"Y-Yeah," Lauren spluttered, quickly changing into some of her sneakers that were by the door.
She waited for Camila to head to the elevator first before following closely behind. Her perfume permeated the small box of transportation they were in, leaving Lauren's head reeling.
Her hair was shorter—just past her shoulders and flowing like ocean waves under a steady breeze. Her shoulders seemed much more muscular and broad along with her arms, as if she had been working out wherever she disappeared off to.
Camila crossed her arms against her chest, her leather jacket making a noise as it rubbed against the elevator wall. "Are you having a good time tonight?"
"Um," Lauren looked down at her hands and nodded. "Yeah, I am,"
The elevator doors parted and outside their once shared apartment lobby was a parked black and white motorcycle that Lauren presumed belonged to Camila.
Camila handed her the helmet. "Get on. Unless you're too scared?" She swung on leg over the bike and started it up.
Lauren glanced at the helmet and then once at Camila before putting it on and sitting behind the dark-haired woman.
"Might want to hold on," Camila said teasingly. "Don't need you falling off now, do we?"
-
They easily sped through the streets of New Haven, swerving past all the traffic and honking cars that weren't too pleased with Camila's dangerous ways of maneuvering her motorcycle.
Lauren wrapped her arms tighter around her waist, enjoying the feel of Camila's toned muscles beneath her thin T-Shirt. They rode in silence for another few minutes until they arrived at a local park with benches scattered all over.
Camila put the kickstand down and turned off the engine, helping Lauren off the motorcycle before gesturing to a particular bench a few feet from them.
"The stars look nice out tonight,"
Lauren swallowed the lump in her throat and left a reasonable distance between them as they sat down on the bench. "I didn't know you were coming,"
"I ended up getting a ticket last minute,"
"Where were you before?"
Camila looked at her and lulled her head to the side, smirking. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"No!" Lauren quickly said. "I mean, yes... Ugh, I don't know,"
"I've been at Oxford for the past few months. I have an apartment over there and plan to stay year round until I graduate."
"Oh," the defeatness in her voice made Camila want to laugh. "Oxford, huh?"
"It's a great school. You would've loved it there. Your mom seemed to like it there as well when she tracked me down."
Lauren could feel her cheeks heating up. "I asked her to leave you alone. But I guess she got too tired of my whining."
"She told me about Caitlin," Camila said quietly. "It... Wasn't much. Just brief details; like how much she loved Caitlin and wished she'd done right by her sooner. How she'd do everything again if it meant getting her the justice she deserved. That part, she told me all about."
"I didn't want to be apart of it," Lauren croaked. "I kept telling her that it was too much pressure but when she brought up how Caitlin would've done the same for me in a heartbeat, I finally understood it. Or, I think I did, at least."
"Did you only apply to Yale for this?"
After a brief moment of silence, Lauren smiled sadly. "Yes and no. I always wanted to become a lawyer. Just like Caitlin."
"Why do I find that hard to believe?"
"Oh, come on. She was my older sister. I looked up to her like no other. Even after she left the house... The confidence she had, the courageous lifestyle she led, the friends in her life—she was everything I wanted to be. To know that some man took that all away from her in a matter of seconds turned me into a different person."
"I'm guessing your dad was in on this as well,"
Lauren shook her head. "He didn't know anything about it. He still doesn't. And we're not planning to tell him. He has enough on his plate with trying to get out of prison."
"I wish I knew," Camila said. "I wish I wasn't blindsided. Maybe I wouldn't have been so hurt if I knew."
"It killed me to keep it from you, Camz. I wanted nothing more than to be honest with you. But I couldn't let my mom down. Not after everything we did to get here."
"Will you tell me? The plan that you came up with?"
"My only job was to get inside his office to plant a camera," Lauren referred back to her office hours appointment with Professor Cowell where she claimed she was getting a recommendation letter. "It was as small as a button. But you could see everything on it. Once I had the camera set on his lamp, I just needed to get blueprints of his office. The second part was easier than the first. Ally's mom is friends with a few construction workers who were able to get them for us."
"She told me she hired a few guys from previous business endeavors and they'd handle it from there. The last thing I did for her was let her know when the bonfire was taking place and everything else just fell into line. It was perfect."
"And, of course, you had the perfect alibi,"
"That night wasn't just about having an alibi," Lauren poked the inside of her cheek with her tongue. "I was there with the girls so I had one either way. I slept with you that night because I wanted to. Not because I was trying to set you up."
"How did they get my ring?"
"I'm more than certain that was my mom's doing. She claims it wasn't but she's one of the only few people who knows that ring exists. After I called her to get it back, she must've realized how serious we were, I guess."
"Was any of it real?"
"God, Camila," she tried not to choke up. "All of it was. It was all so fucking real. I've been in love with you for as long as I could remember. I may not have been truthful about a lot of things between us, but my love for you has always been real."
"I met a girl while I was over there," Camila stared at her beat up boots. "Her name's Vero,"
"Oh,"
"She was basically the only person I knew for awhile. She showed me around all the pubs there and convinced me to come back here. To come back to you."
Lauren held her breath, wanting to let Camila finish before she jumped to anymore conclusions. Had she really fucked up so bad that Camila felt the need to move on?
"I kept telling her how stupid she was and how she needs to get off my back. But one day she barged into my apartment and slammed the plane ticket right in my face. I didn't really have much of a choice then."
"Camila—"
"I'm sorry for not giving you the chance to explain everything to me before I left so suddenly. I was hurt, angry, and lost on what to do. So, I did the only thing I know best; run." Camila felt her throat closing up on her. "I'm sorry about your sister. I'm sorry that her life was more bad than good before she passed. I'm sorry for thinking you were out to get me. I'm... I'm really sorry for abandoning you. For abandoning us—like that."
Going against her better judgement, she clasped her hand on top of Camila's and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I would've done the same if I were you. I'm not mad at you or anything. Just glad that you gave me the chance to explain myself."
"I'm leaving tomorrow," Camila dug into her pocket to pull out her phone, opening up a new contact page for Lauren to put her number in. "But I'd like to keep in touch. Maybe we can do it right this time. Start off where we should've, y'know? As friends."
"Yeah," Lauren tried to keep her voice steady, not wanting to think about how Camila was leaving just as fast as she came. "I'd like that too,"
-
The motorcycle came to a slow stop when they finally arrived at Lauren's apartment, signifying their time together was officially coming to an end.
Lauren clambered off the bike and handed Camila her helmet back. "Where are you going to keep this if you're going back overseas?"
"Shawn's dad has a garage for me to store it in while I'm gone," Camila explained.
Humming in acknowledgment, Lauren couldn't resist the urge and threw herself at Camila, burying her face in the dark-haired woman's
neck. "Thank you,"
"For what?" Camila wrapped her arms around Lauren's small frame.
"For coming all the way here,"
"Don't be silly," Camila said once they pulled away. "This was something we both needed, right?"
Lauren bit her lip. "Right,"
"Anyway," she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small wrapped box. "This is for you. You can open it whenever."
"You really didn't have to,"
"I wanted to,"
"Thank you," Lauren held the box close to her chest. "I already know I love it,"
"I hope you do love it," Camila smiled nervously. "I'll talk to you soon,"
Lauren allowed her eyes rake over Camila's face once more before she bid her final goodbye and turned to head into the lobby. But once she had her hand on the door, she heard Camila's voice again.
"You know," Camila began. "I talk to the moon to feel closer to you—instead of taking pictures. But maybe I'll start doing that again too."
Without waiting for a response, she pushed her bike off the kickstand and disappeared into the night, leaving Lauren love struck and in awe like always.
-
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