Burnt Lies

Pick Me Up

Cameron

I was on the edge of speeding over to the clinic as I watched the clock tick down to 5. It was currently 4: 58, two minutes and I would be out that door fully intent on giving my father exactly what he deserved. 

Another minute ticked by with excruciating labour, as though it was trying to stretch itself into eternity. 

My keys were clutched in my clammy hands, my eyes constantly flickering to the door, and even though there was still half a minute left on the clock I was already out of the door, and hurtling into my car. Just as I was about to jam the keys into the ignition, my phone began to ring. 

The ID was one I had not been expected to see, it was my father calling me, before I answered Is schooled my breath knowing fully well that I was supposed to know nothing about what was going on. I couldn't let anything slip it would put Alara in far more jeopardy than she already was in and I couldn't have that. 

"Hello," though my voice held an undercurrent of distain, my father was too self-imposed to realise. 

"Cameron, I have Alara here, she seems to be quite faint, I need you to come get her," my teeth gritted at the statement, there was no way that Alara had suddenly become faint without his involvement. 

"Alara?" I painted my voice to be the picture of concern and confusion, "Where are you?"

I half expected him to explain that he was at Hours clinic, making up some sort of excuse as to why he was there, but he didn't he simply responded:

"Ah, she's here at the house, I wanted to discuss some wedding arrangements with her, I needed to know her taste of things and I know you aren't really concerned about any of that. When suddenly she said she felt a little sick and then, she merely collapsed."

The phrase bite your tongue had never really applied to me, I was always one to voice my anger and opinions but now, I physically had to press my teeth against the flesh of my tongue to not spout out rage as to how he was a lying bastard and to press what he had done to get Alara to faint. 

But I didn't voice the restless anger that simmered just below the surface. 

Taking a deep breath whilst cupping the receiver with the palm of my hand to make sure that my father couldn't hear me, I finally responded, "Ok, I'll be there soon."

The drive back to my childhood home was one that was completely memorised in my mind, I knew all the short cuts so it took a matter of minutes for me to get there. Once at the door, I needed to train my expressions so that they would not reveal anything. It was a good thing that over the years in this world of violence and crime I had been indoctrinated to never show fear or any sign of emotion to the enemy and at the moment, who the enemy was could never be clearer in my mind. 

It was mother who opened the door, her broad smile at seeing me wholly misplaced in the situation but I had no choice but to smile back, this had nothing to do with her. She pulled me into a hug, "Oh Cameron, you're hardly ever here anymore,"

With genuine guilt I replied, "Sorry Ma, things have just been so hectic, I'll make sure to come round more often,"

Silently in my mind, I added the condition that I would only come round when I knew my father wouldn't be there. 

"Alara's in the living room, she was feeling quite poorly, so I'm just brewing her some herbal tea to settle her stomach," and with that she returned to the kitchen. 

I all but rushed to the living room, my hear beating in an irregular fashion as I entered. And there she was pale faced and dry lips pulled between chattering teeth. 

She looked deathly, her arm was shaking beside her, her eyes glassy with a sense of something cold over taking them that only brightened when they rested on me. 

But my gaze was torn from her by the clearing of my father throat, he always held himself in high regard, a three piece suit perfectly pressed against him. 

"Cameron, Alara was feeling quite ill, " he began lying threw his teeth and it took everything in me not to throw a fist in his face. Father or not he deserved it. But it was Alara's pleading look that stopped me. 

She rose from her seat on the sofa, her shaking hands tightly gripping onto the band of her purse which shook with her. She seemed unbalanced one breeze away from collapsing. 

She quickly ran towards me, immediately pressing her face into my shirt, I could feel her small hands clutch onto the material. She was hiding her face from my father, and the action alone caused concern to course through my veins, I had never seen her like this. What on earth had happened?

"Can we go?" she whispered ever so softly so only I could hear. 

"She's a little shaken up," father added his tone monotonous and without a hint of emotion. 

"And why is that?" my tongue was sharp on the words, causing him to raise a brow.

"Wedding nerves I presume, " he spoke the words while leaning against the coffee table behind him, the picture of nonchalant. 

I took that as my chance to anger him, "Maybe we should post pone it," 

Alara stilled at the statement, but my focus was on my father. 

The statement had it's desired affect as he became defensive, "No," he almost bit out losing that suave nature he usually carried himself with. 

"No, it wouldn't be good, for Alara," the way he spoke made it sound vaguely like a threat. 

I cradled Alara in my arms, watching as her small frame continued to shake, she looked pale and frightened, I had never seen her like this, and I knew that something more had at the clinic that she had yet to voice.

"I think we should go now," I announced and I felt Alara relax slightly against me, I held her tightly as my father analysed our display of affection. 

"Very Well then," he reponded.

As we turned, Alara finally pulled away from my chest, now walking beside me her nimble fingers intertwined with my own, but just as we were about to leave, he called out behind us, "Don't forget to show Cameron what I gave to you."

She froze instantaneously, her fingers gripping my hand much tighter as she sucked in a shaky breath, but she didn't grant him a response, no she merely walked forward and pulled at the door rushing to get out of his presence.

Before I could ask her what he had meant, we were already near the door, Ma came hurtling out of the kitchen with a steaming tea cup, "Before you go Alara, dear have some of this tea it will make you feel better its Nona's secret recipe,"

Alara gave a small smile to Ma, and graciously took the tea, she sipped at it daintily and after drinking it some colour returned to her face, a flush of pink that had been over taken by a pallid complexion returned. 

"Thank you so much Mrs Grayson," she responded politely handing back the now empty tea cup.

"Aw dear call me Anna or better yet Ma, I can't wait to be you're mother-in-law,"

"Thank you Ma," she tried nervously earning a face splitting grin from my mother. 

It did stir something in me to hear her call my mother Ma, it felt like she really truly meant it that she was ready to accept my mother as her own and in turn ready to be with me in full matrimony but that was not the most pressing thing at the moment. 

I needed to find out what my father had done and what Alara needed to show me. I needed to be her pick me up after she had fallen so deeply into this mess of a world.

And the only way I could do that was if I showed her she could fully trust me. The only question was how?