MY FIRST NON-SPY STORY. Cammie is the new girl in town, she's come with a heavy heart and a brick wall built around her so high that she doesn't allow anyone to help her. But when she makes some new friends, and a certain Zachary Goode catches her eye. Will romance blossom or will her heartbreak be too much to bare?

Chapter 1 - Remember To Breathe

Cam POV

I didn't want to move. I loved the life that I had; I loved the friends that I had, I loved my home. But last 6 months have been difficult; the friends I had stopped calling, the home I loved felt haunted and overall my life was falling apart.

Mom's life was exactly like mine, broken. I think that's why my aunt Abby came back from her job in Paris and suggested that we move from the bustling city of Washington D.C all the way to the quiet town of Roseville, Virginia.

At first I thought she was joking, and I laughed in her face. My mom however clung to the idea, she set the wheels in motion and the next thing I knew, I was packing up my life into cardboard boxes, getting in a car and leaving the ghosts behind me.

'This is a good thing, Kiddo' My mom patted my leg 'Abby's helped us find a fantastic house just a stone's throw away from town in one direction and then there are the woods which are about a half hour the other way'

'Great' I muttered still looking out the window. My mom sighed. I knew she wanted me to be supportive and positive, but there's only so much I can take at once.

'I'm very jealous of your new room. There's a huge bay window which would be absolutely perfect for reading at. Then we can paint your walls whatever colour you want, and I know you always wanted an exposed brick wall so if you wanted it, then I'm sure we could find a-'

'Mom, it's fine' I said quickly 'I'm sure that whatever you and Abby decided will be just perfect for you and I' My voice was dripping with sarcasm and a little bit of spite. Mom probably heard it, but chose to ignore it.

'You'll have fun here Cammie, we can go on little trips and-'

'Can we just drop it for now please?' I asked, more aggressive than I should have done.

'Okay' My mom said quietly.

I mentally punched myself, things between me and mom haven't been ideal since my dad died. Every time he went off on another tour with the army, me and mom took everyday as if he'd never left, things were normal and we had a routine.

One day, me and mom were eating chocolate chip pancakes, we were laughing about something and overall we were happy. Then there was a knock at the door. I answered it expecting to see the mailman or a delivery person, but there was just a man in uniform, he removed his hat so I could see his buzz cut.

'I'm sorry to bother you miss, but is your mom around?' He had a thick Southern accent.

'What's happened to my dad?' I asked, my body was already shaking. I knew why he was here. I knew in my heart that something wasn't right.

'Cammie, who's at th-' My mom came up next to me. She took a sharp intake of breath when she saw who it was. 'William, what are you doing here?' She asked, trying to put a smile on her face.

'I'm so sorry to be the one to tell you Rachel, but there was an accident and…'

At this point my mom gripped my shoulders tightly and I could feel her tears falling.

'I'm so sorry, Rachel' He whispered

'You said that already' I snapped.

'Cammie…' My mom whispered

'Is he alright? Is he injured? When is he coming back?'

'He's not coming back, Kiddo' My mom turned me to face her. Her eyes looked different, more lost. 'He's not coming back' And that's when we both collapsed into tears. I remember William stood there awkwardly, at some point he handed us Dad's hat and his dog tags. In that moment, nothing was the same again.

In the car right now, I place my hand on my neck and feel the metal there. A stark reminder that it's just me and mom.

'How about we have pizza tonight?' I suggested, trying to offer an olive branch. Mom smiled at me.

'Only if we get-'

'-extra cheesy garlic bread' We said at the same time. I gave a small smile. This won't be the easiest thing in world, but I need not take it all out on her. She's lost dad as well, and the last thing I want is for her to lose me too.

...

'Cammie, sweetie, wake up' My mom shook my arm slightly. I grumbled but opened my eyes slowly. 'We're here' She squealed excitedly. I sat up and looked out of the window. In Washington we lived in a townhouse where we had to climb the stairs and there was constant traffic going past. However, our new house was set back from the road by a small lawn. There was a small porch outside the house. There were green vines going up the side of the building. I glanced around and saw that most of the street was the same.

'What do you think?' She asked.

'It's different' I said honestly

'It sure is' Mom sighed 'It's as close to our style as possible, otherwise we would have ended up on the other side of town in a cottage with wooden beams and a charcoal fire' She gave a small shiver 'How Oliver Twist we would be' She winked. I chuckled lightly.

'Well, come on' She turned off the engine and opened her door. I followed and looked around. The air smelt different here - gone were the fumes of car exhaust systems and replaced with a sweet smell of pine trees. My mom made her way to the door and pulled out her keys.

'Abigail said that she'd bought some bits and pieces for us already' She rolled her eyes 'She said that the kitchen was all her idea' I smiled. My mom was an average cook but she was no Gordan Ramsey. Abby has refused to try or trust any of my mom's food ever since a seafood incident a year ago. I shivered at the memory.

Rachel opened the door with a flourish. I stepped inside. The ground floor was pretty much opened planned with dark wooden floorboards running through the entire ground floor. At the far end of the house, the white marbled kitchen looked too precious to be real. I walked down and examined the fridge, I opened it and saw it was already stocked with food.

'Abby's really outdone herself' I whistled. There was no response. 'Mom?' I looked back to see her standing in the doorway still. 'Mom, are you okay?' I asked. She nodded and wiped a small tear from her eyes. I stood awkwardly, shifting my weight onto different feet.

'I'm fine honey' She waved her hand 'It's just…'

'I know' I choked out. We didn't have to say it, but we both knew. We're doing this without Dad. She cleared her throat.

'Why don't you go upstairs and check out your room?' She suggested. I nodded, wanting to get away from the crying before I joined in. I climbed the stairs and came to a small landing. There was a small bookshelf in one corner and four doors leading off of it. My room, Mom's room, the bathroom and a guest room. I took a guess and picked the door on the right. Immediately I could tell this was my room. The bay window like mom said earlier casted light across the room, there was a curved bench around it filled with plush cushions. There was a door on one side and it lead to a small cupboard which would probably be my wardrobe (or my panic room). All the walls were a pale grey/purple colour and one wall was dominated with white floating shelves. There was a small envelope on one of them.

For all your books and medals and goodness knows what other great things you'll achieve!

Just remember to breathe.

Love you Squirt,

Abby x

I followed my aunt's orders and took a deep breath. Things need to get better. They just have to.

Author's note: IT feels like forever since I wrote a Gallagher Girl's story, and I can't wait to share with you what is happening with this story! As I'm starting University, this will be uploaded once a week! Find out more info on my page! See you all soon xxx