It was Thursday afternoon when Lauren had returned. The front door squeaked open and Camila looks up from the book in her lap from where she sat at the top of the stairs. Lauren notices her immediately, giving her a smile as Mr. Jauregui appears. He huffs a breath of relief before pulling his daughter into a grateful hug. The way they did everything, how they talked and the expressions on their faces, she would've thought this was a normal occurrence.
"You okay?" the sheriff asks.
Lauren nods with a sigh, "Yeah. Dinah made me feel guilty as hell but I'm good. I think I'll just..." the girl trails off, pointing upstairs and her father gives her an understanding look and a pat on the back. Suddenly, the tension from a few days ago melted away as Lauren gradually made her way up the creaky old stairs. She paused two steps away from Camila, smiling at her again before passing by her to get to her own room.
Camila's eyes trail after her, lingering on her door even after it's closed. Biting the inside of her lip as she closes her book and returns to her own room, glancing down at the bandage around her hand Lauren had put there days before. The same day she had left her hoodie in front of her door before she left. Camila grabs the navy blue sweatshirt from her desk and takes the note she'd written her out of the pocket in the front, unfolding and reading it for the ninth time.
Camila, really none of this is your fault. I just have an EXTREMELY hard time dealing with past problems and I guess that's something I need to work on. Keep the hoodie. -Lauren
It was a sweet gesture and she appreciated it because not only did she give her the hoodie, but she welcome her into her own home and into her space.
Lauren had waited until Camila's door clicked closed to open hers, peeking out to make sure she was gone before emerging completely. She needed to do this, she kept telling herself. So she did. Quietly as possible, Lauren ventured across the hall to the forbidden room. The doorknob was covered in dust that coated her fingertips as she turned it and cautiously entered.
The door was immediately closed after her as she peered around. The walls were lined with bookshelves filled from top to bottom with books thin and thick and tall and short and every single one of the spines a different color. She had counted them once when she was little, the number long forgotten. There were a few cardboard boxes and a turquoise arm chair in the corner where she took a seat. She looked at her surroundings, the familiarity long forgotten as she took her time trying to soak in the memories. The air was stale with her perfume and it clung to her nose and throat and entered her body with every breath she took and she knew when she managed to leave, the scent would stick to her clothes.
Some of the boxes were filled with her clothes, the ones her father hadn't had the heart to throw out. Other boxes were filled with small knick-knacks she enjoyed, like a small clay elephant she was given after Lauren's birth. Her eyes pinched at the thought and she knew if she opened just one box, she would break more than she already was. And she was too afraid to say it.
But she missed her mother.
With a deep and shaky breath, she stood and made her way to one of the bookshelves, scanning titles. If it was a series, she owned every book and if it was Stephen King, she definitely owned it. Lauren grabbed a thick book out of its place and tucked it under her arm, hurriedly leaving the room so as not to sadden herself even more. The door closed rather loudly and she cringed at the sound.
"Lauren?" Mr. Jauregui calls from downstairs. "You okay?"
"Yeah! I'm fine!" her voice raises an octave and she hopes her dad didn't notice. Sighing, Lauren knocks on Camila's door and surprisingly, the girl answers.
"Uhh..." she hadn't really expected the other girl to open the door. In fact, she planned to leave the book outside her door just like she had done with the hoodie. But instead, she shoved the novel in the brunettes arms making her jump back slightly.
"Misery. It's by Stephen King. Have you read it?" she asks to which the other girl shakes her head no. She still held out the book for her to take.
"Oh. Well I'd explain it but it's tacenda," Camila looks from the book to her. "Tacenda. It means–"
"I know what it means," she informs her, finally taking the novel with nimble fingers. Lauren raises her eyebrows. Someone she didn't need to explain her vocabulary to? The girl was full of surprises.
"Thank you," the brunette gives her a half smile before slowly closing the door as she leaves. Camila immediately opens the cover to the book, peering at the name scribbled in the front that she somehow knew would be there. Clara Jauregui. It was just as Camila done to all the books Mr. Jauregui had given her, written her name in the front.
But Lauren had given her one of her mother's books? She didn't know what to think of it. So she simply began reading it.
Tacenda: things better left unsaid.
-
edited on june 14, 2019
JE LEEST
𝔠𝔞𝔪𝔦𝔩𝔞'𝔰 𝔰𝔥𝔶, camren
Fanfictie( completed ) She'd been providing for herself since the age of fourteen when her parents had died tragically in a car accident. But now, two years later at the age of sixteen, she finally has a place to call home. Camila was shy. Very, extremely, i...
