XX

T u e s d a y, 16/4/19

Dear Diary,

"Jo. Can you hear me?" "Jo. Can you answer the question, please?" "Jo. Do you recognise this woman?" "Jo. Can you identity the body as being that of Sabrina Lahart's?"

Everything was just one, big blur.

I sat, in the waiting room of the police station, bracing myself for another round of questioning by the bustling officers.

Camden hadn't left my side since we had kissed and, frankly enough, I didn't want him too. Having him there, beside me, with my fingers tangled up in his, was all that I needed.

Nothing else.

Just then, the door burst open and Dad, Spencer, Mr Waldesh and Luna trundled inside.

"Jo!" Spencer burst into tears when she saw me. Throwing her arms around me, she buried her face in my shoulder. "Oh my god. I thought I'd never see you again!"

Trying to bottle my own emotions, I returned the hug, grateful that I had survived the horrific encounter.

As Luna sat down beside me and stroked my hair comfortingly, Dad piped up worriedly, "Jo, have you seen Andrea anywhere? She was supposed to meet me here."

I hesitated, unsure of how to respond.

Yeah Dad, your girlfriend's a freaking psycho Russian assassin spy who tried to kill me and, oh yeah, she got shot dead so...I guess the wedding's off? Yay.

"You don't know, Lane?" Spencer butted in. "She's the one who did this to your daughter."

Dad's mouth fell open in shock. "Wha..."

"Yeah, it's true," I mumbled with a slight nod of my head. "S-she's dead, Dad."

The next few hours were a whirlwind of chaos. Luna and Spencer had to call the event managers and photographers and the entire guest-list to tell them that the wedding was cancelled. Dad, who was horrified at the turn of events, collapsed in the waiting room and had to be taken to the hospital for a check-up. Camden had to phone his father and tell him that he was staying the night at a friend's so he could take me home.

The two of us managed to evade the flood of reporters that had gathered outside of the building and escape via Dad's sleek, black limo. I just sat limply back against the cushioned seat with my head on Camden's shoulder. I didn't say a single word. I couldn't.

Who, in their right mind, would believe, for one single second, that I had been kidnapped and nearly killed by a psychopath assassin?

Thank god for Camden. I don't know what I would've done without him. Despite everything that I had done to him, he decided to stay with me and make sure that I was okay.

I didn't deserve him.

It was after midnight and we had just finished binge watching an entire season of Riverdale. I was nearly asleep so Camden carried me, bridal style, up the stairs to my room. He tucked me in, kissed my forehead and was about to leave when my hand shot out from beneath the covers and seized his larger one.

"Thank you...for everything," I whispered.

He smiled down at me. "You're welcome, love. You've had a long day. You should rest."

"Wait!" I exclaimed as I propped myself up on my elbows. "Cam....I - I..."

"What is it, Jo?" he asked, his tone filled with concern.

"I...I like you too," I stuttered nervously. "Like - er - a lot. I - I wasn't always the nicest person to be around but ... you were and I - I..."

I didn't even get a chance to finish my sentence before Camden swooped down and kissed me, gently and softly. My heart flipped over in my chest when I felt the velvety warmth of his lips against mine.

As he pulled away, all I could utter was, "Whoa." If I was in a better mood, I would've laughed at the faint blush that stained Camden's cheeks.

Nibbling on his lower lip, he whispered, "Go to sleep, Jo. I'll be right here. I promise."

The next thing I knew bright bolts of sunlight where shining through the cracks in my bedroom curtains and a seaward breeze, washing in through the partially open window, was gently tickling the exposed skin of my face and arms.

Slowly, I opened my eyes only to see Camden's slouched figure slumped against the foot of my bed. A twinge of guilt stabbed through me as I quickly slipped out from underneath the blankets and crouched down next to him. "Cam," I spoke, my breath fanning his jaw-line. "Cam. Wake up."

He started up with a jolt but when he saw me, he relaxed. "Good morning. You doing okay?" he queried as he tucked a wayward strand of hair behind my ear.

I nodded, blushing at the contact. "Y-yes."

"You're so cute when you're nervous," he whispered as he leaned over and kissed my cheek.

BBRRIINNGG.

"Oh crap!" I yelped as I made a clumsy dive for my phone. "It's Spencer! I've missed like - oh geez - five calls."

As Camden got to his feet and rubbed a sore spot on his neck, I accepted the call and said, "Hello? Spence? What's going on? Have you heard from Dad?"

"Yeah, the doctors are discharging him this afternoon," she returned hurriedly, her words tumbling over themselves. "He'll be fine. He's just in shock, that's all. They say he needs to rest when he gets home."

I nodded. "Absolutely. I'll take care of him. Don't worry."

"There's something else too," Spencer faltered. "It's about Mr Foley."

I frowned. "What?"

"Yeah. He was taken into custody last night under child abuse charges."

"What the fries?" I shouted. "What the hell happened?"

"Luna went to the surf shop to check in on Daisy this morning - as a favour to Cam," she replied soberly. "She was just in time to stop a drunken Mr Foley from smashing a beer bottle over Daisy's head."

I nearly dropped my phone. "He did what?"

"He'll be behind bars for a while now. The police don't take these sorts of things lightly."

I shook my head in disbelief. "And Daisy? Where is she? Is she okay?"

"She's back at my place now," Spencer assured me. "If you want, you can come over."

I nodded. "We'll be right there."

As I hung up, I turned around to face Camden and sighed. "I think we're gonna have to get used to dealing with the cops for now."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "What the hell is going on?"

"It's your father, Cam. He - he's in jail."

Camden's jaw visibly tightened as he stared straight at me. "Why?"

Hesitant, I responded, "Daisy's safe, Cam. She's with Spencer."

"You didn't answer the question."

I swallowed. "He - er - he tried to hurt her. But she's fine now. Don't worry. I - I ... have something to confess." As soon as the words tumbled from my mouth, I wished that I could take them back. Camden was upset and rightly so. It wasn't a good time to tell him about his sister's surfing lessons.

But it was too late to go back now.

Camden raised his eyebrows and looked expectantly at me. "Okay."

I closed my eyes as I returned my phone to my pocket. "Cam," I whispered as I faced away from him. "You have to promise me that you won't get angry."

"It's that bad?"

I heard the disappointed and apprehensive vibe that rang through his words and my heart sank.

I'm so sorry, Cam. I didn't mean to lie to you. I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't mean to stuff everything up. I didn't mean to go behind your back. I just wanted to help.

Those were the words that should've left my lips. Instead, this came out: "We've been teaching Daisy how to surf...in secret."

I wasn't looking at Camden so I didn't know what expression his face held but I could only imagine the hurt and the pain that was washing over him at that very moment.

"We?" he breathed out in a low tone.

I nodded. "Yes. Spencer and Rick and me."

"Rick? Y-you've been hanging out with Rick?"

Several tears slipped from my eyes. "It's not like that."

"Yes, it is."

I heard the sound of shuffling feet and turned to see Camden leaving the room. "Wait! Cam! Just listen to me!"

"There's nothing more to hear," he snapped. "I'm sorry, Jo, but my Dad's in jail and my sister needs me. I - I just want some space, okay?"

So, like the dumb idiot that I was, I stood stock-still in the middle of the room and didn't move a muscle until I heard the front door close behind him.

XX