Chapter 2: The past meets the present (Part: 1/2):

Sunlight swung through the window pane. There was a wide awakening, the birds chirped and the trees swayed around, making a soft jingle in the air as their leaves whipped around. They sounded like little tambourines.
Camilla spat out her minty toothpaste, watching it fall into the basin in thick blueish green clumps. Granted, brushing your teeth in the morning wasn't anything exciting, but Camilla took her time doing so.
The week had been long and tiresome for her. She wasn't sure if she would ever truly adjust to it all. Not a tear had fallen from her eyes, so she figured she was doing well. Fatigue was normal after any move, she kept telling herself that.

Cranking the knob on the faucet, she dunked her frothy toothbrush into the evergoing stream, nudging it left and right. Some of the tiny little bristles stood out, twisted and bended out of shape from the rest of the brushes. She made a mental note to herself to go and get a new pack of toothbrushes the next time she went to the store.
The soft touch of her fleece robe against her bare skin made her feel right at home. Getting up and putting on clothes was the last thing she desired to do. It sounds corny, but Camilla was drained as all hell.
She sighed, still watching the water run down on her toothbrush, knowing that she wasn't really doing anything besides wasting water. Still, and steady she held it there, watching the water splosh onto the brush.

There was a minty after taste in her mouth, her taste buds tingled and felt slightly cooler. She stopped the faucet and put her toothbrush in the mirror, standing there for a moment.
She felt emptiness inside her body, the painful kind. It was kind of odd how your emotions could affect you that way. All she wanted to do was replace it- like a piece missing to this puzzle you spent hours working on. But she could never replace this void, and she knew that.
Hoping the feeling would disappear, she started to think about what she would wear. Saturday had finally rolled around and as promised, her mother was having her friend over, which meant her kids were tagging along too.

She almost walked downstairs, completely forgetting the fact that this was her new house now, which meant her bedroom was upstairs instead of downstairs.
'Shorts, a polo, and sandals? Too casual? It's just brunch. Maybe a-' Camilla was lost in thought until she heard something that made her freeze, a familiar devious sound.
"Please no, please don't be it! Please- please stop!" She kept repeating to herself in a hushed tone. The last thing she needed was to deal with this again.

No matter how much she wished what she was hearing wasn't true, it was. Her mother was standing there on the other side of the wall, but she could still hear her as clear as day.
"No! No! I'm having my friend over! You can't ruin this! " She was frantic, pacing around up and down, left and right, her chest rising and falling like a little kid jumping on a trampoline. "We have to make this right! We have to impress them! You don't want them to find out about this!!!!" Her shrill was as squeaky as a pair of rusty brakes on a car.

As if she had just stepped into a nice relaxing bubble bath, she calmed down instantaneously, out of nowhere. Her breathing steadied and she lowered her voice.
"Okay, now let's make this a great day." She used hand motions as if someone was there, actually talking to her. "Everything will be fine, she's your best friend, and my best friend too. Just remember that, okay?"

That hole that was inside Camilla's stomach grew larger and larger. Her mother's words were like a shovel. Every time she spoke, she dug, deeper and deeper, making that hole more hollow.
She hadn't witnessed her mother have an episode in years. Hell, she hadn't even heard her mother talk to herself in years. Where was this coming from? Why now?
"It's coming back, oh God it's coming back!" Camilla cried, rubbing the sides of her forehead, desperately trying to process it all. Maybe it was just a phase? Maybe it would go away? Trauma did cause all kinds of weird things to happen to people, that was a common fact. She wrapped her mind around that thought like a nice big warm blanket, mentally curling up into a ball to seek warm comfort.

***

"HEY! Guess who's in the house?!" It had been three chaotic hours before Tina arrived. Three lawless hours of slaving in the kitchen, done by Camilla's mother. Tina's gregarious presence was felt as soon as that clock struck 1:03 and she stepped foot in that door. "Tina's in the house!" She hollered, her heels clacking along the wooden floors, leaving an even bigger noise trail along with her mouth.
Her green eyes lit up like emeralds in a cave once she laid eyes on her best friend. "Oh my God! Get over here!" Her kids trailed behind her, taking quick glances and peaks at everything in the house. From the floor to the ceiling, they looked.

Carolyn (Camilla's mother) stood there, stoic and silent. Looking at her friend was like a punch to the face. BAM! She was just there. She existed in a way that not many people do. Feeling her presence after such a long time was a tad bit overwhelming for her.
"Wow! You look even better than the last time I saw you." Carolyn's words were slow, and almost cryptic.
"We have so much to catch up on! Come on!" Carolyn click-clacked her feet towards the bar stools. "I can't wait to have your famous mac n' cheese. I told the kids I was going to steal your recipe tonight, I hope you don't mind!" She cackled.
It was true though, Carolyn did make the best mac n'cheese known to man, she took pride in it. All her ingredients were authentic, nothing came from a box, not even the noodles.

It was like a movie, everything seemed effortless and easy, but there was really a whole lot going on behind the scenes. Tina had no idea how Carolyn was feeling, even though she was sitting right beside her, taking delight in her own famous recipe.
Her hands were jittering, a coat of sweat seeped through the skin on her palms. But Carolyn, kept smiling, going on and on about how lovely the neighborhood was. "Oh gosh it's great! I feel like this is the perfect place for me and Cam to start over."

"Speaking of Cam, how's my little Cam-Cam doing?" Tina loved calling Camilla Cam-Cam, for no specific reason really. She just liked the way that it sounded.
Carolyn gulped suddenly, forgetting that she had cheese mush in her mouth. She almost choked. "You know how teenagers are." Her whole demeanor changed, she became a character, wearing a costume. " 'Mom, I get it! I know what I'm doing! You're so annoying mom!" She jeered around like a whiny little brat, and honestly she wasn't that bad at it.

The laughter that floated out of Tina's mouth was harsh. Along with her booming voice, she had an obnoxiously weird laugh. It was hard to describe, it sounded like a cross between a pig and a sheep. "Where is she, I haven't seen her all day."
Carolyn was disappointed in her daughter for not coming down to socialize with them, and quite frankly, she found it rude. "In her little woman cave, being unsociable." She muttered.
"Oh, no! Not my Cam-Cam! She's too sweet!" Tina gasped, shooting this overly-dramatized glare at her.
"You'd be surprised." A heavy sigh pushed through Carolyn's lungs, and straight out her mouth.
Tina consoled her, telling her, "It gets better, trust me. It's a phase they all go through. Never take it personal."

Not even allowing her friend a chance to speak, Tina kept on cackling. "Speaking of phases!" She lurked her eyes over at her son Kevin who was sitting at the table chatting it up with his sisters while he shoveled spoonfuls of food onto his plate. "Kevin is finally over his bad girl phase." Her whole face twisted when she mentioned his ex-girlfriend. "Ugh, that Anna girl was such a bad influence on him, I'm so glad he got himself together."
She did it again, not even granting Caorlyn a chance to speak. Not even an 'ok,' or a 'wow.' She changed the subject abruptly. "Talk about getting together! Now is the perfect time to get him and Camilla together!" Her eyes were like a pair you'd find on baby dolls, so innocent and full of wonder. "Oh, they'd be perfect together, considering their circumstances right now, maybe they could bond together, who knows?"
Finally Tina shut up which allowed Carolyn a few second to get some words in. "You know I try, but she never expresses an interest. I just don't understand her, Kevin is such a lovely guy."
Tina threw her hands up in the air. "Oh honey, we've got it this time. Trust me, alright?"

Tina and Carolyn were like assassins, partners in crime. Their victims were all sitting at the table, eating blindly, and talking about all the things they thought that mattered.
"She fell! Tripped and threw her ankle out of place, trying to walk in those heels!" Kailyn snickered, delighting in the unfortunate event she had seen take place earlier during the week at homecoming.
Gheez. Kevin must've felt pretty out of the loop sometimes, listening to his sisters talk about girl stuff. He would have to sit there and hear them talk for a few more hours though. Poor fella.

Chapter 1: Getting Acquainted

     "Wow!" Camilla's mother had her mouth agape as she opened the door to their new home.
  It was like a breath of fresh air, overwhelmingly pleasant. This was a new chapter for them. Finally, they could close that stubborn door to the past and finally move on to something better.
      Everything thing had that 'new' smell, it was warm and vibrant. The paint was even, and the carpet was all fluffy, its tiny threads shone under the sunlight that beamed through the patio Windows. "Do you want to invite some friends over?" She asked as she turned towards the door and gestured for Camilla to get closer to her. Little did she know was that Camilla wasn't at all interested in what she had to say. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" She kept going on and on, raving about the house.

  Once her mother stopped drooling over all the bright lights and carcinogens fumigating in the house, she approached Camilla, grinning from ear to ear. Anyone could tell she was impressed with the house. "What do you think about inviting Tina and her girls over? We can order a pizza and relax before we start unpacking."
      Camilla wasn't exactly a social kind of person. Her mother's friend Tina always tried to get her to mingle with her daughters, but she hated it, they had nothing in common. Not only that, but every time she said 'Tina and the girls,' it almost always ended up being Tina and the girls, plus Kevin; her only son. "Please don't. I'm really tired." Camilla griped.
    It was no secret that her mother wanted Kevin to be the "love of Camilla's life." He was the oldest of Tina's 3 daughters, and he was super protective considering his family demographic. Every time he was around her mom was smiling a cheesy smile like the one she was sporting right now. That was the only thing Camilla really liked about having Kevin around, she got to see her mom smile. Her mother had been so depressed over the last few years. "Fine." She sighed, trying to figure out why her daughter was so damn stubborn all the time. "But, they're coming over eventually, I promised them that they could." She looked at her in disbelief. "You know, I just don't understand you Camilla. I'm doing the best I can."
"Alright mom, I understand that. Look, you can invite them- That's fine, just not today." She didn't want to argue with her mom, especially not on the first day at their new house.

     After the little house drooling session was over, Camilla wandered outside on the porch. She looked outside the backyard, noticing the kids that were running around in their bathing suits as they ran through the sprinkler. She smiled, the summertime always made her happy.
There was an unpleasant feeling lingering around her, a presence. She could feel it, and she knew it was there, all the time. A sigh as loud as New York City escaped from her lips. The feeling was so hard to understand, she hated that, not knowing things.
Her mother was right though, the house was nice, even the neighborhood. Sure, there were little pockets, and cul-de-sacs that were unsafe, but generally speaking, the neighborhood was mellow. Not too much racket could be heard from anyone on the street.

She walked down the porch steps, feeling the cement scrape the bottoms of her shoes. The sun beamed right over their backyard, it was like a big spot light. Its harsh rays bounced off the water in their hot tub.
Camilla stood next to it, she looked so reminiscent of a timid child looking for their parent in a supermarket. "Gheez. I guess we're living extra fancy now." She mumbled, her eyes still planted on the damn thing like it might come to life and attack her.
It wasn't weird having nice things, Camilla's life was full of nice, big, shiny things. She just expected a whole lot less, especially after what had happened to them these last few years. It never crossed her mind that things like that could happen in her family. Her mind was still processing it all. The worst part was the memories. She wished she could just delete them from her head, kind of like the recycle bin on a computer. But life wasn't that easy, it never was.

  Her mother finally found her way outside, slightly less giddy than before. It was like she had taken an eraser and erased half of the grin on her face. There was a tint of blue on her cheeks, sadness of some sort. "Look honey, if you want, we can go and stay with your grandparents for a while, I just thought-"
Seeing her mom like that made her feel guilty. 'Stop whining over stuff that's beyond your ability to change, Camilla!' She scolded herself. "Mom! It's okay, I'll get used to it." Her eyes moved from the dirt on the ground, to the trees that were big and full of green leaves. "I'm just not used to living in a desert," she joked.
A twinkle shined through her mom's eyes. "Oh Cam, what am I gonna do with you?" She teased.
"Send me to Mars." She shrugged, flashing her tongue.
It was right then and there that her mother remembered exactly what she had forgotten to tell her daughter. "Well, I can't do that, but I think you'll be happy with the surprise I've got for you." She knew Camilla would love it, probably more than she loved her. "But you have to wait until the weekend."
"Oh mom!" Camilla groaned, "You shouldn't have told me. Now I want to know."
Her lips were sealed shut. "Nope. You've gotta wait. Good things come to those who wait." She loved saying inspirational quotes to her daughter, and as always a tangent followed. Boy, she could go on and on about the secrets to life.

***

Camilla had an infatuation with the stars. She considered them to be her guide, they were always there. Constant, and everlasting. No one ever doubted whether or not the stars would shine at night, especially Camilla.
Stars were used as a form of guidance way back in the day, eve the sun. Astronomy was so bewildering to her, the way everything was set in stone. One after the next, nothing ever back-tracked, it just kept on going.
They had names, they belonged. The universe was like their mother, holding them up in the sky, never letting them leave her grip. They were permanent, leaving black holes when they die and burned out, only if they were massive though.
She was in another world on that bench, sitting there star-gazing. It was her favorite pass time.

  Lost in thought, Camilla completely ignored the fact that someone was talking to her. She got up, her knees as weak as a 10k runner.
"Yo! I'm talkin' to yuh." The girl got all close to her, slowly diminishing the space between the two of them. She was a mean old thing with pink her, she smelled like smoke. Not the kind of smoke from cigarettes though, the kind from a bonfire or something. Her accent was so strong, it was mucky and grimly, just like her.
Camilla backed up, fearful that she might have been in the wrong part of town. She had nothing on her, if they wanted to mug her, she was done for. She knew it.
A red haired guy stood beside the two girls. It was shocking to see him strolling along with the girl, he was so damn preppy-looking, with his cashmere sweater. "Leave her alone, Tiff!"
"I jus' wanna get to know er'." Her eyes glazed over Camilla's body, taking in her trembling legs, and twitching lips. She saw her jittery posture, not only that, but she realized she wasn't from around town. "Where ya' from?" She had the gruffest voice for a girl, it was raspy as all hell.

"Oasis Springs, like everyone else here." Camilla snapped, trying to figure out what the hell they even wanted from her. She remained confident, even if her quivering body didn't necessarily scream 'confidence.'

"You have no idea who I am, hun." Her words practically punched Camilla in the mouth. The way she spoke was bitter and violent. It was like they were both in a fighting ring.
The funny thing was that Camilla did know who she was. Not her name, but other things. This girl's life was reminiscent of glass shards, she could see bits of her past, and some of her future, but it was hard to piece it all together; it hurt and made your hands bleed if you tried to.  She could see it, she could see her. Tears, and wet pillows. The girl had a rough life.
The guy just stood there, watching the two of them eye each other down.

Hard as a rock, and wild as the waves on a beach, she stood there eyeing Camilla down.
Camilla knew that she didn't want to hurt the girl, emotionally speaking. But she would scare her, she was going to make this girl realize just exactly who she was, shake her up a bit. "Hunter, his name was Hunter." The sky grew darker, the wind chilled and sent a sling of shivers and tingles along Camilla's skin. "He hurt you, didn't he?"
"WHAT?!" The girl practically broke her spine, bending backwards, leaning away from Camilla. "How do you know about him?! That's personal shit!" Her voice cracked like two sheets of pavement separating in an earthquake.
"You lost the-" Camilla stopped herself and just held her hands on her hips. A second. That was how long it took for things to escalate, she didn't want to go that far. A second could be so precious or detrimental. She stopped herself, knowing all too well how much a second could send that girl over the edge.

"STOP! STOP THAT RIGHT NOW! WHO THE HELL ARE YUH?!" Her fists were clenched, Camilla could see her white knuckles piercing from underneath her skin.
Finally, the guy decided to chime in. "Let's just go home, Tiff!"
"No! This frigging girl thinks she knows a lot about me, let's hear her." She kept trying to push things further.
"You can stay but I'm leaving." The guy said.
"You're the one who-" She practically seared him with her eyes, just like a piece of steak. "Never mind." She started to walk away from the scene she had created, trudging along the sidewalk.

Silence subdued all the dry and scorching feelings that were unearthed a moment ago. All it took was a second. A second of silence. Silence was like a river that rushed through and soothed the aching land.
"I'm sorry my sister can be a real ass-hat sometimes." The guy sounded embarrassed, but their was this lingering sense of surprise hanging between them.
Camilla knew what he would ask, she didn't want to answer it though. Just the thought of that word made her skin crawl, but she knew she couldn't deny it any longer.

"Believe me, I know." Before Camilla realized how ominous her words sounded, it was too late.
"How did you-" He was saying it, those words she hated.
"I don't talk to strangers." Camilla shut him down, giving him the evil eye. She didn't get a bad feeling from him, but she didn't want to risk anything.

The guy smirked, beginning to chuckle uncontrollably. Camilla didn't smile though, she just stared at him. Nothing was funny to her. Two idiots starting drama, she hated people like that.
He grasped onto his senses and shut himself up. "Listen, I'll see you around-" There was this delay, like he wasn't sure if he should speak or not. "I hope my sister didn't scare you too much. She's really not a bad person, she means well."

Just like that they parted ways, Camilla going left, and the redhead going right. The only thing Camilla knew was the she didn't want to run into them again. She would never stroll around that area again, she promised herself that. It was too dangerous to see them again.
You see, Camilla possessed a gift, the gift of knowing; or as some would call it 'psychic.' That was her secret, the secret she desperately tried to run from everyday. It drove her mad, sometimes she thought she was going insane. She could hear voices, see people, past lives, spirits, all kinds of things. She questioned her sanity sometimes, as well as others.
This was a new town, a fresh start. She didn't want her past to meddle in with things.
She looked up at the stars and continued walking home, trying to retrace her steps. Everything was warped, blurry, and distorted. The future was unclear, it always was.