Something Ends, Another Begins

Warning: This chapter contains mature/serious content. (i.e. drugs/alcohol)

It was around midnight and there was still thunder, lightning, rain, and wind. I made a note to myself to thank Liz in the morning for not letting me drive home.

I stepped out of the guest room quietly, wanting to get myself from water. I tried to be very quiet while walking towards the kitchen. Before I could pass the stairs, however, I noticed that there was some light turned on upstairs, like a bedroom light. I also heard muffled noises, maybe coming from a TV.

Curiosity got the best of me and I found myself slowly and silently walking up the stairs. I looked to my right and realized that the light and noises were coming from a bedroom down the hallway. I wanted to go back downstairs and just get some water like I intended to but I walked down the hallway to the bedroom.

The door was only half way closed and I peeked through it to see Cameron laying down on his bed, his eyes glued to his TV across from him.

Before I could turn around and go back downstairs, I heard Cameron say, "Hey."

I opened the door all the way and replied, "Hey."

"You couldn't sleep, either?" he asked, sitting up.

I shrugged. "No, not really."

He seemed hesitant about something before he said, "I'm just watching some TV if you want to join me."

I nodded and said, "Okay." I'm wide awake in the middle of the night so there isn't anything else for me to do.

I cautiously walk to the side of the bed, the space next to him. He glanced at me and saw that I was just standing awkwardly next to the bed. He smiled and rolled his eyes before saying, "I won't bite, you know. Not hard, anyway."

I rolled my eyes and sat down next to him. I took a quick glance around his room and saw that it was fairly neat. Of course, there were few pieces of clothing here and there as well as pictures/posters that covered almost every space on the walls.

"If you want to watch something, go ahead. There's really nothing on that I'm interested in," Cameron said, handing the remote over to me.

"Thanks," I said and started to surf through the channels. "It was nice of Liz to let me stay over," I said, wanting to have at least one little conversation.

"Yeah, but don't think I had anything to do with her little idea."

I smiled and shook my head, still looking at the TV. "No, of course not."

It wasn't too long before I heard Cameron say, "Um, earlier you mentioned that your dad was in New Jersey."

I set the channel to some action movie I've never seen and turned to Cameron. I intended to tell him that my dad was just on some business trip or something since I knew Cameron was just trying to make small talk. However, what came out of my mouth instead was, "Yeah, he's getting married over there."

Cameron raised his eyebrows. "Really? Are your parents separated or something?"

I nodded. "They got divorced back in June."

"And after about four months, he's already getting married."

"You know, it's all very complicated. I'd rather not bore you with my problems."

"No, it's okay. I mean, I know this can't be easy for you. Tell me about it. There's nothing giving on TV anyways."

I smirked and decided to talk to him. There was just something about him that made me trust him. "Alright," I said, taking a deep breath. "I just found out about the wedding not long before Homecoming. My father told me that several months before my parents were officially divorced, he met this woman named Ruby. To make a long story short, my parents got divorced, my dad and Ruby got engaged, and they're now expecting a child of their own."

"That's rough. So, did your dad cheat on your mom?"

"No, they were separated long before my dad met Ruby, they just weren't officially divorced."

"Are you mad at him?"

"You could say that. I'm sure as hell not excited for a new stepmother and step sibling. I just didn't expect for him to move on this quickly. He wants me to be a bridesmaid in the wedding and to be a part of his new child's life."

"Do you want to be a part of the wedding and your step sibling's life?"

I shrugged and looked down. "I'm not sure. I don't think I do. But, then again, this is my dad. He's been with me through pretty much everything. I feel guilty for not being there for him through this wedding but then I don't feel guilty. I mean, he waited until they had already started planning the wedding to even tell me about this Ruby chick. I have never met her before. My dad said he wanted to tell me sooner but after everything that happened with Josh, he said he couldn't find the right time. But he could've found some time to tell me about her earlier, right?"

"I guess so. But, have you looked at things through his perspective? I'm not taking sides or anything, I'm just saying that this probably couldn't have been easy for him. You know, to tell his daughter who's boyfriend just died that he's getting married and having another kid. Maybe he was worried about your reaction."

"I guess," I replied. I did not think about it that way before.

"Ali," Cameron said and I looked at him. "In my opinion, and this is just my opinion, I would go to the wedding. It's up to you if you want to be a bridesmaid or not but I think you should at least be there at the wedding to show your dad that you care about him and his happiness. If you say he's been with you through everything, don't you think you owe him this?" I stayed quiet, actually thinking about this. "Again," he added quickly, "This is just my opinion. I'm not saying you're obligated to do this."

I nodded and smiled. "I know. Alright, let's stop talking about me and more about you."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think you could tell me about your parents and why you live here with your aunt?"

He bit his lower lip and looked down, avoiding eye contact. "I don't know," he said quietly.

"Okay, that's fine, you don't have to tell me. Just know that you can trust me." I focused my attention back on the TV.

"It all started before I moved here, when I was about eleven," he said, suddenly. I turned to face him, curious as to what else he had to say. Like what I did, he took a big breath before continuing, "As far as I knew, my parents were having financial problems. They would just start arguing more and more than they used. They actually would hardly argue at all. I would eavesdrop in their arguments behind closed doors and all I would hear is how they didn't have enough money to buy this and that. My mom was a teacher assistant and my dad was a cashier for a grocery store so neither of them exactly made bank. I thought the arguments and the yelling was bad, I had no idea what it would turn into." He paused and looked at me, maybe to make sure I was still listening. When he saw that I was, he continued, "I remember one day, Mom and I were just watching TV in the living room. Suddenly, my dad comes in a huge load of cash in his hand. He said he got a raise from work but neither Mom and I cared where he got it from, just as long as we finally had enough money to pay for bills and groceries. But, things only got worse from there."

He stopped talking for a while. I placed my hand on his knee reassuringly as I said, "Go on."

"A few months later, Mom caught Dad snorting coke in the bathroom one night. She looked through his wallet and coat and found a bag of cocaine and other drugs he'd been trying to hide. That's when she found out that the only way he was getting all of that money was by selling drugs. And not only that, but he was addicted to drugs as well. I still remember the day when Mom threatened to tell the police about my dad's problem if he didn't stop doing drugs and selling them. I remember her saying that she didn't want me anywhere near drugs. After she threatened him with the cops, I watched him punch her in the face. She fell to the ground, her hands covering her face but he just pulled her by her hair and told her that there was no way she was going to the cops. Not on his watch, as he put it."

He stopped talking but I was pretty sure that there was more he had to say. He continued to say, "Then, that same night, around one in the morning, I remember hearing noises downstairs. I walked downstairs to find only my mom at the front door, packed bags surrounding her, getting ready to walk out the door. She saw me looking at her and she slowly walked towards me. I noticed her bruised cheek as she came up to me and gave me a long and tight hug. When she pulled away, I thought she was going to take me with her which is why I asked her, 'Where are we going, Mommy?' Mom just looked at me and I saw a tear roll down her cheek as she said to me, 'I'm sorry, Cam.' Those were the last words she said to me before walking out the front door, taking her bags with her. That was the last time I ever saw her. She didn't call or anything after that."

My hand squeezed his knee as I whispered, "Cam." I didn't know what to add to that, however.

"More bad things just kept happening," he said. "Dad kept on doing drugs and selling drugs to strangers on the street. It was just the two of us now. About a year later, I saw him in the living room, snorting coke. He did it all day, everyday. He even quit his job at the grocery store. When I saw him with the coke, I could tell he was high. He called me over and me, being naive, I walked over and he told me, 'Try this, son. It makes you feel really good.' I refused several times but then he threatened to beat me if I didn't so I did what he told me to do and I snorted for the first time. After that, even when I told myself I wouldn't do it again, I became addicted. It wasn't only cocaine, though, there was more. My dad and I started smoking weed together and it wasn't long before he had me drinking alcohol, too. I was drinking loads of alcohol, smoking weed, and snorting coke. I was too scared to go to the police for all this. Dad said that as long as I kept my mouth shut about the drugs and alcohol, everything would be okay. So, I kept doing it. I'm not proud of it by any means. I just couldn't stop.

"Then, one night, I was at home alone when the police knocked on the door. They told me that my dad had been arrested for driving under the influence. They inspected the whole house, finding the drugs and alcohol. I was escorted to the police station where my dad was, handcuffed. Before I knew it, Aunt Liz came running over to me, demanding to know what's been going on. I had no choice but to tell the police and my aunt everything about Dad and the drugs. Dad ended up in jail for the DUI and the selling of the drugs and he'll stay in jail for a long time. Thankfully, it was decided that even though I was a minor, I was pretty much forced into the drugs and drinking and I got off easy. Not long after that, Liz became my legal guardian and I moved here to live with her. That's where Josh comes in.

"When I first started going to school here, I was still addicted to drugs and drinking. My aunt didn't know that, though. Plus, I didn't have any friends so if I wasn't in school, I was smoking, snorting, or drinking. At school, I would pretty much blow people off, not wanting to talk to anyone because I didn't want them knowing anything about me. That's why I was so terrible to you when we first met. I was like that with Josh, too but he just kept smiling and trying to make an effort in being my friend. Then, one day when I ditched school and faked sick, Josh came over to drop off some of the work I had missed. Liz sent him to my room and he caught me snorting coke, just how my mom caught my dad. Long story short, Josh told Liz about it and they helped me get into recovery. Josh was with me every step of the way and he promised that he wouldn't mention anything about what I was going through with anyone else. That's why Josh and I were so close. He was a big part in my recovery. I'm not a drug addict nor an alcoholic anymore because of him and Liz." He paused before saying, "And that's my dramatic little story."

I opened my mouth, trying to find what exactly to say. "I don't know what to say," I finally said.

Cameron smiled and shrugged. "You don't have to say anything. I just thought you should know why I was not the nicest person to you when we first met and from then on. The only people I've ever told my past to were you, Josh, Liz, and the police."

After a few seconds of awkward silence, I leaned forward and quickly kissed his cheek. He looked at me with his eyebrows raised. "What was that for?" he asked, surprised.

I shrugged and avoided eye contact. "I don't know," I said quickly. "An apology, I guess. I mean, here I am complaining about my dad getting remarried when I haven't even been through half of what you've been through. You've been through a lot before you moved here and after and I've just been a bitch to you."

"Ali," he said seriously, "Do not be upset with yourself and do not apologize. You didn't know what was going on. If I were you, I would've treated me the same way. So, don't worry about it, okay? Everything that went down between us the past five years is forgotten. Alright?"

I nodded. "Okay."

"Good. Now, I think we should get to bed." He turned off the TV.

"Right," I replied, getting off of the bed, on my way out.

"Actually, Ali," Cameron said. I turned to face him. "If you want to sleep here tonight, that will be okay. If you want to sleep downstairs alone, go ahead. I was just thinking you'd be more comfortable up here."

"Um," I said, just looking at him and the empty space next to him.

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm not going to grope you or anything if that's what you're thinking."

I laughed and rolled my eyes. I don't know why but I found myself walking back to the bed and laying down in the same spot I was in a few minutes ago. I pulled the blanket over me and created a good distance between me and Cameron.

Cameron turned, his back facing me and I heard him say quietly, "Goodnight, Ali."

I found myself smiling as I replied, "Goodnight, Cameron."