weak ➸ camren

epilogue

"What is it?" Bailee raised her eyebrows, popping the lid off and poking the food with her fork.

"Quinoa salad," Camila tapped the side of the container. "Trust me, it's amazing. It's one of my favorites." She saw the hesitation in Bailee's features and sighed softly.

"Food isn't your enemy, Bay," she whispered, reaching out and squeezing the smaller girl's hand. "It's what keeps you alive. And I want you to stay that way."

Bailee nodded softly, bringing a small portion of food up to her mouth and taking a bite. Camila gave her a supportive smile and stood up.

"I'm proud of you, y'know," Camila added. "When you first came here, you wouldn't even talk to me, remember?"

"My parents think I'm not gonna get better," Bailee mumbled, slowly taking another bite. Camila shook her head.

"Baby steps still move you forward, Bay, don't forget that," Camila said softly. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, sliding it across the table in front of the girl.

"Don't tell anyone I let you use it. But I know how badly you want to call your brother," she smirked. Bailee's face lit up.

"I'll get it back from you in the morning. Do whatever you want, just don't get caught," Camila giggled and nudged the smaller girl playfully.

"Thank you," Bailee grabbed Camila's hand and pulled her into the hug. "Thank you for believing in me."

"I always will," Camila smiled, realizing that this was why she had chosen this job. For these moments. "Be a good friend to Sierra tomorrow, okay? She has a family visit, and we all know how those go." Bailee nodded.

"Cabello, they need you downstairs," the door opened and Bailee quickly moved to hide Camila's phone. Camila nodded, thanking the nurse at the door and giving Bailee one last goodbye before slipping out of the room.

The center she worked at was part of a larger hospital. Downstairs, there was a small gift shop and pharmacy. Occasionally, the nurses on Camila's floor would be called down to work in the pharmacy. Apparently tonight was her turn.

"Andy says you just need to fill prescriptions," one of the other nurses explained to Camila as she grabbed her purse. "They don't get many customers after dinnertime."

"I can handle that," Camila gave the nurse a soft smile and slung her purse over her shoulder. She used her key card to exit the eating disorder ward, and entered the elevator to begin her descent downstairs.

As the elevator moved slowly, Camila turned to examine herself in the mirror. She bit her lip, turning to the side slightly and tracing her eyes up and down her body. A few years ago, she would be absolutely disgusted with her appearance. But she had realized that her mind was more important than her body.

She unlocked the employee entrance to the pharmacy and flicked on the lights. The room was enveloped in white light and she blinked her eyes a few times to let her pupils adjust. This was her least favorite part of the job. She didn't like dealing with medicine.

Camila set her purse down and walked over to the computer, entering the employee password and scrolling through a list of medications that needed to be filled.

She printed out a label, grabbing one of the small orange containers and moving to the back of the store. Carefully, she dispensed the right amount of the small blue pills into the container and sealed it off.

It was a medication for depression, she recognized the name. The part she didn't like about this job was wondering about who she was giving the medication to. It tended to put her in a bad mood. Who was this person? And why were they on pills for depression?