Our Little Secret ➳ Camila Cabello

fifteen

Camila and I rushed home to pack our things and get the hell out of dodge. In the middle of packing, my uncle called me. I regrettably answered it.
"Hello?" His southern voice wasn't as soothing as it used to be.
"What the hell, Mike? I thought you were gonna protect me and keep them from walking all over me. Now they're trying to take me away?"
His voice was softer than usual. "I know, y/n. But I don't have a choice in the matter. They still are legally your parents."
"Didn't you become my legal guardian?" I asked feeling my heart pound at 1000 miles per hour.
He paused for a second. "Just a temporary legal guardian. It ended this year. I knew I should've got it renewed, but i was too busy."
"Fight for me, please. I'm begging you. I'm not going to survive there." I said feeling the tears stream down my face.
"What do you mean, y/n?" Uncle Mike asked. I stayed quiet. "What do you mean? Answer me."
My voice was solemn. "You know exactly what I mean, Mike. I can't be in that house anymore. I was a freak of nature, abused and shunned. They didn't give two shits about my well being. I can't make it 2 more months in that house. I understand I'll be 18 soon, but I'm not gonna make it past the first day."
"Don't talk like this, y/n. What if Mila heard you?" My uncles voice was caught. Almost as if he was about to be in tears.
"She knows I'm not strong enough, Mike. You do too. The fact of the matter is that I am not happy in general. So going back to that house could make or break me. Plain and simple."
There was a quick pause as I heard a sniffle from the other line. "Just stay put and I'll fight for you. There's no telling if it'll work, but I'll do my best."
That's when I heard them enter the house and call my name.
My mother rang out, "Y/N. Get your bags down here this instant. We have a long road ahead of us!"
I looked back to see Camila start to freak out as she grabbed me to pull me in the room, and close the door. Mila wrapped her arms around me and kept her grip on me. I talked into my phones receiver, "Uncle Mike, they are here. It's just me and Mila. We can't fight them off. Where are you?"
He sounded more in distress now than before, "I just turned on the street to get into the neighborhood. Stall as much as you can."
A tear began to fall down my cheek, and Mila wiped it then whispered into my ear. "I won't let them hurt you. No one will ever hurt you while I'm still here and breathing."
The bedroom door opened and Camila's head shot up. It was Dan. I kissed Camila's lips hard and Dan pulled me off of her. "C'mon, y/n. You've grossed me out enough for a lifetime."
I couldn't escape his grip. Camila ran after me and grabbed onto my hips. "Let her go! She doesn't want to leave."
Dan whipped Camila off of me, causing her to fall to the ground. I felt so helpless as he pulled me down the stairs, through the hallways, and outside to the black car. Dan threw my bags at me in the back and put the child lock on before closing the door. Camila ran outside and then Uncle Mike finally pulled up.
Camila ran to the door and tried to pull the handle but it was locked. All she could do was beat on the door in the hopes it would magically open. Uncle Mike drove his car behind Dan's and parked it so they couldn't leave. Dan got out of the car and was now enraged, "Move the car, Michael. You don't need to do this."
"I'm not letting you take her, Daniel. You have no business taking her away from me!" Uncle Mike said. I could barely hear through the muffled glass on the car. Mary sighed and got out of the car too.
This was my chance. I needed to get away.
Dan was pissed now, "I'm taking her away from this mistake of a life. You just happen to be in it."
Camila yelled at Dan, "Her life is not a mistake. If anything, yours is. You're not a father. You're a fucking ignorant asshole."
I quickly opened the passenger door and ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction of where everyone else was. I heard Mary yell behind me, "Daniel, hurry! Y/N is getting away."
The house three doors down from us had a huge bushed landscape. I jumped into it and crossed my legs as I dug myself as deep as I could into the earth so no one could see me.
My phone began to receive a call. It was from Ally. I quickly answered it.
"Hey baby girl. Whatcha up to?" Ally said with a happy tone.
I began crying, "Ally, they're trying to take me away." I had to quiet myself down.
"What? I don't understand. What are you talking about?"
"My parents. They are trying to take me away from my Uncle and I got away but now I'm hiding in the bushes down the street. I can't go back, Ally. I know I'm depressed, okay? I know that if I go back, you'll never see me again. I'm so scared." I admitted feeling myself become more and more undone.
"Honey, where's Mila?" Her expression was now similar to a mother that is worried.
I couldn't help but keep crying, "She's back fighting with everyone. But then again she may be looking for me now that I ran off. Ally, I'm not okay. They are going to hurt me." I started to hyperventilate.
"Baby, please breathe. You're going to pass out. Listen to the sound of my voice while I figure out what to do. Okay?" Ally was almost in tears. I could hear it now. I kept quiet, just listening to Ally. "I'm on my way over, but I want you to breathe, okay? In and out." I followed her instructions as I began to inhale and exhale deeply. "Good. Now talk to me. Tell me something that you like. Keep your mind off of all the bad things. Tell me what you love most about Mila. Sound good, baby?"
I wiped my tears and did what I was asked to do, "I like that she's special. S-she's more creative and doesn't go by the book. And she's way more intelligent th-an people t-think she is." I cried.
"Okay, sweetie. What else? What do you like about her eyes and smile. I know you love those."
I pushed my hair back out of my face and answered her feeling my voice shake uncontrollably. "I like that she can look at me with only one expression and I just become hooked. I love the way she bits her lip and winks when she does it. I love the way she can just smile at me and I know that she cares." I was starting to calm down, but my fear was still boiling over.
"Keep talking to me, y/n. Until I get there. Tell me about the first time you knew you were in love with her."
I could feel another tear go down my face, "That's the day I met her after her first audition."
"Good." Ally said with a worrisome tone stuck in the back of her throat. "Tell me the story."
I brushed my fingers through my ratty hair and inhaled deeply before starting. "It was my first time in Florida and I was dreading being there. The weather was unbearable and having to work backstage with some of those crew members made me uncomfortable. I saw Mila go on stage, and I heard she was my age but I didn't think anything of it. Then I heard her sing. Her voice was something I couldn't even explain at that moment. I knew she was going to go through to the next round. They would've been idiots to keep her from being a star."
"Tell me more, Hun. I'm almost to your house." Ally told me.
"Well after she performed and made it through, I meant to walk back and congratulate her. But I was a klutz and ended up ramming my head into her head. She got up and helped me up with a smile. That smile was the best thing that happened to me to this day. Now, I'm gonna lose it, Alls."
Ally shushed me through my phone, "Stop that right now. I'm outside your neighborhood. What house are you at again?"
I looked around. "Three doors down from mine. To the right of my house."
"Oh shit!" I heard Ally screech from the phone.
"What happened?" I became so paranoid.
"Camila just ran into the street like a crazy person." Ally's voice got further away but I could hear her yell out to Camila, "Get in the car, now!"
Camila's voice was hoarse but understandable, "I gotta find y/n!"
"I know where she is. That's why I'm here. Now get in!"Ally said slamming her door. "Y/n baby, Mila is in the car."
"Baby I'm so sorry. I love you. Where are you?" Camila said breaking down in tears which killed me so bad that I started crying uncontrollably again.
Ally started to freak out, "Y/N, breathe. Okay? Tell me something else that you like about Mila. Get all the bad things off your mind like before."
I sighed and wiped the flood of tears from my cheeks, "I like that she does that little 'ba dun ba dum' when she makes cute little j-jokes. And I like when she gets so into a thought that she just loses where she is. I love that she's not afraid to be outgoing and she genuinely loves me and everyone around her. I love the fact that she's still with me even when she knows I'm fucked up." I couldn't help but feel sadder as I mentioned every good thing about her. I couldn't help but shake the feeling that everything could come crashing down in a matter of seconds.
I saw Ally's car pull up and I sprinted out of the bush to run into the back seat. There Camila was waiting with open arms. As soon as I closed the door, Ally sped off back towards her house.

--

On the way back to Ally's I fell asleep on Mila's lap. I guess the stress I collected only a few minutes ago was enough to make me extremely drowsy. Mila kept messing with the strands of my hair making me more lucid. I could hear what they were saying, but I was so tired that I couldn't react.
Mila's voice was almost gone at this point, "What was she listing out earlier?"
Ally laughed, "Things she loves about you. She named a lot. She even told me about the time she first fell in love with you."
I felt a tear fall on my neck as I heard Camila sniffle, "What'd she say when I wasn't in the car?"
Ally sounded focused, "She says you're more intelligent than people give you credit for. She likes the way you bite your lip and wink. She likes how you can glance at her and she gets hooked. She loves your smile and eyes in general."
"What else?" Her sniffles were getting harder to contain.
"She told me she fell in love with you the day of your first audition. When you two ran into each other and you smiled at her."
Camila laughed but her laughs were muffled from her sadness. She started messing with my hair and brushing through it lightly with her fingers. "Do you wanna know what I love about y/n?"
"I'd love to know, Mila."
Camila lightly giggled trying to cheer herself up, "I love the way her eyes do this thing where I feel like I'm the only girl in the world. Let alone in the room. I love how she licks her lips randomly when they get all dry. God, I love that. I love how she brushes her fingers through her hair to make herself look even more perfect. I love the way she can be so bitchy at times and not care about speaking her mind no matter what predicament she's in. I love how adventurous and mysterious she is. I love how she can be so hard shelled sometimes, but I know she's just a big teddy bear. I love how she loves me. I adore y/n."
"That was sweet, Mila. You may need to wake y/n up now. We are almost there." Ally said as the car started moving slower.
I felt a slight nudge on my arm as Camila bent down kiss my neck. "Wake up, babe. You can sleep inside."
I slowly opened my eyes to be face to face with Mila, who at the moment had puffy red eyes and tears streaming from them. I got up and kissed her cheek, then put my hand around her waist. I quietly whispered into her ear to let her know I heard her loud and clear, "I adore you too, Mila."
She was still upset and I wanted to comfort her, but I always mess things up. I'm too much drama for Camila and the other girls. They shouldn't have to worry about me like this. It breaks my heart to see Camila even start to cry over me. Why couldn't I have been born in a happy and healthy family so I wouldn't have to deal with so many dramatics?