Push

Chapter 13

Cameron Santiago POV

The walk back to the house was something else. I had a whole bunch of thoughts running through my mind. The main one being Jason and how that could've been me. How he had a bright future, but got fucked by the system. How life led him to his death. Fuck me. My thoughts don't stop. My other thought is regretting not taking a hit from the joint. It would have helped me release my thoughts and emotions. It would've helped block stuff as well.

Soon I make my way through the doors of the house.

"I'm back." I shout entering the house.

"What took you so long?" Ali says from the kitchen.

"I ran into an old foster sibling." I say walking to the kitchen to find her putting ice cream in a bowl for all of us. "I lost track of time."

"Cameron?" Ash comes from behind me. "Why do you smell like weed?"

"Let me explain. I ran into an old foster sibling and she was smoking next to me. I swear I didn't do anything." I quickly get my words out already knowing she's jumping to conclusions.

"Look I won't be mad if you tried anything." Ash says.

"Ash. I am telling you I didn't. I've worked to hard to mess it up on a joint."

"Okay. I believe you. I'll drop it." She says taking a bite out of her ice cream.

"It looks like your walk tired out Logan. She's knocked out." Ali says changing the subject feeling the slight tension.

"So what do you guys do when you have free time?" I wonder.

"Well usually we just chill at home. If we feel up for it we go to a fancy dinner or some fun date. Sometimes Kyle comes over. It's a time for us to relax so we do just that." Ash says.

"Life gets too much so we take a step back and breathe on our free days." Ali adds on.

"Makes sense." I smile at their responses.

We end up staying up to watch this show we found on Netflix called "Wentworth." We were beyond hooked. The plot, storyline, and characters just soaked us all in. Before we know it it's one in the morning when we head to our rooms. I get ready for the night and lay in bed. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I feel my thoughts start to race again. It's going to be a long night.

Ashlyn Harris POV

I can't sleep. I've been lying in bed for about two hours now tossing and turning. I keep thinking about Cameron. Ever since she came back into my life I worry about her. I know it's unhealthy but I can't help it. She's my little sister in my eyes. I would do anything to protect her. I decided to get up and check on her hoping it would calm my mind.

"Where are you going," Ali asks as she feels me getting up.

"I just need to check on her. Go back to sleep." I say giving her a kiss and walking out of the room.

I slowly open the door to Cameron's room. Unfortunately, my mind doesn't calm down. Cam is sleep talking and sweating. I know that happens when she has her nightmares. I don't understand how her nightmares never left. It makes me sad. The only thing I know about her nightmares are that they are flashbacks. Flashbacks to what? I don't know. Cam never talked about them. Even her counselors tried to get her to talk about it, but she never cracked. They believed it had to do with her family, but there was nothing to back that up. Cam also never mentioned how they died so that's also my guess as to what the flashback is. As soon as I opened the door enough to get through, the door made a slight sound. It wouldn't have woken anybody up, but it's Cam. Cameron is such a light sleeper. I remember talking to her about it and she responded that a few years in the foster system caused that. As I expected, Cam woke up.

"Hey it's alright. It's just me, Ash."

"Did I scream? Why are you awake?" She questions me.

"I had trouble sleeping. Probably the time zone difference. So I decided to check on you."

"Oh okay."

"You want to talk about the flashbacks?" I ask trying to give her a chance to talk about them.

"I just want to sleep." She says ending the conversation.

"How about you come to my room. I'll keep you company. I know it helps a little bit."

"No, it's okay. Ali is there." She denies.

"And I am here. There's more space on my bed for the both of us than this bed. Come on." I take her hand dragging her to my room. I lay in the middle of my bed and have Cam lay on my side. As I wrap my arm around her, I feel her tense for a second but then relax into it. When she relaxes, I end up relaxing too.