A Light in the Dark

Chapter 74

A/N: Well, I've never written anything like this before, so I hope it turned out okay. Turn down the heating, 'cause this chapter is going to be hot! (Hopefully. Lol)

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Two weeks after getting shot and cut open in the middle of her stomach, the wounds didn't look much better than before. While the redness around them was almost completely gone, the edges of the incision and the bullet hole had grown thicker than the skin around them.

Camila looked forlornly at the ugly scars and slowly traced them with her finger. When she had gone to the hospital today to finally get the staples removed, she had hoped that some miracle might happen; that the incision only looked as bad as it did because of the staples.

Dr Ferguson had taken his time in checking up on her like his colleague and friend Dr Sanchez from Miami had asked him to. It was certainly an advantage to be her mother's daughter in times like these. While her mother had not been impressed when she refused to go to her follow-up appointment in Miami, she did talk to Dr Sanchez and found a suitable solution for all of them.

His colleague in New York had been very patient in answering her questions about her scars as he, just like Dr Sanchez and her mother, explained that they would stay forever, but could fade in time.

Could. That meant it was a possibility, not a certainty. For all she knew, they remained like this forever or even got worse in time! She was marked for all eternity!

Taking a deep breath, she pulled her shirt down, not wanting to see them more than she had to. How would Lauren react the first time she saw them? How would others? Would they stare at her every time she wore a bikini or a simple crop top? Would they point at her? Ask her how she got them? Maybe even ask her how it felt getting shot? Always mindlessly remind her of the probably worst day of her life? Remind her of the pure terror she had felt when Gabriel had clutched his large hands around her throat? Of the fear for her life when he had pointed the gun at her, ready to pull the trigger? Of the weight of Gabriel's dead body on hers?

Camila shook her head vigorously and pinched her arm, trying to snap out of the memories. No. There was no way that she would flaunt these scars in public... She didn't need curios looks or noisy questions on how she got them. She wanted to forget that day, pretend it had never existed. Was that too much to ask? She should have just taken Sofi that morning and run out of the house as fast as she could...

"Mila?" Dinah knocked on the bedroom door and Camila quickly wiped her cheeks. "Everything okay in there?"

She closed her eyes and willed her voice to obey her, to not betray her weakness. "I'm fine. I'll be right out."

The silence outside the door almost made her heart stop as she waited for Dinah to answer. Had she bought it? Was she convincing enough?

"Jake's on his way here," Dinah said slowly. Camila bit back a groan. She had totally forgotten about him. "You didn't mention that you guys were supposed to meet up..."

"Can we not talk about this right now, Dinah?" She put a slight edge in her voice to show her annoyance. It had been quite some time since she had last used the old tactics to get what she wanted – solitude.

"Uh, yeah... sure. Sorry. Just wanted to give you a heads-up. He's probably right around the corner..." Dinah trailed off when Camila failed to suppress a sniffle. "Mila... I can tell him to go away? And call Lauren?"

Right, as if Lauren was some magical being that could fix the impossible! Camila frowned deeply as she leaned her back against the door and tried to gain control back over her emotions.