The Former Lover [Sequel To Military Minds]

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Cameron laid out the sleeping bags side-by-side. The fire he had started burned luminously in the open fire place, illuminating the fading wooden floorboards to bright auburn.

Rebecca sat on her sleeping bag, eating a spoonful of Easy Mac. She had nothing of hers, since Miranda had plucked her right from under Glenn's nose. Cameron had allowed her to borrow one of his sleeping bags. He had packed adequately for the trip, knowing in advance what lay ahead.

Growing up, his father had taught him everything he needed to know. George Baldwin had yanked Cameron and Megan out for camping and hunting adventures for every fortnight that he had his daughter with him, teaching his children how to fight off enemies with guns and all assortments of blades, making them perform fifty push-ups and sit-ups every day to improve their physical condition.

In addition to his father's help, Cameron had taken up karate and taekwondo. He smiled now, remembering the amount of dedication he had devoted to his passion.

"I'm sorry that you lost your mother," he said, breaking the silence between him and Rebecca. The crackling of the fire as it burned the wood was the only sound in the large living room.

Rebecca slowly lowered her metal spoon, her baby blue eyes gazing into the fire. The flames danced across her pale face, turning her dark hair soft caramel.

"It's nothing compared to what you went through," she breathed a deep sigh. "Losing your parents, and your sister."

Cameron narrowed his trembling lips into a firm line, instead poking the fire with the poker. The last time he had seen Megan was still fresh in his mind, always there to remind him that she had once been a real person - that she had actually existed.

It had been a Sunday afternoon, precisely the day before Megan was due to return home to Military Minds. She and Cameron had driven to Emu Bottom as they usually did every Sunday afternoon, sharing a package of potato cakes and chips between them. They had been sitting on the roof of their father's cream coloured mustang, gazing out over the dirty brown water, shimmering silver underneath the orange sun as if animated.

Megan's straightened jet black hair, tinted with blonde highlights, spilled over her shoulders. On that afternoon she had worn her black jacket open over a black and white striped top. A pair of black skinny leg jeans hugged her hips, and sunlight had caught the golden buckles on her calf-high brown designer boots, reflecting across the dirt.

Cameron had always felt very fondly of his sister, though most of the time they had been living apart since their parents' divorce. She had always managed to lighten up Cameron's day just by walking into the room.

"War is coming," Megan had said, her Scottish-British accent soft as always. "I can feel it."

Cameron exhaled a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. He too could feel the apprehension of war dawning on the town deep within his bones; a sixth sense to him. Megan had offered him a place at Military Minds College the previous year, but Cameron had turned it down. He had heard rumours that the school had been corrupted, and decided he would much rather be a rogue soldier than to work under Phil's ruling.

Megan averted her gaze to her brother, lighting the cigarette fixed between her lips. She elegantly flipped her hair from her eyes, tilting her head back and exhaling smoke into the air. She had been a smoker for three years. Cameron had sat at the very edge of her circle of smoking friends, dreading every breath he took. He had hated smoking with a vengeance. The stench of tobacco on someone was enough to make him feel nauseous.

"I met a girl," his sister said, beginning to dangle her slim legs back and forth again. Her gaze was fixed on the orange horizon, dividing the turquoise sky from the almost dark land. "Her name's Rebecca."