Chapter Twenty-Six:

After

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I found myself curled up in a ball in the corner of Cameron's hospital room. I had my knees pulled to my chest, arms wrapped around them, and chin resting on top of that. My eyes were just blue swirls of emptiness as I stared ahead. I didn't even have tears to cry anymore I they were dried up. It's been three hours since the incident and all I could do was think about how I wanted to literally kill Danielle. I wanted to make her feel this.... this emptiness.

My other half of my brain was thinking one thing and one thing only: I needed to see Matt. I knew this was going to be a tough road. I had to worry about Cameron waking up and having speaking problems on top of worrying about my little brother dying.

It won't happen, I told myself. I won't let Matt go. But those thoughts weren't as heavy right now. My mother would be the reason for that. She told me that the doctor said he'd be okay if he worked well with the treatments. She said it would hopefully be a quick recovery. She also said that I wouldn't be able to see him until next Friday, when they get back. They wanted to start treatments right away so it would be a week before they could come back. Then they'd have to go back soon once again. Just like last time. Except, last time, we had the money for it. This time, I don't think we do. The last treatments and checkups drained our bank account. How would we do it this time? I had already decided to go downtown and get a job at the Dairy Queen or something like that. Anything I could do, really.

Mom told me to concentrate on Cameron. And now I could say I really could because my mom didn't sound worried. Whether she was just being strong for me or she really was confident in the situation, I believed he'd be all right.

So, I sat here, for the last three hours as doctors came in and out, Cameron's friends came in and out. His parents weren't picking up their phones for me so there was no way to tell them. I called as soon as I possibly could, but there was no answer.

Another three hours passed, leaving me at 1:30 in the morning. My eyes refused to shut and I refused to eat or drink anything until I heard his voice again. Or even just his green eyes would make me happy.

I now had a blanket draped over me, courtesy of one of the lovely nurses. My legs were stiff when I stood up to stretch them. I had been sitting in a ball for so long that my legs were wobbly from the pressure.

I covered back up and sat down on the chair, making myself comfortable for the next long hours I'd have to endure.

I thought about what to tell Cameron's parents. The doctor said he'd be fine. He wasn't hit hard enough to cause death, but it was darn near close enough. They had to put a tube down his throat to help him breath since he wouldn't be able to that on his own. His voice would be gone for a couple of days due to the sourness and they put IV's in his arm to keep him hydrated and fed.

I didn't want them to rush home if they were on a business trip all the way in Winchester, so I wanted to let the doctor talk to them quickly and explain everything. I would then let them know that I won't be leaving his side.

So, to pass time, I stared at him. No matter how creepy it sounded, I stared at him. His jersey was no longer on him. They had ripped it off as soon as they got him in the ambulance and stuck heart monitor things (I guessed that's what they were called) on his bare chest. His color slowly came back after the put the tubes in his nose and down his throat, widening his air passage. They left his shorts on him and draped a hospital gown over his bare upper body.

I couldn't believe it was actually happening then. I couldn't stop rocking back and forth with worry once we got to the hospital. No one hardly noticed that I followed them hastily into the emergency room and watched everything they did. It was enough to give me nightmares. Event nightmares nowadays didn't involve anything that serious from when Matt was in his treatments. I never had to see any of that stuff.

I watched as the doctor put a defibrillator to Cameron's chest and yelled "Clear". He pressed down on the square objects and Cameron's body bounced from the electrical shock. I learned later from a nurse that escorted me from the room that his heart wasn't getting oxygen and stopped beating. That set me over the edge. I didn't want anybody touching me. I didn't want them to talk to me or anything.

That's why I wouldn't sleep. I was afraid the nightmares would come and I wouldn't be able to get out of them.

But I eventually did sleep. I wanted to be awake when he finally awoke, alive and alert.

Around four o'clock in the morning, I heard movement coming from the bed beside me. The small uncomfortable wooden chair I was in creaked when I moved my head. I had fallen asleep in it. The light above Cameron's bed was shining down on his face illuminating every feature.

Suddenly his eyes fluttered open like he had been trying to open them for hours and they just wouldn't budge. His neck was in a brace so he could bend it. Due to the tubes in his throat, that probably wouldn't feel to good when he craned his neck. So that he could see I was here, I grabbed his hand and squeezed it as well as standing up and showing him my face.

I tried really hard to hide the tears falling again so he wouldn't be worried but it wasn't working as well as I wanted it to.

"Cameron," was all I could mutter when I saw his face. He had a worried expression on his face the moment he saw me crying. I wanted to go her a nurse or the doctor, but I couldn't let go of his hand.

He reached up with his hand that wasn't hooked up to any machine and wiped a tear off my cheek. I held his hand there for a moment with mine and lifted it to my mouth. I was sobbing when I kissed his palm, pressing it to my chest so he could hear my heart beating.

I smiled through my tears and set his hand back down on his chest. He pulled at the material of the gown and I immediately got the point. He was hot. I carefully pulled it off his chest, leaving him bare with only his basketball shorts on. I smiled at him warmly. My eyes felt swelled up.

"I'll be right back, okay?" I told him. My voice sounded so... odd. It was stale from not being used for past several hours. I planted a quick kiss on Cameron's forehead and forced myself to find a nurse.

I spotted the same one that covered me up with a blanket last night and all but sprinted to her. She smiled at me when she saw me, happy to see I wasn't dead.

"Cameron's awake." I sputtered out. I couldn't find it in me to be too happy yet. I still had other things to worry about. And I found it hard to be happy when I had my baby brother in a nearby state, dying from a sickness.

She nodded and came with me back to the room.

I watched her work on Cameron. He was staring at the ceiling while she took his blood pressure, checked his IV's and tubes.

"Now, honey," the nurse started with her thick country accent, "your throat is probably going to be sore once we take this tube out, okay? So keep the talking at a minimum." She told him. I studied her. She had long curled dark red hair and brown eyes. Her freckles were small and spread over her nose and under her eyes. I looked at her name tag for the first time in several hours and saw her name was Jessie.

"Thank you, Jessie." I told her before she walked out to get the doctor. I assumed they were about to take his tube out of his throat. Was he even strong enough for that yet?

"Anytime sweetheart," she smiled brightly at Cameron and I.

*

It was seven in the morning and they had just taken out Cameron's tube a half hour ago. I was surprised he hadn't said a word yet, but I was sure his throat was killing him. Since I wasn't extremely tired right now, I decided to start a conversation. I grabbed a pen and note pad off the desk right outside his door from a nurse and handed it to him. The neck brace was no longer on him so he looked half normal again. The only problem was that he was a giant purple and blue bruise on his throat, close to his Adam's apple.

He raised an eyebrow at me when he noticed the things in my hand.

"Talk to me. I need to talk to you." I said as if I was dying without conversation.

He slowly took the paper and pen out of my hands and propped his knees up. He rested the notepad on his knees and began to write something while I sat back down.

A moment later he handed me the paper by nudging the top of my head. I was fighting my eye lids from sleep.

'Go to sleep. Your eyes are bloodshot.'

I rolled my eyes at his message.

"I don't want to sleep." I pouted and rested my chin on my arms on the side of his bed. He made a disapproving look and took the notepad from my hands. He jotted something down quickly and handed it to me. It was kind of hard to read since he had chicken scratch for handwriting.

'Did you tell Callie or my mom and dad?'

I shook my head before answering. "I can't get a hold of your parents and I don't know Callie's phone number."

I remembered Callie once from the basketball game a few months ago. She was really sweet, and I remembered her daughter, Ella. She was the cutest little girl ever. How could I forget them?

'Ok'

He nodded his head glumly. A few moments of silence went by as we both had our eyes on the TV watching Spongebob. At least, I thought we both were. I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked up at Cameron. He had scooted over to the opposite side of the bed and was patting the empty space next to him. A small smile formed on my lips tiredly, not reaching my eyes quite. Instead of arguing, I climbed up onto the bed and wrapped my arms around his torso. He had his arm behind my head. Cameron lifted my fingers with his and laced them together, playing around with them.

This was all I wanted to do, hug him tight and not let go.

Oh yeah. I remembered. I never told Cameron the news about Matt. He probably forgot he had an appointment today.

Just the thought of it made me shudder. I never Cameron felt it but I ignored his stares as a tear slipped down my cheek. Reality was suddenly punching me in the gut and I couldn't think about how I could handle this. There was no way I was going to Tennessee. My parents would never allow me on a trip like that all by myself. What if something horrible happens? What if the treatments don't work this time?

"What's wrong, Sophia?" Cameron's raspy voice asked. My eyes widened and I looked up at him with alarm.

"You shouldn't be talking." I scolded him. My voice was thick was grogginess. He rolled his eyes and reached forward to wipe a tear off my cheek with his thumb. And I couldn't hold it in any longer. It was pathetic really. Cameron had enough on his plate and I was a burden to him with my problems.

"Tell me, please." He said pleadingly. His face contorted into something of horror and worry as he watched my sob. I nodded my head and squeezed my eyes shut in attempt to stop the tears.

It was a few minutes before I could tell him.

"Matt's c-cancer relapsed and m-my parents a-are in T-Tennessee with him for a w-week." I said through sobs. His eyes widened at my reply. I felt his arms tighten a round me and his lips press against the top of my hair. He softly whispered, "it'll be okay, I promise" next to my head. I could tell he was upset but was refusing to show it. Without anymore words spoken -which I was grateful for- I slowly fell asleep happily wrapped up in Cameron's limbs.

*

"Oh, I'm just happy you're okay." I heard a familiar female voice say calmly. There was no trace of sadness, just pure relief and joy. Was that Mrs. Bridges?

"You're a tough kid, I'm proud of you, son. I heard your team won the game, too." Mr. Bridges added. My eyes were glued together from sleep and I automatically wondered how they got here and what time it was.

"She looks like she was crying," a third voice piped up. It sounded like Callie... I made sure not to flinch or move. This was the hardest part of eavesdropping.

"She was. In her sleep, too. It's her brother..." Cameron sighed heavily and I felt him push a strand of hair behind my ear. I held my breath at the mention of Matt and slowly let it out. I hope nobody saw that...

"Her brother's cancer came back." He said slowly and carefully, quietly because his throat was probably in fire. I could tell by the way he sounded. I had a feeling my cover was blown.

"We'll make sure to add her family to the prayer chain at Church." His mother said.

"I'm starving. Let's go get a bite to eat." Mr. Bridges announced. I heard someone chuckle and some shuffling around before the bed sunk in and I made the assumption that they were hugging him. If they were coming back, why were they giving him hugs now?

As soon as the door clicked, I slowly opened one eye to peek around. Then I felt someone jab me in the side and I jumped, squealing in response. I barely got a smile on my face even though he was trying to tickle me. I made a serious face, suppressing a grin and stood up from the bed. He had the blankets kicked down to the bottom of the bed and had a different pair of basketball shorts on. I assumed he had to take his others off since the uniforms were usually handed down year after year for so many years. The jersey was definitely ruined...

"Don't mess around too much, you'll pull your IV out." I told him quietly. I saw him grin out of the corner of my eye.

"Sophia Belle, were you eavesdropping?" Cameron tried to say in a humorous voice but epically failed due to his hoarse voice. I cracked a smile at that one.

"It doesn't matter anyways. And you should stop talking. You're gonna lose your voice and I won't like that very much. It's going to be very lonely at my house for the next few days and I need someone to talk to on the phone." I spilled out. I didn't mean for that much to spill.

Cameron shook his head. "Yes mother. And what's this about the phone? I'm staying at your house." I felt my eyes widen and jaw drop. My arms dropped to my sides from their spot around my torso.

"You can't. My dad would flip-"

"Your dad called and asked me to. Well, he asked my parents because I can't exactly talk." He groaned in frustration. I wonder what he was going to do when he saw Danielle or Levi again.

"Well..." I honestly didn't know what to say to this. I leaped up onto the bed and grabbed Cameron's face between my hands and smashed my lips to his.

I was happy for the moment while my mind was elsewhere...

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