A Secret on Raven Block - Raven City Part Two

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After Sarafina left, the house descended into an awkward silence. No one seemed like they knew what to say or do and Kendall just wanted to get out of there and go home. She somehow felt claustrophobic in the huge room and needed to get away.

She started toward the front door but Kameron stopped her.

"Kendall, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.

She hesitated and was tempted to tell him she was tired and wanted to go home, but the desperate look in his eyes caused her to pause. Somewhere told her in the back of her mind that if she was going to the boarding school program Sarafina had spoken about, then being able to have a one-on-one conversation would be limited. Despite all the complicated emotions that were going through her at the moment, she was curious about what he wanted to say.

She nodded and was a little surprised to see how relieved he looked.

"Come with me," he said. He took her hand and led her upstairs. She was too wrapped up in her thoughts to notice the rest of his house or the fact he leading her to his room.

Any other time, if circumstances were different, she would have been soaking in every detail and excited at the thought of seeing his room. Still, all of that was pushed to the very back of her mind in favor of what was going to happen to her future and thinking about everything she had to do before she left.

She didn't pay any mind to his room as she stepped inside and he closed the door. She couldn't help but think about how her parents would react when they were told the news. Her parents were laid back and understanding, much more so than most parents, but she knew that even this would be too much for them. No way were they going to willingly let her go to that boarding school or program or whatever Sarafina called it. And if Sarafina and Mrs. Patterson were telling the truth, that they could get arrested if they wouldn't let her go. . .she didn't even want to think about it.

She felt heartbroken at the thought of having to leave school and her family and friends. It was so hard to move out of Raven City several months ago, but at least she had her parents. This time, they wouldn't be able to come. She didn't know how she'd be able to get through this without them.

"How are you doing?" Kameron asked, breaking through her thoughts.

Kendall shrugged and gave him a strained smile. "Overwhelmed."

He winced. "Yeah, I figured."

"You?"

"I'm okay, at least compared to you." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am about all this."

She blinked in surprise at him. "Why are you sorry?"

He swept his hand at her. "I'm the one who did this to you. I'm the one who gave you my blood. This wouldn't be happening to you if it weren't for me. I should've waited for the ambulance, tried to help you some other way. . . I should have done things a lot differently. I ruined your life. I ruined your future. . ."

She was shocked at the tears that suddenly sprung to his eyes.

She gently laid a hand on his arm. "Kameron, I don't blame you. You didn't ruin my life. You saved me."

He blinked at her in surprise.

She gave him a small smile. "I know you were trying to save me and had no idea this could happen. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be standing here right now. Yeah, everything's crazy right now and I'm trying to deal, but at least I'm alive. You saved my life and I can't thank you enough."

He continued to gaze at her for a long moment before smiling. "I'm glad you're alive, too." He took her hand. "I promise, I will help as much as I can. My family too. We'll all help you. And Sarafina. I know you might not trust her much right now and I've only seen her once, but Sarafina will help you and she'll try to make this as easy on you as possible."

Kendall truly, truly hoped that was the case. She hoped Sarafina meant that this program wouldn't be like a prison, that she would be able to still talk to her parents and friends and continue with school. She hoped her instincts earlier to trust the shapeshifter was true and that everything would be okay.

For some reason, she knew she trusted Kameron despite not knowing him for that long. The voice inside of her kept saying she could trust him and to let him in.

She somehow knew Kameron wouldn't have done what he did for just anyone and that's what made her trust him. Yes, her life had changed, was changing, but he risked a lot and she knew his life was changed as well.

She couldn't stop the question from escaping her mouth. "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Save me."

"I would have done it for anyone. I -"

"I mean, save me by giving blood the way you did. You knew there were risks and you took them anyway. Why take such a huge risk for me?"

He blushed and looked away. Her curiosity piqued and she wanted to press him for the answer but at the same time knew she needed to be patient and let him speak on his own.

It felt like an eternity before he finally spoke and it wasn't the answer she was expecting.

"At night, I was getting these dreams or visions, but they were always the same. I was always taught that whenever you have visions like those they're important and to take them seriously. And. . .you were in them."

She gasped, thinking back to her own strange dreams. "I was?"

He nodded and blushed even redder. "Yeah, I knew you were going to play a big part in my life and I knew I couldn't let you die. I didn't just do it because of my vision, I did it because I knew you had a long, wonderful life to live and you couldn't leave too soon. I wanted to make sure you had the chance to make it and...I just couldn't watch you die."

A heavy silence filled the room. They stared at each other, neither of them knowing what to say.

The gravity of the situation suddenly hit her and she burst into tears.

Kameron appeared startled. "Kendall, are you okay?"

Without thinking, she threw her arms around him and sobbed into his chest. She felt him tentatively wrap his arms around her and held her as she cried. She had no idea how long they stood there but it felt like forever until she could get her emotions under control.

The weight of nearly dying, of supernaturals being real, discovering her crush/neighbor was a shapeshifter, discovering she was a shapeshifter herself, and having to go away to learn how to be a shapeshifter hit her all at once. The reality of how much things had changed and were going to continue to change was too overwhelming and she'd been trying to suppress it for a while.

When she finally managed to stop crying, a flood of mortification crashed over her and she kept her face buried in Kameron's chest, unable to look up at his face. No doubt he thought she was a crazy person.

"Kendall?" he asked gently. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and stepped away, looking everywhere but at him. "Yeah," she barely whispered.

He gently took her chin and turned her face back to him. "I promise, everything's going to be okay."

She smiled and stepped back, wiping away her tears. "Thank you. I need to head home." She turned toward the door and paused. "Seriously, thank you for what you did. I owe you my life."

"You don't owe me anything but having a good life."

They shared a smile then she walked out the door and walked to her house.