shadows || cameron boyce

Chapter 39 - anguish.

C A M E R O N

"Then you haven't seen the pictures, the congratulatory messages and the coming out of our relationship."

Silence; heavy and still. Lauryn stands, her face beaming at the pure anguish and pain of Anna's. This couldn't have turned out any worse. My heart is literally thumping in my chest. My eyes flicker over to Anna's and the profound wave of pain emitted through just her eyes, alone,  is enough for a small tear trickle down my cheek. I hastily stand up and manage a quick but hushed, "Anna-" before I met by the broken demeanor of which I have encountered many a time. She takes a step back towards my desk, her face of utter disbelief. 

"No, there is nothing you can say or do to make this right." She says, her voice wavering as she continues to step back and I raise my hands up in defense. 

"Okay - okay." I begin, my tone now equaling hers, "Listen to me, it is not  what you're thinking." I say slowly taking small steps towards her with my hands still raised. 

"This isn't a fucking joke anymore Cameron! I'm not 13 with fucking pink braces and patterned converse anymore! How do you still manage to do this shit?" She screams as her hands embed themselves into her hair, "So what should I be thinking? Tell me."

My mouth remains agape as my eyes flicker from hers to Lauryn for a split second. I can't tell her. I can't. I have nothing to say, there's nothing I can say. She begins to nod as she looks between Lauryn and me, "I guess I was already thinking along the right lines." She whispers grabbing her board and walking past Lauryn. I open my mouth to call out for her but all that comes out is a hitch. There's nothing I can say. I've fully broken her.

A N N A

My legs are throbbing. All I can do is skate. Cry and skate. I push myself repeatedly; my teeth gritted; my knuckles white; my face tear stained. I push myself until I can no longer feel the pain in my legs yet it still linger somewhere up there. I can no longer see; I can longer hear. All that's left is the excruciating - and I mean excruciating remorse. 

Droplets of water begin to merge with the one's which have already formed on my cheek. I look up to see the sky - a faded shade of grey - and even more drops slide down the sides of my face. Almost instantly, I am propelled from my board as car horns and flashing lights simultaneously blind me. I land in a soft patch of grass - or mud. I can't really tell at this point. Rolling onto my back, I begin to sob but soon those sobs submerge into a louder, abysmal round of cries. It's sad, really. Almost like a scene from any low-budget Rom-Com where, near about an hour into the movie, the woman mysteriously finds herself wailing, much to the dismay of the audience, in the middle of a car park or something. Except this is different - I'm wailing under an Oak tree in the middle of a roundabout. 

"Anna!" My eyes remain squeezed shut and the wails prominent. I feel a pair of hands on my arm and my eyes are filled with the ringing of a strong Aussie accent. 

"Anna -shit- can you hear me? What happened?" Luke cries, sitting me up. I bury my head into his chest as he reaches for skateboard and says, "Come on, I know a place near here." 

****

The bell rings as Luke opens the door with his one free hand - his other hand cradled around my small build. We receive a few questionable stares as we make our way towards a table. I stare down out my knees which are mix of mud and a little blood. I sit opposite him and place my board on the table. He slowly places it under the table acknowledging my following glance. He doesn't say anything at first. Passing me a piece of tissue, he smiles comfortingly. I wipe my hands and dab at my knees, wincing every so often. 

"We should get that cleaned up." He says, motioning towards my knees. I nod slightly and sink lower into my seat.

"What happened?" He asks. I reluctantly shrug my shoulders and manage an elaborate response of, "I fell off." 

"Sure, that compensates for the small graze on your knee," He says crossing his arms and leaning forwards onto the table, "but it doesn't really explain the tears." I suddenly felt really small. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" He says in a subdued tone. I simply shake my head and look down at the table. I sense him smile as he leans back. A smile of sympathy.

"Here," He says giving me 20 cents, "Go and see if you can wipe some of that dirt off of your cut and I'll order some drinks" I take the money and smile slightly.

I'm a mess. My hair is damp and still has remnants of the mud which the rain hasn't managed to wash off.  My clothes are absoloutley drenched in mud and water. I continue to dab at my knee in attempt to wash the mud. A few minutes later, I have more or less gotten most of the mud out. I walk out and back towards our table and am met by my mom. My eyes dart towards Luke's and he subtly shakes his head as an indication that he hasn't said much. He continues speaking, "Yeah, it looked like she fell off of her board." 

"God, I always tell her to wear her gear! She never wants to not look cool." She says grabbing her phone. 

"Mildly cool, mom." I say walking towards her. She quickly gets up and embraces me into a hug showering me with questions. 

"Look at you! Why were you skating in this weather? You're lucky Luke found you." She says checking me for 'bumps and bruises'. 

"I'm okay, mom. Can we just go home?" I say grabbing my board and walking ahead. I stop and motion for Luke to come with me. We get in the car and the ride back is quiet. I lean my head onto Luke's shoulder and close my eyes. 

****

I turn my TV on and close all my curtains. Turning around, I notice Luke looking around at my room.

"It's not much different from last time." I say, to which he responds with a smirk. I climb onto my bed and cross my legs. We sit in silence, with the Family Guy opening title playing in the background. He leans back against my pillows. 

"Thank you." I say turning towards him. 

"It's cool." He says.

"You sure, I mean, I wasn't very open about what happened-"

"It's cool, honestly." He says. We sit for a moment, smiling at each other. 'Cool', I manage. It's a nice moment but it's soon obliterated. 

A knock is placed on my door and I hobble over to open it. I'm met by the same hazel eyes I had encountered earlier today.

"We've got to stop meeting like this." Cameron says, forcing a small smile. I usher him out of my room and close my door. I'm not giving him another one up on with my emotions

"I told you I don't want-"

"I could lose it all; my family house; my livelihood; you. I could lose everything, Anna, if I don't go along with it. So for sake of my family, please, listen."

****

I know; this wasn't a very good chapter and I haven't updated in ages and I'm failure at life and all that shit. There was a lot of dialogue in this, sorry, but I didn't know how else I could have written it:/ The next chapter will be the last (to both mine and you relief), no more year long waits for updates! Thanks for staying this far in - by this point your in too deep to give up *ahem* @AyeLola *ahem*. SUMMER BREAK HERE I COME!

Max:) x