the truth about survival part II • an Alicia Clark fanfiction (girlxgirl)

xviii. hypocrate

Kamille shook her head, swallowing the lump in her throat. She tried to give Mía a reassuring smile as she said, "I stayed with him. I made sure he was okay. He just wanted you to be safe."

Mía nodded, breaking their eye contact and looking to the table. She tensed her jaw, staying quiet, before Kamille saw a tear slip from her eyes. Mía tried to wipe it away, opening her mouth to speak, but Kamille immediately moved closer to her side and pulled her in for a hug.

"It's okay," she whispered as Mía hugged her tightly, silently sobbing into her chest.

Her heart swelled with guilt as she held Mía together. She wished things could have been different, that Oliver could have been there with them. Kamille knew what it was like to lose your brother and she daren't wish it upon anyone. Mía deserved better.

"I'm so sorry he's gone, Mía," Kamille muttered, as Mía sniffled. "You're gonna be okay though. Soon enough, it won't hurt as much. And you're not alone."

"I know," Mía agreed quietly, nodding her head before pulling away and wiping at her face. She met Kamille's eyes, adding, "I've got you."

Kamille finished wiping her tears for her, smiling reassuringly through her own. "Exactly. You've got me."

Once they'd both calmed down and could get through a sentence without quivering, Kamille kept ahold of Mía's hand as she asked a few questions.

"How did you end up in Texas? I searched for you in Mexico. I thought you were gone when I saw the amount of blood in their last hideout..." She grimaced at the memory. "I'm sorry I stopped looking."

"You couldn't have known," Mía said simply. "The group, they're not big. Whilst I was with them, I learnt how they operate and they basically steal stuff and stay put until they run out of supplies. The raid on our..." Mía swallowed hard. "The raid on our cabin was just another way to stay alive for them. When they took me, they tried to fix the bullet wound before travelling to Texas. You couldn't have known they would be here."

"I should have," Kamille said quietly, frowning. "I should have kept looking."

"But you found me now and I knew you would," Mía reassured her.

Kamille shook her head, hating to think about how she could have gone on with her life, thinking Mia was dead when in fact she was right around the corner. It was horrible to imagine.

"They didn't hurt you, did they?" she asked Mía carefully. "Tyler or the others... they didn't touch you?"

"They didn't," she said, and the way she stared at Kamille reassured the Brit. It didn't need to be said what Kamille was afraid of.

"Good," was all Kamille could think to say, before distracting herself with sips from her mug.

"How did you end up here?" Mía asked, taking the lead. "What made you come to Texas?"

Kamille ran a hand through her hair. "It's a long story, love."

Mía shook Kamille's arm to get her attention, and when Kamille looked up, she saw the young girl grinning up at her.

"You found Alicia!"

Mía's smile was contagious, making Kamille try to stifle her own.