Chapter 15
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โCOLTON!โ Cameo screamed. He was up on his knees, fists flying in the small compartment. His hair was in his eyes, making it harder to see, scaring him more. He opened his eyes and fell to all fours, gasping for breath.
โCameo! Cameo, itโs okay. You were dreaming. Itโs okay.โ Infinity had her back pressed against the wall, hands in front of her, keeping Cameo away. He hung his head, still panting. The dream had been so real! Instead of his parents being killed, it had been his brother, the bodies he had buried the day before had come out of the ground, laughing at his helplessness. He had been so sure his brother was dead, despiteโฆ Well, it hadnโt been real.
โJust a dream. Only a dream,โ he whimpered. Infinity inched closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. โOnly a dream.โ Tears slipped down his cheeks, not for the knowledge that his brother would soon be dead, but the knowledge that soon, another person he cared greatly about would be, and it would be his fault.ย
A knock sounded on the door to the storage bay and it slowly opened, revealing a few of the younger teens and Tanner, all looking concerned. Cameoโs bloodshot eyes glanced up at the group, then looked down, too ashamed to show his face. Infinity recoiled as if she had been burned. His skin had felt cold and clammy, his eyes had been crazed and he looked at her with the utmost tenderness and yet hatred seemed the emotion most expressed. She looked out at the crowd.
โWeโre good. He just wasโฆ telling meโฆ aboutโฆ somethingโฆ not important.โ She smiled dumbly. โYou can go back to bed now.โ And with that she slammed the door of the compartment shut again. She turned to the boy next to her. He had curled up in a fetal position and was rocking back and forth, muttering in Russian.ย
โะัะพััะพ ัะพะฝ. ะขะพะปัะบะพ ัะพะฝ. ะฅะฒะฐัะธั ะผะตััะฐัั. ะญัะพ ะฝะต ัะฒะพั ะฒะธะฝะฐ, ะะฐะผะตะพ. ะขั ะฟัะพััะพ ะผะตััะฐะป.โ Tears flowed like a river down his cheeks, dripping like a waterfall off his chin. โะะตัะตััะฐะฝั, ะะฐะผะตะพ. ะขั ะฒะตัะฝะตัั ะะพะปัะพะฝะฐ. ะญัะพ ะฒัะต, ััะพ ะธะผะตะตั ะทะฝะฐัะตะฝะธะต. ะะฝะฐ ะฟัะพััะพ ะฟะฐััะธะฒ.โ
โCameo, whatโs wrong? What are you saying?โ
He didn't seem to hear her, just shook his head and whispered something in English about Colton, how he would be okay, how someone else wouldnโt. He cursed and she flinched.ย
His head flew up. โI hate you! I hate you, Jaiden! You ruined everything!โ He punched his pillow in fury. He dug his fingers into a small crack in between two panels making up the walls and pulled, the paneling bending and tearing away from the bolts holding it in place. He crumpled the malleable metal in his hands, throwing it across the small space. It clanged against the opposite wall, and Infinity cried out for him to stop, but he ignored her pleas. He grabbed at her hands, her face, her back, trying to hold on to the last shred of reality in his fractured world. The dream threatened to overtake his consciousness again, severed limbs clouding his mind, the face of his brother scared and scarred and very, very dead.ย
Infinity cupped Cameoโs chin in her hands, and instantly his vision cleared. He whimpered as her loving hands wiped away his tears. She pulled him up to his knees so she could look at him straight on.ย
โYou will be okay,โ she said, leaning her head towards his. For the first time, he really opened his eyes, and he saw Infinity, not as the girl he took from her bed, but as the young woman he loved, beautiful to him as the sun setting over the Grand Canyon.
She hugged him, but with the knowledge he held in his heart, he couldnโt bring himself to hug her back. She held him at arm's length, and his gaze raked over her, seeing her light skin, her blue eyes, her outfit, soiled with blood and dirt. He hated himself for it, but he knew that if she knew what he was about to do, what he had already done, she would despise him, so he took one of the last chances he had left.ย
He tangled his fingers with her hair and kissed her, not knowing if she would kiss him back. When she did, he fell backwards onto the mattress, and she traced designs across his stomach. He hated it, but he could barely fight the restraint his morals held in him. He wanted all of her, and he could tell she wanted the same from him. Taking care with her dislocated shoulder, he pulled her down onto the bed next to him. Infinity smiled against his mouth, and her eyes seemed clearer than the sky as he stared into them. He laughed, and she laughed with him. She pressed her hands against his chest, and he tickled the hair at the base of her neck. She tucked her head onto his shoulder, his hair draped across her face. He pulled his lips down her cheek, wondering if this would be the last time she would look at him with such love, such yearning. He closed his eyes, and suddenly the room seemed smaller and she seemed closer.ย
โOh, help,โ he whispered into her lips. โI think Iโm in love.โย
Suddenly the bus jolted forward, sending Cameo and Infinity sprawling on top of eachother against the back wall. Infinity let out a yelp as she landed on her injured shoulder. Cameoโs eyes darted around the small berth.
โMy backpack!โ He yelled and banged on the ceiling. The bus rolled to a stop. They heard boots clanging overhead and soon the door swung open. Tannerโs face appeared in the aperture. Cameo leaped out and saw the Aston Martin a hundred yards behind him. He shot down the asphalt, reaching the car in seconds. He yanked on the handle, forgetting it was locked. Frantic, he wrenched the door off its hinges. There was his backpack, his longtime companion, the thing he put all of his darkest secrets into, sitting undisturbed on the front seat. Grabbing it, he sighed, relieved. He walked slowly back to the bus, slinging the bag onto his shoulder. When he reached the van, he stopped in front of Tanner and glared at him.ย
โWhy are you so dependent on that backpack?โ Tanner asked.
โIt was the last thing Colton gave me. Why did we leave without the car?โ
โIt wasnโt my decision. I said we should wait for you to drive it, but I was outvoted.โ He shrugged. โI had forgotten about your bag, though. Sorry.โย
โOk,โ Cameo said through gritted teeth. โInfinity and I will stay below. Who was driving?โ
โOne of my friends, Thomas.โ
โWell, he needs to be a little smoother on the gas at first. I think he dislocated Infinityโs shoulder again.โ He scowled and turned and climbed back into the small compartment, shutting the door with a crash. โStupid teenagers,โ he seethed. โThey think they know everything.โ
Infinity fought not to laugh. โSuch jerks,โ she agreed. The corners of Cameoโs mouth ticked up.ย
โThey canโt seem to think of anything other than themselves, can they?โ His lips quivered, amusement hiding in his eyes. They both burst out laughing. Tears cascaded down their cheeks as they laughed, both of them wondering if they would ever stop.
Inevitably,they did stop and Cameo placed his arm over Infinityโs shoulders and pulled her close. She was still giggling and Cameo planted a kiss on her lips. She shoved him down and lay on top of him. โYou know what? I think I am, too,โ she said.ย
โWhat? What are you, too?โ He sounded confused.ย
โIn love."
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