6:59 (41 page)

Cam

“All you have to do is take a deep breath and close your eyes. The power transferal should only take a few seconds.”

The guard on El Rey's right motioned for the two to place their hands together after cutting open a tiny gash on their palms. El Rey and Hudson joined hands and closed their eyes.

“Now, Rey, you must transfer your abilities like we have taught you to.”

El Rey nodded and squeezed Hudson's hands. I waited for something weird to happen, like them starting to levitate, or their hands starting to glow. But none of that happened. It was just a quick, couple of breaths and then El Rey opened his eyes.

When his eyes opened, I noticed something completely different about him. For instance his eyes were suddenly lighter and his frown lines had completely disappeared. And to top off the weirdness, El Rey's smile stretched wide across his face, making him look almost goofy.

Hudson's eyes opened a second later. Instead of her appearing frightening and angry, she still remained the same Hudson, except her eyes were a lot brighter.

“Hudson?” El Rey asked in a smooth, cheery voice, the smile still plastered on his fresh face. He looked ages younger.

“Daddy?” Hudson asked, tears in her eyes.

“Oh, my baby!” he cried, lifting her up and kissing her cheeks repeatedly. “Oh how I've missed you! You are so big, my baby! Look at you!”

“Daddy! You're back!” Hudson cried, placing her hands on her father's cheeks.

“I've always been here, baby,” he said, smoothing her hair. “I've just been… dormant.” He chuckled and broke away from her, twirling around on his feet. “I feel like a million dollars! I could sing!” El Rey jumped up and down and belted out song lyrics. When a random voice sang out, all eyes looked toward the doorway. Hudson cried out happily when she saw her mother standing there with her arms wide open, tears falling down her cheeks.

El Rey spun around and stared, tears rolling down his face as Monica finished singing.

“Monica, my darling!” El Rey cried, sprinting across the room.

“Rodrigo!” Monica cried, jumping into his arms. Like the classic movie moment, the two kissed passionately as if they hadn't kissed in years — which is probably true. They melded together like chocolate and peanut butter, only separating when Hudson joined the two.

The guards and I stood, watching this spectacle awkwardly. I didn't know why everyone was suddenly so happy. I mean, come on, Anjolie was still dead! She looked like a grayish-blue mess next to the fireplace. She was empty, incomplete, lifeless. Everyone around her was so fortunate. Hudson being queen with a new life, her parents able to reunite, me having not one but two souls in one body—

Wait.

“Excuse me, El Rey!” I cried out suddenly.

El Rey glanced at me. “I am no longer, El Rey. I am Rodrigo. Please, call me Rodrigo.” He smiled widely at me.

“Fine — whatever — Rodrigo,” I said, walking up to him. “Anjolie is still dead. That's why we came here in the first place. You told me that you had no means of healing her without life energy. Well, sir—” I couldn't believe I was saying this, “—I'm willing to sacrifice myself.”

Cam

“Cam, you can't do that! I told you
specifically
not to do that! You can't sacrifice yourself!” Hudson cried out, wrapping her arms around my waist and staring up at me sadly.

“I have to, Hudson,” I sighed, shrugging off my sudden bout of nerves. “Anjolie is dead. She doesn't deserve this. She never wanted to be the boss and for her life to be over after only eighteen years of living, it's just not fair.” I pulled away from Hudson. “Everyone knows I don't belong. I mean, I'm the freak that ruins everything. Nobody likes me—”

“That's not true!” Hudson interjected.

“It is,” I said, meeting her eyes. “I'm nocturnal. What kind of life is that? Cameron deserves this body way more than I do. He has Stanford to look forward to. He has plans for his future. All I do is party and live life. That's taking a toll on everyone and it almost killed him in the process. My life sucks anyway. I might as well stop while I'm ahead. Trust me, Hudson, he can have this body.” I shakily shrugged my shoulders. “I'm over it.”

Hudson stared at me for a long time, her bottom lip quivering as she wrapped me into a tight hug. “Are you sure Cam?” she asked, her tears burning a hole in my shirt.

I nodded. “Yeah, it's cool.”

There was a silence as Rodrigo stared at us, making sure my words were true. Then finally, he nodded his head. “You are a true saint, Cam, a very brave being. You are doing many people a huge favor that
will
be remembered.” He held out his hand. “Come. Both of you. Follow me.”

Cam

Hudson was a blubbering mess. Her makeup was running down her cheeks and she couldn't stop whimpering. “I can't do it, Daddy!” she cried. “Can't you be the one to kill him?”

Rodrigo held her close and pet her hair. “Two things, baby,” he said. “One, we are not killing Cam. We are just utilizing his life energy to bring Anjolie back to life. He will always be with us — just in Anjolie's spirit.” He glanced at my strapped down body. “But don't worry, you won't become Anjolie.” He smiled.

I hesitantly smiled back, wiggling around on the rough surface. Why had they strapped me down so tightly? We were just transferring my energy, right?

“And two,” Rodrigo said, leading his daughter to my side. “I have given all of my powers to you. It's your job to complete the process.”

Hudson cried out, her tears falling onto my dark gray V-neck. “But… but… Cam…” she couldn't get a hold of herself. I wondered why she was crying so desperately. I thought she hated me!

Seeing her like this caused a swelling in my throat as I tried to hold back my own tears. Everyone couldn't have hated me. I mean, here Hudson was, bawling her eyes out even though I thought she'd been the one that couldn't care less about me. If Hudson were acting this way, imagine Armando, or worse — Olive. What was I doing?

“You're amazing Cam,” Hudson wept over my face. She caressed my cheeks and kissed my eyelids shakily. “I'm sorry I ever doubted you. You deserved life so you should have never questioned that.” She stroked my hair as she tried to compose herself. “You're saving two lives, Cam. I love you for that.” Then she stepped away. “Goodbye, Cam.”

I blinked my eyes a few times, not wanting tears to awkwardly fall down my face. Unfortunately, the blinking made it worse, causing my runaway tears to fall down the sides of my face and down my ears.

When Hudson saw me crying, she wept harder and squeezed me into a hug. “You'll be okay,” she cried as she pulled away.

I nodded and took deep breaths. “Yeah, I know I will,” I said shakily. “Duh.”

Hudson coughed out a laugh and then made her way to stand between our two supine bodies. “Remember Hudson, do not let your mind go astray,” Rodrigo said. “Keep your thoughts centered on transferring his energy. Like I instructed, picture lifting him up and placing him on top of Anjolie.”

“You can do it, sweetheart,” Miss Monica said, wrapping her arms around Rodrigo's waist.

Rodrigo patted her arms and gazed at me. “Cam, you must also keep your mind focused. Because there are two life forms in that body, it will be difficult for Hudson to differentiate which life form she is taking. Center your thoughts on this energy transferal and picture yourself being lifted up and placed onto Anjolie's body. Can you do that?”

I nodded, still breathing heavily. “Is this going to take long?” I asked, hoping it would take only two or three seconds like the earlier power swap had.

Rodrigo bit his lip and placed his hand on my arm. “I seriously hope it does not.”

Hope
?

“Okay, I'm ready.” Hudson took a deep breath and held her hands out. “Picturing those lever things at the arcade now…”

I stared at her, watching in shock as her hands began to light up. That hadn't happened earlier! What was going—?

A sudden electric shock shot through my body, forcing me to cry out. It felt like I had just been electrocuted and the lightning bolt was in no hurry to disappear. I pressed my lips together as the electric sensation got stronger. My body started to shake and twist and I could no longer hold in my yells.

“It hurts!” I cried, trying to rip my arms out of the straps and run away. Tears streamed down my face, blurring my vision.

“Sorry!” Hudson cried, her eyes still closed. “I can't find his energy!”

“Cam!” Rodrigo's voice was in my ears. “You have to picture yourself being lifted out of your body. She can't seem to find you.”

“I
am
!” I yelled, focusing on myself being lifted up and out of the blazing fire. Sweat poured down my forehead as I struggled to remain conscious.

“Found him!” Hudson cried out. She bit her lip and her hands clenched as she started the energy transfer.

“Stop!” a wild voice yelled out.

“Get out of here!” Rodrigo hollered followed by a stream of Spanish words. He then ran out of my line of vision. “Can't you see that she is in the middle of saving your friend?”

“Hudson!
Sonny
!” Through the unbearable pain, I suddenly identified the voice as Armando's. He was the only person who called Hudson “Sonny”—but he only used this pet name when he was in distress. “Don't listen to this man! He will brainwash you!”

“Go away, Armando, I'm busy!” Hudson screamed, her hands shaking as she pushed my energy into Anjolie's.

“Don't take the throne, Sonny, please!” Armando cried, wrapping his arms around Hudson's waist and throwing her off balance.

“Get out of here, Armando!” I screamed with more force than I had intended to. I blamed it on the writhing pain. “We're trying to save Anjolie and you're distracting her!”

Armando's glare hurt worse than the energy transferal process. “I don't care about saving Anjolie. I care about saving Hudson.” He held onto her tighter.

“I'm already queen, you idiot!” Hudson yelled, sweat pouring down her forehead. “
Now go away
!” she demanded. On that cue, three guards grasped Armando's arms and began to pull him away.

Suddenly Armando burst out sobbing and screaming out Spanglish. “
Mi amor
! My baby,
no me olvides,
please! Don't forget me!
Te quiero
! I love you so, so much!”

“I love you, too, Manny,” Hudson said to him. Then she focused her attention back to me. “Cam, focus on yourself,
please
,” she demanded, wiping the sweat from her eyes. She had a stern expression on her face and her hands shook like crazy.

I slammed my eyes shut and pictured myself lifting out of the body and ending this process once and for all. Soon memories of my life began to flash across my eyes.

Signs of my life ending.

I took deep breaths and focused on those pictures and not the pain.

Dad and I eating fruit snacks in his car. Mila giving me a bath in the backyard. Mom reading mystery novels to me underneath her blankets. Getting the second dog, Curtis. Kissing Mom's cheeks before she died. Playing in Dad's wardrobe. Learning how to drive. Going to France for an impromptu vacation. Dad giving me “the talk” using his Midnight Models…

Olive…

Sadly, I was going to really miss these people. They had made my life more than amazing. Yeah, I was a douchebag for the greater amount of time I've spent with them, but they were always there for me. Always.

I would never forget them.

Cameron
, I thought,
you're a lucky guy
.

Olive

“I'm going to call the cops if they're not here in the next five minutes,” Mr. Sloane said as he paced the room for the millionth time.

“They'll be here, sir,” I said, staring out the windows, refusing to blink. “Hudson said their flight should have gotten here, like, an hour ago.” I glanced at the time. It was five minutes to six o'clock. Sun poured in through the windows, blinding my eyes that haven't closed in over twelve hours.

When Cam and Hudson prepared to leave with Anjolie's dead body, Cam had told me that I couldn't come because of how dangerous El Rey could be. At the time it was a good idea, but now I was beginning to regret not accompanying them on their trip to Galicia.

Where were they?

“There!” Mila cried, running out of the kitchen. “They're here!”

The three of us jumped up and ran out of the house to catch up to the large black SUV that parked in the street. I hadn't seen that car ever. I wondered who it belonged to.

Mr. Sloane ran up to the driver's seat and jumped. “Who's
that
?” he asked, taking a step back as the door opened.

A tall, Spanish man with shaggy black hair and strong arms stepped out of the car. His black suit made him look more like a CEO rather than a driver. He smiled brightly at the three of us. “Hello, I am Hudson's father, Rodrigo.”

I gasped. The infamous El Rey was standing right in front of me! But he looked nothing like the monster I'd thought he'd be. He looked more like a Spanish singer or actor.

“Olive!” Hudson cried, leaping out of the car and wrapping her arms around me. She jumped up and down, more ecstatic than I've ever seen her. I jumped up and down with her, excited she'd come back alive — with her father!

“Where's my son?” Mr. Sloane cried, frantically looking around our jumping bodies.

“Right here, Dad,” the voice said, coming around the car. We all swiveled around and saw Cameron limp up to us with his arm slung around Armando's shoulders. Anjolie walked up in the same fashion with Monica's aid. “I'm here.” He smiled, his blue eyes twinkling.

“Cameron!” Mr. Sloane cried, running up to Cameron and lifting him into his arms. Cameron groaned, embarrassed at being held like a baby in front of everyone.

“You can put me down now, Dad,” he said shyly.

After greeting Cameron, I went to Anjolie. “Anjolie! You're okay!” I cried, wrapping my arms around her waist. “Are you good as new?” I asked.

She nodded, flipping her curls out of her eyes. “Apart from my searing headache, I'm cool,” she said with a smile.

Everyone melded together, giving hugs and greeting El Rey — who now went by Rodrigo. “I gave all of my gifts to Hudson. She is a queen now.” He smiled and wrapped his arm around his family.

“Wait, you're a king?” Mr. Sloane asked Rodrigo with shock in his eyes. Rodrigo laughed and nodded. “Well, how?” Mr. Sloane asked, genuinely interested.

“We'll explain everything once we get inside,” Monica said, patting Mr. Sloane on the shoulders.

Before everyone began to make their way to the house, I stopped in my tracks. Then I remembered that it was six o'clock in the morning.

Cameron shouldn't be awake right now.

“Cameron?” I asked, walking up to him and looking into his blue eyes. “Are you awake right now?”

Cameron stared at me for a long time. “Yes, I am,” he said. “I finally am.”

Everyone smiled and clapped Cameron on the shoulders cheerfully.

I smiled but couldn't revel in this exciting news. I needed to find Cam. “Where's Cam, though?” I asked, searching the empty car for him.

“Yeah, where
is
that knucklehead?” Mr. Sloane asked. “Cameron shouldn't be himself right now.”

“Cameron has his body back,” Hudson said with a smile. She wrapped her arms around Armando's waist. “I'm sorry, Olive. Cam's gone.”

“He can't be,” I said, panicked. I glanced at Armando, searching for answers. When all I got was a frown, my heart stopped. “No, seriously guys — where is he?” I asked.

“He's gone?” Mr. Sloane asked. “No more schizophrenia?” Mr. Sloane looked more shocked than me — but for all the wrong reasons. “How can his schizophrenia just disappear like that?”

“We should go inside,” Armando said. “We'll talk.” Everyone nodded and made their way towards Cameron's house.

My world became a blurred mess as I struggled to not faint. Cam was… gone?

I then felt hands on my shoulders. “Don't worry sweetie,” Monica said softly as we followed everyone to the house. “Cam gave his life to save Anjolie. What he did was a very valiant thing. You shouldn't feel bad because he wouldn't want you to.”

“But… but how?” I asked, tears falling down my cheeks like icy bullets.

“I'll explain everything to everyone inside,” Monica said. “It's going to be a long morning for everyone.” She squeezed my shoulders and waltzed into the house, leaving me alone outside.

I would have remained standing there for hours if it weren't for Cameron. He made his way over to me and placed his hand on my arm. “Are you okay, Olive?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowing together.

I cleared my throat and wiped my eyes hastily. “Yeah, I'm fine,” I said smiling. I wrapped my arms around him. “I'm glad you're back, Cameron. And now you can stop whining about never seeing nighttime,” I teased.

He laughed and pulled away. “You miss Cam, don't you?” he asked, throwing his arm around my shoulders. We both made our way into the house.

I nodded, sighing. “It's not that I'm not happy you're your full self,” I explained, “I'm just—it's going to take some getting used to, you know, never seeing Cam again and all that?”

“It'll be okay, Olive,” Cameron said, squeezing my shoulders. “You still have me.” He flashed me a goofy smile.

I laughed and shrugged. “Yeah, you're right,” I said, closing the door behind me. “I just wish I could've said goodbye.”

Cameron just nodded his head, not knowing what to say. I decided not to talk about Cam anymore. That was selfish of me, and I really didn't want him to worry about taking Cam's life away. So I plastered a smile on my lips. “But let's go,” I said. “I think it's story time.”

Cameron smiled and we joined the group in the living room.