Should Have Known (Camren)

Chapter 35

"One more minute!" she exclaimed.

I looked around at the girls as that last minute ticked by. I looked at Ally who had been my best friend since the first day I met her and I admired her. She was the reason the rest of us stayed on track. If one of us was down she would lift us back up. She kept us going. I looked at Normani who barely spoke two words in the beginning and smiled at the prospect that I got to witness her come out of her shell over time. She was our backbone- quiet and reserved most of the time but strong and determined when we needed her to be. I looked at Dinah with her wild personality and loud mouth, remembering that she had always been that way but realizing that we wouldn't be the same without her. She gave us all life, making us laugh when we were frustrated and ready to give up and always keeping us on our toes.

And then there was Camila. I always knew that she was special. She had a way of making me smile when I should have been crying. She always had my back. She was determined and positive and her energy flowed through me. I knew that she was special to me, but I had never really recognized how important she was to the rest of the group until I looked at her next to me on the couch and saw her smile, getting a glimpse inside her head as the seconds ticked by. She loved us all. That was her gift, that was what she brought to the group. For nearly a year we spent every waking moment trying to accomplish our goals, and yes, it was hard. There were days when we all wanted to go back to our hometowns and start all over, and we knew that. There were days when the idea of what the future would hold just wasn't enough, but Camila was always there. She loved us when we needed it the most, and God only knew where we would have been without her.

I took her hand in mine and she let me for the first time in so many months. She didn't try to pull away, she didn't seem surprised, she just let me, and as the clock struck twelve and we all sprung from our seats in excitement, I held on. She wrapped her arms around my neck and the rest of the girls followed until we were one big pile of happy tears and disbelief of what we had accomplished, knowing in our hearts that it was only the beginning.

...

I rubbed my eyes sleepily and tried to focus on the movie that was playing on Camila and Dinah's television. We were all sprawled about- Camila's head in my lap, Dinah's legs underneath her, and Normani and Ally stuck together opposite us. We had decided to celebrate with the first sleepover together since we moved to our new apartments, but all the excitement and adrenaline from earlier that night had worn off, and by the time 3 A.M. rolled around I was well on my way to exhaustion. I stretched and stood from the couch and Camila sat up, staring up at me sleepily.

"I'm going to bed," I yawned.

"Aw, come on!" Dinah whined. "Don't be a buzzkill."

"Sorry," I shrugged. "I think I'll head back to my place and get some rest and come back for breakfast tomorrow morning."

"I'm staying here," Normani informed me. "You'll be all alone if you leave."

Camila stood from the couch and ran a hand through her hair, letting it fall over her shoulders in messy waves.

"I'll go with her," she offered. "I'm exhausted and I have a feeling I won't get much sleep with all of us in one room."

"Y'all are boring," Ally teased.

"I'm sure they won't be so boring later tonight if you know what I mean," Dinah suggested, raising her eyebrows deviously.

"Yeah, okay. Goodnight Dinah," Camila scoffed.

She headed for the door and I followed behind her, my cheeks glowing red with both amusement and embarrassment. We rode up the elevator in silence, both of us too exhausted to speak until we reached my apartment and I let us inside.