grant said as soon as they were outside.
"Too close. Let's go," Zach told him.
Both guys walked through the desert for miles until they reached their destination.
They entered the tavern and silence seemed to occupy the room.
Zach stepped forward, his eyes landing on someone across the crowd.
"Caleb," he said, his voice tight and hollow.
A boy a few years older than Zach appeared. He had light messy brown hair, a lean yet muscular build, and pale jade green eyes. The boy had a smile and dimples that could hypnotize anyone and his eyes, if you didn't know better, could do it too. He had lightly tanned skin and the kind of face that would intimidate a hit man. In the real world he would be known as cute or hot to any girl, but in the world Zach lived in, he was known for something else.
"Well, if it isn't my old buddy," Caleb smirked and he playfully punched Zach on the shoulder.
"Cute," Zach replied dryly.
The smirk didn't leave Caleb's voice and he asked, "What do you want?"
"You know what we want," Zach answered.
Caleb laughed and he leaned against the wooden countertop.
"Just tell me," Zach demanded.
"You know I don't spill secrets that easily," Caleb told him. "Of course, most people in the Goode family don't."
Zach remained silent and he watched as Caleb reached for another drink..
"You chose the wrong path. Mom would be proud of you if you joined our side, but of course the loyal son chose right," He sighed.
"Don't make me get it out of you," Zach threatened.
"I'm so scared," Caleb rolled his eyes and set down his drink. "Did you forget who helped train you?"
Zach quickly grabbed Caleb's collar and lifted him up, tired of the games he was playing. Caleb raised his hands in mock surrender and the smirk on his face widened.
"Do you really want to do that?" Caleb warned.
Zach sighed and he released him before stepping back. As soon as Zach backed away, Caleb picked up a tray filled with drinks that sat beside him and sent it in Zach's direction.
Zach stumbled to the right just barely avoiding it and causing it to hit someone else. The man that had been showered in alcohol suddenly stood up and threw his own drink.
Zach ducked and it ended up hitting someone else. Before he knew it, Zach had started a bar fight.
He made his way to Grant, dodging everything that went in his direction.
"Let's get out of here," Grant advised.
Zach nodded and he followed Grant out the door.
"You'll see me again, brother," Zach heard Caleb say before he exited the tavern.
When they got home, Cammie and Macey sat on the couch waiting for them.
"Why do you smell like beer, pizza, and middle aged men?" Macey asked.
Zach and Grant exchanged quick looks before both saying, "don't ask."
*End Flashback*
Zach. He always knew the answers that I was searching for, but for once this time he didn't. Suddenly, thoughts of the previous night flashed in my head. I didn't want to know how he survived.
He came knocking on the door with a burned jacket and relief washed over me. Macey, Grant, and I had waited for hours for him to appear, but of course the happiness was short lived.
He had brought bad news with him.