Crossing Over

Chapter 19

Cameron hit the volume control on the Jeep's stereo almost maxing out the little green lines on the display as he urged the Jeep forward. All around him the night air poured in through the open windows tearing through the interior of the car. The vibrations from the stereo's bass flowed through him in pulses and waves.

His only focus as he sped angrily down the quiet roads just outside of town was putting as much distance between himself and Andra as possible. He was furious with himself for getting caught up in this mess. He had watched Andra getting in deeper and deeper with this investigation. He had told himself a million times that he would stop her if it looked like it was getting out of hand and still here they were. He had been way too close to the problem and Andra was far too consumed by it to help herself.

As he came to a stop at the next intersection he checked his surroundings. With a start, he realized that he was sitting at the intersection of Pinewood Drive. He had unconsciously driven himself right back to that house. Cameron slammed a hand into the steering wheel and cursed under his breath. He felt like he would never be free of this place. It hung over them like a dark cloud.

Sitting there a moment longer he turned onto Pinewood Drive and toward the house. "If you can't beat 'em join 'em," he muttered quietly to himself as he crept slowly down the dead-end road. He tried to tell himself that morbid curiosity was leading him to do this, but he knew better. The house was calling to him almost pulling him forward. He felt like there was no other choice but to follow.

As he made the turn into the drive he put the Jeep in park. He had no interest in being any closer. From this vantage point, he could see the hulking shape of the large house silhouetted against the tree line. White shone through in a few places where the moon cut through the overhead foliage. A light breeze stirred through the thinner branches and their movement cast eerie creeping shadows across the house's face.

As Cameron sat quietly watching his phone chimed softly from the seat beside him. He hesitated for a moment and toyed with the idea of ignoring it but curiosity won out. Plucking the phone from the seat he quickly swiped the drop-down screen and began flipping through notifications. When he came to the last he felt his stomach drop.

It was a tiny red play button and the small print underneath alerted him that the only Youtube Channel he followed had just gone live. He froze his thumb hanging inches above the phone's screen. There was a moment when he considered swiping right and just sending the notification into the abyss where all the other unwanted messages ended up but at the last second he reconsidered. Muttering under his breath he clicked the little box and waited for his requested page to load.

The familiar little white circle spun for what seemed like an eternity before Andra's face appeared on the screen. Cameron could see just enough of the room behind her to know that she was at her desk. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. They were made even more noticeable by her skin which appeared paperwhite and thin under the light of the desk lamp. Her long hair had been pulled back in a ponytail that fell over one shoulder. As she started to speak she nervously ran her fingers through the long strands. Cameron realized that for the first time since he met her Andra looked fragile.

"Hey, guys. I'm back. Sorry I know I must look terrible but my evening has been far from fabulous." Just seeing her like this tugged at Cameron's heart but he was still so angry with her. He had no idea how to cope with the complex mix of emotions he was feeling inside.

She paused for a brief moment before starting again. "I've been struggling with a very difficult decision for a while now. As a consequence of that decision, I've hurt someone that I care about very much. I'll be honest I don't know why I'm on here. There's nothing to talk through. The choice is made. I almost feel like it was made for me."