weak ➸ camren

chapter 17 ➸ do you trust me?

Camila groaned, knowing exactly what they were hinting at. She lay back on the bed and pulled her feet up onto the mattress. "I'm tired of you guys acting like I'm some child that you have to keep secrets from. Don't talk to Lauren behind my back, and please don't talk about me behind my back," she shook her head and took a deep breath.

"So you do like her?" Dinah asked. Camila huffed and sat up, sending them all a warning glare.

"You heard what I told you. There's nothing there for her. So just drop it," she shook her head and brushed her hands through her hair, digging her fingers into her scalp to try and calm herself down. "Please... just drop it," she sighed and lay back down on the bed, turning her back to the three other girls. All she wanted was to go home.

She heard footsteps leave the room and sighed.

"When you're ready to talk, I'm here."

Camila lifted her head and saw Dinah standing at the end of the bed. She gave the Polynesian girl a soft smile, noticing how hard she was trying to be accommodating. "Thank you," she said quietly. She loved her friends, but she knew she wasn't ready to talk about any of this. It would only make her feel worse, or so she thought.

Dinah disappeared out of the room with a small wave, leaving Camila alone in the small hospital room. She lay on her back and stared up the ceiling, eventually growing tired and allowing sleep to overtake her.

The next thing she remembered was hearing small sniffles from next to her. Groggily, she opened her eyes and blinked a few times to get used to the bright light. Her face adorned a confused expression when she saw Lauren standing next to her bed. Looking down, she saw the girl's fingers were laced with her own.

"Lauren?" she whispered. The older girl immediately looked at her and quickly took a step away from the bed. Camila studied her face, realizing she'd been crying. "What's wrong?"

The green-eyed girl quickly shook her head and wiped her eyes. "It's nothing," she sat down on the edge of the bed, as far away from Camila as possible. "Sorry for waking you up."

"It's not nothing, you don't cry over nothing," Camila retaliated, sitting up and trying to crawl to the end of the bed. Lauren scooted out of her reach, and Camila felt the IV tube tug at her arm. She groaned. "Either you come here, or I rip out this IV and come to you," she said firmly.

"Camila, I—" Lauren started, but Camila quickly interrupted her.

"No, Lauren, stop," Camila sighed and let her hands drop to her sides. "I'm so tired of people trying to hide things from me just because I'm like... this. I want to be able to be there for you, too. You're always there for me but I never get the chance to do the same for you. And it makes me feel like a lousy friend," she shook her head and ran her hands through her hair. "I-I want to know what you're thinking, or feeling, or... I just, please don't treat me differently because of... this," she motioned around the hospital room.

Lauren felt tears welling up in her eyes again and she quickly swallowed the lump in her throat. Slowly, she slid her backpack off of her shoulder and pulled out a plastic container. She popped off the lid and sat down on the bed next to Camila, handing her the container.

"I made them with bananas, the way you like them," she said softly. Camila could tell just by her voice that she had been crying. She bit her lip, glancing at Lauren before looking back down and pinching one of the cracker sandwiches between her fingers. She set the container on the table next to her bed, scooting next to Lauren and looking up at her.

"So what's wrong?" she asked softly. Her mind was screaming at her, but she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and took a small bite of the food. It was good. Lauren had made these for them all the time when they were on the bus.