roses | Camren (Short Story)

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"Alright." Lauren strains out, tightening the final bolt as far as it will go before clambering out of the cupboard under Camila's kitchen sink and standing up, brushing her hands off on her jeans.

"That should be it." She smiles at the rosy-cheeked woman who's sipping coffee.

"Thank you." Camila smiles back, holding another mug out to the older woman who reluctantly declines.

"As much as I'd love to stay for that drink, I have another job to get to." She explains, adding, "And it's really no problem. Let me know if you have any more problems with it, or anything else."

"I will." Camila nods, eyes drifting over Lauren's shoulder and suddenly widening.

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" She exclaims, leaving a very confused Lauren behind as she puts her coffee down on the kitchen counter and rushes out of the back door.

Lauren watches through the small window above the sink as the woman crouches in front of the rose bushes, reaching out to delicately rub the tip of her finger across the blunt edge of one of the stems.

She sighs, thankful that nothing dangerous seems to have happened, and makes her way out to the garden where she stands beside the still panicking Camila.

"What's wrong?" She asks with a small frown as Camila rummages around in the soil below the rose bush, wincing when she pricks her hand on a thorn.

She pulls her hands out, a faded red rose with a few inches of a stem grasped gently between her fingertips. Completely disregarding the fact that she's bleeding, she quickly tries to reattach the rose somehow.

"No." She sighs defeatedly when it just keeps falling.

"Miss Cabello... it's just a rose." Lauren points out, gesturing to the rest of them and adding with a chuckle, "You have plenty."

"I know, but..." Camila sighs again, dropping her hands to her lap, "They're not supposed to break."

"Here." Lauren offers, softly taking the rose from Camila's hand, being careful not to cut herself on its razor thorns. Then, taking a roll of tape from her tool belt, she bends over slightly to tape the rose to the wall it was growing against, aligning it so it looks like it never fell.

"There we are." She grins cheesily, looking down to where Camila is admiring her handy work, "Better?"

Camila doesn't reply directly, instead just looking up at her, a broad smile slowly blooming on her face, "How can you fix everything?" She asks, eyes shining as though there's a double meaning to her words.

"I can't fix everything, Miss Cabello." Lauren replies, "But I can try."

"That's all we can ever do," Camila mumbles once again, taking Lauren's offered hand and allowing herself to be pulled up to a standing position.

"Come on," Lauren suggests, gesturing towards the house with a nod, "Let's get that cut on your hand cleaned and covered up."

...

"Miss Cabello, I came as quickly as I coul-" Lauren announces, closing the front door behind her, but she quickly stops when she sees Camila standing at the end of the hallway, the tears that stream down her face evident despite the way her clothes and hair drip with rainwater. In her hands, she holds a drooping rose.

"It died." She simply says, turning the familiar rose over a few times before looking up at Lauren, "Maybe it's a sign."

"What do you mean?" Lauren frowns, tentatively stepping forward.

The younger girl just shakes her head, a silent sob racking through her body.

Lauren springs into action, hesitating only for a moment before wrapping her arms around the other's body.