Linger (Camren)

Chapter 24: Gotchu

{Camila's POV}

It was around 1:30 in the afternoon.  The mission was simple:

Get back to my room and pretend that I was there the entire time being a hermit and not sleeping over at Lauren's all night...

Simple enough. Let's do it!

Mornings are usually busy days for everyone. Mami is typically the first one out the door for work before anyone else can even rub the gunk out of their eyes, and Dad does odd jobs to make some extra cash for us whenever he can, or volunteers down at the soup kitchen just because he can. The man has a heart of gold.

I steadily ease my key into the lock, gripping all the other loose keys in my hand before gingerly turning the... Wait-

No one is home. What the fuck am I doing?!

Once the realization sank in, I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity and flung the door open using all my force, cringing a bit when it collided with the wall causing a loud bang. I felt a little less guilty about the whole situation since I was alone now, and no one probably even realized I was gone.

I nonchalantly began to shed some clothing, that being the jacket Lauren let me borrow and my boots.

Humming happily, I skipped my way up the stairs...

That was, until I got about half way up and realized I was being watched.

If I could have frozen in mid-air, I would have.

Over the railing, I saw my father casually sipping at a cup of coffee, looking up at me with big doe eyes, a single raised eyebrow and a small grin of mischief.

His face practically screamed, "Hey girl, Hey! Whatchu think you doing?" without uttering a single word.

To which I elegantly responded with a profound, "Uuuuhhhh..."

It's typically not the best strategy to answer a parent with, "You see what had happened was-", but that was looking like my best bet at the moment.

Before I could utter an actually coherent sentence, he silenced my efforts with a raise of his hand. Bringing his lips to the mug once again and taking a long gulp of the creamy brown liquid in his cup, I thought he was getting his body ready to give me the yelling of the century. However, to my surprise, he brought his free hand to his mouth, zipped and locked his lips, threw away the key and gave me a wink before making his way back to the kitchen like the heaven sent angel he was.

That's my dad! You go, dad!

Not knowing if my mom had somehow managed to get out work early or something, I ran straight up to the safety of my room. Being cocky about anything had always proven to do me wrong.

Once there, I allowed the darkness and complete stillness of the room to take me away to my own thoughts.

What the hell even happened yesterday? I thought as I lazily dragged my limbs over to my bed and plopped my tired self down.

Your bed feels 20x better when you haven't slept in it for at least a day.

I pinched the bridge of nose, feeling a small throb in my head beginning to make itself known. Between the whole ordeal with Travis and this continuous struggle to get Lauren to open up more about her life, I am all kinds of exhausted.

Though I am understanding and patient with her needs, it doesn't mean I don't get frustrated at the fact that she holds back so blatantly.

But last night was something. It was a huge step in the right direction and I couldn't be more proud of her. It just saddens me that she has gone through this for so long and there is nothing I can really do to bring her any comfort besides just being there. I hope that's enough...