Lauren's POV
I had to get out of Camila's apartment as fast as I could. If I stayed there any longer, she would start to ask questions and things would become awkward. I didn't intend on cuddling her after she fell asleep; it just kind of happened. One minute I'm putting on a new movie and, just as it begins, Camila is fast asleep next to me. I ended up watching her and not the movie. Then before I know it, I'm crashed out on her couch. I planned on leaving in the middle of the night but clearly my body wanted to rest right then and there.
Camila seemed chill enough though, I doubt she would mind me spending the night. But cuddling with someone is way too affectionate and I don't do affection. It's not really my forte, like, at all. I've never been an affectionate person, I don't believe in love or people who have hearts big enough to care. I have learned to keep to myself and treat people with respect, nothing more, nothing less.
Waking up with Camila wrapped in my arms scared me, not because we are strangers, but because there was this warmth that was growing inside of me. It felt strange, but it felt so good. Why did it feel so good? Maybe I'm getting sick, and my body was just cold until it collided with hers. Whatever the feeling was, I could not bare one more second with it, which is why I left. After I was gone, Camila called my phone several times - voicemail after voicemail. Why does she care so much? It's not like I bailed on a friend; we barely know each other.
I ran to my apartment as fast as I could in order to clear my mind. I completely forgot I even drove, my mind was just that hazy. Fuck, now I have no choice but to pick up my car later, maybe later tonight when she's sleeping and there's absolutely no chance of her seeing me. Yeah, that's perfect. I don't need my car, I'll be fine.
As I was running I realized how far away Camila really lives from my house. Shit. It's freezing. I didn't even grab my jacket when I ran out, I'm actually such an idiot.
Once I make it to my house, I run in, strip off my clothing and submerge myself in the heated water of my hot tub. The hot water is amazing against my skin, calming my nerves, relieving my stress, and relaxing my muscles. I lean my head back and drift off to sleep.
I'm woken up by a loud bang on my bathroom door. Wait... My bathroom door?
"I don't know who you are, but take whatever you want and get the fuck out of my house. I'm in no mood to talk to the cops, so just fuck off and I won't call them." I yelled at the intruder, hoping they would take my offering and scram. But no, there's another knock, this time softer, followed by a voice.
"Lauren it's me, Mike." Rolling my eyes, I step out of the tub and put on my robe. I head towards the door and open it to see him holding my cell phone, car keys, and coat.
"Oh." Was all I could say. I am mortified, Camila must've called Mike and told him about what happened. She really needs to let me live, this whole motherly caring act has got to stop.
"Yeah. Come on, put some clothes on, Vin wants to see you." Michael said and then headed towards my room, placing all my belongings on my bed. I ignore his obvious questioning stare and make a move for my closet. Pulling out my favorite black bomber jacket, my Metallica t-shirt, a pair of high waisted black jeans, and my favorite black combat boots, I head back into the bathroom to get dressed.
When I'm all changed and ready to go, I find Michael sitting on a bar stool next to the island in my kitchen. He looks up from his phone, getting up and following me to the front door. The walk is relatively quiet; nothing to be said. That's one characteristic I've always enjoyed about Mike, he knows when and when not to talk.
Once we get in the house, Mike tells me he has things to get done and promptly leaves me on my own. I sit outside Vinny's office, waiting for him to call me in. I cannot get the way I left Camila this morning out of my mind. I feel terrible knowing how much I overreacted. I could only imagine what's racing through her mind.
I didn't want to pick up nor return her calls because I have no explanation for my actions, not now at least. Maybe one day I will be able to. I'm taken out of my thoughts when Vinny approaches me. He looks pissed but I don't really care to ask why.
Without saying anything, he turns around and walks to his quarters as I follow behind him. Taking a seat, I look up to find him looking at me; a look I've never quite seen before. We both don't say anything, just sit in silence studying each other's faces.
Vinny breaks the silence. "I have a job for you and Camila."
I tense. I doubt Camila would want to work with me after that stunt I pulled today. I nod my head to show him I'm listening, and at that he continues. "This job is tedious, alright? There's going to be more than one person I'll need you and Camila to take out. Here are the guys you'll need to look for," Vinny opens a folder, pulling out three pictures of middle aged men. One guy has white hair, and a small beard, another guy is bald with glasses, and the last guy has a buzzcut.
"These three guys are John Meyers, Andrew Moore and Craig Dunn. They work at a dock over on Pier 39. Long story short, they've been selling to my clients. Apparently giving better deals. They're quickly becoming my number one competition, they gotta go." At this, Vinny pulls out a metal brief case, unlocks it and takes out two pistols with silencers on them. "They're fully loaded. I need you and Camila to shoot all three of these guys, without killing them, then take them over to my warehouse on 31st. You'll be taking the Tahoe, not the van this time. When you arrive at my warehouse, tie their hands behind a chair. After that's done, you and Camila are free to go home. I'll take it from there. It's crucial that they don't die, because then me questioning them would coincidentally be deemed useless, so I need the both of you to be extra careful when shooting them. Got it?"
I nod my head in affirmation before he continues. "Alright, contact Camila and update her. I need you guys over there at 8:30, so you should head out now. Here's everything you'll need." He hands me the briefcase, the folder containing the pictures to identify the men with, and a burner phone. I put the folder and the other miscellaneous things in my backpack, zip it up and walk back to my house.
Running back upstairs to where Mike left all my things, I grab my phone and my keys. Hesitantly unlocking my phone, I am greeted by four missed calls, six text messages and one voicemail, all from Camila. I don't even want to do this mission with her, it's going to be so awkward. Unfortunately, she's more skilled with a gun than I am so I really don't have much of a choice. I finally shake off the nerves and text her.
To Camila Cabello: We have a new job in an hour. I'm picking you up in 15 mins.
Locking my phone, I place it in my back pocket and head out the door. Jumping into the Tahoe, I turn the ignition on and make my way towards her house. As I near the corner before her street, my hands start to sweat. I don't even know if she's read my text or even agreed to coming, I didn't bother to check.
When I pull up, she's out on her porch waiting. I had an internal debate on whether or not I should get out and open the door for her. I decide not to when I see her walking towards the passenger side. When she gets situated in her seat, she doesn't say anything so I put the car back in drive and we head out to our destination.
Unlike the last time, this location is much further away. I turn on the radio, hoping to lessen the tension between the two of us. When we are about ten minutes away, I tell her the game plan.
"So, we have to shoot these three guys, but not kill them." I start off, taking a deep breath. Camila doesn't say anything, so I turn to see if she's even listening - she is. Her eyes are trained on me, waiting for me to continue, so I do. "These guys are competition towards Vinny's business, he needs to question them. There's guns in the back. If I'm being honest, I've never used one before, so good luck to the both of us." I laugh, hoping my joke would ease the tension. It doesn't.
Swallowing my laugh, I proceed. "As you can see, we're taking this vehicle tonight and not the van. The drive to Vin's warehouse is two hours out of town. It's a bitch of a distance, but hopefully it'll knock them out into a sleep, so that's a bonus. Obviously they're going to be heavy to carry, so we're gonna need to take them one by one. All good?" I question, hoping she'll say something, anything. But she doesn't, she just nods her head, turning to look out the window into the night.
---
When we arrive at the pier, the smell of fish is evident and I can already tell tonight is just going to be hell. There's a boat tied to a dock with three armed men on it. Great. Vinny said the job would be tedious, but I wasn't looking for a gun fight. I grab Camila by the elbow and I can feel her tense underneath my grip. She turns to look at me and I point towards the boat where I've spotted our targets. When she catches sight, I release my hand from her arm.
"They're carrying pistols, one shot in the leg will drop them immediately. We'll have to kick them in the stomach so that they'll clutch themselves, it's our only tactic at retrieving their weapons." Camila instructs. I didn't even expect her to speak, but I'm glad she's putting aside our personal drama for this mission. My life is on the line but for some reason, I have complete trust in Camila.
"Let's go hide behind those two barrels over there." I point and gesture for Camila to move. When we get behind the barrels, I take out our weapons. Camila must've noticed the clueless look on my face so she pushes my hand away and begins setting up. With the sound of one click, I felt the cool object in the grasps of my hand. "This is the trigger, this is the safety, it's off right now, but always keep it on when you're not using it. This is where you load your bullets. The silence cap is already on, all you have to do is point and shoot." Camila explains.
I just nod. Point and shoot may look easy on TV, but I know it's not that simple and it takes a good aim to hit your target perfectly. On the count of three, we make a run for the boat. When we near it, I gesture for her to go to the other end so we can attack from the middle. I watch her run to the right end of the boat. I hold up my three fingers and mouth, "Three, two, one." With that, we quietly make our way onto the boat.
I spot a guy instantly and shoot him in the leg, grazing his thigh just enough to where he collapses onto his knees. I make a quick move and kick him in his stomach like Camila had instructed. He immediately falls onto his back, clutching his stomach. I retrieve his weapon, turn on the safety and place it behind my back. I make a run to the other side of the boat where Camila is.
When I find her, she has already taken out the two other men. I nod my head in the direction of the body lying closest to me. I grab his arms and motion for her to take his legs. We pick him up and load him into the car. Fifteen minutes later, we're buckled up and ready to go to Vinny's warehouse on the other side of the coast.
On the drive there, one of the men spits at the back of Camila's neck, instantly my knuckles tighten on the steering wheel. In the corner of my eye, I see Camila rip off her seatbelt and punch the guy square in the jaw. I silently remind myself that I should stay on her good side, or at least try to in the future considering I've already fucked that up. After Camila punched the guy, his two other buddies were quick to shut their mouths, making the rest of the drive silent.
Two hours later, we arrive at the warehouse and all three men are knocked out in the back of the car. With no remorse, we grab them by the legs, immediately waking them up. One by one, we carry them into the building. Once we finish tying them all up, we go looking for Vinny. He was in the other room, sharpening his tools.
After standing in the doorway for a bit, I spoke up. "All done." I said, announcing our presence and completion of the task. He turns around in his swivel chair and looks between the both of us, "Fantastic. Thank you girls. You may go now."
---
Once again, the drive was silent. The smell of blood lingered in the car, causing the both of us to roll down our windows. Camila made a move to turn on the radio, fiddling between a few stations before settling on one.
I want to speak up and apologize for my actions earlier this morning, but I can't formulate any words - my mouth feels completely numb. I should say something, I really should, this isn't fair to her. When I finally gain the courage to speak, I turn to look at her and find her resting her head against the window, sleeping.
I let out a sigh and continue driving to her house. It's nearly three in the morning and we still have an hour left before we even get to the outskirts of Chicago. Trying to calm my mind, I reach into my jacket pocket and pull out my cigs. I put the butt in my mouth, while my other hand fishes for my lighter. Sparking up my cig, I take a deep inhale. The tobacco filling my lungs up rapidly, and my state of my mind slowly coming to a calm-like manner.
Either I was speeding or really zoned out because before I knew it, I was parking right in front of Camila's place. She looks so peaceful sleeping, I don't even want to bother her, but I know I have to. With a light nudge on her thigh, she stirs, but doesn't wake up. This time I try calling her name. "Camila." Nothing. "Camila." I say a bit louder. This time I get a groan out of her but her eyes are still shut. "Camila!" I say louder and nudge her harder, finally she wakes.
She has the most adorable sleepy face; her eyes are all droopy, there's a bit of dried drool on the corner of her mouth, her hair is tossed, and her shirt is a slightly wrinkled. When she still doesn't say anything, I break the silence. "We're here." I gesture towards her front door. Only receiving a nod from the brown eyed girl, I watch as she opens her mouth to say something but closes it immediately after. I raise an eyebrow, and she just shakes her head - hand already on the door.
I look straight out onto the road ahead, it's too late to explain my actions from earlier, maybe another day I'll tell her. I don't know what else to say and I'm far too tired to even hold onto a conversation.
I decide a bid goodnight will do justice. "Have a goodnight." I say, not looking at her at all. From the corner of my eye, I see her nod and just barely hear the goodnight she whispers back. I watch her walk up to her front door an unlock it. At that, I head back to my place.
A/N:
Hello everybody :)
For some reason, I'm really not feeling this chapter. I'm excited for you guys to read chapter 6 though; lots will go down in that. Y'all aren't ready.
I hope everyone has been enjoying this fic. It's doing much better than I imagined, and I can't thank you guys enough.
A big thank you to CabelloDefense for proofreading this for me last minute. We are actually so dumb, we thought today was Thursday lmao.
The girls new single is coming out this Friday!!! That's exciting. I'm just annoyed about the lack of promo :/
How's everyone holding up with this camren drought? I know I'm losing it more and more each day lol.
Anyway, I hope everyone is having a good day/night :) I love you all very much.
(I talk so much lmao)
As always, my plugs:
Twitter: njhcabello
Tumblr: camrenspoetry.tumblr.com