Only The Goode Spy Forever

Chapter 41: Cammie's Secret

Annalise Goode sat outside her headmistress/grandmothers office filled with fear. She had never been scared to go see her grandmother before. But things had changed. Just one night had changed Anna's world.
"Annalise," her grandmother called through the door. Anna slowly got up and entered the room. Her grandfather watched her intently from the couch. Rachel sat at her desk and pointed at the seat across from it. "Have a seat."
"Grandma I'm so-" Anna began, but Rachel held up her hand.
"Do you have any idea what you've done? You have violated a handful of rules, snuck off of campus, maintained a relationship with an outsider, and had help the whole time. What's worse is that you put yourself and other students in danger. Amelia has a broken arm and Adalind has a concussion! And what about Ms. Sunshine and Ms. Morrison? They each had a gun pointed at their head! Anna," Rachel continued, her voice cracking. "Why would you do this?" Anna felt tears well up in her eyes and her throat burned.
"I just wanted to know how it felt. I wanted to see if there was more out there," she said softly. Rachel nodded.
"Come on. We have someone else to deal with," Rachel said. She grabbed Anna's arm and lead her out of the room.
Rachel, Joe, and Anna all made their way to the grand hall. When they entered Anna saw Cason sitting at a table. "He knows everything," Rachel told her. Cason looked tired and scared. Rachel pushed a cup of tea in front of him. Anna gasped. It was memory wiping tea.
"Grandma no!" She cried. Rachel gave Anna a sad look.
"We love you, Anna," Joe started. "Which is why we're going to give you a choice. This young man can drink the tea and forget what he saw which will make him remember a bad breakup. Or else you can choose a different life. You can continue school to see if this is the life you want to lead and you can continue your relationship. Unless you are absolutely sure that you'd rather live a normal life. If normal is what you want, you can leave here today and be with him. If you want to live this life the memory will be erased. Keep in mind that if you break up or decide you want to stay on this path we will have to kill him."
Anna was shocked. She could be with Cason! But she would have to give up her life. She could be normal! But did she want to be? For a minute she was willing to be normal and give up everything for him. Then there was the possibility that things wouldn't work out. Cason could be killed. She couldn't take that chance. She was about to say so when Cason began speaking.
"I'm drinking the tea. I am done with this and I am done with you," he snapped. Anna's throat was practically on fire. "You lied to me! You made up a life when this is what you are? A spy? You're a freak! You all are! I don't want to remember this. I don't ever want to remember you." Anna couldn't help it. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Cason? I'm sorry," she cried. He shook his head and glared at her.
"Save it. I don't ever want to see you again," he snapped. Then, he chugged his tea. Anna gaped as the cup crashed to the ground and Chase stormed out the door.
"I'll make sure he gets home," Solomon said and followed Cason out. Anna cried as Rachel wrapped her arms around her.
"I'm so sorry, honey. Now come on, we have to go see your parents," Rachel whispered. Anna's heart pounded. Not her parents!
She entered Rachel's office and looked at her parents. Zach was laying on the couch looking bored and Cammie was popping M&M's into her mouth. Anna half expected a SWAT team to be with them, but it was just her parents.
"Oh honey!" Cam cried as she saw the tears streaking Anna's face. She hugged her tightly. Zach got up and put a hand on her shoulder.
"You could have told us, you know?" Zach asked. "On your birthday. You could have told us." Anna nodded.
"Oh honey, why didn't you tell us? Or at least tell me?" Cam asked. She sounded genuinely hurt.
"I didn't want you to be disappointed in me," Anna said as her voice cracked.
"Disappointed?" Zach asked. "Why would we be disappointed?"
   "Because real Gallagher Girls don't do this!" She cried. Everyone in the room shared a knowing glance.
  "Are you saying that I'm not a real Gallagher Girl?" Cammie asked. She was so quiet Anna almost didn't hear her.
  "What?" She asked. Cammie laughed.
   "Did you really think you were the first Gallagher Girl to have a secret relationship?" Cam asked.
  "You and dad had a secret relationship?" Anna asked with wide eyes. Cammie turned to Zach and smiled.
  "No, he wasn't my first boyfriend," Cam replied. Anna's mouth dropped open. "My first boyfriend was a townie too. His name was Josh." Josh. Anna thought back to the man at the pharmacy. He had whispered Cammie. Anna hadn't been crazy.
  "Josh Abrams," she whispered. Cammie looked at her with wide eyes and nodded. Sure there were rumors that her mom had a relationship with a townie. Anna never believed them, she knew that her parents had met when they were young. She thought they had only ever been with each other.
  "That's right. He drove a forklift through my cove ops final," Cam said with a smile. Cam sat Anna down and told her the whole story. She didn't care that she was breaking a dozen rules, Cammie just wanted her daughter to know. Cammie told her about the carnival and the exam and Dillon and DeeDee. Anna listened in awe. Hearing stories from her mother's youth had always had her attention. None of the stories made her feel as close to her mother as this one did.
   When her mother finished the story Anna asked the question she had been wondering since Cason drank the tea. "How did you move on? How did you become happy again?" Cammie grabbed Zach's hand and smiled.
   "I met your dad. He helped a lot. It took me a long time to admit that I cared about him. But when I did, well, the rest is history I suppose," Cammie said. Her and Zach shared a knowing smile. Anna was feeling better. She knew that she could do this.
  "But Anna," her dad said. "You don't need a boy to be happy. You're capable of that all on your own." Anna nodded. Zach gave her a smirk. "Now go pack your bags. It's about time that we go home for Christmas break."
   Anna finished packing her bags. She sat alone in her suite and sighed. Everything had changed. She didn't notice the beautiful girl leaning against the doorway.
  "Hi, angel," Bree said with a smile. Her smile was going back to its usual state: bright and beautiful. Anna really did think of Bree as a big sister. Maybe that was why she told Bree the truth that she hadn't told anyone.
   "They gave me a choice. They said I could be normal and be with Cason. I... I almost said yes. I wanted to say yes," Anna admitted. Bree nodded. She sat down next to Anna. She gave her a tight squeeze.
   "Oh Anna," she said with a smile. "Why would you want to be ordinary in a world where you were meant to be extraordinary?"
*                                       *                                         *
    Anna made her way to the front of the school. Her parents were outside waiting in the car. She picked up her bags and got ready to leave when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and looked at her grandfather. "Mail's here," he said. She read the paper and grinned mischievously. "Cason?"
   Anna shook her head. "No," she said. "It's from Chase."

                              See you at school.
                                          -C

(Quick note from the author: I like to think of  this semester as the second book in this series. The first would really have been just for making up lost time and setting a story line in place. The next chapters will be the "2nd book". I am just cramming them all into 1. I have to say, the next part of this book is definitely going to be my favorite. I promise you, the best is yet to come! :) )