Professor C (camren)

16 - Jauregui (Part 1)

Lauren's face dropped upon realizing that she was at the ending of her brief fairytale as Roxanne's princess. Bowing her head down, Dinah found Lauren's shoulders raise as the brunette raggedly filled her lungs with oxygen.

And when she finally spoke, Dinah could feel her friend's agony prickle at her skin and seep into her remorseful heart.

"But with feelings tucked inside us – hidden from the world, I had no way in telling that she was going through something, too. Even if I could read people, she had the power, the decision to let me see things and keep others from me. One day, she told me she didn't love me and just like me, she tried. I understood her completely but she made me hopeful, something that I needed for a really long time, only to let me down when I was in too deep.

"But she wanted to get over her ex-girlfriend, too and that entire conversation just reminded me of what I was going through with Camila – of the fact that whatever held me back in those five months was linked to her. Because, in some twisted way, changing what your heart feels isn't as easy as changing an opinion." Lauren bit her trembling lip and shook her head for reasons that included, denying her tears from gliding down her cheeks. Her vision was easily obstructed by a thin layer of moisture while the sudden itch around her eyes was the advent of their descent." She continued in a rickety voice that only got worse as she persistently tried to speak.

"But in a way, being hung up on Camila was my saving grace. I didn't fall apart when Roxanne and I broke up. What she said that day just stuck to me. She told me she would fight for her ex and win her back but if she couldn't, she will try to be happy for her, and I thought, why don't I do that, too? It ultimately made me decide to come up here after I called Sinu. Camila would only really call them once in a couple of months without really knowing if she was fine, or at least, thriving. It's a little funny how they didn't like me back in high school and when Camila and I went to college, I was the person they ran to when it came to her. Her parents were worried and they couldn't just leave their jobs while I had just graduated with no plans beyond college."

"So, you left Philadelphia instead." Dinah slowly concluded Lauren's words, which earned her a timid nod and a sniffle that stung like a hornet.

"My only intention was just to make sure Camila was okay. At least, that's what I told myself. For a month, while I had some money, besides eating and sleeping, all I did was look for her. I looked everywhere; libraries, bookstores, schools, even small cafés. I called so many places all over the state asking if they knew her or have heard of her name but nothing came out of it. I went as far as Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. And still, nothing..." Lauren scoffed, beating a sob to the punch but was not successful in blinking her tears away. Her pride had been scraped, much like the droplet left wet remnants in its wake, tracing her soft skin. She desperately wiped at her cheek, inhaling a ragged sniffle; stubbornly refusing to bawl her eyes out. "I eventually took it as a personal offence that I couldn't even find her."

As Dinah watched Lauren crumble, she figured that there was so little left that could torture her heart further. And somehow, she was aware that the worst was imminent.

Unfortunately, she was right. When Lauren squeaked out a pitiful, quivering voice, she, too, began to fall apart as her eyes prickled with her own tears.

"I worked at the local hospital in human resources because if I didn't, I would have been broke and it would have been harder to find Camila if I was on the streets, begging for food. Her parents wanted to give me some money but I refused. But even then, it was the same challenge. I still couldn't find her.

"I wanted to convince myself to be hopeful but after three years, you just feel it wither. I started to worry about my own life, my own future and because I was so miserable, I tried to go out and socialize but I kept myself from indulging again. And after I practically overlooked all of his discreet signs, Sean finally admitted he had feelings for me.