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Chapter 7
Cameron
I sighed as I looked around. Memories. I hated that word, but that was the only one I could come up with to describe the feeling. Memories. My life was in this 1 storage building. It was about as big as a normal, one story, house.
I had boxes, bags, dressers, whatever I could find, filled with...junk. My junk.
I took another breath and walked inside. Everything was neat, organized so I knew it wouldn't take long to find what I needed.
"You could live in here." Brian commented, humor evident in his voice.
"Yeah, I know." I bit the inside of my cheek, hands on my hips, looking around. I had a system...now all I had to do was remember it.
Alphabetically? No, that was too easy. Brands? No, still to easy. Order of needs? Yeah, yeah that was more difficult because no one ever knew what I needed but me.
"Brian look around for a light switch. It should be on one of these..." I walked over to a wall, reaching over boxes and bags on the floor and skimmed my hand along the wall.
I heard Brian put down the bag and the faint sound of skin against metal.
'Click.'
"Found it." Brian sounded proudly.
"Good." I didn't really pay him any mind, I had to think. How did I organize this stuff?
I wasn't ordinarily rushed when I came here. My thoughts weren't so jumbled. No it was hard to think about anything except my dream and that man with the piercing blue eyes that stood only...two no, three feet behind me.
"What?" I asked, knowing he was watching me.
I walked over to a pile of boxes and opened it up. Nothing was labeled and all the boxes were taped with duct tape ordinary as can be.
"Can I help?" That wasn't what he was going to ask, or say, but I didn't really want to know anyway so I didn't persist.
"Not unless you know how my mind works." I huffed a sigh when I failed to find what I wanted in the first box. "It seems even I don't anymore." I took the first box off and put it on the floor.
After ripping the tape off the next box I pulled open the flaps. Pictures, baby junk. "Why didn't this stuff burn?"
Brian walked over and, of his own initiative, looked into the box.
I didn't care, I had better things to look for. If it kept him out of my hair, let him.
I headed for the back, hoping upon hope that I remembered my system. Why did I make it so confusing? Was I that paranoid? Was? Who am I trying to kid, paranoia is my middle name.
Brian
I looked into the box and Cameron walked away. I watched her walk away and wondered why she just...just didn't care. She looked in the same box I was and I saw memories, maybe see just saw pain.
I looked around and found another box, one she hadn't opened yet and put it by the other box.
Absently I scratched my knee, I skinned it when climbing up the wall and didn't even notice. I picked up a picture frame.
The picture inside was tinted, stained with age. It looked like it had been in storage for a long time. The picture had been purposely printed in black and white for the classic look, and it looked just that.
It was a whole family. A mother, the same auburn hair as Cameron, she was smiling all the way to her eyes. A father, tough, strong, but...I don't know...kind in that fatherly way. He was smiling, but it was one of those rugged smiles only military men could pull off.
There was a boy too. Brian frowned. She never mentioned a brother. He had sandy blond hair and glowing eyes up at his mother. His father's hands on each of his son's shoulders.
Then, then there was Cameron. Her nose was turned up, hair cropped short and a look that could kill. That was Cameron all right.
I looked up at Cameron who was standing on a step later, reaching for the top shelf a few feet away. I could see her profile well. The muscles in her arms flexed as she eased a shoe box in her arms. She opened it up, tossing the lid on the floor. She pursed her lips, hefting a sigh and shaking her head. Not finding what she wanted.
She looked over at me and I grinned. She frowned, and then looked down at my hands, the look turned to a grimes and she looked away. She put the box back on the shelf and consumed herself into looking at other small boxes.
I looked at the picture again. I almost laughed thinking how they must a have 'pulled teeth' to get her to stand still for a family photo. And even then she stood with her back ridged, nose turned up, arms crossed over her chest and didn't look the least bit happy in her flowery hat and matching sun dress.
Her cheeks were red, even in the black and white photo, you could see it. She wanted to run and play, they wanted her to take pictures and be a doll.
I grinned at my self. I sounded like a detected. Detective Littrell. I did laugh at that and shrugged at Cameron when she looked over at me. Maybe I should grow up...just a little.
I put down the picture and took out a small shoe box. Inside was a small bottle and I looked up at Cameron. She was walking away, heading further back into the storage bin, step stool in tow. The perk was she had items in her hand.
I couldn't see her wearing the lace-tie bootie. I couldn't see her as being this small. I put it aside and looked at some papers that were inside.
Congratulation cards, her ankle band, her mother's wrist band, a heart necklace and...and something in a manila envelope.
I looked up at Cameron, she was making her way back, arms full of stuff, but she wasn't even acting as if I were here.
I looked back down and opened the envelope. I wrinkled my nose at the site.
There was a small tube inside with a strange, red-orange substance inside. That's not what turned my stomach though, it was the smell. It reeked just opening up the envelope.
"Gees Brian what did you do?" Cameron asked.
Brian laughed and stood, putting the stuff in his lap down. He walked over to where she was stuffing things into another duffle bag she found.
"Take a whiff." Brain waved the bag in front of her face and she started gagging. She pushed it away and looked like she would pass out.
"What is that?"
"You tell me. It was with your baby stuff."
"What?" She got over her queasiness fast enough, he noticed. Though she still looked a little green she jerked the package from me.
She looked at the envelope from all sides and then stepped outside. She turned the envelope upside down so that the bottle, that was no bigger than my thumb, feel into her hand.
She, though keeping it far from her face, inspected the bottle thoroughly.
"I...I don't know what it is. Poison, maybe?" She looked at me with a lost expression. She knew about as much about it as I did.
"Think it's his?"
Cameron looked at the bottle again and shrugged. "Could be. But why didn't he tell me?"
"Maybe it's part of his game. Like that rat maze, see how long it takes for 'em to find the cheese."
She wrinkled her nose. "I'd say I took to long and it soured."
I smiled. "Maybe." I looked back into the room. "Got any zip lock bags? We can cut off the smell and take it with us. Maybe will think of something."
She nodded and walked to a dresser that was right inside of the door. She pulled open the top drawer. "At least I filed something a way normally." She pulled out three zip lock bags.
She dropped the bottle into one, made sure all the air was out and closed it up. Then she rolled it up and repeated the process inside two other bags. She took a small whiff of the bags and decided that one more bag should do it.
"All I need is for my clothes to smell like this." She put it in the outside pouch of her bag. "Come on, we've kept Bruno waiting long enough. I'll come back if I need anything else."
"Oh, so you leave for the dog." I teased as I jumped up to grab the gate door. I pulled it to the ground and waited for her to lock it. Then we were off to meet the other guys.
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