The Way to Love (Camren)

Chapter 14: These Words Are to Remember Me By

"When I was six, I was sitting in a kiddie pool using baby shampoo to try and get the mud out of my ears." Camila mumbled as she snapped her laptop shut and walked over.

"Real charming Mila."

"Wow, you look amazing." Camila complimented Lauren and letting Normani's voice waft in one ear and out the other. She leaned over and rested her cheek on the side of Lauren's head. Lauren just smiled sweetly into the mirror, unable to talk due to the application of gloss to her lips. Two seconds later, a steel grip had the back of Camila's shirt, and she was being yanked away from Lauren, stumbling backwards.

"No kissing." Normani warned. "I just applied that lip-gloss with microscopic precision. I don't want smudgies."

"You're a smudgy." Camila grumbled as Lauren snorted in laughter from where she sat.

"Alright, change and we'll do your boobs" Normani directed Lauren as the she stood and gathered the outfit that had been laid out on the bed.

"It'll be subtle." Normani replied as Lauren carefully removed her shirt, and slipped on the white shoulder-less top and black leggings. "Just a little bit of shadow to help the bra. Trust me, with this place, they're looking for trashy. You're going to be showing sophistication compared to the bartenders that I've seen there before."

A knock at the doorframe upstairs interrupted the banter, and the three girls heard Ally's voice from a ways away. "Hey ladies? Someone just delivered a package to the door, it's addressed to Camila. Is it alright if I bring it down?"

"Yeah." Camila turned as Ally jogged down the stairs with a fair sized cardboard box in her arms. It looked like it had a rough trip, covered in multiple stickers, tears and caved edges.

"I think it might be an early birthday gift." Ally shrugged as she set the box carefully into Camila's hands. The girl stared down at the package, noticing that it had a fragile stamp on the top, bordered in red ink.

"My birthday isn't until March." Camila replied curiously. "It's the middle of January."

"You never know." Normani and Lauren had both stopped what they were doing, and were now watching with interest. "Open it, maybe there's a card... or a return address on the inside." Normani suggested with a light shrug.

Camila moved to sit on the bed, balancing the box on her lap as she used the tip of her fingernail to puncture the tape. Riley stirred beside her, padding over and sitting down on just by her lap to give it a thorough sniff as well. When the seal was broken, she then pulled back the flaps to reveal a heavy dosage of packing peanuts.

"Wow." Lauren had gone back to puffing out her chest and letting Normani brush a soft bronzer on her skin. "It looks like they weren't kidding when they said whatever it is that's in there is fragile."

Camila frowned, then carefully placed one hand into the box to rummage around for its contents. When her hand came in contact with something sharp, she grasped it, wedging it up so the girls were all able to take a look.

"What is that?" Ally's voice broke the curious silence.

Camila didn't respond, and instead lifted the object clean out of the box to get a proper look. It was a smaller box, made with a dark finished wood and accented with gold linings. Just big enough to sit comfortably in her hands, the box was lidded and hinged, and the front wore a matching gold lock that provided a space for a distinct key. Camila placed it down gently on the bed, then took to the peanuts once more to fish around.

"It looks like one of those jewelry boxes that they used in the olden days." Ally then said. "It's got a lock on it."

"There's a key in here as well." Camila wrapped her fingers around the second piece of metal that sat at the bottom of a box, a single bronze key that was wrapped messily between two pieces of Styrofoam. "I guess I should open it, right?"