LOGINShare
Chapter 4
Last Updated:
2021-07-08 06:46:43*Cameron POV*
She runs from the cafeteria as if I have some incurable disease. My face still tingling where she had been so close to touching my cheek, only a thin napkin between us. I close my eyes, trying to calm my beating heart. For years I had watched her build walls around herself, erecting one after the other by ignoring the mean comments from guys angry about her lack of attention to them.
Each year she sank further and further from the spotlight and every year I yearned more and more for what she had, invisibility. But this year, when she slammed into me, it was like an emotional barrier falling away as I got lost in her snarky comments and deep green eyes.
My life is grand if you like snotty people who like your family’s name and wealth more than you as a person. I’m surrounded by a world of shallow people who use fame and money like it’s the cure-all. And often it is. But money can’t fix a broken relationship. It can’t develop that bond between parents and their kids. I learned rather quickly what was more important to my family. Our image. I’m gifted all the newest, most expensive things, five thousand dollar watches? I have 6. Brand new sports cars limited editions? I have two.
I never have to ask for anything because it shows up before I can even think of the need. But what I need now more than anything is the one girl’s attention who literally runs from me. And this is the only one I want to chase. It’s not your typical I want her because she doesn’t want me, it’s that I’m intrigued because not only does she not want me, but I have nothing to offer her that could entice her to want me. The man with everything and nothing to give. It’s infuriating.
I take a deep breath and turn back to her friend, who I’m supposed to show around the school. I offer her a kind smile.
“Cameron,” I say, offering my hand. She looks at me strangely and accepts it.
“Mia.” She looks me up and down. “Are you really supposed to show me around? That seems a little...”
“Below me?” I ask finishing her sentence.
“Yeah, kinda.” She affirms.
“It keeps me humble,” I say, winking at her and she scowls.
“Right, well I’m sure you need lots of humbling.”
“A little humility is good for everyone,” I say, stuffing a fry in my mouth. I see a shadow coming from behind me and I sigh heavily, closing my eyes and finding the fake smile to plaster on my face. Angela. She’s beautiful and completely dense. Both are the pinnacle of her blase personality.
“Cammy Baby.” She says, placing her hand on my shoulder rubbing it along my back. “What are you doing with…” She motions towards Mia with the snap of her wrists as she judges her with her eyes. Based on the venom in her tone, I can tell she has rated Mia high among the pretty girls and finds her to be a threat.
“Mia. She is new and I’m her tour guide. No need to get catty.” I snark at her. Angela gapes at my snark. Huh. Must be learning something from Faith.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Attitude,” she says, getting close to my face. “I don’t think I deserved that remark.” she pats my cheek rather hard as she takes a seat in my lap and I sigh, annoyed.
“Right well. Cameron, it was nice to meet you and super sweet of you to offer your tour guide services. But I’ll just text Faith if I get lost.” Mia stands up and collects her bag and tray. And with that, she is gone. Angela zeros in on me, her eyes narrowing.
“You ever call me catty again, I will tell Daddy and he will have some choice words with your father.” I roll my eyes at her. I push her off my lap and stand up, walking out of the cafeteria wanting nothing more than to disappear as everyone waves or says hello trying to get my attention.
Related chapters
A little Bit of Faith Chapter 5
*Faith POV* My phone sits on the kitchen table vibrating relentlessly as we eat dinner and I happily ignore the phone calls that are going to voicemail. Mom, who is sitting across from me, is staring as I twirl my spaghetti and spear a meatball, shoveling it in my mouth and moving quickly onto my garlic bread. I can see her nudge Mia in my peripheral vision, who looks up at me and sighs. Placing her fork down and crossing her arms across her chest. I look up at them as I swallow what’s in my mouth. It’s times like these when they are both cross with me that they seem to look similar. Though Mia is more of an exotic beauty, gifted to her by her deceased father, she and my mother have the same slim face shape and stick straight dark hair. And when they both are sitting in this position, even their sour looks seem to be identical. I groan in annoyance and place my fork down and dab my face pretentiously with my napkin. “Ok. What?” I
Last Updated : 2021-07-08A little Bit of Faith Chapter 6
By the time my alarm goes off at 4:45 am, I’m already fully dressed and sitting in my running gear on the end of my bed. I haven’t been able to sleep since seeing Dad for the first time. My heart and my mind are in a constant battle over forgiveness or revenge. Lately, my hormonal mind has been winning the battle as I snub him every chance I get, intentionally learning his schedule at school and how to avoid him. Running club should help. I hope so. Today is the first day and we are starting with a 5K and then hitting the weight room. I could join the track team, but the running club does all the same things without recognition. No one staring at me. No one cheering my name and drawing the spotlight on me. Just me, working my aggression out and clearing my mind. When I arrive at the track, the lights are just coming on, lighting the way, and I can feel a small smile forming. I’m far more excited than I thought I would be. Maybe I enjoy ru
Last Updated : 2021-07-08A little Bit of Faith Chapter 7
I bust through the weight room doors laughing as Berry comes in just behind me. I toss my hands up in victory. “Victory is mine!” I spin to look at berry who inches closer with a suggestive smile on his face. “Ooh, Woah there buddy. Victory means a date. Not a kiss.” he chuckles loudly, tossing his head back and I’m kind of enjoy the sound. I look up at him with a grin on my face. “So that means you’ll finally go out with me?” he asks happily. “Ugh. I guess.” I roll my eyes with intense exaggeration as he wraps his muscular arms around my waist and hugs me tightly, spinning me around in a circle. “Yes!” He hoots “Freaking finally!” The door opens behind us as Mariah and Ari walk in and stop dead in their tracks, watching me come down from the spin and release myself from Berry’s arms. I clear my throat and look at Berry, who is grinning from ear to ear, and I elbow him in the gut. “So... what’s going on?” A
Last Updated : 2021-07-08A little Bit of Faith Chapter 8
I was standing outside Mia’s first class waiting for her to come out to regale to her with my dubious morning. The bell had rung over 3 minutes ago and she still hadn’t come out of the room. I stepped up to the door and peeked through the little window and I could see her talking to someone of similar height. I could see her shoulders moving in a giggle and I couldn’t help but think she was getting someone’s number. My impatience gets the better of me and I rap on the window. She spins around and, seeing me, she smiles brightly, waving for me to come in. Hesitantly, I step back and open the door, peeking my head around. “Hey Mia,” I call to her “Dude, I was going to walk you to your next class and tell you all about my morning!” “Yeah, just a second, ok?” She finally turns enough out of the way for me to see that seated in front of her is a cute guy with crutches to the side. He looks familiar and I try to place him when he catche
Last Updated : 2021-07-09A little Bit of Faith Chapter 9
“Are you ready for our date tonight?” Berry asks, pulling me in for a quick hug. I feel a moment of hesitation. It feels wrong to go out with him now. The only person I can think about is the mysterious hoodie guy who I haven’t seen or well heard from in over a week. I’ve finally decided I need to find out who he is, but it’s very hard to do that when there’s zero contact. “Yeah, I guess so. When are you picking me up?” I look around, making sure no one is watching us. And Berry laughs at me. “Everyone knows we are friends. A hug between friends is nothing new.” “I know, I know. I’m just being-” “Paranoid, you’re being paranoid.” He bops the tip of my nose and I crinkle it in distaste. A shadow grows behind me and for a second my heart flutters in excitement, thinking it’s my mystery guy. Much to my dismay, it’s the ever annoying Cameron who has taken to randomly popping up and talking to me. I groan inwardly. “Par
Last Updated : 2021-07-09A little Bit of Faith Chapter 10
Since dad’s been back, I have actively tried to avoid him. Just the sight of him often triggers my anxiety, though it’s not been as bad as the first few times. Yet for the past few days, my nightmares have rocked my nightly sleep schedule. I wake up covered in sweat, reliving the hatred in his eyes as he kicks me, punches me in the stomach. My right shoulder aches from all the abuse it took, phantom pains to remind me I’m awake, that it was all real. That these memories are still too fresh. I walk into AP English with my hood up, hoping it shields my red puffy eyes. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in the last week so my mood is about as good as my appearance. Which was enough for Mia to comment on and drop when I scowled at her. Mrs. Smith wasn’t in the classroom yet, so I decided to try my hand at a small nap. If I don’t hit a REM cycle, I won’t dream. Or is it the other way around? Ugh! This brain is not cooperating. Just lay your head down for a
Last Updated : 2021-07-09A little Bit of Faith Chapter 11
*Cameron POV* Faith sits staring at the wall, her legs pulled tight to her chest as the nurse looks at her head. She looks so different now, so small and broken. Gone is the strong snarky girl, replaced with the real, raw version. Seeing her like this is hard, especially since I’ve only ever seen her on the defense. When I saw her lay her head down, I couldn’t help but smile. The way she hides, trying to avoid detection. Watching her jolt and shake and whimper and ultimately fall back and hit her head had been nothing compared to her after dream state where she sobbed for death at the hands of some illusion only she was witnessing. I couldn’t bare her pain. I had to walk away and yet, when I got to the door, I found I couldn’t leave. The new teacher had sent another student running for Mia. I felt useless not being able to leave but having no real reason to stay. I wanted to help her. The need to just do something was so strong. S
Last Updated : 2021-07-11A little Bit of Faith Chapter 12
*Faith POV* My phone illuminates the darkroom as I stare at the name displaying on the screen “Izzy”. My mind races with thoughts and reasons he is calling me at 1 on an early Wednesday morning. I roll my eyes. He probably somehow magically knows about yesterday’s events at school. I wouldn’t be surprised. He seems to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I’ve cried on and off since yesterday and stayed home from school today so I could get some much needed rest. Everyone seems to gloss over the fact that I’m afraid of what I see when I get said rest. Mom and Mia are being pushy about talking to the therapist on a need basis and not my usual twice a week. Mom even suggested I try therapy with Dad. After seeing my face Mia shot it down, she and mom got into an argument. About what’s best for me. It should bother me that my best friend is vying for my mental health more than my mother, but I honestly feel numb to everyth
Last Updated : 2021-07-11
Latest chapter
A little Bit of Faith Epilogue- Faith
Warm water trickles down my leg as another contraction squeezes my insides in an invisible vice grip. I groan loudly, clutching the counter and leaning over. I hear a clattering beside me and I look over, seeing Izzy holding his little stuffed puppy, his eyes wide in fear. He looks so much like Cameron right now. I smile through the pain as he tentatively steps closer. “Mommy, you peeped your pants on the floor?” he asks in his sweet 3-year-old voice and I chuckle. “No baby, mommy is going to have a baby. Do you know where mommy’s phone is?” I ask, hoping he might remember where I had it last since I never can recall these days where I put anything. “Um. Yep!” His tiny little legs work hard as he runs out of the bathroom and bangs around in the living room. “Iz. Izzy?” I call to him. “Yeah, mommy?” “Did you find it?” He walks into the bathroom, holding my phone, and I nearly fall over with rel
A little Bit of Faith Epilogue - Cameron
4 years later, *Cameron POV* I wipe my sweaty palms on my khaki pants. Faith’s name rings through the speaker system and a single graduation cap rises from the sea of green as she makes her way to the stage. Noah and I jump to our feet, screaming and cheering for her. It doesn’t matter to me that every man and woman graduating is wearing the same robes and hat. My Faith looks a thousand times better than all of them. Her auburn hair shimmers in the sunlight as she climbs the stairs, a stunning, excited smile on her perfect face. There is no doubt in my mind that this woman is the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. She shakes the dean’s hand and pauses for a minute while photos are snapped. Noah and I take our seats and he leans over to me anxiously. “Ok, dude. I’m freaking out for you,” he whispers. I shoot him a scowl, and he just chuckles and shrugs. Noah and I quickly became good friends and then, as fate wou
A little Bit of Faith Chapter 76
*4 months later* * Faith POV* “Come on, Faith!” Cameron shouts “Run faster!” Mia screeches “Yeah, pretend Mia is coming for you!” Noah adds. I can hear an oof from him, which makes me smile, knowing Mia probably whacked him. I try to tune them out as I run by them on my last lap, hurtling towards the finish line. I need to hone in and focus. Currently, I’m sitting in second place with Mariah right on my heels. My heart is racing with the sheer adrenaline of the race and my legs are exhausted. They feel like jello but I push harder, faster than I have ever gone before. Little by little, I gain on the girl in front of me. Each step vibrates through my leg, pulling me closer to my last victory.
A little Bit of Faith Chapter 75
“Do you guys think it's stupid of me to keep doing family therapy?” I ask Mia, Noah, and Cameron. They all look around at each other, waiting for someone to talk. “That’s up to you,” Mia says. “If you think you need to do it to get the closure you need, then I think it’s exactly what you need,” “You have to remember that you are un-hashing a lot of heavy stuff. You are reopening old wounds so that you can heal appropriately. It’s going to be tough in the beginning.” Noah adds. “You said Uncle John is back to actually showing up, right?” Mia asks, and I nod. I forgot how long it’s been since we’ve sat and had a serious conversation about it all since she spends most of her time with Noah and I’ve been busy with Cameron. “Did he give a good excuse?” Cameron asks. “He went back to visit his AA mentor and talk about everything. His mentor helped him find a therapist here and Dad claims he is going daily now.” I say, sh
A little Bit of Faith Chapter 73
*Faith POV* The car idles as I sit and stare at the garage door. A stray tear slowly weaves its way down my cheek as I swipe at it furiously. I hate feeling like this. My therapist keeps telling me that healing is a process and even when I ‘heal’ I’ll still have moments when I’m not ok. And today I’m not ok. I feel emotionally drained, and all I want to do is sleep for days. I hate these scars that make me feel so ugly and imperfect. I have done so well compartmentalizing all my shit so I could help and be there for Cameron. And it felt amazing to do that. I regret nothing. But now I’m being bowled over by my own insecurities and internal pain and I feel so alone. I have people I can call who would be here in a moment for me. But I feel terrible for bothering them with my sob stories. Mia called me the moment I left Cameron his food to ask if we could reschedule our girls-only night. Of course, I said yes. She is in love and happy
A little Bit of Faith Chapter 72
The arcade is bustling and the sounds of the games surrounding me remind me just how alive and vibrant this place is. I sit at one of the tables towards the back with a now cold pepperoni pizza as I watch everyone move around me. A young girl is crying because she lost the game while her older brother chuckles and tries to console her. The boy to the left sits at the table drinking his soda while being engrossed in some random comic strip in his hand. I look to the center of the store and I swear I can see her. Standing there in front of a young boy who looks just like me. I blink back the burn of tears, letting the memory play itself out before me as if it’s a movie of my life. “Oh, my sweet little Izzy. I promise the machines are clean,” she assures me with a sweet smile. & year old me just smiles in excitement. “Shouldn’t I be at school?” ten-year-old me asked her. “Not today. Today we are celebrating yo
A little Bit of Faith Chapter 71
“How’s Edith?” Noah asks as he walks up to Faith and me. It’s been a few days since her stroke and there still isn’t much change. Though she woke up, she still looks like she is not completely there and it’s slowly killing me inside. “She’s hanging on.” Faith answers for me, entwining our hands and offering me a supportive smile. “Well, that’s good to hear,” Noah says, trying to make conversation as he sits at our lunch table. I like Noah. He seems to be a genuine guy who thinks the world of his two best friends. Who doesn’t respect a guy who can put up with two polar opposite girls at the same time? Ever since the time we all hung out in Faith and Mia’s living room, he and I have had a new mutual respect for one another. One that I am certain will grow into a wonderful friendship. Which is refreshing since I really only have Faith. Being the popular guy comes with a lot of things, one of them being lots of acquaintances but no
A little Bit of Faith Chapter 70
Each blip on the monitor is a reminder that she is still here, still fighting. It’s been a whirlwind since we arrived. Flurries of medical personnel bustle in and out checking vitals, changing liquids, offering water for Faith, dad, and me. She had a stroke, that’s what the doctor said. He said extreme stress brought it on. I rode here with her in the ambulance. I just knew she would wake up if I left her alone for even a minute, and I couldn’t miss that. Yet she still hasn’t opened her eyes or even squeezed my hand. I know she will recover. It doesn’t take a medical genius to know that she is just too amazing to leave me. She would never do that to me. Faith walks up behind me and snakes her hands over my shoulder, hugging my back and giving me a kiss on the cheek. “Hey, how are you doing?” she whispers. The heat of her breath tickles my ears as I turn slightly to see her face. She looks exhausted and stunning. How
A little Bit of Faith Chapter 69
“Well then, I will find a job and buy us a double-wide to live in,” Dad smirks. I choke on my laugh when her face falls, and she grows pale. “Fine. I’ll sign them and go to John.” She says. It’s blatantly obvious that she is trying to get a rise out of my father, but the only reaction she gets is a bark of laughter from Faith. “My dad?” Faith is trying to contain her laughter while my mother grows red with anger. “I’m sorry. You think he wants you after you tried to destroy him by getting him addicted to drugs?” “Woah, what!” I look at my mom as she stands looking guilty. Now it’s my Father’s turn to turn red with anger. “You gave him drugs?” My father says, his voice rising as it echoes through the house.”
