green ➸ camren

eighteen

She was brought out of her panic when she heard heavy breathing. She quickly turned around, finding a terrified Camila backing away from her. Don't say it.

"Please," Camila whispered, holding her hands up in front of her. Lauren's mind suddenly went into protective mode, and she quickly shook her head.

The second she took a step towards Camila, though, the smaller girl held her hands out even further. Lauren grabbed her hands, trying to move them away from her face to show her that she meant no harm.

Camila's hands shook as she tried to keep Lauren away, shaking her head frantically. "Please," she whimpered.

"Camila," Lauren whispered, trying to get the girl's attention. Camila was still trying to push Lauren's hands away but the green eyed girl had laced their fingers together and was holding them in place. "Camila, look at me," she repeated herself.

"Please!" Camila raised her voice, digging her heels into the ground and trying to push Lauren away from her. She continued to shake her head, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Camila!" Lauren snapped, raising her voice along with the girl. Camila immediately froze, her eyes snapping open and she stared at Lauren in terror.

"It's me! It's Lauren!" the older girl's voice grew raspy as she shook Camila's hands, trying to get it into her head that she wasn't going to hurt her. Camila stayed frozen, her eyes wide.

"I'm not going to hurt you," her voice grew calmer, her eyes pleading into the smaller girl's. Camila's eyes softened and she relaxed her arms, allowing Lauren to move closer to her.

"Camila, look at me," Lauren brought her hands up to cup the smaller girl's cheeks, lifting her head to meet her eyes. "You're safe. We're home. No one's going to hurt you."

Camila stared at her blankly, which made Lauren's heart drop.

"Please say something," Lauren whispered, shaking her head and looking into the girl's eyes, begging her to tell her that this was all just some sort of joke. When silence enveloped them once more, though, it took everything in Lauren to fight the new round of tears that threatened to spill over.

"Okay," Lauren took a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut and forcing herself to think about this rationally. "Let's just... let's just go lie you down for a bit," she said quietly. When Camila didn't protest, Lauren grabbed her hand and led her into the bedroom.

"Just try and calm down a bit, okay?" Lauren asked softly, making Camila sit down on the edge of the bed. "I'm going to make you something to eat. I'll just be in the kitchen." When Camila nodded softly, Lauren gave her a sympathetic smile and slipped out of the room.

Moments later, though, she heard rushed footsteps behind her. When she turned back around, Camila was right behind her, looking up at her nervously.

"Camila, go lay down," Lauren nodded towards the bedroom. The smaller girl just glanced at the door before turning back to Lauren. Sighing, the older girl allowed Camila to follow her into the kitchen.

Lauren dug through the pantry, trying to find something easy to make. When she turned back around, Camila was standing in the doorway, watching her silently.

Taking a deep breath, Lauren moved to the fridge. She heard soft footsteps behind her once more, turning around to Camila a few steps closer to her.

The smaller girl's eyes met Lauren's pleadingly. At this point Lauren gave in, closing the refrigerator and turning around. She bit her lip, slowly holding out her arms. Camila's eyes flickered between Lauren's arms and her eyes before she hesitantly moved forward, allowing Lauren to wrap her arms around her.