It had been nearly two years since Sean returned home; two years since he had even thought about Toronto.
That is, until now. For the first time since the shooting, Sean was ready to go back for his senior year of high school at Degrassi. He was in the midst of packing all his things for the move, when he stumbled upon a stack of papers he kept on his desk. He sorted through them, tossing the unimportant ones, until a small slip of paper fell at his feet. He placed the last few pages back onto the desk and bent to retrieve the fallen item. It was a photo. He couldn't help but smile. It was Emma. The photo they had taken almost six years ago on their first date.
He remembered the blond fondly - although, some would say even more than fondly. He often thought back to their last conversation on the beach in Wasaga. Of all the people he left behind at Degrassi, he was most grateful for the closure him and Emma got before he left.
The memories washed away following a knock at his bedroom door. Hurriedly, he tucked the photo to the bottom of his suitcase underneath his clothes.
"Come in!"
The door opened slowly, revealing Serenity. "He bro, how's the packing coming along?"
He shrugged, "I think I'm almost done."
She nodded mindlessly, entering the room slowly - nervously, Sean observed. He raised a brow at her sister, but said nothing.
"Do you mind if I sit in here with you for awhile?" She asked, running her hand up and down her left arm.
"Of course," Sean scoffed, pulling out the desk chair for her to take a seat, "you know you never have to ask." He laughed.
The corner of her mouth curled into a small smile. Which, many people who knew the Cameron siblings, would call the Cameron smirk.
He turned to his closet and pulled out a couple pairs of folded jeans, still unconvinced that his sister was doing okay. As he packed them away, he looked up at her and asked, "everything okay, Ren?"
She continued to rub her left arm as she stared at the ground upon his question. She took a deep breath before answering, "yeah... I mean, kind of..." Her voice trailed off.
"No, not really."
Sean stopped what he was doing and furrowed his brows at her, concerned. She refused to make eye contact. He knelt down in front of her, causing her eyes to dart from the floor to his face that was now at her level.
"You know you can tell me anything," he placed a reassuring hand on her right shoulder. She nodded as a tear fell from her face.
"Would you please tell me?" He pleaded. Her eyes drew a path from his to the doorway behind Sean. A sudden realization washed over him then. His eyes softened, as he gently grabbed her arm and turned it so he could have a look. A bruise was starting to form where Serenity had been gently rubbing. The bruise was in the shape of what looked like a tight grip.
Sean's face began to burn red, and and he inhaled sharply thorough his nose. The anger on his face was obvious.
"He did this, didn't he?" The soft, concerned look in his eyes hardened with anger. As he let go of her injured arm, she hissed in pain.
"I'm gonna-" he paced back and forth for a moment, his lips pursed in anger. "He's gotta-"
As Sean was about to storm out of the room, Serenity grabbed his wrist. "No!"
"I'm not going to let him get away with hurting you again, Ren!" He shouted back at her.
Serenity's eyes burned with tears as she stared silently at her brother. The look in her eyes begged him not to go. He took a deep breath in, and upon exhaling, slumped down on the edge of his bed.
"It was my fault," Serenity was finally able to muster up the words to explain her situation, "I tried to take away their bottle. I wanted a fun, alcohol-free last night with our parents, but dad didn't like that very much, and, well..."
"It's never your fault, Ren. I want you to know that," Sean's eyes had returned to sincerity as he placed his hand over hers, "I'm just so glad you're coming to Toronto with me this time."
Up until recently, their parents had been sober since Sean came back to Wasaga. Things were going well at the Cameron's home, until the revelation of their departure. The news wasn't received very well by their mother and father.
"Me too," a small smile crept onto her face.
"You know what?" Sean stood up, "Are you finished packing?"
She nodded, anxious to hear what her brother had in mind.
"What do you say we watch a movie, hm?"
"I'd like that."
"Okay," Sean clapped his hands together, "I've got a few things left to pack, then I'm good to go. Why don't you make yourself comfortable while I finish up?"
She shrugged, practically diving onto her brother's bed. He couldn't help but laugh. She watched as Sean collected a few photos of them as children, as well as a few of his colognes and hair products. Since coming home to Wasaga, he had put a lot more effort into his appearance. He lost the hoodies and dawned muscle shirts and button downs now. Most nights he could be found at the gym, and his hair was longer and curlier than it had ever been. Serenity wasn't sure anyone at Degrassi would even recognize her older brother.
"Alright," he moved his duffle bag onto the desk chair, "I'll be right back."
Looking around at the empty room caused memories to rush back to her. The times where the three siblings would play board games together on the floor, which almost always ended in a fist fight between her brothers. The holes in the walls from Tracker and Sean when they'd die in their video games; a source of anger that Serenity never understood. And even the frayed carpet in the corner of the room; Charlie's favourite spot to scratch at. She couldn't help but tear up as the emotions suddenly bubbled to the surface.
Sean returned, then, with a bowl of popcorn and a couple cans of pop. "Pick whichever one you'd like."
He placed the bowl next to Serenity, who sat up on the bed and crossed her legs. She grabbed a root beer, then leaned back against the wall.
"Do you have a movie suggestion?"
Sean rummaged through his collection of DVDs.
"You pick."
He rolled his eyes and shook his head, "fine."
He chose quickly and slipped the movie in the player. Serenity wasn't surprised when it was a racing movie. The two sat in silence for the first 20 minutes of the movie; the only sound that could be heard was the crunching of popcorn when one of them would grab a handful. It reminded Serenity of the countless times in the past that they would hide away in one of their bedrooms and have a sibling movie night to escape their parents' drunken rage.
"Are you looking forward to going back?" Serenity broke the silence, catching Sean off guard. He was concentrated on the movie for a few seconds after she asked the question, then turned his attention to her.
"Yeah, I guess so." He looked back at the screen.
"Ellie must be excited for you to come back, huh?"
He pressed pause on the remote then. He hadn't been completely truthful with his sister about what happened at Degrassi. She knew about Ellie and how he left her high and dry when he decided to stay here, but he opted not to divulge into the Emma drama.
"I mean, yeah, maybe," he shrugged, "I'm sure she's off to college, though, so she has more important things on her plate right now."
Sean had no intention of even reaching out to Ellie. For him, it was always Emma.
"I see." Her voice trailed off.
"Plus, I'll be busy working on opening my own shop," he attempted to divert her suspicion.
"Ri-i-ight," she held back a laugh, "Cameron's Custom Cars."
"Shut up," he rolled his eyes, gently slugging her in the shoulder, "everyone else thinks its a clever name."
"Mm-hm..."
"Can we please just get back to watching the movie?"
He pressed play on the remote and exhaled silently.
Since telling Serenity about his relationship with Ellie, she figured a part of why he wanted to go back was for her. But she couldn't be anymore wrong. Although he cared for Ellie, he couldn't get over Emma. Serenity knew that Emma was the blond that came to Wasaga with him, and that they dated for a while, but she didn't know the extent of the feelings he had for her. She didn't know Emma was the reason he stepped in front of the gun.
The siblings sat next to each other silently for much of the movie, with Sean periodically glancing over at his sister. Eventually, her eyes began to grow heavy and her blinks slowed. Her eyes shut, and her body fell limp until her head rested upon his shoulder. Sean eventually followed suit.