Warning! This is your one trigger warning. If you are sensitive to certain subjects skip the second flashback.
-Brianna
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Lauren's POV
To say Lauren didn't sleep well would be an understatement. The reunion from the previous night brought on a lot of memories in Lauren's sleep, non of them were good. She found herself waking up 3 times that night crying. This time, she hadn't been the only one to wake up. When Lauren sat up to compose herself she felt Camila wrap her arms around her waist.
"Hey, it's okay..." Not knowing what was wrong, Camila didn't really know what else to say. Lauren removed her hands from her face and took Camila's hands in her own. "Lay with me." Camila wanted to hold the girl not understanding why she was crying. Lauren waited a moment before finally laying down on her back next the the younger girl, not making eye contact. Camila lifted her hand to pull Lauren's face towards her but she closed her eyes, tears threatening once again. Camila felt helpless.
"Talk to me." The younger girl pleaded. Lauren just kept crying. Not knowing what to do, Camila just curled up against the girls side and laid her head on her chest, listening to her heart.
Flashback
Lauren was laying on her hotel bed, reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It was her third time reading the book. She was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. Without looking at the caller ID she answered the phone.
"Hello?" She answered, tiredness in her voice.
"I just wanted to say goodnight." She knew the voice immediately and a huge smile spread across her face. "You never call to say goodnight Camz." Lauren laughed. It wasn't that they didn't say goodnight every night, they did. They spent every night in each others room until they were supposed to be in bed. Camila had left Lauren's just one hour before calling.
"I know... But I needed to call you." Camila sounded serious. Lauren set her book down on her night stand and sat up. "What is it?" She asked, concerned. Instead of an answer, Lauren heard sobs on the other line. "I'm coming over there." Lauren didn't even listen when Camila responded with "don't." Lauren knew the rules of lights out. You had to be in your own room at 11 and it was currently 11:53 but she didn't care, Camila needed her.
She left her room and walk the three doors down the hall to Camila's room. She lightly knocked and a few seconds late the door opened, except Camila wasn't standing there, no one was. Camila and just cracked it open and went to lay back down in bed. Lauren walked in and closed the door behind her.
She walked over so she was facing Camila and got under the covers, taking the smaller girl in her embrace. They didn't speak. Camila held Lauren and just cried. Lauren stroked her back and kissed her forehead, trying to calm the girl. They stayed like this for half an hour before Camila finally spoke.
"You shouldn't have come..." Lauren's attention was taken from the smell of Camila's hair and she responded with a questioning "HMM." Camila shifted her legs signaling she was nervous, Lauren kissed her head at the movement. "You're gonna hate me when you find out..." Camila cried out, once again being over taken by tears.
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"Lauren.." Camila broke the girl's flashback. It was the same as her dream. "Stop crying." The younger girl pleaded, stroking Lauren's face with her right hand. Camila had sat up slightly so she could look at the other girl better. "I can't.." Was all Lauren could muster out before more tears began to fall.
Camila laid on her back feeling helpless and let out a long and frustrated sigh. "Fine.." It came out more annoyed than she wanted. Lauren winced at her tone. She slowly sat up, feeling bad. 'Okay, but don't look at me it makes me nervous." Camila nodded her head and closed her eyes.
"I keep having this reoccurring dream of the night... Of the night you told me what Austin did." Lauren let out a long sigh. Camila went to open her mouth to speak but Lauren spoke again, silencing the girl. "I felt helpless. You didn't want me to do anything but he deserved to die for what he did to you. No one is allowed to hurt my baby, but you let him. Not that you really had a choice, but you could have let me do something. Anything. I felt like... I don't know... Like you were okay with what he did. I know you weren't because you were crying about it but I really wanted to hurt him Camz. I still do. It's been two years and I still want to hurt him for what her did."
Flashback
Camila finally broke the silence again. "It's Austin." Those two words were enough to make Lauren's blood boil. "What the fuck did he do Camz?" Lauren tried to not sound mad but she was infuriated. Lauren didn't like Austin and ever since Camila started to date him, she grew to hating him. Camila was too good for him. Camila let out a cry, but composed herself enough to speak.
"He um... He did this." Camila broke out of Lauren's arms and lifted up her shirt. Lauren's breath caught in her throat and it wasn't because of the giant bruise that covered the left side of Camila's ribs. Camila was breathtaking to Lauren and at first, she didn't even notice the bruise which was surprising. But when she did, her blood boiled more.
She reached her arm out and touched the purple space and Camila winced. Lauren wasn't aware of he actions until it was too late. She moved forward to place a small, gentle kiss on the bruise, a tear escaping her eye. "Camz..." She was at a lose for words, and then just like that, she wasn't.
"I'm gonna kill him! I'm seriously gonna fucking kill him. No one lays a hand on you. You are the most precious thing on this Earth and that bastard will pay for what he did to you!" Lauren was standing at this point pacing trying to calm down but she couldn't. "No Lauren please, it was my fault. I made him angry." Lauren stopped pacing and the look on her face changed from anger to sadness. "No Camz, it's not your fault. Don't ever say that. It doesn't matter what you did this, it not okay." Camila had already put her shirt down, but Lauren lifted it up to left prove her point.
Camila just bowed her. "Just please don't hurt him Lauren... I love him." Those words broke Lauren's heart. Camila had never said she loved Austin before and it was the words feeling in the world. She stopped dead in her tracks. "Fine." She said, in the tone she used when she was hurt. Camila lifted her head but Lauren was already heading for the door.
"Wait!" Camila yelled, running after Lauren just grabbing her hand in time. "Let me go." Lauren spat, but Camila didn't listen. "I said fucking let..." Lauren was interrupted with Camila's lips crashing into hers. Lauren immediately pushed her off. "Don't do that!" Lauren knew Camila was just trying to keep her from walking away. "You said you loved him. You made your choice Camila." Camila froze, her thoughts fighting each other. "I love you more..." She whispered so low that Lauren almost didn't hear her. "Too fucking late." Was the last thing Lauren said before exiting the room.
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"You know I didn't understand why you said I would hate you until you said you loved him." Lauren confessed. Camila just nodded, still having not opened her eyes. "But the worst part was, I didn't hate you. I felt bad for you. I wanted to hate you for not picking me, but I just couldn't, I loved you too much." Lauren laughed at her own words, the sound made Camila smile.
"If you remember correctly, I broke up with him the next day." Camila stated. "So technically, I did pick you." Lauren forgot that minor detail. The thought made her smile. "But, when I tried to talk to you that day ignored me. I wanted to tell you I picked you and I would always pick you. It tore me apart knowing you thought I wanted him more than I wanted you." Camila let out a sigh.
"When I think back on those times, I realize I didn't love him. I wanted to love him because it was acceptable and 'normal' but I have only ever loved one person." Lauren tried to keep a straight face when she asked "Who?" as if she didn't know the answer. Camila just laughed and finally opened her eyes. Lauren was already looking down at her. Camila pulled Lauren's to hers, kissing her. "You." She answered, kissing Lauren again. They both smiled and laughed into the kiss. "I never would have guessed." Lauren joked.
The girls spent the rest of the day watching movies, enjoying the others company. They would occasionally talk over the movies but only briefly. Neither girl knew how much they missed just laying together all day, and neither of them wanted to part for any reason.
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I know this is kind of a short chapter but I wanted to end it on a cute part. Hope you guys like the story so far. :)
-Brianna