Vampire Babysitter (Camren)

Chapter 17

Camila offered a weak smile. "I probably would have been one of them a few months ago. But it feels strange doing it like this. Just... uprooting everything without any warning."

"This is how we have to live," I admitted. "Our static appearance makes it impossible for us to stay in any one place for more than 10 years or so. Eventually others start to take notice of the lack of aging."

Camila threaded her fingers with mine and bit her lip. "Sorry for being a downer. We're lucky to be alive and together – I know that. Just... I'm going to miss Seattle and my friends. Ally. Hailee. Troy."

My heart twisted with her pain; disappointing my girlfriend made me feel like I was being thrust into a vice. Though I'd lived through these types of changes and learned not to form attachments out of necessity, this would be Camila's first experience cutting all ties with those she cared about. I could only hope that Selena, Justin and I would be enough to anchor her as she adjusted.

"We'll send word to let them know you're alright. Perhaps we'll tell them that you got a last minute scholarship to transfer out here that you couldn't pass up? We'll figure something out, okay baby?"

"What about Sel?"

I shrugged. "We haven't come up with a story yet. There's no way she'll be able to return to her line of work. Working in a hospital isn't something most vampires can handle, at any stage of their existence. The constant exposure to blood would be maddening to most. Demi is a very rare exception."

"Demi and Heidi!" Camila gasped in sudden recollection. She lowered her voice to a tiny whisper, well aware that my oldest best friend might be listening in; she sat a few rooms over, watching over Selena. "She was dating her, wasn't she?"

I listened to Demi's thoughts, finding she was paying us no attention. She was focused on checking Selena's vitals with intense purpose. We were mere background noise in her thoughts.

"As far as I know."

"She's not going to have to leave her because of all of this, is she?" Camila seemed concerned by this development, despite the fact she had never been fond of Heidi. I kissed her, touched by her tender compassion for my best friend's emotional state.

"Somehow, I don't think she minds," I told her, watching Demi helicopter over Selena several rooms over, her thoughts filled with more than the simple concern a doctor has for a patient.

Camila seemed to understand what I was hinting at, her lips turning up in a tiny smile.

"I hope so. They'd be good together."

Dinah and Normani traipsed in the door, noisy and animated as always; it was like they felt obligated to announce their presence wherever they went. Hand in hand, Dinah led Normani to the other side of the L-shaped sectional where Camila and I were seated. Her grin was a mile wide and showed no sign of fading.

Camila smirked at her. "Why do you look like you have a hanger stuck in your mouth?"