that's why our ribs are cages ➸ camren

chapter 13 ➸ understanding

Camila was relieved her 'date' with Austin was finally over. The paparazzi had caused a traffic jam on the way home, and they'd wasted over an hour sitting in traffic and waiting for the crowd to calm down. Camila considered this one of the many downsides of her career.

She said goodbye to Austin in the parking lot, tapping her foot impatiently. She wanted to get back upstairs with Lauren. Part of her was terrified that Lauren didn't want Austin knowing about them.

The moment she set foot in the apartment, she knew something was up. Chris was sitting cross legged on the couch, eyebrows furrowed in concentration at the video game on the screen. She peered in the kitchen, but Lauren was nowhere to be found. Chris hadn't heard her come in, so she slowly walked over and sat next to him on the couch.

"Your girlfriend's in the bedroom," he mumbled, not bothering to look over at her. Camila raised an eyebrow at his words, suddenly becoming concerned.

"You...?" she tilted her head to the side. Chris just nodded.

"It was pretty obvious," he paused his game and turned to her. "She's pissed."

Camila's stomach dropped and she looked down at her hands. "At me?"

The boy next to her scoffed in disbelief. "Of course not," he glanced at the hallway. "At me. She started talking about our mom and how if she were alive that she would hate her... and..." he shook his head. "It's not my place to say anything."

"What?" Camila bit her lip. She was growing increasingly curious about their past. But Chris didn't seem to want to open up to her. And knowing Lauren, it'd be a while before Camila knew anything. Or so she thought.

"You should talk to her," Chris shook his head. "She trusts you."

"Talk to her... now?" Camila looked down the hallway. She was still confused as to why Lauren was angry. She didn't want to say something and have the older girl grow annoyed at her.

"She's been in her room all day," Chris pointed down the hallway. Camila nodded in understanding, knowing that someone would have to talk to her eventually.

"Wish me luck," she laughed nervously, standing up and smoothing out her shirt. The younger boy only nodded before turning his attention back to his game. Sighing, Camila made her way down the hallway.

Opening the bedroom door slowly, she caught sight of a figure under the covers. She slipped in the room, knowing by the slow rising and falling of Lauren's chest that she was asleep. Not wanting to wake the girl, Camila slowly crawled onto the other side of the bed and lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

"I killed them."

Camila jumped when she heard Lauren's strained voice from next to her. She looked over slowly, realizing Lauren was awake.

"Y-you what?" she stuttered. Studying Lauren's face, Camila was almost positive the girl had been crying. Her cheeks were blotched and red. It made Camila's heart ache.

"I..." Lauren shook her head. "It doesn't matter," she turned away from Camila, who only reached out and grabbed Lauren's hand, trying to make her face her once more.

"If it's got you this upset, I'm pretty sure it matters," Camila said softly, rolling Lauren over so she could see her face. "And anything that matters to you matters to me."

"Really?" Lauren wiped her eyes and sat up slightly. It was hard for the green eyed girl to believe that someone was genuinely interested in her. All her life, she'd lost the people that she was closest to.

"Of course," Camila nodded, running her thumb over the back of Lauren's hand. "What's going on?"

"You'll hate me."