Color [CAMREN] [COMPLETED]

Chapter 4

Cape Cod, MA, February 5 Years Ago

The week following the death, Lauren didn't go back to school. She in fact refused to get up from her bed or even move. Most of the time she slept but her dreams were dominated by images of Camila walking away, usually smiling invitingly at Lauren and beckoning her to follow but Lauren was always rooted to the spot and couldn't chase after her until Camila disappeared from sight. She'd wake up from these dreams and curl up in a ball and cry. Gone was the warmth of Camila's smile replaced by the cold darkness and the realization sunk in that the petite girl was not lying next to her. There were many days where she wished she didn't have to wake up to the fact that Camila was not brushing the hair back from her eyes or telling her that the past week was just a bad dream.

Her parents couldn't get her to eat, or talk and would only leave her room on rare occasions. Her mother knocked on the door to her room for the fiftieth time, trying to persuade her daughter to come out.

"Mija?" Her mother whispered. "Please come out. Honey, your dad and I are worried sick about you. Come out and talk to us please." She had repeated the same exact sentence multiple times over the week and she didn't expect this particular time to work either without anything extra to add. This time, she held a letter in one hand.

"We just got a letter from Camila's parents. They said the funeral is in three days." She waited and heard the soft sobs fade. That usually meant that Lauren had exhausted herself to sleep. Just as she was about to head downstairs, Lauren opened the door. Her usually bright green eyes were dull and red from crying and there were still fresh tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Mom..." Lauren's voice shook so hard it seemed like she would fall apart at any moment. Her mother fought back her own tears at seeing her daughter in such a state. She walked over and cradled Lauren in her arms.

"It's ok, baby." She reassured.

"No it's not, mom. I loved her." Lauren cried.

"I know baby..." Lauren tore herself from her mom's embrace.

"I really loved her." Lauren repeated it over and over and her mother kept whispering comforting words, knowing that they were doing little to ease the pain.

That night Lauren had her first meal. It was simple, just a peanut butter sandwich and milk but it was a something. Her mother sat next to her and watched her eat. Lauren had to pause several times and just cry but it would pass and she'd take another bite until she finally finished.

"Mija, take a shower. You've been stuck in your room all week." Her mother suggested and Lauren mechanically got up from the table and walked upstairs. Her mother cleaned up the dishes and sighed softly to herself. It was a start.

Everyone from the show choir and cheerleading clubs attended the funeral. There was not a single dry eye in the crowd the day they buried sunshine embodied. But there was one person who didn't attend and her absence was the most glaring thing that day. Lauren was no where to be seen. Ally looked around and texted her furiously during the entire thing, trying to figure out what possessed Lauren to miss such an important day.

"Where is she?" Dinah whispered. Ally shrugged and mouthed "I don't know."

It was around ten at night when a figure walked through the cemetery. In her hands she held a bouquet of yellow daisies, Camila's favourite kind of flowers. Lauren knelt down before the grave and put down the flowers among the others.

"Hey Camz..." She whispered before she broke down in quiet sobs, hand rested on the top of the grave stone.

It wasn't like Lauren missed much of school. They were close to winter break anyway so Lauren got through classes by counting down the minutes until she could speed off to the graveyard and sit down next to Camila's grave. Her parents only saw her late at night when she returned, curled up in bed and fell asleep. Every week Lauren brought fresh flowers, even when it snowed and covered everything. She dusted the snow off before setting the flowers down.