Surreal Perfection (Camren)

Ch 17

//

My eyelids feel heavy, and my body feels like giving up.

I hear Nikki say it again, but I'm not really listening anymore, because this reality is too bleak, and I'd rather be asleep, dreaming.

Her words dissolve over me, into nothing.

And as I fade into drunken sleep, I decide that the very last thing I need right now, is yet another broken promise.

//

"...out of the way, Nikki."

The sound of Lauren's voice wakes me up immediately, but it still feels like I'm dreaming.

"God, can you give her a little space, Laur? If she wanted to talk to you, she wouldn't have gone home with me."

I start to stir, and the defensiveness in Nikki's tone catches me by surprise, and I realize that I'm laying in her bed, instead of mine.

"This has nothing to do with you, Nikki. I thought you were my friend. I should've known you were just another opportunistic bitch. No wonder Tara cheated on you."

Whoa.

It takes me a second or two to register that those hateful words were coming from Lauren. It's not exactly a side of her that I'm used to hearing.

The sound of a very loud slap echoes through the room, right around the corner to the nook where I'm laying.

My heart stops with the deadly silence that ensues after.

I'm still a little groggy, a little hungover, but my mind clears up the fog in record time, because the events of last night are quickly creeping back in.

I cough, and open my eyes and lean up, just in time to see Nikki sail past the living room, and crash down beside the side table, taking the lamp right down with her.

My mouth hangs open as I see her hold a hand over her eye, and there's blood trickling through her fingers.

I'm completely paralyzed for several moments, and I only make it halfway out of the bed, by the time Nikki bounds up and swings right back at Lauren.

I hear Lauren let out a loud gasp as Nikki's fist connects with her mouth, and I throw myself in between them and rip them apart, just in time to feel Lauren's elbow hit my gut.

The air gets knocked out of me, and stars begin to flit across my vision. My hangover takes over, and I suddenly feel sick to my stomach.

Lauren's voice comes out frantic, and she reaches for my arm immediately. "Camz! Shit! I'm so sorry!"

From the other side, Nikki lays a hand on my back. "Camila, are you okay?"

The ridiculousness of this moment ignites my anger, so I slap Lauren's hand away, and I shove Nikki back, shouting, "Grow up, both of you!"

The venom in my voice freezes both girls up, and I stumble out of the way to snatch my purse from the kitchen table, and my shoes off the floor, and I start to march out of Nikki's apartment.

"Wait, Camz--" Lauren tries to grab my hand, but I brush it off, rounding on her.

"Don't touch me!" I see the hurt in her eyes, and I notice her lip's bleeding, but I don't really care right now.

When I see her stricken face, I remember everything about last night, and it makes me angry, not just at her, but also at myself.

Words form in my mind, and they come out in barely a whisper, but I know the tremor in my voice reaches her clearly, "I can't even fucking look at you right now..."