Lauren's phone was ringing.
At three o'clock in the morning.
She hated being a light sleeper.
The minute she answered the phone Normani's frantic voice rang out.
"They've got her!"
"What? Got who?" Lauren was too tired to be deciphering messages.
Normani couldn't answer because she burst out into heart wrenching sobs. Sobs where you could physically hear how much pain she was in.
"Normani what's wrong? Can you calm down for a second and talk to me and I'll come and help you," Lauren instructed in a calm tone, sitting up.
"They've got Dinah," Normani managed to choke out during the times she had to stop crying to take in a strangled gasp for air.
"Is anyone at your house Mani, are you alone?" Lauren was out of bed, struggling to pull on a hoodie with one arm. When Normani didn't answer to continued; "listen, Mani. I'm coming, I'm coming to you, you just need to answer my questions. Are you listening?"
"Yes," Normani's voice broke halfway through but it was good enough for Lauren.
"Okay, thank you. Are you alone?" She repeated her question from earlier.
"Yes because Dinah's gone," Normani broke down into sobs again and Lauren felt a tug on her heart.
"I'm coming, Mani, babe I'm coming to you. We'll figure stuff out when I get there," Lauren took a deep breath before hanging up on her friend and turning to the sleeping girl in her bed.
She didn't want to bring her, people would be coming and going at it would risk her being found. But if she left her there was a huge risk that whoever took Dinah would take her too and that wasn't a risk Lauren was willing to take.
"Camila, wake up," She shook her girlfriend away violently before reaching to pull a sweatshirt from the closet. "Camila, this is important."
Camila groaned and Lauren walked back over to her, pulling her out of bed and setting her on her feet, pulling the sweatshirt over her head.
"Someone's took Dinah."
Camila's face paled at the news and she drew a sharp breath.
She didn't have chance to answer because she was being dragged to Lauren's car.
The drive was quiet.
Lauren was driving as fast as she possibly could and Camila couldn't form a coherent thought.
Dinah had been taken. Dinah, her best friend.
Camila had no idea how the fuck Lauren was holding it together because she felt like someone had physically tore a piece of her heart straight out of her chest.
"Are you gonna be okay in there because you're gonna have to be strong, it's about Mani, not us," Lauren told her and Camila nodded.
She didn't know how convincing her act would be because she felt the furthest thing from strong.
Dinah had been taken.
How could she possibly be strong when her rock was gone? How could she be strong for Normani when she wasn't strong enough for herself?
The minute they pulled up outside of the house Lauren jumped out of the car and ran inside, leaving Camila to follow.
Normani was a wreck.
She was sat wordlessly, hunched over with her back pressed against her bedroom wall. The sense of loss so strong her muscles wouldn't react to commandments.
The despair in her eyes was blatant - one that would perhaps match a person who had found out a loved one had died.
Because for all Normani knew, a loved one could very well be dead.
Her throat was tight and each breath she took was strangled, as if the air was too thick to swallow.
The tears had stopped falling down her cheeks but by the look on her face it wasn't through self-control, she'd just simply cried herself dry.
The minute she saw Camila join Lauren, stood side by side but not touching, any emotion that had been momentarily pushed aside in her brief daze was unleashed. Her thoughts were tearing at her heart, too wild to be tamed and all of her dread and heartbreak was let loose in a paroxysm in choking sounds and sobbing. Sobs so powerful in their intensity that they shook her body. Sobs so frequent that they didn't allow her to breathe.
Lauren was the first to move, sitting beside her and pulling her into her arms. Camila sat on the other side of her so Normani was sandwiched between them, her head leant against Lauren's chest.
"She's gone, they've got her," She gasped repeatedly, squeezing her eyes shut. Camila locked their fingers together, bringing them up to her lips and kissing them softly.
She didn't trust herself to form a sentence without her voice breaking and giving her away. She didn't dare look at her friend in fear of bursting into tears herself so she occupied herself with rubbing patterns on the back of Normani's hand with her thumb and firmly rubbing her back to try and get her to breathe.
She hadn't seen the older girl look this vulnerable, hell, she hadn't seen Normani look vulnerable full stop.
And she didn't like it.
So her eyes were fixated on the patterns she was drawing on Normani's hand.
It was a while before Normani's sobs died down but they did, slowly turning into small cries.
"Can you tell me what happened so I can call the base?" Lauren asked gently, tucking small strands of hair behind Normani's ear with one arm still wrapped around her.
"I-I woke up because I heard a loud bang and Dinah wasn't next to me. I looked everywhere and she wasn't there so I went to the door to see if she went on a walk because she keeps going on them in the middle of the night and there was a car driving away," Normani's face crumpled as she relived it and Lauren pulled out her phone. "I was too late, I was too late to help her."
"Hey, Mani, no. You couldn't have done anything, this wasn't your fault. I'm going to call the base but Camila will stay with you," Lauren said firmly, kissing her temple before standing up.
Lauren was on the phone for a long time.
She was pacing around the bedroom and it made Camila anxious.
"They'll help her Mani, they're going to get her," She mumbled into the African-American's hair, still holding her tightly.
When Lauren got off the phone she rejoined the hug before informing them. "The Society's got their detectives coming over, they're sending people out on the lookout for her too."
"What if they hurt her? They hurt Camila, look what they did to her! What if they took her away to..." Normani couldn't finish that sentence and Camila closed her eyes as she tried to maintain her strong facade.
"Mani don't think like that," Lauren told her softly.
"What if they kill her? I can't live without her, I've known her since I was thirteen," Normani whimpered.
"We don't even know if it's the same people who hurt Camila," Lauren tried arguing but everyone knew it was, "and they never killed Camila, she's okay."
"But look how bad they beat her up, and that wasn't even planned. They don't care who lives," Normani buried her face into Lauren's shoulder, continuing to whimper.
"Mani, listen to me. We're going to find Dinah before she gets hurt. She won't even be beat up like Camila because we will..."
Lauren was interrupted by Camila jumping up and running to the bathroom.
"Dinah will be okay, we're going to find her. I promise Mani, she's my best friend too, nothing is going to happen to her," She said finally and Normani nodded.
She was tired. Her head hurt from crying and her heart felt like it was physically being tore in two.
She just wanted to find her girlfriend.
Camila didn't come out of the bathroom for ages but Lauren didn't want to leave Normani.
It was only when people from the Society arrived and asked to speak to Normani alone did Lauren go and check on her.
Camila didn't want Lauren to come and check on her. She didn't want her to see her with tear marks staining her cheeks that were refusing to come off no matter how much she scrubbed them.
Camila had never had to be the one to be strong for someone before and she'd come to find that she wasn't very good at it. When someone else cried, she cried. Especially when it was something she cared about too.
She didn't know how Lauren did it.
How she could stay calm and make calls and try to solve what was going on because she was Dinah's friend too and she wasn't showing any signs of breaking down.
"Camila, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll come help you in a minute," Camila answered hastily, splashing water on her face for the umpteenth time.
"She's talking to some people, we can't see her. It's just me and you," Lauren informed her.
Great.
Alone with the girl who was mad at her.
How could life come tumbling down so quickly.
When things finally started to seem like they were looking up everything had to come tumbling down. Getting beat up by the men in the street wasn't even the worst of it, she'd found out that her dad had killed her mom and now Dinah had be taken be the same guys mentioned earlier.
Life wasn't fucking fair.
"Camila, you still there?"
"I'm still here, I'll be out in a minute," Camila answered wearily, gargling some water because she could still taste the burning of vomit in her mouth before spitting it out in the sink.
She unlocked the door, revealing Lauren leant against the wall opposite.
"You can't go downstairs," Lauren informed her, running a hand through her ruffled hair.
"Okay," Camila nodded, pulling her sweatshirt closer to herself because it was cold in the early morning air and for some reason every window in the house was open. Lauren started making her way down the hallway and Camila watched her before finally speaking up. "Can we talk?"
Lauren looked over her shoulder before sighing, "not right now Camila."
The weight on Camila's chest suddenly doubled and Lauren's face showed brief concern but Camila had already turned and fled to Normani's bedroom.
Lauren walked to the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water and taking a large gulp before pouring it away.
She could hear the mumblings of people talking and someone talking over a radio but other than that it was quiet.
She stood in the kitchen until Normani walked out, her face pale and her movements clumsy.
"They've got her. We checked the cameras and it was them. They've got her," She whispered, her lip trembling.
"Oh Mani," Lauren sighed sympathetically and the dark-skinned girl ran forward, throwing her arms around the Latina and bursting into a fresh round of tears.
"They've got her, they've got her," She repeated the same sentence, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed.
Lauren held her tightly, knowing nothing she could say would offer Normani any comfort. When her cries failed to die down, Lauren held her face in her hand and forced their eyes to meet.
"Think logically, Mani. They have a lead on them, they know their license plate so they can track them. We're going to get her, no ones going to stop looking, everything will be okay," Lauren told her and Normani nodded once, a tear trickling down her cheek.
It provided her with some hope.
People were walking in and out of the house for what felt like days.
Camila was perched in the window in a guest bedroom, watching as the same man paced in and out of the house.
Several cars were now parked up and voices could be heard discussions plans and updating everyone.
Doors were slamming frequently and Camila thought she'd grow used to it but each time the bang sounded she couldn't help but jump.
Each time a person shouted she couldn't help but hope it was good news.
It never was.
Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion as she watched from above.
It seemed like every person in the house ran out, jumping in a vehicle before speeding away.
She heard footsteps run up the stairs and a door slam open, followed by Lauren's panicked voice.
"Camila! Camila!"
The door to the guest room was flung open, revealing a very panicked looking Lauren. Camila looked up in surprise and Lauren sighed with relief.
"The Society has told us to watch over anyone who may be close to anyone who was on the mission that night," She informed her.
"They've already hurt me, they won't come back for me. They've sent their warning to you," Camila said casually, jumping down from the window and walking out into the hallway.
"Camila, what the fuck? With everything that's going on right now is that a risk you're willing to take?" Lauren hadn't intended to snap but she did.
"Wouldn't that be ironic. Kidnaped from where I was originally kidnaped," Camila bit back.
"Fuck you, let them take you then. Then you'd see how it really was to be kidnaped," Lauren spat the words like venom.
"It'd be your fault for keeping me in the first place. Just like how it was your fault every other time someone hurt me and just like it was your fault when the people jumped me in the street the other day," Camila knew her words were harsh but she couldn't deny the small truth that she felt was behind them.
"Lauren," Normani's shaky voice rung out from her bedroom.
"Coming," Lauren called back, "if you feel that way just leave then. Obviously I put you in danger and Dinah isn't here so what's keeping you here?"
"Dinah's coming back," Camila's voice trembled as she tried to remain confident.
"Lauren, I'm done packing," Normani called through again.
"Okay, come out here and we'll go home," Lauren told her, "if you put any more stress on her I swear to god..."
They were interrupted by Normani joining them, a bag thrown over her shoulder.
"C'mon, let's go," Lauren grabbed onto Normani's hand, gently pulling on it and leading her down the stairs.
The car ride home was quiet, Lauren made a few attempts at conversation with Normani but they were quickly shot down and she completely blanked Camila who was sat in the back seat.
It was past seven o'clock when they got into the house.
"Do you want anything? You can go crash in my bed if you'd like," Lauren offered.
"I think I'm going to wait until I hear something from them first," Normani stammered.
"Okay, go and sit down and I'll make you some coffee. I'll join you in a minute," Lauren told her and Normani did as she said, starting to make her way to the living room.
"Aren't you coming, Mila?" She paused when she realized the Latina wasn't following her.
"Yeah, I'm coming," Camila whispered.
Once they were sat on the couch, Normani turned to face the brunette.
"It's important that we keep you safe, you have to be near us, okay? I don't want the same to happen to you," She said urgently.
"I will, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Just focus on making sure you're okay until we get Dinah," Camila reached out to squeeze her arm reassuringly. "We're going to find her, she'll be okay. It's Dinah, she's not going to go down without a fight!"
"But she'll be scared," Normani whimpered, rubbing her eyes, "I'm scared."
"Of course you're scared, it's normal. But we have to be strong, for Dinah. Being scared isn't going to help her," Camila told her softly, wishing she could take her own advice.
Normani and Lauren's phones were buzzing throughout the entire day.
But none of it said the news they wanted.
It was now ten o'clock at night and there was no news on Dinah.
"Mani, you need to sleep," Lauren was gently stroking the older girl's hair.
"Not until we find Dinah, she's still missing," Normani was in tears again and Lauren wrapped an arm around her.
"That's the thing, babe, it might be a few days until we find her. If someone finds her they'll ring you, at least try and get some rest," Lauren coaxed.
"The bed will be empty," Normani protested weakly.
"You can sleep with me, I'll stay in a guest room with you," Lauren told her quickly, causing Camila's head to shoot up.
"I'll take the guest room," She sighed, standing up. "She's right Mani, you need to sleep."
"Okay," Norman agreed in a whisper.
The oldest girl was physically and mentally exhausted. She'd been awake since three in the morning and had been on her feet the entire day, either reciting her story to more people or pacing around the house whilst she waited for news. She'd broke down in tears multiple times and the stress had caused her a pounding headache.
She was a mess.
The three girls moved upstairs, Normani went to the bathroom to wash her face because it was stained with tears, and Camila went to grab some pajamas from Lauren's room.
"I'm going to bed now, Mani. I love you," She knocked on the bathroom door and it swung open from the inside.
"I love you too," Normani mumbled, wrapping her in a big.
"Get some sleep, we'll figure it out in the morning," Camila told her, rubbing her back soothingly.
"Night, Mila," Normani sighed, pulling away.
"Night, Mani," Camila squeezed her arm before disappearing into the guest room.
She already knew she'd be getting no sleep that night.
She her anxiety was sky high and she couldn't get rid of the weight on her chest. The bed was cold and unfamiliar and it was too big on her own.
She could hear the murmurings of Normani and Lauren talking in the other room, their words indistinguishable.
She felt alone.
•••
Camila didn't go downstairs the next day until she heard multiple voices all shouting over each other and heavy footsteps against the wooden floors.
"What's going on?" Her voice went unheard against the chaos.
"You can't be here," An familiar voice told her, grabbing her arm.
It was the boy from the base.
Luke, Dinah's partner.
"What's wrong? Something bad's happened," Camila panicked, struggling to free herself.
"Camila, you can't be here. Come on," The boy tugged on her arm.
"Is it Dinah? Where is she? Let me go," Camila yanked her arm away, adrenaline pumping through her veins.
Maybe that's why she didn't think twice before running into the room full of frantic people.
There was easily twenty people crowded into the kitchen, some sat down whilst others were pacing.
Camila could make out Lucy and Keana among them.
"They can't see you," Luke hissed, rushing after her.
He didn't have to follow her for long before Camila was stopped by someone else.
"Are you fucking stupid?" Lauren hissed, grabbing her a bit too tightly to be considered okay.
"She's my friend too," Camila's voice shook with emotion.
"Leave," Lauren's voice was low but warning and her fingers dug further into Camila's shoulders.
"No."
"Go away, Camila," Lauren pushed Camila, a bit harder than intended, and the brunette stumbled backwards, landing on the floor with a thud.
"Hey, cut it out," Keana walked over to them, her voice sharp.
"C'mon, Mila. Let's go," Lucy tried coaxing Camila from the floor but the younger Latina seemed frozen.
"Mila, go with Lucy," Keana told her softly and Camila clambered to her feet, allowing Lucy to take her hand.
"She's my friend too," Camila repeated before taking off upstairs, leaving Lucy to follow.
"She's stressed," The older girl immediately tried to make a reason for her friend's behaviour.
"I don't need your excuses for her," Camila said, bending over to tie her hair in a ponytail.
"Everyone's worried," Lucy tried arguing.
"But why aren't I aloud to know? Everyone knows something except for me. She's my friend!" Camila gestured to herself, her voice surprisingly calm.
"The people... the people who took Dinah have sent a message to the base. They want the money we took from them and in return they'll give us Dinah," Lucy sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"Why aren't they giving them the money. It's not important, this is about Dinah! Our friend, Dinah! Why aren't people doing anything?" Camila exclaimed, agitated.
"We have to have a plan, Mila. We can't just barge in and throw the money at them. They're dangerous, we can't risk any one else getting hurt," Lucy explained, picking up on Camila's disagreeing expression. "You don't understand."
"Because no one will tell me! No one will tell me what's happening," Camila declared and Lucy wrapped her in a hug.
It was a few moments before Camila relaxed but she did, leaning into the embrace.
"Let me go home with you," She pleaded desperately.
"I can't do that to Lauren," Lucy told her softly.
"Lauren's being mean, she doesn't care what you do with me. Take me with you," Camila whined.
"Camila, look at me," Lucy pulled away so they were forced to look at each other. "I'll talk to Lauren. But you need to calm down for me. Have a nap, you look exhausted."
With that she gently pushed Camila onto the bed before fleeing the room.
Camila knew she wouldn't be able to sleep.
All she had to do was think about Dinah, alone and scared, and it was enough to make her stomach twist.
She didn't know how long she was expected to be strong for because she could already feel whatever tint bit of strength she had crumbling away as each hour passed without any news on her friend.
The shoutings of people were slowly being drowned out as her chest became tighter and her ears started ringing.
By the time Lucy came to her aid she was gasping for breath, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Lauren! Lauren!" Lucy shouted, running to Camila and wrapping her arms around her to try and keep her still.
"She's gone, Dinah's gone," Camila cried, squeezing her eyes shut.
"She's having a panic attack," Lauren's voice blended into the whirlwind of sounds and Camila lifted her hands to cover her ears.
"C'mon, Mila. You're okay, everything is going to be okay," Lucy rubbed the younger girl's back firmly. "Breathe Mila, breathe for me."
"Camila! You need to calm down," Lauren instructed. When Camila didn't respond, she shouted; "you need to breathe Camila!"
"Lauren, that's not helping!" Lucy shouted back, pulling Camila closer.
The oldest Latina hadn't experienced someone have a panic attack before. She'd read articles on what to do but they mainly said to remove the person from the situation but no matter where she took Camila, Dinah wouldn't be there.
"Go outside, need air," Camila whimpered.
With that she was pulled onto her feet and dragged downstairs.
The kitchen was just as busy as it was before and Camila hugged herself tightly to try and make herself smaller.
"Yes, a girl, nineteen, has been kidnaped," A man mumbled into his radio.
"She's not been kidnaped! We know why she's been taken, she's being held hostage. She's not a kid, she's innocent," Camila shouted at the surprised man.
"That's enough, Mila. Let's go," Lucy wrapped an arm around her from behind, trying to continue their journey to the garden.
"You need to help her, why aren't you doing anything? She's our friend," Camila continued, struggling to get out of Lucy's grip.
"Camila, you aren't helping anything. Shut up," Keana hissed, widening her eyes.
"Someone do something," Camila exclaimed, still fighting to escape.
A man passed Lauren an object and the Latina walked towards Camila, causing the younger girl to pause for a moment.
She only became more distressed when she saw what it was.
"No, no. Please," She cried, fighting with twice as much angst.
"Camila, calm down," Lauren commanded as Lucy struggled to keep a hold on her.
"Please don't do it, I'm sor-ry," Camila pleaded, trying to pry Lucy's arms away from where it was held across her neck.
"Shh, it's okay, Mila. It's okay," Lucy soothed.
"I'll be good, Lauren. I'll be good, please don't hurt me," Camila exclaimed, shaking her head frantically.
"It's not going to hurt, she's not going to hurt you. Tell her Lo, she's going to be okay," Lucy comforted, rocking Camila slightly.
"You need to calm down, let me help you," Lauren said calmly, reaching out to hold Camila's head still.
"I'll be good. No, don't hurt me," Camila whimpered. "Don't show me what it's like to be kidnaped."
"I'm not going to hurt you. That's just what I said in our fight. If you let me do this I'll forget all about our argument and forgive you," Lauren knew it was emotional blackmail but Camila faltered when she heard it so Lauren assumed it had worked.
"No. Please. Don't do it, I'll go upstairs," Camila continued to protest.
Lucy chanced positions so one hand was holding the back of Camila's head to her chest to keep her still and her other was around her stomach.
Camila whimpered insistently but softly and Lucy stroked her hair.
"Shh, you're okay. It's okay," She whispered reassuringly.
"Please, Lauren, no," Camila begged but Lauren only stepped forward, placing the syringe against the tanned skin of her neck and stabbing it in.
Camila took a sharp breath and her eyes widened in hurt and betrayal.
"Hurt, it hurts," She mumbled, her hand flying to her neck.
Lauren knew it didn't hurt her but guilt overwhelmed her as she realized what she'd done.
"Let's get you away," Lucy said softly, pulling her away and Lauren followed.
"Dinah's gone," Camila frowned, settling herself on Lucy's lap.
"We're going to find her. Stop fighting it, you're going to fall unconscious wether you fight it or not," Lucy told her, stroking her hair.
"Lauren hurt me," Camila muttered before she became deadweight in Lucy's arms.
Lauren knew she'd lost two of the most important people in her life in two days.