Dawn of the Dreamer (Dreamer Trilogy Book 1)

by L. J. Higgins

  Rose giggled like a school girl at something he’d whispered to her and then he tucked a loose hair behind her ear. ‘You seem really nice.’

  ‘Thanks, you seem nice yourself.’ Rose’s face flushed pink.

  I’d always seen Rose as mature, but in that moment, she looked like a silly school girl who’d never spoken to a boy in her life. It was an effort not to look too often in their direction, listening to their flirtatious conversations slowly boiling inside me. It was only just that morning he had been flirting and telling me how special I was to him. One look at Rose, and he had completely turned away from me. Maybe he liked the new girl and enjoyed making her like him, and when someone new came along, he would ditch her.

  Had he been the same with Sarah before he decided I was his new toy? Did he say all the same sweet and heartfelt words to her only to have me steal away his attention?

  A glance at Sarah told me she had the same thoughts about Rose’s flirtatious giggles. Once again, he tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. My whole life I’d bitten my tongue and taken a backseat to keep the peace, to make everyone else happy, but enough was enough. Amelia Bailey was not a stupid girl who sat back and let guys lie to her and then treat her as though she wasn’t important. It was about time I stood up for myself. Even if it might hurt someone’s feelings. For the first time in my life, I didn’t care if it did.

  Shooting up to my feet, I proclaimed, ‘Joe, we need to talk. Now!’

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Everybody stopped and stared at me. The shocked expression Sarah wore revealed that even she had never seen me erupt in such a way.

  ‘Excuse me please, Rose. Your friend Amelia would like to speak with me.’

  His newly-adopted sarcastic tone only fuelled my rage. Angrily, I strode off towards the spot on the hill behind the shed and stood waiting while Joe took his time getting there. He probably had to give Rose a kiss on the hand before he left.

  ‘What is your problem?’ He reached me, his usually calm dreamy eyes now cold and angry.

  ‘My problem? You’re the one who has ignored and avoided me all night. What’s your problem?’ He said nothing and shook his head holding something back.

  Jealousy rose inside me. ‘Up until we rescued Rose, you and I were close, really close, and you gave me the impression that you liked me more than a friend. As soon as you saw Rose, you’ve thrown me aside because you have a new toy to play with.’

  Finally I was standing up for myself.

  ‘Are you serious? Me throw you aside? Is that what happened, Amelia? You threw me aside. Granted, we aren’t a couple, so you can go around doing whatever you like. Were you even going to tell me, or are you happy to just have two guys trailing along behind you? I liked you because I thought you were different. Turns out you’re the same as the next selfish little brat!’ His anger gave way to hurt for a moment as his eyes turned glassy, but with a hard swallow, he regained his fight.

  ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Confusion poured in. I was angry he was turning it back onto me.

  ‘Cameron! You kissed Cameron, and from what he had to tell me when I ran into him today, he thinks you two have something pretty special!’

  My heart ached as though it had been squeezed tightly, and my stomach felt hollow as the realisation hit me. Cameron told Joe about the kiss.

  ‘I didn’t tell you because you wouldn’t understand.’ I fought back, embarrassed and hurt. ‘You have no idea how I struggled in there and how amazing it was to have a familiar face. Someone who had my back in there.’ Why was I yelling at him?

  ‘I had your back! We all did! Didn’t mean you had to kiss him!’

  ‘You’re right. I don’t know why we kissed or how I even feel about it. It’s not like I cheated. You and I aren’t even together, but instead of talking to me, you judged and ignored me.’

  ‘You’re right, Amelia. We aren’t together.’ He spun around and stormed off.

  ‘Joe! Jonah!’ He didn’t stop. He continued towards the farmhouse and disappeared behind a caravan.

  So that’s what happens when Amelia Bailey finally decides to stand up for herself ... She falls flat on her face.

  Sinking to my knees, I sobbed into my hands.

  What happened to the special bond we had shared?

  He didn’t understand what it was like in the ward, and Cameron had been so caring and supportive. Yeah, we kissed. But until I spoke to Cameron again, I wasn’t sure if the feelings I’d had for him inside the Psychiatric Ward were genuine or a result of the situation I’d been thrust into.

  Why would Cameron even tell Joe? Did Joe pry for information, or was Cameron just worried where I was since I’d left?

  ‘Amelia, are you okay?’ The worried voice sliced through my thoughts, and I turned crying into Sarah’s shoulder, her arms wrapped around me. ‘I heard the yelling and can guess what it was about. I can’t believe Rose would do that to you. Maybe she isn’t such a great friend after all.’

  My sadness switched to anger, an easier emotion to process. I stood abruptly staring Sarah in the eyes. After the way she’d betrayed me, she had no right to be upset at the one person I could count on when I needed someone, Rose.

  ‘Get over yourself!’ The words sprayed out. I was a bottle shaken up for too long and the pressure had finally made me explode. ‘Rose is an amazing person, and if you gave her a chance instead of being jealous and bitchy, you might see it for yourself. She doesn’t know about me and Joe. And after what you did, you should thank her for being a friend when you weren’t.’ I couldn’t stop the words that tumbled out, helping me forget the guilt from hurting Joe. ‘I have always been there for you. The one time I needed you to be there for me, you let me down. So leave Rose alone, and before you judge anyone else, take a look in the mirror!’

  My eyes were glazed over. Rage shook my body and pushed me to run away after one last harsh stare into her hurt and watering eyes. Everyone had ruined a day that was supposed to be happy, and I wouldn’t let Sarah or Joe affect me anymore. Storming off as Joe had, I headed towards my caravan, the need to scream burning inside my lungs.

  When I reached my door, I busted in, slamming it behind me. I threw myself on my side of the bed, burying my face and yelling with all of my might into my pillow. My body emptied its anger until I had no energy left, and I rolled over onto my back to stare at the off-white ceiling.

  A little voice brought me back to reality. ‘Amelia, are you okay?’

  ‘Sorry, Rose, I hope I didn’t ruin your night.’

  ‘No, I hope I didn’t ruin yours.’

  ***

  Despite the heat, I decided to stay inside the caravan the following day to avoid everyone’s judgement, and Joe, and Sarah. Still angry and ashamed of my explosion, I wasn’t ready to see either of them. Instead, Rose brought me food, and because I insisted on being on my own, she let me be and helped Dawn around the farm. When Sarah arrived home from work, she dropped in to see me, still in her matching green long pants and top. She stared at her shoes, an image foreign to me, as she relayed her message.

  ‘Joe told me to tell you that Cameron asked him to get you to meet him at the Tavern tonight at seven o’clock. It seemed painful for him to tell me. Is this the Cameron you always talk about, the hot one?’

  ‘Yeah, it is.’ I smiled at the thought of seeing him again, but remembering the night before, I returned to my stern expression. Sarah was a proud person, and I knew this conversation was her way of trying to mend bridges, which was also her way of telling me I’d been right. Remorse pushed its way into my mind as I remembered how terrible the things I’d said were.

  ‘I don’t know if I can.’ Nerves took over as I contemplated seeing Cameron.

  ‘Of course you can. I can drive you in if you like. You can even borrow one of my dresses?’ Her eyes begged for me to say yes and forgive her. ‘I remember you telling me how dreamy he was. I would love to see for myself.’

  ‘Okay, but only if you com
e with me ... and Rose, too. It will be good for her to get out.’

  ‘And away from Joe,’ Sarah began, ‘she’s been following him around most of the day. It could just be she is lost without you, though.’ She realised what she had said. ‘Sorry, Amelia, I promise I’ll give her a chance.’

  ‘That’s okay. I’m sorry too.’ We considered each other for a moment before she reached out and gave me a relieved hug.

  It hurt thinking of her and Joe hanging out like he and I had only days ago. I replaced the jealousy with thoughts of meeting up with Cameron. Sarah decided that how I looked was of utmost importance, so after a shower, she gave Rose and myself a mini-makeover.

  After convincing her to take a natural approach to our make-up, she applied Rose’s and then mine. After trying on a dozen dresses, I settled on a light cotton black and white printed dress that hugged me in all the right places. Rose’s small frame looked elegant in a tight black dress. Sarah was gorgeous as ever in a bright watermelon colour. Not only did it hug her perfect figure, but it was lucky to cover her bum. Last but not least, she straightened our hair. We were ready to go.

  It had been a long time since I’d spent time with Sarah being girly, a long time since I’d felt like a girl at all. The clothes in the Psychiatric Ward did nothing for my figure, and on the farm, a tight top made you feel overdressed. I was also looking forward to spending some time with Rose away from the MMC and the farm, and prayed that she and Sarah would get along and each would realise how amazing the other was.

  ***

  Walking through the familiar double glass doors, I grinned at Sarah, who smiled even wider back at me. The bouncer scanned our wrists, and we headed to the bar, ordering three vodka, lime, and sodas. Drinks in hand, we made our way to a tall table surrounded by stools, and I began to scan the room for Cameron.

  ‘Is he here?’ Sarah scanned the room despite having no idea what he looked like.

  ‘I can’t see him, but we are a little early.’ A tense energy made me nervous.

  Maybe he wasn’t coming? Joe wouldn’t have made it up to make me look stupid, would he?

  After finishing my drink, perhaps a little too quickly, the familiar frame of Cameron strode through the doorway. He caught my eye at once, and happiness spread across his face as I stood and walked over to embrace him. Reaching me, he held me tight, afraid to let go as though I’d disappear again if he did. His muscular arms made me feel safe, and his masculine scent infused me with warmth.

  ‘Amelia, I’m so glad you made it.’

  Reluctantly, I let him go and looked into his brilliant blue eyes. ‘Of course I did.’

  ‘You look beautiful, and so much happier than when I saw you last. Did you miss me?’

  ‘Of course I did.’ It wasn’t entirely true; life had been so hectic I hadn’t had a moment to even think about missing him. I’m sure if I’d had a moment, I would have.

  ‘I’m Sarah!’ Sarah stood next to me, her hand outstretched, which Cameron took and shook enthusiastically.

  ‘Hi, Sarah. I’m Cameron, and I’ve heard a lot about you.’

  ‘I’ve heard a lot about you too, Cameron.’ She smirked at me mischievously. ‘And you’re as handsome as Amelia said you were.’

  My face flushed pink, and I gazed down at my feet. I should have known she would say something to embarrass me. She always enjoyed making me squirm, protesting that it was good for me to get out of my comfort zone.

  ‘Jokes aside, I want to thank you for looking after Amelia while she was away.’ Sarah took on a more serious tone. ‘She was very lucky to have someone like you watching out for her. You too, Rose.’

  I had to admit that although I’d had plenty of nasty things to say to her the night before, Sarah had changed since I’d been put into the ward. She was more confident than cocky, and I appreciated that she respected how much I liked Cameron and didn’t flirt with him. Farm life didn’t suit her, but she’d tried to fit in for me.

  ‘My pleasure. She was too important not to.’ His words and his flirtatious expression made my face hot all over again.

  Then I remembered Rose. ‘This is Rose. She was in the ward with me.’

  Rose approached him apprehensively and shook his hand.

  ‘Nice to meet you, Rose. You caused quite a stir, simply vanishing from the ward like that. Guess I should have known this lot would be behind it.’

  ‘We’ll leave you two alone.’ Sarah linked Rose’s arm with hers making an effort for me. ‘We’ll just be sitting at the table over there.’

  Cameron took my hand, and we sat at the table. ‘You don’t know how much I’ve missed and worried about you.’

  ‘There was no need to worry. They look after me on the farm.’ The farm? I wondered if I should have even mentioned that much to him.

  How much can I tell him without putting the others in danger? Am I putting them in danger? He already knew so much, how could it hurt?

  ‘Before we start, there’s something I want to say.’ His gaze dropped to our entwined hands. ‘I want you to know that I understand you were going through an emotional and stressful time in the ward. You leant on me for support because I was a familiar face.’ If only Joe had seen it the same way. I pushed the picture of Joe’s hurt and angry face to the back of my mind and focused on what Cameron had to say. ‘When we kissed, I wanted it and enjoyed it, but thinking on it later, I realised that you were vulnerable. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you. Before this happened, I was trying to ask you on a date and do this properly, but things just got insanely out of hand, and now, I don’t know where to start or even what you’re thinking. What are you thinking?’ His eyes met mine, melting my heart. They showed me how much he cared about me. I didn’t know what I wanted from this, but I knew that I cared about him too.

  ‘You didn’t take advantage of me. I thought you might have felt sorry for me. Going on a date with you would have been the highlight of my year, but after everything that’s happened, I don’t know what I want from you. I like you. I’ve always liked you, but I don’t know where to go from here.’ It was vague but honest, and that’s all I could tell him, given the situation.

  ‘Maybe we just start at the beginning?’ He smiled relieved at my answer. ‘Let’s remind ourselves why we were friends in the first place, and go from there.’

  ‘Deal.’

  He kissed my hand softly, and then let me have it back. ‘Now, there’re more serious things I want to talk to you about.’ His serious side, that I found so sexy, shone through. ‘You and your friends seem as though you are trying to start a rebellion of sorts. I’m hoping you’ll let me help you in any way I can.’

  A rebellion? To be honest, I wasn’t sure if anyone on the farm had thought about what comes next or what we could do to stop the MMC. I was certain they wanted to destroy the MMC as much as I did, but we’d never discussed how we might begin to achieve it. Cameron had been working on a way to stop them.

  ‘It isn’t foolproof yet, and it’ll need to be for it to work. But can I visit you on the farm one day and share my ideas with your friends?’

  He’d bought himself and me a mobile phone with credit on each of them. When he handed it to me, I promised I would ask the others if he could go see them. It was nice to have him around again, and for the first time, I noticed how he looked at me: nervous but still not able to look away. My smile stretched wide as we talked, my mouth aching, forming an expression that felt foreign to me.

  ‘I don’t feel very well. Can we please go?’ Rose looked off-colour, and the tone in her voice was shaky.

  Looking at Cameron, he nodded and stood up. Rose was already out the door, and after a hurried goodnight to Cameron, Sarah and I raced outside to find Rose sitting inside the car.

  On the drive home, I confessed to the kiss in the Psychiatric Ward with Cameron and relayed our conversation at the Tavern.

  ‘Too bad you had to get locked up for him to make a move on you. He’s hot enough to get away with it, though
, you were right about that.’ Sarah and I gossiped excitedly.

  He was hot, gorgeous in fact. His eyes and smile captured my attention every time I saw him. His muscular build melded with his warm, caring nature, everything a girl could want. Could he really be mine? I’d never had a guy like Cameron interested in me before, and it made me feel good to know someone could feel that way about me ... a Dreamer. Still, the thought of Joe clouded my emotions and had me doubting my feelings once again. Our connection had made me so comfortable, and it was still hard to believe that it had been broken and that it was my fault.

  Once home, Rose excused herself and went straight to bed. After we finished our conversation, Sarah and I headed towards our caravans, still giggling like we were back in high school.

  ‘You were right. I shouldn’t have judged Rose straightaway. I felt like you’d replaced me, and I guess I wouldn’t blame you if you had.’ Sarah’s smile faded to sadness.

  ‘You’re irreplaceable, Sarah. You will always be my closest friend, and I shouldn’t have been so mean last night. I took my anger out on you, which wasn’t fair.’ It was true. I would never have said those things if I hadn’t felt so guilty about Joe.

  ‘You were right, though. I have been a selfish friend, but I promise I’ll try not to be anymore. Rose is a lovely person, but I will say this: she went to the bathroom, and when she got back, she was acting very strange. I’m not being jealous. I just think you should talk to her.’

  Remembering Rose’s startled face brought back memories of the day she had burst into my Sleep Room yelling. There was a side to Rose I’d only glimpsed.

  ‘I’m sure she was just tired and overwhelmed. It’s a big adjustment, being out.’

  Sarah appeared happy with my answer, but I wasn’t sure I was. After another tight squeeze, Sarah headed to bed, and I turned to enter my caravan.

  ‘Guess you met up with Cameron?’ My smile dropped. Joe walked towards me as I stood in the doorway.