yellow ➸ camren

five

"There's no bad things here," Lauren motioned around the room. "See? It's just my bedroom. I sleep in here every night." Camila took a deep breath. Lauren slowly drew her hands back from Camila's shoulders and the smaller girl looked around nervously.

"There are bad things," Camila repeated herself. She hugged the shirt tighter to her chest. Lauren sighed and thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to calm Camila down.

"Here," Lauren scooted back on the bed and lifted her comforter. "It's a fort. We'll be safe under here, c'mon," she slid under the covers and motioned for Camila to do the same. Confused but curious, Camila crawled next to Lauren. The green eyed girl then pulled the covers over both of their heads, using her knees to keep the blankets from smothering them.

Camila instantly whimpered when the darkness overtook them and Lauren quickly fished around in the sheets to grab her phone. Moments later, the phone's flashlight was flicked on and she set the device between them to give them light.

"We're safe under here," Lauren said softly. Camila lay on her back next to Lauren, still breathing heavily. "Why did you come in here?"

"Bad things," Camila mumbled, pointing to her head and tapping it gently.

"Bad things in your head?" Lauren asked, slowly catching on to what Camila was trying to explain to her. The small girl nodded quickly, confirming Lauren's suspicions.

"Did you have a nightmare?" the green eyed girl inquired. Camila tilted her head to the side. "Did you see bad things in your sleep?" Lauren rephrased her question. This earned a slow nod from Camila, and Lauren noticed the smaller girl's bottom lip was trembling.

"Hey, hey, don't cry," Lauren shook her head and sat up, pushing the blankets off of them. "Everyone sees bad things in their sleep sometimes, even me."

"Even Lolo?" Camila asked, sitting up slowly next to Lauren.

The green eyed girl sighed and nodded. "They're called nightmares," Lauren explained. "Sometimes they can be really scary, but want to know a secret?"

Camila nodded slowly.

"They can't hurt you," Lauren gave the girl a soft smile, trying to reassure her that she was safe. "They're only in your head," she reached up and tapped on Camila's forehead like the girl had done before.

"Promise?" Camila whispered, holding out her pinky finger. Lauren nodded softly and interlocked their fingers, already realizing she was getting too close to this girl. But she was met with the overwhelming need to protect her.

Camila was still breathing heavily, and Lauren watched as she tugged at the sleeves of her shirt.

"Are you hot?" Lauren asked, motioning to the heavy shirt of Dinahs that Camila had on. The brown eyed girl nodded, looking at Lauren pleadingly.

"And I'm guessing you want to wear one of my shirts?" Lauren raised an eyebrow and sighed, knowing what Camila's answer would be. The smaller girl smiled instantly and nodded.

Lauren laughed. She laughed, surprisingly. Honestly, the older girl was just relieved that she'd somehow managed to calm Camila down. She slid out from under the covers and opened the first drawer of her dresser where she kept her t-shirts. Grabbing a black shirt with the name of her college printed on it, she tossed it to Camila. Luckily, the smaller girl didn't seem to have a problem catching it.

Camila stood up, peeling off her own shirt. Lauren turned around and nearly gasped. She hadn't expected Camila to change in her room. But more importantly, she hadn't expected what was under the shirt Camila had been wearing.