All five girls sat on a circle on the carpet in their living room, deciding to talk instead of watching TV during dinner.
Lauren remembered something and got up, jogging over to the door and grabbing the shopping bag from earlier that day. She sat back down with a small smile on her face and plopped the bag on the floor in front of Camila.
"I got you something," Lauren smiled softly. Dinah, Ally, and Normani all collectively 'awwww'-ed from their spots on the carpet.
"For me?" Camila asked, a small smile appearing on her face. Lauren nodded and Camila clapped her hands excitedly. "Open?"
"Go on," Lauren motioned to the bag. Camila giggled and pulled the bag into her lap, digging inside and pulling out the bright yellow hoodie Lauren had bought.
"Yellow!" Camila squealed. She immediately hugged the sweatshirt to her chest and smiled widely. "Thank you, you're welcome," she crawled over and tackled Lauren in a bone-crushing hug.
Lauren laughed, nearly falling backwards when Camila wrapped her arms around her. "You're welcome," she giggled. Camila pulled away and looked down at the hoodie, giggling excitedly before leaning in, cupping Lauren's face, and planting a kiss on her lips. This earned various hoots and hollers from their other three roommates.
"Damn," Dinah raised her eyebrows at Lauren when Camila pulled away. Lauren's cheeks grew bright red when she saw all her roommate's eyes on her.
Camila stood up with the hoodie in her hands, peeling off her shirt with no shame and changing into the bright yellow sweatshirt.
"So... what are you guys?" Normani asked, turning to Lauren while Camila got changed. Lauren bit her lip, unsure of how to answer the question. Before she could say anything, Camila beat her to it.
"Mine," Camila nodded once.
All of the other girls grew confused. Camila tugged the sweatshirt over her head and padded back over to Lauren, sitting down in her lap contently.
"Mine," Camila repeated, wrapping her arms around Lauren's neck and smiling widely. "My Lolo."
Lauren's heart fluttered and she quietly wrapped her arms around Camila to keep her in her lap. "You heard her," Lauren nodded towards her roommates. "She's my Camz." Camila giggled eagerly and hid her head in the crook of Lauren's neck.
Dinah and Normani both made gagging noises while Ally smiled widely, pulling out her phone and snapping a picture of the two.
"Y'all are too cute, I'm gonna puke," Normani groaned, sending a playful glare Lauren's way. The three roommates weren't used to Lauren being affectionate with anyone. It was a big change, but one that they considered monumental for the girl.
"Shut up," Lauren muttered, trying, but failing to hide her smile. Dinah hopped to her feet to throw away her trash. Camila took that as a sign that dinner was over, and she grabbed the remote from the couch.
"Are we really going to watch Friends again?" Lauren laughed, raising an eyebrow at the girl in her lap. Camila nodded excitedly and picked another episode, focusing her eyes intently on the screen.
Four episodes of Friends and a bag of popcorn later, all five girls were exhausted. Lauren and Camila were the only ones still awake.
Camila yawned, turning over and smiling sleepily at Lauren. The green eyed girl couldn't help but lean down and kiss the smaller girl's forehead.
"Y'ready to go to bed?" Lauren said quietly, not wanting to wake her other roommates. Camila nodded and pried herself out of the older girl's grasp, shuffling towards the stairs. Lauren followed close behind.
The minute the door to the bedroom was closed, Camila placed her hands on Lauren's shoulders and stood on her tiptoes, capturing the older girl's lips in her own. Lauren was taken aback, but quickly caught on.
"You're good at that," she whispered when the kiss broke. Camila giggled and hopped onto the bed, laying on her back and staring up at the ceiling. Lauren changed into a big t-shirt and sleep shorts and joined Camila on the bed.
Legs entwined, hearts beating, chests rising and falling; both girls fell asleep almost instantly in each other's arms.
A scream pierced through the silent air, jolting Lauren out of her slumber. The green eyed girl bolted upwards, darting her eyes around the room and trying to figure out what was going on. The trembling figure beside her quickly made her realize.
"Camz," Lauren whispered, shaking Camila's shoulder to try and wake her up. It was no use. Unsure of what else to do, the green eyed girl pulled Camila's sleeping body into her lap. As soon as she did, the smaller girl began flailing violently, pummeling her fists into Lauren's chest.
"Hey, hey, shhh," Lauren said softly, hugging Camila against her chest and ignoring the punches that were being thrown at her. Moments later, a gasp was emitted from the younger girl's mouth and her body stilled. Realizing where she was, Camila burst into tears and buried her head in Lauren's neck.
"Please..." Camila's small voice cracked. "Please," she shook her head and clung to the material of Lauren's shirt.
"I've got you, Camz," Lauren whispered, stroking the smaller girl's hair. "I'll keep you safe."
"Promise?" Camila looked up at Lauren, who reached out and wiped her eyes with the pad of her thumbs before locking their pinkies together.
"Promise."
Camila sighed heavily and laid her head on Lauren's shoulder. The older girl shivered at the feeling of Camila's warm breath against her neck, giving her goosebumps.
"Sing?" Camila whispered, looking up at Lauren with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
"I remember tears streaming down your face when I said "I'll never let you go"
When all those shadows almost killed your light
I remember you said "don't leave me here alone"
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight
Just close your eyes, the sun is going down
You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now
Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound.
Don't you dare look out your window, darling everything's on fire
The war outside our door keeps raging on
Hold onto this lullaby even when the music's gone, gone
Just close your eyes, the sun is going down
You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now
Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound
Just close your eyes, you'll be alright
Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and s-,"
Lauren paused when she heard a faint rumbling noise downstairs. Camila lifted her head, wondering why the older girl had suddenly grown quiet.
"Lolo?" she whispered.
"Shh," Lauren held up her hand to signify for the girl to be quiet. A few moments later, there was a loud knock at the front door. Lauren raised an eyebrow in confusion. Who could possibly be looking for them at 2AM?
There was a groaning noise from the next room over and Lauren heard Dinah's heavy footsteps leave the bedroom.
"Yeah, 'Dinah, you don't have to get the door,' they said," the Polynesian girl mumbled grumpily. Lauren heard her jog down the stairs and glanced at Camila questioningly.
"Who is here?" Camila asked, slithering out of bed and walking over to Lauren's bedroom door. Lauren quickly ran after her and grabbed her hand, pulling her back and pressing her ear to the door to try and eavesdrop on what was going on.
"Listen, I don't know who you are, but it is 2 in the fucking m-," Dinah's voice slowly faded when Lauren heard the door open. "Uh, hi?" Dinah suddenly adopted a more polite tone, but still incriminating.
"Is Karla Cabello home?" the low voice grumbled. Lauren tensed. A million worst case scenarios ran through her mind.
"I-I... I don't know a Karla," Dinah quickly answered.
"Me," Camila whispered, tugging on Lauren's sleeve. "That is me."
"I know, shh," Lauren warned her, pulling Camila closer to her and pressing her ear against the door, cupping her hand to try and hear them more clearly.
"Hey, you can't just do that!" Dinah's voice grew louder and Lauren heard multiple loud footsteps enter the apartment. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"We have a warrant to search the premises, ma'am," one of the stern voices replied. Lauren's heart started beating rapidly in her chest and she turned to Camila, placing her hands on the smaller girl's shoulders and looking her straight in the eyes.
"Camila, I need you to stay here, okay? I will be right back. Don't leave this room. Do you hear me?" she said firmly, trying to stress the importance of her words. Camila nodded slowly, worry flickering in her eyes.
Lauren pressed a quick kiss on Camila's forehead before quietly slipping out of the room. She rushed downstairs, nearly gasping when she saw the three men in uniform practically tearing their house apart.
Dinah and Lauren made eye contact and Dinah's eyes widened. Lauren quickly looked around the apartment, noticing one of the officers digging through her backpack.
"Hey!" she yelled, running over to him and tugging her bag out of his hands. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to step away," another one of the officers put a hand on her shoulder. Lauren whipped her head around and shoved his arm off of her.
"Don't lay a hand on me," she hissed, clutching her bag to her chest. "What are you doing here?"
"You don't happen to know where Karla Cabello is, do you?"
Dinah shook her head furiously from behind the officer, and Lauren did the same. The officer that had been searching her bag before appeared beside her and tried to take the bag out of her arms.
"Don't touch me!" Lauren yelled, yanking her bag away and looking to Dinah for help.
"Lolo?!" Camila's panicked voice rang out from upstairs. Dinah and Lauren both cursed under their breath.
"Go back to bed!" Lauren called, trying to act casual.
"Lolo?" Camila's voice appeared again at the top of the stairs. By this time, all three officers were already heading towards the staircase, and Lauren panicked.
"Stop!" Lauren threw her bag to the ground and ran towards them, sliding to a stop in front of the staircase and blocking them from going any further. "It is 3 in the morning, what do you think you're doing here?"
Lauren internally cursed when she heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs.
"Lolo?" Camila whispered from directly behind Lauren.
"That's her, that's Karla," one of the cops pointed to Camila and suddenly Lauren was shoved aside, almost falling to the ground. She grabbed onto the wall to regain her balance just as Camila started screaming.
"Get off of her," Lauren growled, watching as the officers appeared from the staircase, holding Camila firmly by the shoulders. The smaller girl was whimpering, struggling to escape their grip.
"Karla Cabello," one of the officers pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his pocket and passed them to the man holding Camila. "You're under arrest on the charge of murder in the second degree."
Lauren's heart dropped in her chest and Dinah sprinted over to the green-eyed girl to hold her upright.
"Murder?" Dinah spoke for Lauren, who still couldn't find her words. "You've got to have the wrong person, Camila wouldn't hurt a f-,"
She was cut off by an ear piercing scream from Camila as the handcuffs snapped shut around her wrists. The smaller girl shook her head, trying desperately to pull her hands out of their reach.
"Lolo!" Camila cried, looking straight at Lauren, her eyes pleading for help. Lauren snapped back into reality and put one hand on the wall to steady herself.
"You can't just do that!" Lauren yelled, motioning to the cuffs around Camila's wrists. The officers ignored Camila's cries and shoved her towards the door, practically dragging her by her collar.
"Lolo!" Camila cried again. Lauren's hands shook.
"What are you doing?!" Lauren yelled at the third officer who stood in front of them. "You can't just take her away like that!"
The man sighed heavily and pulled a business card out of his pocket, handing it to Dinah because he knew Lauren wouldn't take it.
"I'm just doing my job, ladies. Call the number on that card tomorrow and you can find out about your friend. For now, there's nothing we can do."
Lauren's knees crumpled beneath her and Dinah quickly grabbed her to keep her upright.
"Get the fuck out of our apartment," Dinah growled, staring the officer straight in the eye. Moments later, the door of the apartment slammed shut and Lauren fell to her knees on the floor in tears. Camila's cries could still be heard down the hallway and each one plunged another dagger into Lauren's chest.
Two sets of footsteps came heavily down the stairs.
"What the hell is going on?" Normani asked worriedly, sliding to her knees on the floor beside Lauren and trying to comfort the distraught girl. "Where's Camila?"
Normani's question only sent Lauren into another round of hysterics, causing the girl to slam her fist into the wall and sob violently into her hands. Ally stood frozen at the end of the staircase, taking it all in.
"I-I don't know," Dinah breathed, sliding down against the wall and sitting next to Lauren. "They came looking for Camila - three officers - and they said... they handcuffed her... and said something about murder."
"Murder?" Ally gasped, finally joining the group circled around Lauren on the floor. "Camila wouldn't hurt a fly!"
"That's what I said..." Dinah said quietly, shaking her head in disbelief and trying to keep her own tears back. All four roommates, not just Lauren, had grown exceptionally close to Camila in the time they'd spent together.
"They can't just... they can't... it's Camila!" Lauren cried, lifting her head and leaning back on the wall next to Dinah, allowing herself to sink down and curl up into a ball, resting her head on her knees. "She's.... she's Camila...."
"All we can do is call in the morning and see what they say," Dinah sighed, trying her best to be the voice of reason. "Fucking with the cops... won't get us very far."
"Murder..." Ally whispered under her breath, still trying to understand it herself. "Do you think-,"
"Camila would never do that!" Lauren snapped, lifting her head. Her eyes were blood shot and makeup was streaming down her face. She brought her hands up, grabbing fistfuls of her hair and letting out a noise of frustration. "She wouldn't..." Lauren whispered, letting her head fall back into her hands.
All the girls grew silent after Lauren's sudden outburst. Normani rubbed circles in Lauren's back to try and calm her down. Dinah and Ally exchanged glances, both as lost for words as Lauren was. None of them knew what to do.
Lauren's thoughts were racing. Camila had needed her. She'd promised to protect Camila and she'd failed. The girl had been screaming her name, and she hadn't been able to do anything about it.
"Oh my god...." Lauren whispered, lifting her head and staring blankly ahead of her. "Maybe... oh my god," she shook her head and felt her breathing speed up.
"What?" Normani glanced over at the distraught girl. Lauren took a deep breath, trying to contain her sobs as best as she could.
"The bruises, her... her uncle... he..." Lauren brought her hands to cup her mouth as she slowly connected the dots. "I need to go to Miami," she said, scrambling to her feet and grabbing the remains of her backpack from the floor.
Her other three roommates all exchanged glances, confused at Lauren's sudden outburst. Normani quickly got up, following her and putting a hand on the green eyed girl's shoulder.
"Miami?" the dark skinned girl asked cautiously.
Lauren nodded, grabbing her wallet and frantically counting her money. "I need to... shit... seventy five... eighty," she cursed under her breath and restarting counting the bills. "They don't know... about Camila. They need to know... I need to... I need to know," Lauren stammered, curling her lip in concentration.
"That's not enough," she huffed, tightening her grip on the crumpled bills in her hand. She dropped to her knees, digging through the contents of her bag desperately.
Dinah exchanged glances with her two roommates before stepping forward and reaching into her back pocket. She pulled out a collection of bills and sifted through them before handing Lauren everything she had.
"Wha...?" Lauren stood up, looking at the bills in her hand. Normani and Ally both did the same, adding to the collection of money in Lauren's hand.
"Go," Dinah whispered, pulling Lauren into a hug before the girl could see the tears forming in her eyes. "I'll call you as soon as we find anything out." Ally and Normani both nodded in agreement.
"You guys..." Lauren's voice cracked and she quickly wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her hoodie. "Thank you so much," she shook her head and hugged her two other roommates before slipping the money into her wallet. "I owe you."
"You don't owe us anything," Normani spoke up. "We'll figure this out, okay? It's Camila we're talking about. We'll find a way."
"I hope so," Lauren whispered, biting her lip and looking around the room hesitantly.
"Get your ass on a plane, Jauregui," Dinah laughed sadly, nudging her friend's shoulder. Lauren swallowed hard, nodding and grabbing her bag.
"If I don't answer my phone, call me until I do," Lauren nodded, throwing her bag over her shoulder and heading towards the door. "I love you guys, okay? Thank you..."
All the other girls nodded. Dinah turned away to hide her tears and Lauren decided not to call her out on it, just this once. She slipped through the door of the apartment without another word.
—
a/n: you asked for a double update so. y'all better know by now that it wouldn't be one of my fics without a plot twist. so.. here you go. don't hate me pls.
- lena (@lenajfc on twitter, txrches on tumblr)