KISS ME

CHAPTER 16 - TRUTH

In the end, it was Javier who came through, having his private plane fuelled and ready to fly her to Vancouver within the hour. Even still, it was a twelve hour flight, she couldn't get there any faster. When they took off and she had to turn her phone to aircraft mode, they still hadn't found any sign of him. It had been five hours since the cave in.

When they were at cruising altitude, she put the television on, and followed the news on her phone. A couple of hours into the trip, they thought they found a pocket he could be trapped in. They were sending in a camera probe to see what they could find. An hour later it was announced they had found him, but they weren't sure if he was alive. She had never been so terrified in her life. The thought of him being crushed beneath the rock was horrific, the option of him being trapped in a tiny air pocket, literally buried alive, was just as bad – but at least he could be alive. Her mother rang her and she cried and cried speaking to her, and Phoebe rang to check on her too. James and Kay both rang her as well. Not many other people knew about them really, so no-one else thought to see how she was feeling.

The news channel filled the periods of no new information with boring political stories and she actually nodded off, waking with a start when the breaking news came on again.  How could she sleep at a time like this?  Shawn could literally be dead!

"We have been told that rescuers have removed a body from the rubble and taken it by ambulance to Vancouver General, we don't have any details yet if it is in fact Shawn Mendes or if so, what state he is in, or if he is even alive, however we have been told the ambulance did not use it's sirens or lights, which is usually an indication that they are transporting a body. We have a reporter at the hospital, awaiting the arrival of the ambulance and we will let you know as soon as we know anything."

The next hour was even longer for Camila than the long, long hours preceding it. She sat wringing her hands, feeling like she was about to die. All the time she had spent wondering whether they could make their relationship work now seemed ridiculous. She loved him, and he loved her, and that was all that mattered. The rest was just flotsam. They could sort that out. Just please, please still be alive!

"Breaking News: we have just been told that Shawn Mendes is alive, he is being treated at Vancouver General, we don't know the extent of his injuries at this point, but the good news is he is alive."

If she hadn't been sitting, she would have fallen over. She felt light headed and put her head between her legs, trying to gulp in air. She sat up when the flight attendant came to see if she was OK. She was so kind that Camila just burst into tears and the Spanish girl just held her, making soothing sounds and patting her back, until she was finished. She blurted out the story and probably a whole lot of information that wasn't relevant, speaking in Spanglish. Knowing he was OK, she was suddenly exhausted, and the girl made up a bed for her to sleep in for the remaining five hours of the flight.

She showered before landing but she couldn't eat. She was freaking out wondering what state he was in, how badly he was hurt. Oh God, poor Shawn, she needed to be there, he needed to know she loved him and was there for him! The news had shown his family arriving and they were waiting on a press conference to let the public know his condition. The plane landed and there was a car waiting to whisk her away to the hospital. It was only about a fifteen minute drive and she practically ran inside, running the gauntlet of all the press hovering out the front.  A security guard tried to stop her, then recognised her.

"I'm sorry, Ms Cabello," he said, looking very sad and gesturing toward the reception area.  "Ask at the desk, but I'm not sure if they'll let you in."

She asked for him and the nurse looked very annoyed, saying in a terse voice that  only family could see him. Camila was starting to panic now.  How did she get in to see him?  They thought she was a deranged fan or something.  Would his Mum remember her? Did she even know about her?  She looked around and then heard a voice behind her.