Rosaline Wood (A Violet Eden Follow-on Reboot)

Chapter Five: Hiding Secrets

It was Friday. Against Griffin's requests I went to school. He'd given me the night off training which was gratefully accepted but missing four days of school would catch Cam's attention again. That and I had Music.

Cam caught me at the lockers, genuine concern written plain across her face. I must have looked pretty trashy because she immediately scooped me up into a hug that was twice as long as her usual school morning greeting.

    "You okay, Rose?" my friend quizzed me, "Coz you look terrible." I shrugged.

    "I'm okay. Just tired," I answered trying for cheerful, "How 'bout you?" She frowned at me and took a deep breath.

    "I'm fine with you having some privacy in your life," she started clearly annoyed, "But if you're being dragged into something you don't want to do, speak now or forever hold your silence."

    "Cam," I smiled, "It's nothing like that."

    "So you do admit it's something?" she pounced. I rolled my eyes. I got that she was annoyed at me but did she have to be so possessive?

    "Yeah," I explained aiming to pacify my friend, "Just some bad nights. Everything is cool now." She scoffed but didn't say anything more on the subject.

After school I found a post-it note in my locker.

'When you feel like telling me the whole truth, please do.

You're a terrible liar and I can see something is wrong with you.

I'm not dumb. I'm your friend and I'm supposed to notice these things.

Please don't shut me out.

~Cam'

I sighed and shut my locker. I had to start coming up with some better excuses.

. . .

Without training I had nothing really to do so I finished the last of my homework and hosted a mini bake-a-thon with myself. Griffin came home at 10:47. I already had dinner ready so we ate and went to bed.

I was woken up by the sound of my phone ringing. It was Cam.

    "Hi Cam," I greeted sleepily, "What's up?" If she wanted to talk about aliens I was not in the mood.

    "Rose," squeaked the voice at the end of the line, "I need you over here. Like, now. Please?" The tension in her voice brought me to full alert.

    "Cam?" I asked, worried, "Is everything alright?" There was a long pause before an answer came through.

    "Rose," she whispered, "Please. Just come." The call ended. What the hell was going on?

I didn't bother telling Griff were I was going; I just fired up his car and sped over to Cam's place paying no head to what ungodly hour it was. I slammed on the brakes and bound up the steps to her front door. I almost bashed the entrance in before she opened it.

    "Cam?" I shot, "What is going on?" My friend was in jeans and a blue tee and her usually tanned skin was as white as snow in the darkness. She silently beckoned me inside and locked the door behind us.

    "I didn't know who else to call," she whispered leading me into her bedroom.

    "Cam, what do you . . ." I trailed off staring at the man lying on my friend's bed. Phoenix. He was covered in blood and fully unconscious.

    "Cam?" I didn't know what to say.

    "He turned up a couple of hours ago," she supplied, "Mum, Dad and the boys are all out of town at a tennis competition and I didn't know who else to call. I mean, he was at your party so I guessed you knew him. He was bleeding and as soon as he got inside he collapsed. I managed to get him into my room and patch him up a bit but . . ." She was shaking and breathing fast. I held onto her shoulders.