Are You There? ("Those Eyes" sequel, Camren Fan Fic)

Chapter 7: Past Tense

Camila's POV:

"So how did you guys know where to find us? You saved our lives." Cole says from the driver's seat. Lauren's head turns to face me and her piercing eyes stare deeply into mine as she flashes a warm smile. "Umm, I have family there." I answer smiling back at the green-eyed girl. "Oh, cool." He says uninterestedly. "Yeah, cool." Lauren repeats with a smirk before turning her head back around. Normani fell asleep a couple of hours ago, but I can't manage to close my eyes without thinking about Lauren, and she doesn't seem to be able to get some rest either. "Hey babe do you want me to drive? I'm not tired." She tells Cole resting her hand on his leg and the word "babe" makes me want to puke. "Are you sure?" He asks putting his hand on top of hers and she nods smiling. "Yeah, you've been driving for like six hours and you can barely keep your eyes from shutting." She says sweetly and Cole parks Normani's car on the side of the road to switch places with Lauren. "Thanks baby." He says rubbing her cheek and then closes his eyes leaning his head against the window. And after a long time I'm finally seeing the girl I once knew again, her caring side is showing, her walls are coming back down. I hate it when she plays the tough badass chick role, I know that's what she wants people to think, but it's just not who she really is. She is extremely sweet and caring, she's selfless and generous, even though she's afraid to show it sometimes. And I just love everything about her so much, its overwhelming to see her true colors showing again. "Family huh? We could've stayed with them instead of in that horrible motel." Lauren suddenly says giggling softly. "It wasn't that horrible princess, don't complain." I say and realize Cole is deeply asleep. "Yeah, and we had fun there, didn't we?" Lauren asks, and even though I can't see it, its like I can hear the smirk on her face. "I really don't feel like taking a walk down memory lane." I answer and she sighs. "You're right, sorry." I roll my eyes after hearing her voice. Doesn't she realize how horrible I'm feeling right now? I'm tired, hungry and cold, but I guess it was worth it, seeing her smile and eyes makes everything worth it. But, does she really need to remind me of all the amazing times we once had and probably never will have again? Its hard to think about that without feeling my heart tear up into a million pieces. I miss her touch so much I dream about her every night and I wake up covered in sweat, breathing heavily and shaking. Its not healthy for me to have her around, I know its not, but I need her, even if its just as a friend. "Thanks again." She finally breaks our silence. "For everything." Lauren adds after a couple of seconds. "You're welcome." I answer coldly. Maybe if I push her away I'll be able to breathe normally again. But its also so hard to picture my life without her once more, we've already been through that a couple of times and it truly sucks. I can't go on pretending everything is fine, because it's not, it really isn't. I'm as in love with her as I have ever been, and she's with Cole and clearly will never love me again. And I just can't keep on having her back on my life like nothing happened, its not fair to me. I gave her my all, and she still managed to break my heart effortlessly. She knows I'll happily jump back in her arms as soon as she wants me to, I'm powerless and weak when I'm around her, and to be honest I can't keep living like that. "Why don't you get some sleep? You seem tired and we still have like three hours left." She says sweetly. "I'm okay, thanks." I answer trying not to wake up the others. "But are you really? I know nothing has been easy lately, but if you need to talk to someone..." She starts saying before I interrupt her. "Save it Lo, you know I'm not okay. You know I haven't been okay a single day of these past three months. But I will be eventually, don't worry." I answer trying to hide all of these overwhelming emotions, but I can't do that anymore. At least I can still be honest with her, that's basically the last thing we have. After a long pause I hear her husky voice again. "You know... I always... Never mind." She ends up saying tongue tied, but she really doesn't need to say anything for me to know what she's thinking. "You're happy, and that makes me happy." I lie and she chuckles, she clearly doesn't believe me. "I am happy, but not as happy as I could be." She answers after a minute of silence. "Then I'm happy as well, but not as happy as we could be." I say sighing. "We?" She asks and I gasp realizing the stupid mistake I had made. I rest my head on Normani's shoulder softly and take a deep breath. "Maybe I do need some sleep." I add and close my eyes, trying not to think about Lauren, but I fail miserably.