Back to Me (Camila/You)

13

Your POV

1 Month Later

"Can you tell me again why I am here?" I asked Veronica as we walked down the red carpet.

"You are here because I am here. I am here because my parents love to send me to do their dirty work for them, which includes award shows," she told me with a smile that caused me to melt.

I rolled my eyes and she giggled.

"You make these boring ass award shows a little bit easier to get through," she told me as we were ushered in front of a background to take photos. "At least try to act like you enjoy my company."

"I do enjoy your company," I told her with a laugh before sending a smile to the flashing cameras.

Veronica placed a hand on my chest as her other arm snaked around my waist. I let one hand rest on her back as the other remained in my pocket.

Posing in front of cameras with her was starting to become a regular thing and every time it became a little bit easier.

Coming to these award shows with Veronica did gain a little attention. There were rumors that spread about Veronica and I being a couple, but we both laughed them off. I mean, it's not like it wasn't expected. Her parents were pretty powerful people and being the recurring date of their daughter to huge award shows like this one was bound to gain attention at some point.

Soon enough we were being ushered along past the flashing cameras.

"You want to walk around a little bit before we head to our seats?" Veronica asked. "We have about thirty minutes."

"Yea, that sounds good," I told her with a smile.

I followed Veronica as she began to walk. She seemed to know where she was going. I, on the other hand, had no idea. She always took the lead when it came to things like this.

"Veronica?" I heard a voice say, looking up to see a woman hugging her.

They seemed to fall into conversation easily, the woman asking about how her parents were doing and where they currently were. I busied myself by checking my phone for a second before looking around.

Once again I found myself searching for a certain pair of dark brown eyes. I knew she was going to be here tonight. She was nominated in three different categories.

I wasn't really sure what I would do if I was to find her eyes. I really hadn't thought that part through.

"I am so sorry. Where are my manners? I didn't realize you had a date!" I heard the woman say, snapping me back to reality. "Ashley Smith."

I reached out and shook the woman's hand gently.

"Y/n Y/ln," I told her. "It's nice to meet you."

"Ashley has worked with my parents quite a few times in the past. She's a really big name in the fashion industry," Veronica explained.

"Oh, don't hype me up too much," Ashley laughed.

I smiled before letting them fall back into their previous conversation, letting my eyes once again scan the crowd around us. The entire room seemed to stop moving when my eyes met another pair across the room.

She was here and she was looking right at me.

I didn't know what to do. I felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack on the spot. I needed to get out of there.

"Hey," I gained Veronica's attention. "I'm going to run to the restroom. I'll be right back"

"Sure, I'll be right here. I'll text you where to go if I end up going to our seats," she told me with a smile.

I nodded before quickly walking off. I made my way to the bathroom, letting out a heavy sigh of relief when I saw it was empty.

Why did this have to happen? Why now?

I ran my hands through my hair as I looked at myself in the mirror. I needed to pull myself together.

I looked down to hide my face whenever the door opened. I was acting like I was about to wash my hands whenever I heard a familiar voice speak behind me.

"Y/n?"

I slowly turned my body to face her.

My eyes scanned from her feet up, getting a good look at the way the tan dress hugged her curves. It complimented her skin beautifully, the floral lace flowing down into the train that dragged behind her. Her dark brown hair was braided and fell over her shoulder, her bangs framing her face perfectly.

I shook my head slightly as I finally looked into her eyes. She looked as if she was feeling a mixture of fear and happiness.

I hated the way that I could still read her emotions just by looking at her face, and I didn't know how to feel about her standing in front of me right now.

"Why did you follow me in here?" I finally spoke.

"I just- you ran off. I wanted to make sure you were okay," she told me as she took a step forward.

"You shouldn't be in here," I told her, shaking my head.

I felt anger bubbling in my chest. I was angry that she thought she could just follow me in here and check on me when she was the reason I needed to come in here and calm down.

"Y/n, please..."

"No," I stated, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat. "You don't get to come in here and act like everything is fine."

"That's not why I followed you in here, love-"

"Don't call me that," I cut her off, running a hand through my hair before turning away and beginning to pace.

"Y/n, take a breath and calm down."

"Calm down?" I asked. "If you wanted me to calm down then you shouldn't have followed me in here. You're the reason I needed to come in here in the first place."

I threw my hands up in exasperation before letting out a sarcastic laugh.

"Why don't you just leave? You're good at doing that."

I knew that statement struck a nerve by the look that washed over her face.

"Look, I'll sit here and take that because I deserved it, but I really did follow you in here because I wanted to make sure you were okay," she told me. "Believe it or not I still care about you and all I ever want is to make sure you are okay."

I shook my head at her words.

"I know I left, Y/n. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that and if you want to sit down and have an actual conversation about this then I am willing to do that. I'll tell you everything and be one hundred percent honest," she spoke. "Please. I just want to fix this."

I wanted to believe her. I wanted to trust everything she was telling me, but I didn't know if I could.

"I can't do this right now," I said, watching her face drop as I moved to walk around her and leave the bathroom.

"Y/n, wait! Please," she said, grabbing my hand momentarily.

I savored the feeling of her grip before continuing to walk, pulling my hand out of hers as I exited the bathroom.

I checked my phone, seeing that Veronica had texted me where we were sitting and told me to call if I needed help finding her.

I just needed to get through tonight.