"Shhh."
"You do it, then!"
"No way! I'm not risking waking up Normani. Who knows what she'd do to us."
Camila's eyes fluttered open when she heard hushed whispers above her. "Wha...?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes and looking around the room.
"Good, you're up," Bea whispered, glancing at Maia who stood next to her. "We're going to find out where Dinah is. Get your lazy butt out of bed."
"What time is it?" Camila yawned, sitting up and stretching out her arms.
"Early," Maia nodded, slowly moving towards the door. "We need to be quick. Hurry up."
Groaning, Camila rolled out of bed and joined Bea and Maia by the door. Bea glanced out into the hallway, surveying the surroundings.
"All clear," she nodded, slipping into the hallway. Camila and Maia followed close behind, quietly making their way down the dimly lit hallways. Camila nearly fell when Bea grabbed her hand and tugged her towards one of the doors.
Slowly, the girl turned the doorknob and peered inside. The light was on, and all three girls slipped into the room. Dinah sat on her bed with a book in her hand, looking up when she heard the door open.
"Took you long enough," the Polynesian girl laughed, running a hand through her hair. Camila raised an eyebrow.
"Every time I tried to come see you some stupid nurse would stop me," Bea rolled her eyes, grabbing a chair and pulling it over beside Dinah's bed. "Where the hell have you been?"
Dinah glanced at the two other girls and sighed. She pushed herself up in the bed, turning so she could face them. "It's worse than they thought," Dinah nodded once and rolled her eyes. Camila grew even more confused.
"What do you mean?" Maia asked, grabbing two chairs and sliding one in Camila's direction. The brown eyed girl quietly sat down and continued to listen to their conversation.
"Apparently they didn't think it was that bad, but when they took my vitals yesterday they were just like 'Oh shit, her other surgery didn't really do anything'," Dinah sighed and shook her head. "So basically, my heart is still failing."
"That's bullshit," Bea mumbled. "Why can't they just do another surgery?"
"They can," Dinah nodded. "But there's practically no chance that it would help anything." She glanced over at Camila, who gave her a nervous smile.
"What are they going to do then?" Maia tilted her head to the side slightly. Dinah shrugged.
"I need a new heart," Dinah admitted. Camila's eyes widened, causing Dinah to laugh softly. "They said I'll be pretty high up on the donor list, cause' I don't do drugs and shit. But it's still gonna take months. It's not like they just have a bunch of spare hearts lying around."
"So fucking stupid," Bea muttered and looked down. "I'll use my wish and get you a heart!" she clasped her hands together and looked up hopefully. Dinah just laughed and shook her head.
"Doesn't work that way," Dinah glanced down at the floor. "It's like... for me to live, someone else has to die."
"What if you don't get a heart in time?" Bea looked up. Camila could tell how much the situation was bothering the younger girl. Things like this were hard to understand for anyone.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Dinah shrugged, trying to keep the mood light. "I go into surgery tomorrow to put some shit in my heart that's supposed to help while I wait."
"A left ventricular assist device?" Maia glanced up, fixing her glasses. Dinah raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, that," the Polynesian girl laughed. "Nerd."
"You won't be calling me that when I'm a world famous brain surgeon," Maia teased, rolling her eyes. Dinah just laughed and shook her head.
"It's so fucked up," Bea muttered, crossing her legs underneath her and running a hand through her brightly colored hair.
"Hey," Dinah glared at her, holding up a finger to hush her. "It's fine, kiddo. Don't worry about me. I've got this," she flexed her muscles, making the other three girls laugh quietly.
"My family is gonna be here soon, though. So you better get outta here before they realize you're not in your rooms," Dinah added, glancing at the door.
"Can we visit you tomorrow?" Maia asked. Both Bea and Camila nodded in agreement. Dinah glanced at the time.
"My surgery is early tomorrow morning, but I'll make sure they know that I have to see you guys once it's over," she laughed softly and stood up. "Wish me luck."
"Good luck," Bea said softly, pulling Dinah into a hug. Maia and Camila did the same before following Bea back out into the hallway, just as the breakfast bell rang.
"I feel bad," Camila said softly as they walked down the hallway. "I didn't know that about her until now."
"She doesn't like talking about it," Bea looked up. "She just tries to laugh it off most of the time." Maia nodded in agreement. Camila bit her lip, remaining quiet for the rest of the walk.
Breakfast passed by slowly. Camila picked at her eggs, practically having to force herself to eat something because she knew she'd be starving later if she didn't. She continued to glance at the clock =, debating whether or not to leave early.
Leaving early meant running into Lauren. Which could either be a good or bad thing. Camila forced herself to stay seated. She didn't need to spend more time with the girl and have herself falling harder.
Camila didn't like not being able to express what she felt for the green eyed girl. There was just... something. And it frustrated her to no ends that she couldn't put her feelings into words.
The last thing she needed was to be around Lauren and discover even more little things that made her feelings heighten. She just needed to distance herself. Lauren had a boyfriend. And she... well, she was dying.
She was nearly falling asleep at the table when the bell rang. Yawning, the small girl put her tray away and followed behind the other patients as they filed into the classroom.
She sat on her usual spot in the back of the classroom next to Bea, who had her feet propped up on a table in front of them and was painting her toenails bright red.
"They really let you get away with anything if you're a terminal," Camila laughed softly. Bea looked up and shrugged with a small smile. The girl's eyes quickly widened and she looked back down. Camila grew confused, that was, until she felt a pair of piercing green eyes boring into her.
She forced herself to ignore Lauren. It'd be easier this way. She just couldn't get close. It would only make things a million times worse.
Camila practically kept her head down the entire class. She could see Lauren occasionally glance over at her out of the corner of the eye. Each time she wanted to look up and give the girl a small smile, but each time her brain reacted before her heart could.
When the bell rang, Camila practically sprinted from the classroom. She cursed herself for being so awkward, but she couldn't help it. She was the first at the lunch table.
All throughout lunch, the small brown eyed girl felt Normani glaring at her from across the room. She tried her best to ignore it, investing herself in the conversation at the table.
"No, not a left ventricular ass device," Maia groaned, shaking her head and setting a book down in front of Justin. "It's a left ventricular assist device."
"She had a heart problem, not a butt problem," Bea rolled her eyes at Justin, who took the book from Maia and studied it closely.
Luke cracked up laughing, and Camila watched as Bea glanced over at him, her cheeks turning red. She'd never seen Bea this shy around someone. Maia nudged Camila's foot under the table, signaling that they had both noticed this. Camila had to bite her lip to hide her laughter.
Once lunch was over, Camila quietly made her way back to her bedroom. Her energy had been low all day, and she wasn't in the mood to socialize much.
She paused in front of her hallway, taking a deep breath and keeping her steps as quiet as she could as she passed Lauren's room. She cursed herself when she heard shuffling in the room next to her.
"Camila?"
The small girl froze. How had she known it was her?
"Camila, I know it's you. You're the only one that walks as light as a butterfly."
Camila bit her lip. Lauren had practically read her mind. She took a deep breath and poked her head into the room. "Did you need something?"
Lauren sat up on her bed, the same red blanket over her legs. Camila couldn't help but wonder what was really underneath. "I, uh, I just wanted to see if you were okay. You seemed pretty down in class."
Camila shook her head, leaning against the doorframe. "I-I'm fine," she suddenly grew frustrated and raised her voice slightly. "Do you even realize what y—?"
She clamped her jaw shut when Lauren held up a hand and signaled for her to be quiet. She brought her phone up to her ear. "My dad's calling," she whispered, shaking her head and mouthing 'sorry.'
Camila nodded, sighing and turning to leave. Lauren snapped her fingers, shaking her head and signaling for her to wait. The small girl paused and held her breath.
"Hey," Lauren sighed, rolling her eyes and leaning back against the headboard of her bed. Camila glanced down at her feet shyly.
"Yeah, m'fine," Lauren mumbled. Camila glanced up and noticed the immediate change in the girl's mood. She must not get along with her father.
"I told you, I'm fine. No, Robert, you don't need to," Lauren's voice was laced with agitation.
Camila's eyes widened. That was Robert? Robert was her father? Robert wasn't her boyfriend?
The small girl found herself so relieved that she starting laughing at her own stupidity. Robert wasn't her boyfriend. Did that mean Lauren had been telling the truth? Camila felt her stomach flutter with possibility.
"Okay," Lauren groaned, glancing over at Camila and growing confused when she saw that the smaller girl was laughing. She quickly finished the phone call and hung up, tossing her phone on the end of her bed. "What's so funny?"
Camila glanced up, suddenly growing nervous. She shrugged. "I just... this is gonna sound stupid," she sighed and shook her head. Lauren raised an eyebrow, urging her to go on.
"I heard you on the phone the other day and I sorta... well, I thought Robert was your boyfriend or something," Camila bit her lip and ran her fingers through her hair anxiously. Surprisingly, Lauren just laughed and shook her head.
"Nope, just my dad," she shrugged. "Although he really doesn't deserve that title." She glanced out in the hallway and then back to Camila. "Close the door."
Camila nodded and quickly slipped inside the room, closing the door and sitting on one of the plastic chairs by Lauren's bed.
"So you call him Robert just to piss him off?" Camila laughed softly, tilting her head to the side. Lauren smirked.
"Maybe," she rolled her eyes playfully and shrugged. "I barely know the guy."
"But he's your dad..." Camila raised an eyebrow, growing confused. Lauren sighed and shook her head.
"He's my biological parent, yeah. But he's not my dad," Lauren grew nervous. "He walked out on us when I was 3. And then when my mom died, he fought for custody," she confessed. Camila nodded sympathetically. "But he works in Tokyo. So his way of parenting a sick child is apparently just handing out bucketfuls of money to keep her in this goddamn hospital."
"Oh," Camila whispered, feeling sorry for the girl. She couldn't imagine not having a parent as a support system. "I-I'm sorry," she mumbled. She'd never been too good at comforting people.
Lauren simply shrugged and toyed with the hem of her shirt. "No big deal," she looked up at Camila. "There's a lot of kids here in the same boat, or worse. I have no room to complain."
"Neither do I," Camila sighed empathetically. "At least you didn't wish to be here."
"You wished to be here?" Lauren raised an eyebrow. Camila nodded slowly, but the same look of confusion stayed plastered on Lauren's face.
"What do you mean?" the green eyed girl tilted her head to the side.
"Every cancer kid gets a wish. I used mine to come here," Camila shrugged. She saw Lauren's face drop slightly.
"Is that why you sit with the terminals?" Lauren asked softly. Camila nodded.
"Because I am one," she nodded.
"Why would you use your wish to come here?" Lauren asked in disbelief. She couldn't imagine Camila wanting to be there. Almost all the other patients dreaded this place.
"I needed some way to get my treatment for free," Camila sighed. "I was practically already dragging my parents down into debt. I couldn't just stand by and watch that happen. And I couldn't let my family stand by and watch me... well, you know."
"Cancer isn't a death sentence, Camila," Lauren shook her head. Camila just mumbled something inaudible and hung her head down.
Camila nearly jumped when she felt a small hand reach out and place it on top of her own. She looked up at Lauren, who gave her a shy smile.
"Don't tell yourself you're gonna die. Cause' that's bullshit," Lauren nodded softly. Camila could barely focus on what she was saying, and she had to tear her eyes away from their hands.
"Camila," Lauren said firmly. Camila snapped her head up and blinked a few times. "It's not a death sentence. Trust me."
"Says you," Camila sighed, shaking her head and quickly dismissing her comment. "I'm sorry, I-I just... I don't know. I just try to avoid thinking about it."
"So did I," Lauren said softly.
Camila grew confused when she felt Lauren's hand move away from her own, already missing the contact. Her eyes widened when the green eyed girl slowly moved the blanket away from the lower half of her body.
Lauren bit her lip nervously as Camila's eyes scanned her legs. Well, lack of one. Her left leg was perfectly normal, but as Camila studied her right leg, it practically disappeared right below the knee.
"Wh-what happened?" Camila whispered, looking back up at Lauren. She had already known about Lauren's leg due to their chance encounter the other day, but seeing it was something else. It made it seem more real.
"I twisted my ankle at basketball practice and it blew up like a balloon," Lauren resisted the urge to cover up her legs once more. She wasn't used to being this exposed around anyone. It felt different with Camila, though.
"They took me to the doctor cause they thought I broke it. I didn't luckily. But what they did find was a bone tumor. Cancerous," she nodded slowly and bit her lip.
"And then they had to... y'know?" Camila motioned to the rest of her leg. Lauren shook her head.
"They tried everything else they could before they took it. I've been though hell and back just to lose it in the end," she laughed bitterly. "When the chemo didn't work the second time, then I just said 'fuck it'. And now here I am," she bit her lip.
"It's so fucked up," Camila sighed, shaking her head. "Why does it have to happen to us?"
Lauren shrugged. "I wish I could tell you. I wish I had the answers," she glanced down at her hands in her lap.
"So if the tumor is gone, why are you still here?" Camila asked. Lauren's eyes widened but before she could answer, there was a knock at the door.
"You need to go," Lauren shook her head, tugging the blanket back over her leg. Camila knew better than to protest.
"I-I'll see you later," Camila mumbled, quickly slipping out the door and past the doctor. She wasn't sure what to do with all the information she'd just received. But she couldn't help but have more questions that she needed answered.
--
a/n: so many things revealed in this chapter.
have a great day babes. be nice to yourselves and ily endlessly.
- lena (lenajfc on twitter, forbrighterskies on tumblr)