Racing for Keeps

Chapter 1

"Shawn....Shawn! Wake up buddy!" Niall shakes me awake.  I don't even remember falling asleep.  I had this horrible dream about Camila screaming on the phone with me and then telling me the ground was shaking, and her end of the phone going dead.

That all must have been a dream right?  Surely it was just a sick dream.

"You okay mate?  You were out for a wee bit there, what happened?" He asks me as I come to more, shaking my head trying to rattle the thoughts of something happening to Camila from my mind.

"I don't know man....I think I'm okay.  I don't even remember falling asleep, but I think I had the worst dream ever" I tell him, still weary of my surroundings and reality.

"You didn't fall asleep Shawn, you fainted.  Emma and I heard you on the phone with Camila and then you started screaming....  Something isn't right" Niall continues as he helps me to my feet.

"What?" I say rubbing the back of my curls.  "I didn't faint, I feel fine!" I argue. 

"Whatever you say mate; but ya definitely fainted." He chuckles nervously.

The air around us feels different.  Funny....I remember Camila saying something very similar to me in my dream.

"OH MY....GUYS COME QUICK!" Emma screams.  I hadn't even realized she left the room until I heard her scream. 

Niall and I go running into his living room only to see her standing in front of the TV with a death grip on the remote.  She looks pale, all the life leaving her body as she points to the screen.

Niall and I both turn to see what she's looking at and my heart stops.

It wasn't a dream.

'Good Afternoon Indiana' is on, talking about the current world happenings.  The news anchor Kyle Fairweather clutches his papers as even his face can't seem to keep up the normal reporter facade.  "In other world news, Tulum Mexico was just rocked by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake.  Deaths are already being reported.  It seems as though the city may have been flattened.  The worst of the damage is reported to be right along the coast and tsunami watches are in place." He finishes before moving on to the next bit of news.

Silence fills the room.

I feel out of body; my blood runs cold and I feel my legs give out underneath me as a topple to a heap on the ground.

I feel numb. 

I don't know what happened next but all I remember is Emma collapsing, Niall looking pale as a ghost and my phone ringing...

It just wouldn't stop ringing.

Everything after that is a blur. Niall somehow managed to get Emma off the floor and into his bed, before coming to tend to me. I just remember seeing blobs of color and some sort of movements out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't care. The thought of Camila being thousands of miles away injured or even worse; dead...chilled me to the bone. I don't even remember crying, but I guess I did. I guess I cried so much my vision was blurry when my parents and Liyah came bursting through Niall's door. I'm sure it seemed like deja-vu for everyone as I'd heard stories about what happened in the waiting room the night of my accident. I'm sure the pain my family experienced that night, was now more than evident on their faces yet again.

Aaliyah came and laid with me on the floor as my parents stared at the TV.  News of the earthquake apparently now playing non-stop. 

It was a slow news day I guess....

I remember feeling Liyah put her arms around me and my dad kneeling down in front of me, trying to get me out of my daze.  Trying to bring me back to the present.  The numbness felt good though.  The daze I was in was better than the harsh reality that I could potentially face when I got off the floor.

I remember closing my eyes again, hoping that maybe I'd wake up from this nightmare.  The silence in my head didn't stop my thoughts from going crazy.  Even with my eyes closed I saw her.  Camila.  Everywhere I looked, she was there; memories of us flashing before me.  It was nice, replaying all the times we'd kissed, made love... all of it.  The last time I held her in my arms, praying now that wasn't going to be the last time I got to do anything with her.  Tears streamed down my face and gentle hands cupping my face, forced me to open my eyes.

Still blurry from my tears, I tried to focus on the owner of the hands.

They were Sinu's. 

She looked just as broken as I felt.

Emma, Niall, my parents and my sister all sitting around her and James as Sinu looked at me, her own eyes filled with tears.

"Shawn" she started.  "Do you think you can tell me what happened?  What do you remember before the line went dead?" She asked, worry clearly evident on her face.  Of course she wanted to know what I knew.  I was the last one to hear her daughter alive.

I slowly sat up and wiped my eyes.  She sat next to me and held my hand.  Slowly I told her what I remembered and how things afterwards all slowly fell apart around me.  We cried and I almost felt like letting grief swallow me whole.  But then Camila came into my mind again, and this time everything she had done for me after my accident hit me like a bus.  She fought for me.  She was by my side every step of the way.  She never gave up on me.

Everyone in the room wore a face of concern and worry.  It actually made me mad.  Why were we all sitting here?  Why was I sitting here like a pathetic boyfriend thinking my Camila had already died?  She didn't give up on me, I thought again.

Standing up, quicker than I should've, I stumble on my feet before regaining my balance and look around the room.

"What are we doing here?!  Camila could be alive and I'm sure scared out of her mind, thousands of miles away and she's all alone!" I say.  "We should be looking for her!" I say loudly as I begin to pace in front of the TV.

"She never gave up on me after my accident, and I'm not going to give up on her!" I say determined, throwing my hands in the air as I look across all the tear stained faces. "I remember calling her name and seeing her face on those nights I was in and out. She was there for me in my darkest hours and I want to do the same for her."

My dad looks at me with a proud look on his face.  It's the first time I've seen that look in a very long time, but it just confirmed to me that I was doing the right thing.

"I need to get to her!  I need to find her, she needs to know that she isn't alone and I'm going to be there at her side; just like she was for me. I'm not giving up on her; ever. This is not the end!" I yell, fisting my curls tightly as I continue to pace.

I refuse to believe this is the end for us. It can't be. We just got back to being us; she needs me now more than ever.

"Okay mate, we can help you!" Niall says as everyone else in the room agrees.

After hours of Sinu and James making calls and my parents going home and bringing me back a bag of clothes, I was alone, on my way to the Cabello's private runway to use their private plane.  I promised Sinu and James I would bring Camila home.  I needed to bring her home.  I needed the love of my life in my arms again.  Safe and sound.

I was on my way to Mexico.  I was on my way to Camila.

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First chapter of the sequel.... How is everyone feeling? 😬