Three Worlds Apart

Chapter X, Kamber

I sit in the caff alone, waiting for Noah to arrive. I can see Dawson, Kriss and Alex out of the corner of my eye. They insisted on being here, actually I feel a little more comfortable with them close by.

I bite my lip when Noah walks in, he looks around and spots me sitting alone. I try to stay relaxed as he walks over to me, I hate blackmailers.

"Hey Kamber," He says smiling and sits down. "Hi." I say, that smirk makes me want to puke. 

"Do you have your answer?" He asks. I roll my eyes, "Fine." I say, "I'll be your girlfriend but on one condition." He frowns.

"What?" He asks, "If you try to touch me I will break your face." I can tell that he knows I mean it. Gone are the days that when something happens I run away. 

Noah looks me in the eyes, "Fine." He says. I smile, "Good, now we are going to go eat with my friends." I stand up, grab his hand and drag him over to Dawson and the others.

They smile, "Hey Kamber, Noah." Kriss says. Alex nods at Noah and smiles at me, Dawson looks at our hands and grins.

"Kamber," He says in a sing song voice, "Is there something you want to tell us?" Man. These guys are good actors.

"Hey guys, Noah just asked me out." I say. Kriss smiles, "Congratulations." She says. Why the hell is she congratulating us?

Lunch goes by quickly, thank god, and soon we are walking to class.

I can tell that Noah is smiling his damn smug smile, he thinks that he has won. That bastard is wrong, I'm going to dump his smarmy ass the second I find out what the hell I am.

After school I walk over to the library, I'm sure Noah wouldn't think of going there.

Over the last few years while I've been alone I've found that libraries are a safe place. There are few places that I feel truly safe, libraries have always been one of them.

I look around between the shelves, this is one of the best libraries I have ever been in.

Dawson sits between two shelves towards the back of the library, he's holding a book but he's not reading. 

I turn to go but Dawson speaks.

"I used to come here with Amelia." I look at him, not sure if he's talking to me. 

"You really loved her." I say quietly. 

"I did," He whispers, "I truly did." He looks at me, "I still do, I always will." 

I take a step closer to Dawson, "I don't know where Amelia is but I'm sure she still loves as much as she did the last time you saw her."

Dawson looks at me like he's searching for something, "She never slept well," He whispers, "We used to come here and I would read to her and she would fall asleep in my arms, I made her feel safe and she was the same for me." Tears are slowly welling up in his eyes.

He doesn't seem to see me anymore, he's looking at something off in the distance remembering her. 

"Amelia had this way of making me smile or laugh, then she would look at me like I was crazy because she didn't understand what was making me laugh." Dawson smiles.

I sit down beside him, "Tell me more about her," I say, I can tell that some how it's helping to talk about her.

"Her hair was as red as a sunrise, her eyes were clear they had no colour. Some people found it scary, I found it beautiful. Her eyes would change colour at times though, when she used her gifts. Her skin was pale like yours and she always had this sadness about her. You couldn't tell unless you really knew her, she seemed so strong but really she was so lonely. I was happy to be her shoulder to cry on, she needed me as much as I needed her." The tears finally start dripping down Dawson's face.

"She could play the violin like an angel, her voice was more beautiful than any I had ever heard. If there was one thing she couldn't do it was cook, shew tried but she really was terrible. She understood my fascination with Sherlock and my love of bow ties and the fact that crowds of people made me nervous." He hasn't noticed the tears yet.

"I understood her love for her family, her terror of spiders and other bugs, the fact that she still blamed herself for accidentally setting fire to her school when she was ten and her guilt over the fact that she was the only one to have survived that fire. She was perfect and nowhere near perfect at the same time. She was perfect for me." Dawson smiles, his tears are still flowing. He seems to relaxed though, it's like finally talking about Amelia is lifting an impossibly heavy weight from his shoulders and his heart.

"I left her for a while after I found out what she was, I saw her as a monster. Those are the days I regret the most, we could have been together, hanging out with Kriss and Alex or whatever we wanted. Now I know that I was the monster, I chose fear over her. Amelia though, she was amazing. She left me alone, she told me that she was protecting me by not telling me. I didn't believe her but she didn't keep trying to convince me. Instead she did something even more powerful, she stayed away from me. I learned that I never wanted a life that she wasn't in." I reach out and take his hand.

"That day we went to save Ashlynn and her mother she did everything in her power to protect me, even with the lives of her mother and sister at risk it was me she wanted to protect. I didn't realize what was going to happen when Kriss flew us out of that damn tunnel, I thought she would be right behind us. She knew that she wasn't going to survive, she knew but as long as Alex, Kriss and I made it out she didn't mind. She gave me everything, including her life. There will never be anyone like her, never again." He sniffs.

"She knows you love her," I whisper, "There is no way she couldn't know."

Finally noticing his tears, Dawson wipes them away.

"You know this is the first time I've cried since she died." He stares at his wet hand, "The hurt was too big for tears." 

"She hated crying." He says it so quietly I almost don't hear it.

Dawson looks at me his eyes full of tears again, "I still can't believe she's gone," It's weird seeing him cry but there he is, with tears flowing down his face. 

"She's not really gone." I say. Dawson laughs, "That is so cheesy." He says. I smile, "I know, that's why I said it." We laugh. 

"Kamber, you don't live with your parents do you." It's not a question. I sigh and shake my head, "No, they died when I was 14. They were trying to protect me." I look at my hands and realize I'm still holding Dawson's hand.

"I would say sorry but I know how shitty that is to hear." I laugh at Dawson's words, "I know right." 

We stare at each other for a moment, Dawson wipes away his tears but they flow faster. I feel tears sliding down my own my face.

I find it ironic as we sit there together crying, I never thought anyone could understand the pain I feel but Dawson does. He truly does, he knows that the simplest things can bring the pain crashing down on you, he knows that sometimes there is no warning the pain just hits you and you can't breathe. 

So we sit there crying, comforted by the presence of the other.

I've never cried this hard before.

Never has it made me feel better.

This time it does.