The Phantom (Camila/You)

Chapter Nineteen (2)

My heart jumped when I met the eyes of the girl who fit my description, it was hard to see her face, the sun was beating down into my vision as I gawked at the woman. I just knew it was her, it had to have been, that was the only possible answer for why Lauren acted the way she did. 

Which only made me even more suspicious, I was confused and a little bit intimidated, the words of her rang in my ears, who would kill her if she said anything to me?

"Who are you?" Ally spoke, her accent lingering in her words. She sized me up, squinting her eyes like she was cautious of my appearance and trying to figure out my motive. 

"I'm Y/n," I put my hand onto the rough ground and pushed myself up, so that I was standing before her. "And you are?" I asked, wanting to make sure that I got the identity right, just in case. 

"Ally." She grabbed the plastic bag in her hand into the other, and put her hand out to greet me. I wiped my dirty hands on my clothing before grabbing hers and shaking it in a polite manner. 

"That was quite a thing to witness, may I ask why you were pinning my friend to the ground?" I then realized how terrible that must've looked, and why she didn't immediately call the police or why she didn't try to attack me herself, she just stood there, and acted like it was nothing. 

I didn't know how to respond, from the reaction that Lauren gave me, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to be straightforward, but if I lied, I'm not sure where that'd get me either.

But before I could come out with the right words, Ally waved me off and turned to walk over to the trailer. 

"This isn't an abnormal occurrence, don't worry, I won't call the cops on you. I'll convince Lauren to pay her debt soon." My eyebrow's furrowed, but I wasn't particularly shocked. 

"No, actually, that's not why I'm here." She began walking off so I followed her, trialing behind her a few steps. 

She didn't speak for a few seconds as we walked over to the door of the trailer, but when she did speak, she turned again to lock eyes with me. "Why are you here, Y/n?" When she asked, something caught my attention in the corner of my view, I glanced over to see Camila hiding at the side of the trailer, just poking her head out to observe. 

I wondered why she was standing there, like Ally would be able to see her if she came out. 

Ally opened the door of the trailer and stepped inside, she turned her head to glance at me, the look told me that I should come inside. 

"I'm kind of concerned that you'd have any reason to chase down Lauren if not for debt, so, what's the trouble, hon?" She sat down the bags onto a counter. I went back and sat down on the couch I was previously on. 

"It's kind of a long story," I stated, reaching up and touching the side of my face which was throbbing with pain from Lauren's aggressive punch.

"Oh, did she hit you?" Ally turned around and opened the fridge, she quickly scanned inside before reaching in and grabbing something. 

"I keep this in the back just in case," Ally smiled sweetly at me. She walked over and handed me a frozen bag of peas. I took it cautiously before pressing it to my face. 

"Lauren said you moved out," I said, watching her take food out of the bags and putting them in the pantry. 

"I did, but I always come back to put food in the trailer. I know that Lauren isn't really..." Ally paused and took a deep breath, staring off. "She's not well, mentally. If you haven't noticed. So I come every once in a while to check up on her, clean up a bit and buy her food." 

This Ally girl was the complete opposite of what I expected. From what Sinu told me, that call made me think that Ally was an accomplice in murder. But it's becoming hard to believe that she's capable of that, she seems so sweet. 

"You look familiar, Y/n." 

"How so?" I asked, straightening my posture a bit. 

She looked at me with a straight face, squinting her eyes at me. She hummed, but then turned away to continue putting away food. 

"I must be imagining things, so what did you want with Lauren?" When she put the last thing away, she walked over and sat on the couch. 

I decided that there was no way to beat around the bush. "Do you know who Camila is?" 

Ally seemed caught off guard for a moment. She blinked. 

"No." Her answer seemed to hang in the air, lingering uncomfortably. 

She stood up again abruptly and walked over to her purse, she scavenged through it before stopping. 

"I think it's time for you to leave," 

"Why?" It was silent for a few moments. 

Ally slowly turned to me, tears were streaming down her face. In her hand, was a gun. 

"I have to ask you to leave, please, you've brought danger into my home," Her hands were shaking so badly, I thought that maybe the gun would just slip out of her hands. 

I stood up and put my hands up in defeat. "Okay," the sight of the gun was making my adrenaline pump. But for some reason, I knew she wouldn't use it. 

But maybe, it wasn't for me. 

"I'm sorry for the bother," and with that, I left. 

- 

Camila didn't come back for a few more hours after I left. Now, I was sitting on a bench in the park. The rain was pouring down, but I didn't mind it. 

I was stuck in a loop of confusion. I didn't know what to do now, and I felt unsafe. If Ally and Lauren were that genuinely fearful of their lives from even bringing her name into conversation, then what's to say that I'm not in danger too? 

I felt discouraged, too. I wasn't an investigator, I barely knew what I was doing and now I had no leads. 

Camila walked up to the bench and sat down on the other side, keeping her distance. 

"Nothing?" She asked, looking over at me. I nodded.

"You're going to get a cold out here, you have no jacket." I shrugged, not knowing how else to respond. 

"Come on, Y/n. We should talk to someone else, but for now, you should get home." She stood and walked over to me, she grabbed me by the hand and pulled me to my feet. 

She turned on her heel and began walking away, I trailed behind her.

It was only until we were half way home, when the thunder began to rumble and Camila flinched, that I remembered she doesn't like storms. But I didn't say anything, I just watched her try to keep her head up and keep her feet steady. 

Fearful, yet she was trying so hard to be confident. For me.

And now, I have to do the same. And I have one more person I could contact. 

Normani. 

A/n:Hi! It's been a year! Oh wow. I'm sorry for being inactive, but I guess I'll try harder? Maybe, don't quote me on that.

Anyway, thanks for being patient! (Also half of this chapter was written last year and half the chapter was written today so if it seems a little weird with the format changing, I apologize.)