-Never Edited-
Lauren's POV
"What happens now?"
"Do we call a doctor just to confirm it was a seizure?"
"Check her forehead, is it still warm?"
My eyes flicker back and forth between confused and worried faces, feeling a bit lightheaded with their voices alone. I had a bag of ice over my head and my shirt was off, having been taken off by Ally who insisted she rubbed my chest with some VapoRub to "get rid of some tension". All I could do was lay on the bed, eyes glued to the ceiling with five girls standing around with a dozen questions and a dozen comments to add.
"Ally, I really don't think VapoRub is going to do anything," I tell her softly, sitting up slightly when my entire chest is covered in a hot and sticky mess. I grab a tissue from my bedroom drawer and begin wiping it off me when Ally finally succumbs.
"I still think it does," Ally frowns, shrugging softly.
"I-I'm honestly fine." I sit up just enough to show that I was no longer dizzy. There's a pause between each girl and I look down at my chest, revealing old scars and a few scratches from my fall. I snatch my shirt from Ally's hands and sigh, feeling frustrated that they were making it such a big deal. It's normal. It's supposed to happen. Right?
I slowly put my shirt back on and toss the blankets off me, leaning back to look at the roof without a word to say to any of them. They were well aware of the fact that I no longer wanted to talk about anything. I begged them not to call my parents because it's been a stressful weak for all of us and the last thing I wanted was to worry them at work. I just wanted to forget everything about yesterday and the days, weeks, and months before that.
"I spoke to the doctor before calling you guys," Camila speaks and I look up at her, fully aware of the lie she was telling. She hadn't called anyone. She sat here with me the entire time. "She told me that it was normal for her to experience seizures after an overdose due to either stress or a common side effect."
Camila's eyes meet mine and she nods, now calming the other girls down just slightly. Just enough to get them to stop asking questions.
"Thank god," Ally breathes out.
"Okay, so it's completely normal..." Lucy nods, smiling a bit but still worried. "Okay, great."
"No more worrying now...please," I swing my legs over the side of the bed and standing slowly. Dinah reaches forward to help me and I give her a glare, immediately backing away from her and groaning. The blonde brings both hands up in the air defensively and also backs away to give me space.
"Okay, so you don't want us to worry. Understandable," Normani nods, crossing her arms over her chest. "So what? Now you want us to leave?"
"That's not what I meant," I give her a pointed look.
"That's what you're insinuating," She scoffs.
"Normani," I sigh. "I'm just tired of having to have everyone around me like I'm dying. I'm not a child, I can handle myself."
"We're just worried..." Lucy grabs my arm, staring into my eyes with her own dark brown ones. I slowly tear my arm away from hers and shake my head, sighing to myself and wondering why I was such a mess at the moment.
"Thank you for caring so much," I turn to look at all of them, sincerely. "But I don't want this getting in the way of our friendship...I just want to do the normal type of shit kids our age are doing. Not worrying about when I'm gonna have another seizure."
The room goes quiet again and I don't have time to even think about what I'm saying but I just spit it out due to the irritation flowing through me. Did it sound a little bit too harsh? Maybe just a tad. But it was the complete truth and as horrifying as it sounded, I was only trying to be realistic and honest.
I ignore the blazing heat on my chest from Ally's VapoRub and sigh, sitting up one more time to try this again. I try to sound like I wanted them here this time, because I did, honestly. I don't want to sound like a bitch or hurt them purposely. "Now that we're all here, let's just forget anything and everything that's happened today and find something to do, okay?"
The room goes silent again for the billionth time today and I find that Camila is awkwardly standing by the doorway with her eyes anywhere but in my direction. Only then do I realize that most of the time, she's uncomfortable with the thought of hanging out with my friends. Maybe not so much uncomfortable, but just left out. And I partly understood why.
I walk over to my drawer and pull a t shirt from inside, proceeding to putting it on before turning to them casually.
"Movie night?" Dinah answers first after an awkward moment of silence. "We can watch movies till midnight and pretend we're too tired to go to school tomorrow."
I smile, "Sounds great."
The girls file out of the room when I begin grabbing my phone and earbuds, knowing the movie night was going to be spent downstairs. When everyone else is out of the room, I close the door behind me and turn to find Camila standing in front of me. I tuck my phone into my pocket awkwardly and tilt my head to one side, wanting her to speak instead of giving me a pointed look.
"Your friends worry for you," She says softly, taking a quick look down the stairs for them. "I don't think there's anything wrong with that."
"Neither do I," I stare back at her, knowing where she was going with this. "I just don't like feeling like a baby with five mothers."
"Five mothers who care for you," Camila chuckles, running a hand through her hair, a habit of hers when she's attempting to hide something. "I think there's more to worrying and making your life a living hell. Shit happens in life. And although sometimes it's hard to move past it, it's better to focus on the things that make you happy. Your friends...they want you to forget. But you gotta work with them. You gotta move past it and focus on the family you have. Your dads, your friends...the things that make you happiest."
A smile creeps onto my lips and I want to reach out and hug her so badly like she did after my seizure, a moment I could never forget. I look down at the ground and her hands fidget for a quick second, nervously waiting for a response. I nod slowly and look up to meet her brown eyes, "You seem to know what's best for me, Cabello."
Camila smiles with a quick chuckle. "Yeah, I do, don't I?"
"Maybe I should keep you around just a bit longer," I add softly. "It's definitely what I need."
I move past her and make my way downstairs without witnessing her reaction, not knowing whether or not it'd be a good one. When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I notice that it takes her a good five seconds to process what I've said before she shakes her head and quickly moves down the steps. I smile to myself and find a spot next to Lucy, knowing it was close enough to a response that I truly wanted. Close enough, actually.
—
Camilas POV
It seemed that I would continue to glance at a certain green eyed girl from across the room every ten seconds, not wanting to risk anything else happening to her. I felt almost pathetic that I was worrying so much about her when she didn't give a single care in the world about her condition.
Pull yourself together, Camila.
"Dream jobs are overrated," Dinah looks down at her phone with a small frown, glancing at her now partner in crime, Normani. "Imagine how long it'd take to become a forensic medical examiner. I'd want my money then and there after graduating high school. I guess I'm just too desperate to start making money."
I settle in sitting on a chair isolated from the couches all of them sat on, trying to distance myself from any potential conversations. Half of the time I spent time with them, I'd either be pretending to listen to their conversations or pretend I'm busy on my phone, which I currently left as the last result.
"Then just become a stripper," Lucy smirks, eyes still glued to her phone. Lauren smiles next to her and I look away immediately, suddenly realizing that they were in fact dating. I had completely forgotten about their love for each other, after Lucy had confessed it in her room a few weeks ago. It was still something to get used to.
"I'd be perfect for that," Dinah gasps. "Don't even lie. I mean, look at me!"
"True..."
"Normani can't argue with that either, right Mani?" Ally smiles sweetly, a hint of mischief in her eyes when she says it. I smile to myself and slowly tuck my phone in between my thighs when the brown eyed girl sits up quickly, glaring at the shorter girl with a subtle finger. Ally feigns hurt and rolls her eyes.
"That doesn't make me a hoe, right?" Dinah crinkles her nose with tinted cheeks. Lauren's eyes shoot up to meet hers and she smirks, giving Dinah a raised eyebrow right after he question. It confuses me the way they both perk up in realization at what she's said and it's only when Lauren opens her mouth again is when I start catching up.
In sync, both girls sing.
"Shawty I don't mind, if you dance on a pole, that don't make you a hoe."
I smile and shake my head, hearing the rest of the girls laugh and sing along to the infamous usher song. Ally takes the remote in her hand and sings into it like a microphone, while Lucy and Lauren share her phone as their own personal mic. Normani and Dinah take the center of the living room as their own dance floor.
"Shawty, I don't mind when you work until three
If you're leaving with me. Go make that money, money, money. Your money, money, money..."
Although all of them began to sing, but my eyes were glued on Lauren. I found it particularly warming that through everyone's voice, I could only seem to hear hers perfectly. Every note and pitch handled perfectly, like she was the only one singing in the room. My smile begins to vanish when I hear her raspy voice sing along to the lyrics, soft like honey and thick like nothing I've ever heard before. My heart was racing like I was waiting for her to make a mistake and mess up but she was just...perfect.
Her voice was flawless. There was no doubt.
I blink harshly when Dinah stands, reaching out for Lauren to take her hand. I sit up a bit quicker than intended when I realize she's asking her to dance, and Lauren doesn't seem to mind it.
"Cause I know how it is, go and handle your biz. And get that money, money, money. Your money, money, money. You can take off your clothes, Long as you coming home, girl, I don't mind."
My lips part open when Lauren smiles, slowly and surely moving her hips when Ally turns up the music on her phone that she had so confidently typed up seconds before. It was only then when she began dancing with DJ, tousling her hair to one side and running her hands over her body while shamelessly moving her hips like she was in fact a stripper. Dinah was her as her personal pole, using her to spin around and grind playfully.
"The ballers in here tonight, they gon' buy a hundred bottles. As soon as you shake it I know they gon' make it colossal in here, 'Cause shawty you thinkin' them tricks that you do with your body."
It was only a playful dance according to everyone else on the room, but the way she swayed her perfect hips was just too slow and seductive to be playful. I take a sip of my water and feel a sense of irritation hit me when Lucy joins Lauren, giving her a quick peck on the lips.
I hate couples.
Once again, I stick with pulling out my phone. I unlock the device and decide to scroll through my YouTube channel, which I had well forgotten over the past few weeks. Most of my notifications were comments on my most popular videos and streams. My camera girl was Lucy, and she edited most of my videos when I'm not able to. Except she's been distant ever since the Lauren incident, especially after she began dating the girl.
I blink a few times when my phone begins vibrating, with Quinn's name and photo popping up. I stare at the screen for a few seconds and look up at the girls to find them still singing and laughing about their joke earlier. I sigh and decline the call with a text, asking her why she was still contacting me. It only takes a bit five seconds after I send it for another call to appear on my screen and it's her again.
"Excuse me," I murmur loud enough to hear me, quickly walking out of the room and towards the front door. I didn't want any of them close enough to hear my conversation with the monster on the other side of the line.
"What do you want?" I ask into the phone when I'm out of the house and on the front porch. I can hear her heavy breathing on the line and a cars engine like she had been running to her car.
"You called the cops on me? Is that really how it's gonna go now, Camila?"
I laugh into the phone, "I didn't call the cops. But I'm glad that whoever did call them, told them all about the disgusting shit you did to her."
"You're still calling him a her?" Quinn laughs. "I'm glad I did it, because now everyone knows about her and her disgusting lifestyle. The only bright side about it is how thick and long—"
"Shut up, Quinn." I grit my teeth, feeling anger boil through my entire body when I hear what she's said. She had the audacity to insult Lauren when she nothing wrong, like she was the monster after everything she did to the poor girl. "You're beyond revolting, Fabray. You're a fiendish little whore with nothing on her mind but sex and drugs. You need help and you'll get all the treatment you need behind bars."
"You have no idea what you've done to me and Brad, have you?" She's speeding through the street now, because I can hear the engine roaring the faster she goes. "Your little boyfriend has people on the streets that take care of little snitches like you."
I pause for a moment and remember all of the time he had business to take care out of school, regarding people who were disloyal to him. "Are you threatening me, Quinn?"
"I'm warning you, Camila..." She whispers, "Say a word to your little friends or anyone else and you're girlfriend has her own price to pay."
"You wouldn't hurt her, neither you or Brad would dare lay a single hand on her." I shake my head, not believing the words myself. How dare they threaten me with my life and then Lauren's? Their words were unsettling but I also knew there was no way she would do anything to Lauren or her friends if I offered a deal.
"What is it that you want?" I whisper into the line, knowing exactly what her answer was going to be. Quinn was a force not to reckoned with when it came to money or sex, because she craved both on the daily like oxygen was on the bottom of the list of priorities.
"I have two options, and I'll be nice for the sake of your trauma..." Her voice is dry, knowing that I was still upset about her encounter with Lauren. I look up at the blue skies above and sigh, rubbing my face in frustration when I know once I agree, there's no way out of it.
"I can just call the cops and show them this call," I tell her, my hand in my pocket as I walk through the beautiful roses on the grass. "I really don't need this,"
"Which is why Brad has hired someone to watch your every single move while you're at your lovers house," I can almost hear the smirk from my side of the line and my heart starts beating just as quick as it did when I got her call. I look around my cautiously and find that a dark car had been in face parked right across from the house.
"You're lying," I shake my head, thing my best to convince myself that it could be anyone's car. "You're fucking with us and it needs to end."
"Am I really?"
I glance at the car once more and I feel my mouth go dry when the door slowly opens, revealing fully clothed man with a white mask on and even gloves to go along with it. I can see through the cracks of his shirt that with all the tattoos on his body, it's that kid Lenny from school. This kid was known for all of the weapons he owned illegally and most of all, the life he took during the summer of 16', an innocent man.
"Nice mask, Lenny." I call out for him to hear, wanting him to know that if attempted anything, he'd be recognized immediately. He leans against the car door and shakes his head, slowly bringing his shirt up to reveal the shimmering glock tucked into the side of his jeans. I feel my heart drop instantly and I can almost hear the smirk on Quinn's face.
"Brad isn't a forced to be reckoned with, Camila." She spits out angrily. "And I think we all know why, especially with his reputation out on the streets. You better watch your back more than you've ever had to, whether it's at school or whether it's in your own house."
"Now you listen here you little bitch," I lower my voice, knowing she was all talk but no action. "You're the last person who should be telling me what I can and cannot do, and whether or not I should fear for my life wherever I go. Because you and your little buddy in crime will be wishing for freedom behind bars while I deal with any of the pathetic shit you throw my way out here. So don't you dare call me again and threaten me, because I know exactly where you live and I know exactly what to do with pathetic whores like you."
Quinn stays quiet for a few seconds and I can still faintly hear the passing cars and the frequent accelerations she makes here and there. "I don't think you want to go there, Camila."
"Are you completely sure about that?" I whisper into the line, keeping my eyes glued onto Lenny, who seems to have gotten in the car with tinted windows. I can hear shuffling in the car and a voice faintly whisper to hang up and I almost recognize it right away when she asks him to wait.
"Where are you going, Quinn?" I ask her when I realize what this entire situation was leading to. She had been with Brad the entire time in that car, leading to God knows where. Had they been running away this entire time while on the call with me? How could I have been so stupid?
"Away, baby..." I hear her laugh. "Somewhere far away from your bullshit."
"You're a runaway Quinn," I shake my head. "How far can you actually go without getting caught? Because I know exactly where you're heading and until you actually get there, I'll make sure to have a dozen police officers knock your door down and arrest you and that fucking coward sitting right next to you."
There's a pause again and I hear the car come to a stop, which I'm assuming is in front of their destination, which wasn't very far. "You're not very far, Quinn. Just face the law as you should, along with Brad, instead of facing numerous charges over something as stupid as trying to run away from your sentence."
"You will never understand how much you've ruined our reputations and our lives," I hear the sadness in her voice but I could care less, wanting her to feel all the pain she made Lauren feel. I wanted both of them to feel miserable and unwanted in this world, until they're driven mad out of their misery in those jail cells. They're disgusting human beings and they deserve more.
"You did those yourselves," I shake my head, sitting on the mini couch out on the front porch. I lean my head against the wall and gaze out at the car still parked in front of us. I hated this feeling. And it had only been a few minutes. "Now tell Lenny to drive away before I call the police."
I hear Bradford laugh besides her and it makes me want to kill him so badly. I hated both of them at the moment but it was tough deciding who I hated the most. "Call the cops and he'll know, Camila. Lenny is brutal enough to break into that house and kill all of you. You're well aware of that."
"You guys are disgusting," I scoff, taking my eyes off the suspicious car before looking down at my lap. What was I supposed to besides listen to them and believe their words? Because I knew deep down that Bradford would do anything, even behind bars, to get back at Lauren and to get back at me for everything I've done. "I've done nothing but help both of you, and I believed otherwise when people told me that both of you were malicious and unfaithful. I trusted you guys anyway. And one slip up from both of you, and I'm the bad person? The only people there are to blame are the two of you, not us."
"Blame us all you want," She spits. "But I'll make sure your life's a living hell."
"Fuck you, Quinn." I scoff at her, sending a punch to the wooden pole holding up the porch. I hear a small crack and I ignore the pain pulsing in my hand, trying to slow my breathing and keep from yelling at her. "Fuck your little schemes and your little pussy ass boyfriend. Bradford's nothing but a coward and you know it. When I catch either of you out on the streets, I fucking promise you, I'll leave you bleeding out of your fucking—"
I feel my mouth go dry and my heart stops beating for a split second when Lauren's eyes are staring directly into mine, wide and completely horrified. I shut the door behind her and pull her into the corner of the porch and away from the window, so none of the other girls suspect anything. Lauren's mouth is open like she's meaning to say something but no words are spilling out.
"Lauren," I stare into her disturbed green eyes. "How long have you been standing there?"
Lauren's eyes shut for a brief moment and she opens her eyes with a small sigh, "You can't possibly be talking to Quinn."
"It's far from what you think," I feel my heart thud harshly against my chest. "She's—She's fucking with me and she's trying to get back at me for reporting her to the police."
"Getting back at you?" Lauren whispers, "What you did was right and what she did was wrong. No matter how fucked she may be behind bars, that's none of our concern."
I notice from the corner of my eye the movement of the man once threatening me with a gun and I grab Lauren's hand. She pauses for a second and stares at me like I've gone completely insane. I glance behind her shoulder and find that Lenny has completely stepped out of his car with his gun at hand. Out of pure fear, I spin her around and bring her body completely against mine. I whisper when I feel her tense, "Don't move. He has a gun."
I feel her breath hitch in my ear and she shakily grabs my arm, tightly. "I see him. He's watching us. I think we need to run inside."
"One..." I whisper, prepping myself up with one leg as does she. "Two...three."
I feel her leave my arms first and she knocks the door open, a loud bang echoing inside the house before another louder bang echoes throughout the entire neighborhood. I reach her hand and she pulls me inside when another shot echoes, this time flying right past me and into the house, where a bullet had made its way into the wall.
Screams ring inside the house and she kicks the door closed, quickly locking it and hiding behind a wall. I stay on my knees in front of her and gasp into the air, feeling this pain inside my chest like he had actually hit me. Except he hadn't. It was my heart, beating so quickly to the point where I couldn't properly breath and the pain had made its way into my chest. I turn and find Lucy on the ground away from the windows, and Dinah holding Ally on the other side of the couch. I don't spot Normani anywhere but I'm assuming she's in the kitchen when I glance inside and there are potato chips all over the floor.
"Everyone stay down," Lauren calls out quietly.
I try to calm my breathing, scanning Lauren for any injuries she could have sustained. I could have sworn the bullet had hit her when she fell to the ground so violently. I grunt and push the couch against the door with my feet, wanting any bullets he shot through the door to go through the stuffed pillows and sofa.
"Holy shit," I hear Lauren gasp, breathing heavily against the nude colored walls. "He tried to kill me,"
"Who?" Lucy's voice sounds shocked to hear the news.
Lauren's eyes droop and she looks at me with a horrified expression, "The son of a bitch tried to kill me, Camila."
I grip my chest one last time, calming the ache inside before shaking my head. I glance up at the window and feel lighter when I see the black car drive away. "Well, he didn't. Let's go upstairs and avoid coming down here unless you dads get home."
Lauren's green eyes look at me pleadingly and I grow confused when she leans back with a shaky sigh, groaning slightly when she grabs her arm. I don't understand what she's doing until I lean in to hold her and my hand comes into contact with a wet and warm sleeve.
"L-Lauren?" I hear Dinah call out nervously.
"Oh my god,"
I look at my trembling hand and find blood soaking through her shirt and now on my skin. I feel my stomach church and I take a deep breath, wanting badly to go out there and shoot him dead myself. I suddenly react like I'm supposed to, quickly wiping the blood on my jeans and asking her Lucy to help me carry her upstairs.
"I'm f-fine, the bullet didn't hit me." Lauren groans when we pull her off her feet. I know she's telling the truth because I had seen the bullet hit the wall with my own eyes, but it must have grazed her while she ran inside.
"How badly is she bleeding?" Lucy helps me grab the kit from underneath the sink and shakily pulls away bandages and alcohol, as well as a few tissues to wipe the blood off.
I take off her shirt and inspect the bleeding injury, looking more like a small gash then a bullet graze. Lauren's chest heaves up and down, grabbing onto Lucy's hand with her eyes shut tightly. "This--This is gonna burn a bit, Lauren."
She ignores my comment as I begin opening the cap to the disinfectant. She breathes out, "I never thought this would happen, ever."
Lucy scoffs, "We're in Miami, it can happen to anyone."
Lauren cracks a smile, "At least I have a story to tell,"
I shake my head, pouring some of the liquid onto her skin and I see all of the sizzling coming out from the cut and she groans, leaning her head back in pain. I wipe it off quickly with another disinfectant wipe and hold it in place to limit the pain. "Not a very good one."
Lauren eye's find mine as I wipe away the rest of the blood near the gash and it's almost like she had forgotten who I was talking to outside. I gaze back into hers to ensure that I deeply regretted bringing Quinn into her life. I find an excuse to speak to her alone and glance at Lucy, "Luce, can you get a bowl of water and wash off the blood on the floor downstairs if it's completely clear? Her parents can't come home to that, they'll call the police. We can't have that, just yet. Be careful, though, please."
She nods and quickly places a kiss on Lauren's cheek and rushes out of the door to meet the girls outside. I drop all of the bloody tissue in the trash and lean against the sink with the sight of all that blood still on my mind. I look down at my hands and they're still bloody as I hold them up, trembling so much even Lauren notices.
"I'm not dead," She whispers.
"Because you were quick this time," I place my hands on either sides on her thighs as she sits on the sink. I ignore the sight of her abdomen right in front of me and look up at her with a sigh. "They will stop at nothing to make sure they either kill you or kill me."
"As far as he knows, he shot me." Lauren leans forward with a small moan. I hold her in place and she sighs into my cheek, sending a chill down my spine at our close proximity. I lean my head against the wall and let my eyes flutter closed, not wanting to meet her eyes and break down. "I'm safe as long as you're here, remember? You promised me. You promised to make things better."
"Am I really making things better?" I ask her quietly, scoffing at the thought of it myself. I had only made things a lot harder. Why couldn't she just fucking hate me so I'd never have to bring this much damage back into her life?
"You're trying," She whispers, handing me the large bandage from the aid kit. I grab it and peel off the wrapper, holding the soft part against her skin and grabbing the small bits of tape Lucy had cut off. I tape all ends of the thick cloth and make sure its tight against her arm to stop the bleeding.
The blood that had spewed out previously is now on my hands again and I wipe it on my already soaking shirt. "It's never enough, Lauren. I want to make things better with you, you know that. I've been trying so hard to push away all the shit from the past and move on. And although it's difficult, I still care for you. I still try and make shit easier for you."
Lauren cracks a smile and she looks quite amused, "You look quite frustrated,"
"It's not funny, Lauren."
"I'm not laughing," She muses, stretching her arm once I'm completely done with her. I help her off the sink and turn on the faucet, washing my hands with soap to get the dry blood off my hands. I finally get them clean and smelling like the lemon scented soap. "You're full of blood."
"Yeah, I know..." I turn around and find her looking down at my soaked shirt, both of blood and the alcohol I had poured on her. Green eyes meet mine again and I back up as much as I can against the sink until she steps a bit closer, confused to my sudden reaction.
"You're wet," She whispers and my legs tremble when she grabs onto the hem of my shirt, asking for permission before I nod, speechless. She pulls off my shirt slowly but her eyes never leave mine until my shirts completely off. Lauren cracks a small smile and I return it, feeling cool air hit my stomach after being wet for so long. I feel my cheeks burn up under her gaze and I take my shirt away from her, covering myself just slightly.
Compared to her beautiful body, I felt so ugly under her gaze.
"I told you it wouldn't be the last time you'd clean me up like this," Lauren breaks the silence, eyes sparkling with amusement. I offer a tiny smile and roll my eyes, pushing past her and out of the bathroom where I could faintly hear the girls talking and asking too many questions for my liking.
"I'll get us some shirts," Lauren pauses and glances at me once more before asking. "You need shorts, too?"
"Please," I nod.
I quietly descend down the steps where all of them sit, on the floor and behind the couch in case Lenny decided to return I presume. I sigh softly as I sit in front of them, glad I had no blood on me in case they were worried about home much blood Lauren lost. The green eyed girl looked very pale as I attended her but it was nothing she couldn't handle. She was very strong.
"Is she okay?" Ally whispers besides me, and I blink a few times before nodding. I don't look at her right away, not wanting to see the worried look in her eyes and possible tears. I wasn't strong enough for that. "She's just lost a bit of blood, that's all..."
"The bullet didn't hit her, right?" Dinah sits up.
"No," I shake my head. "It was just a graze. She was just lucky. I just hope it doesn't happen again."
"Why would it happen again?" Lucy grabs my arm, and her eyes flicker between my own with an angry glint in them. "That wasn't a drive by, Camila?"
I run a hand through my hair and shake my head, sighing loudly when they all look at me like I've gone crazy. How was I supposed to tell them it wasn't? They would never leave this house if I did. "It—It was a drive by. I'm just saying, I hope they don't plan on returning."
"They won't." Lucy eyes me closely. "Right?"
"Right," I nod.
"That was a very weird drive-by." Normani shakes her head, tucking her knees into her chest and leaning against the white sofa. I keep my eyes away from hers and pray that Lauren comes down, knowing she'd be better at explaining this than I am. "That was only two shots. They were targeting one of you, they weren't spraying. Usually they'd bring someone to shoot and the driver would drive by, that's the point. But the driver was shooting?"
Just in time, Lauren walks down the stairs with a new shirt and new joggers on. She has a pair for me in her hand and her phone in the other, and her eyes lock with mine when I give her a pleasing look. Lauren's lips pull into a small smile and she tosses me the shirt and joggers. "We're matching, Cabello."
"Not funny," I start putting the shirt on.
"How's your arm? Was it bleeding badly?"
Lauren sits down carefully and shrugs, wincing when she lifts it up for everyone to see. There was still blood staining the bandage as if it were still bleeding but it would go down soon hopefully. Lauren lays on Lucy's lap and she sighs, looking quite sick. "I just feel a bit nauseous..."
"I can imagine," Lucy's hands play with the strands of Lauren's hair, curling them in between her fingers lovingly. I glance at Lauren and her eyes are already closed, seemingly tired from losing so much blood. "That was a lot of blood. It was scary."
"Mhm," Lauren hums while nodding, snuggling into Lucy's touch before letting sleep take over. I smile softly and shake my head, peering down at my phone and deciding it was best to turn it off after today's events. I was scared to even glance at my phone while it was on today, just because I felt like I'd get another random call.
I watch how peaceful and lighter she looks while she sleeps, like a child after a beating sleeping soundly. I almost laugh at the comparison but it's true. It's like nothing can wake her up from her nap and I want it to stay that way, so she's finally able to rest after a crazy day.
Lucy's hands caressing Lauren's cheek snaps me out of my daze and I notice the way Lauren's eyes move under her eyelids and her nose will occasionally scrunch up. I had never seen her like this before but I liked it better than seeing her worried features or disturbed reactions. It was by far my favorite way of seeing her after all the pain I caused her.
"What's wrong?" I hear Dinah whisper beside me and I look at her when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I shake my head and shrug, not really knowing why I felt so frustrated and just...ashamed.
"I think I'm..." I stop to think of the right word, not sure about it myself. Dinah's eyes peer into mine suspiciously. She's known me for years. She knows when something's wrong and she knows when I feel a certain way. "I'm just scared."
"Scared?" She whispers. "Of what, Mila?"
"I don't want any of this happening ever again," I admit. "I think it's my fault she's been going through this."
Dinah makes sure none of the girls are listening in on the conversation and she scoots back a bit so we're face to face. She grips her temple with one hand and shakes her head, "What do you mean it's your fault?"
"I just feel like I brought both Brad and Quinn into her life and now her life's miserable," I begin unbuttoning my jeans, pulling them all the way down towards my ankles until I take them off completely. I scrunch up the jogger so that all I have to do next is stick my feet through the holes and pull them up to my waist. "You can't say I'm wrong, Dinah."
"You're not," Dinah shakes her head. "But you're not completely right either. You didn't bring misery into her life, they did. You didn't ask them to do anything. They chose to do the things they did on their own."
I know she's trying to sugarcoat things to make me feel better, but we all know deep down that most of the things that have brought misery into her life have been because of me. When she kicked Brad's ass a few weeks ago at school, he told me she was going to pay for it and I did nothing to stop him. When Quinn asked for a threesome with Lauren, I chose to push those disgusting images in my head because I didn't want to admit that it made me angry to think of Quinn all over Lauren. Yet I did nothing to push her away from Lauren. I just accepted the fact that Quinn was the only person who wouldn't leave me, even if it was for sex.
"I think her parents get back home at seven," Lucy whispers behind us and I glance at the clock in the kitchen. "They get here in an hour,"
"What do we say?" I ask, nodding over to the bullet right by the front door. As soon as they walk in, they'll see the bullet and start asking questions.
"Is too late to grab some paint or something?" Normani shrugs. I shake my head. Paint won't do it. It'll just chip off or sink into the hole. We needed something temporary so that we could come up with something else. Time was essential during moments like these and I knew just the plan for something this minor.
"I have an idea but it's pretty stupid," I begin turning my phone on, wanting this to come out perfect. I had seen Lauren's desktop in her room before I knew her printer was also a canvas photo printer. "We have enough time to let her sleep for maybe half an hour before we do this,"
"Do what, exactly?" Ally eyes me weirdly.
"We're gonna take a photo...together. All of us," I unlock my phone and click the camera. I take a deep breath and hope this is really worth the risk. The hole wasn't too big, and the angle was just perfect to hold up a frame or a picture, which wouldn't make it suspicious at all. If anything, it would be cool to look back at this photo and laugh about it in the near future when things haven't gone to shit. "We frame it and hang it up while we think of what to do with the hole. When we do have a plan, we cover up the hole and hang up the frame again."
"Good thinking, chancho." Dinah pats my back gently.
"Do you think her dads will let us sleep over for a few nights?" Ally asks quietly, inspecting the gash on Lauren's arm with a small frown. "I want to be here with her at all times."
"I'm allowed to stay here for a while," I tell them. "Will your parents let you stay? Because Lauren's dads are extremely kind people, they wouldn't mind."
"I can ask my mom," Normani nods, pulling her phone out. "I'll just tell her I'm sleeping over for tonight because Ally and I have an SGA ceremony tomorrow at seven and we're headed for dinner after with our families."
"Mom won't care if I'm with you Mila," Dinah shrugs, giving me a small smirk. I roll my eyes and lay on my stomach, placing my head on my arm before letting my eyes drift closed.
It almost felt foreign just laying peacefully, not having to worry about anything at the moment. It was just for a split second but it was all I needed to remind myself of the days that are ahead of us, whether they're peaceful or not. I have hope that Quinn's threats are bullshit and that I'll stay with Lauren until she's better. Until I make things right. However long that might take. I'll take the risk. I'll move in if I have to. I don't even think I'll be going to school any time soon. I'll only be looking for trouble if I show up and find any of the fucked up people that were cool with Brad.
It's what I need right now.
-
Lauren had been placed somewhere more comfortable while the rest of us finished watching some movie I had barely even finished without falling asleep. Turns out, her parents weren't coming at seven after all, since it was already fifteen past eight and she had gotten a text saying they wanted us asleep by the time they got home at midnight.
Lauren was still sleeping and as much as I didn't want to wake her up, I needed to change her bandage. The blood was already soaking through, but Lauren seemed a lot better thankfully. The pale color on her cheeks had vanished and she was looking way better than she did before, with tinted cheeks and cooler skin.
I place my hand on her shoulder and shake her gently, whispering for her to wake up. Lauren doesn't seem to move the first time to I insists with my second hand, now gently shaking her with both hands in need for her to wake up. Laurens nose scrunches up a bit and she tilts her head back, moaning softly before stirring to her left. "Time to wake up," I whisper.
"Camila?" She rubs her eyes, stretching her arms and legs before sitting up slowly. Lauren blinks a few times and she rubs her eyes once more before gazing at me. "What time is it?"
I ignore the feeling or joy from hearing her voice, raspy and sounding sore. It was endearing to hear her after silence and boredom for an entire hour and a half. "It's only seven,"
I can feel her eyes on me, inspecting every inch of my face carefully as I grab her arm and slowly start peeling the bandage off. I wince when it's completely off and I find a fresh cut still slowly healing, but recently opened up after all her shifting and turning during her nap. "You're a messy sleeper. Let's go clean you up."
I help her up and she glances into the direction of the girls and finds that they're already sleeping, having been tired from today's mess. The only one awake was Ally, who was glued to the T.V after turning on Riverdale. Lauren shakes her head and starts walking up the stairs and into the bathroom where our bloody mess had been cleaned up by poor Lucy, who stayed she didn't want to see a drop of blood on anything.
"Does it still hurt when you move?" I ask quietly, pulling out some more bandages and wipes to clean up the rest of it. Lauren shakes her head and watches me unpack the rest of the kit, watching me carefully as I throw away packaging and wrappers. I hold her arm in place and peer into the inside of the cut, ignoring the pain in my stomach when I can see the blood flowing through the cut and the peeled skin around it. It was a dirty graze, but it was better than actually getting hit.
"It's just a small sting, nothing bad." She shrugs.
I nod. "It should be a lot better by tomorrow if you sleep decently this time."
Lauren cracks a smile and sighs, "That's not happening. You'd have to hold me still or tie me up."
"Say no more," I sigh, smoothing the edges of the bandage before tossing the rest away. I add another taped edge to it to keep a small cushion for the injury. "It should heal up fine, if it doesn't open up again."
"Do you think I'll need stitches?" She asks softly.
"I hope not," I bite my lip. "Although if it keeps bleeding, we're gonna have to take you to the hospital to check it out. It may be possible you'd need a few if it gets worse. Let's just hope it doesn't."
She nods again and she glances at me before laughing softly. I raise an eyebrow and tilt me head to one side, my lips tugging into a grin when she shakes her head. "You should be a doctor. You're really good with injured people."
"Oh no," I shake my head. "I do it because it's you. But I can't stand the sight of blood. It's very sickening."
"Then why haven't you puked by now?" Lauren chuckles.
"I don't know, honestly." I answer truthfully. "I think when I'm either too worried or too stressed, I have a lot more to think about other than blood. I'd have to be miserable to pursue a career as a doctor to handle blood, injuries, and broken bones."
Lauren laughs again and she rubs her arm softly. "I see..."
I lean against the wall when I'm done washing my hands and sigh, watching her lean against the wall on the sink. At her usual spot. How many more times was I going to see her like this? I hoped that last time would definitely be the last and now I'm just hoping I have to keep doing it myself so she doesn't end up at the hospital again.
"Why did Quinn call you, Camila?" Lauren plays with the hem of her shirt, not wanting to look up at me again. I swallow away he moisture in my mouth and sigh loudly, taking a seat on the closed toilet before bringing my knees up to my chest.
"I told you, she's just fucking with me—"
Lauren cuts me off, "The truth, Camila."
I lick my lips and resort to biting the inside of my cheek, trying to come up with something to get her off the subject but nothings coming to mind. It's all a blur. It's all Quinn's voice and her words echoing inside my brain and I want it to end but I can't. "She's threatening me,"
"Threatening you?" Lauren sits up, looking at me now. I keep my eyes on the ground and keep biting the skin off the inside of my cheek, peeling every bit and ignoring the slight sting. "What did she say?"
"She wants us to suffer for reporting the incident to the police," I inform her. "She told me that she and Brad would stop at nothing to hurt and torture us. I think she's told Brad about the charges we pressed against him and now he has his people monitoring us."
Lauren's eyes grow worried and she takes a deep breath. "She can't be serious about this, can she?"
"She's dead serious, Lauren." I shake my head. "For once in my life, I'm starting to believe the bullshit coming out of Quinn's mouth. I think she's warning us."
"Can't we just call the police?" She sighs.
"And then what? More charges are made and less is done to find them? They're probably halfway across the country right about now with an entire gang watching our every move. While the cops are busy looking for them, we have people on our asses tracking us. And today will not be just an unlucky drive by next time, it'll be an entire crime scene."
Lauren takes a deep breath and she's still holding her arm when she looks at me. I ignore her gaze and look down at my hands with a frown, not knowing what else to say.
"I'm really sorry," I whisper, swallowing away the tears in the back of my throat when I see the worry and fear flash inside her eyes. It was the same look inside her eyes when I found her in that bathroom at school, when she had first opened her eyes. "I know you're angry, or upset that I brought these people into you life...but if I had known from the start that shit would be like this, I would have never--"
"It's okay, Camila." Lauren says softly, nodding herself just slightly. "Stop blaming yourself,"
I want to tell her how I really feel about this entire situation but part of me wants to believe that this really isn't my fault. What was I supposed to do to make her feel better? I've always been bad at comforting people and making them feel better but one thing I know is that I've never stopped trying. No matter how pathetic I may sound.
"You--" I begin, sighing into the bathroom.
Lauren's head snaps up when she hears my voice again and she raises an eyebrow, those piercing green eyes never leaving mine. "What?"
I take a deep breath, "You deserve better than this."
Lauren stares at me for a few seconds and she wipes her eyes, sniffing softly. I look down at my hands again and wait for her to compose herself, feeling my heart thud loudly inside my chest. It's almost as painful as the silence in here, but I keep quiet regardless.
Lauren shifts on the sink and hops off after a few seconds, leaning against the counter to gaze at herself in the mirror. I watch her every move and follow her eyes, trailing through every feature on her face. I swallow the moisture in my mouth and bite my lip, feeling quite nervous when she slowly turns to look at me.
"Would it be weird if I said that—" She pauses for a few seconds and her green eyes flicker between my own. I stare at her lips, which move and close repeatedly like she was having trouble saying it. "I think you've done a lot for me, and I just—I don't deserve you."
My heart clamps up in my chest and I have to think about what she's just said to deeply understand it. She thinks she doesn't deserve me? I don't think she understands why I'm here and why I've grown to care about her after so long. She doesn't deserve everything being thrown her way like she's nothing. "You deserve more than me, Lauren. You deserve more than any of us. I know I'm not in the right place to tell you this but you've had too much support to be feeling so worthless. You just need someone to remind you."
I look down at the ground when her lips quirks upwards for just a split second before she shakes her head. "And who's that?"
My chest contracts and I shrug, "Your friends, your parents, your girlfriend. They're all hear to remind you."
"And where do you fit in?" Lauren raised an eyebrow, kneeling so she's right in front of me. My heart is racing and my palms are sweating but I never break eye contact with the confused raven haired girl.
"I don't know," I shrug. "I'm your...friend?"
Lauren laughs, "My friend?"
My cheeks heat up but I dismiss her by rolling my eyes, "Just shut up, honestly."
"You think you're my friend?" Lauren pouts, batting her eyelashes at me with a baby voice. I push her out of the way but she steps in front of me, blocking the door with her body. "You can be my friend, Camila, sure. The question is, do you want to be my friend?"
I reach for the doorknob but she grabs my wrist. "Don't ignore me,"
"I'm close to considering the opposite," I cross my arms over my chest and ignore the way she laughs sweetly, that smile of hers never leaving her face. Lauren gives me one of her infamous smirks and she slowly lets the door open behind her, inching closer as she door pushes her inside to open all the way. Lauren's eyes flicker between my own before quickly eyeing my lips.
It almost seemed like she was going to, but she walked she let me through instead, leaning against the door. I let out a long sigh and push past her and out of the bathroom just before looking like an idiot with tinted cheeks and a beating heart ready to explode.
As I'm about to descend down the steps, I feel her hands grab my waist. I bite my lip to keep from making any sound and turn around quickly, staring into her emerald green eyes. Lauren glances at the phone in my hand and she asks quietly, "Are you staying over again?"
I glance at the girls behind us in case any of them heard her question and I nod slowly. Lauren grins and nods, "Great, you should call your mom and ask in case she's wondering."
"Yeah," I mentally thank her for reminding me about the call. It was a constant reminder in calling my mom every time I stayed over at Lauren's, so now is the time to let her know I'm probably staying another week or two. Just in case. Lauren walks past me and lays comfortably on Lucy's lap, grabbing Lucy by her neck before pulling her into a kiss.
I turn away quickly and rush to the door to unlock it but I stop myself, heart dropping. God, I'm dumb.
"Camila," Lauren's voice calls. "Not there—"
"Yeah—sorry," I want to slap myself but instead I walk into the kitchen where Normani had last made her mess.
I hop on the counter and begin looking for my mom on my recent calls when a shadow on the ground makes me look up. It was coming from the suns rays out the window but I knew right away it was a person. I gasp and back up when I find an older looking lady just staring into the inside of the house, cupping her face to see clearly. Except she hasn't seen me.
I follow her gaze and she's staring directly into the living room, where the girls are. She's holding her chest and just watching them...no, not them. She's watching her. She's watching Lauren.
I hop off the counter and I wave a hand into that direction so she finally notices. The lady with black hair and a pale figure jumps back and she gasps, staring at me wide eyed. I furore my eyebrows and gaze into her eyes, growing confused to why she looked so familiar.
She was a middle aged woman with long black hair and occasional wrinkles on her pale face. Except the feature that stumped me the most was the color of her eyes, identical to another pair I knew. A beautiful shade of emerald green now paralyzed behind the bush out of the window. I back up when she shakes her head, motioning for me to stay quiet with pleading eyes.
"Go," I mouth, my heart beating quickly inside my chest when she gives me a thankful look and storms off, rushing past the gates. I cling onto my chest and close my eyes, rubbing my temple with my hand. That woman had scared me shitless and I had almost screamed if it wasn't for the fact that she wasn't showering any signs of danger. She was simply curious. Was she a woman interested in the house? In their riches? What could it be?
And why was she so damn interested in Lauren?
I look down at my phone and it's on a call, having already been on for about fifteen seconds. Fifteen seconds was all it took for that woman to come in and out. It was that easy.
"Mom?" I clear my throat and she sighs.
"Finally, niña. I've been screaming your name for a while now y nada." She sounds frustrated and I shake my head, sighing softly. "Que pasa,mija?"
"Uhh," I try to push that woman's expression out of my head. "Is it okay if Dinah and I stay over a friends house tonight?"
"Que friend?" She scoffs. "The same friend that you've been living with basically? I haven't seen you all week, Camila."
"I know mom but she needs me," I say quietly, glancing into Lauren's direction. She's already looking back at me while Lucy talks to her, playing with her hair and laughing to something. "She's going through things at home and she needs someone. Por favor, Mami."
"Camilita, if it's that girlfriend of yours—" She warms.
"It's not!" I groan, rubbing my forehead. "Can you just let me stay for tonight?"
"Dale," She sighs. "Take care of your sister and stay out of trouble. I'll talk to you soon. And no sleeping in the same room as anyone but your sister, do you hear me?"
"Oh my god, okay mother." I scoff.
"I'm serious Karla—"
"Bye mom," I sigh, hanging up the call. Hopefully she doesn't call me again for hanging up on her but she's on my ass all the time about me being gay and it's annoying. I stick the phone inside my pocket again and look out of the window, still confused to who that woman was and what she wanted.
Should I be concerned? Was it coincidence?
I blink away the thoughts in my head when Lauren calls my name, motioning for me to come over. I nod her way and give the window one last glance and stop dead in my tracks when I find a purple sticky note stuck on a gnome outside the garden. I squint as much as I can to read what's on it but it's too small. There were a few words written and a number it appeared.
"I think I dropped my money outside," I call out.
"I'll go with you," She looks worried as I'm about to open the door but I shake my head.
"It's okay, I'll be quick."
I rush out of the door and speed walk towards the sticky note without taking in my surroundings, fearing I'd see that fucking black car again. I pick it up and jog back into the house, sighing away the fear and locking the door behind me.
"Found it," I call into the living room before they come looking for me. I glance at them one more time and read over it, almost gasping when I find Lauren's name on it.
My beautiful Lauren,
If you're reading this, I don't want you worrying or feeling scared at all. My intent is not to hurt you. I'm hear to answer your questions and explain to you what really happened. I can't live without telling you the truth. Please call me as soon as you can,
The number is displayed at the bottom and is the local area code. I read over it one more time and shake my head, wondering if this note should even be passed on. She surely had dropped it. She wouldn't want it laying outside if it were important. If she didn't mail it to her, it means she doesn't want anyone else opening it but Lauren. She's probably waiting until she's some to hand it to her.
"What's that?" I feel a hand on my arm and I quickly stick the note in my back pocket. I look up and Lauren's staring at the purple note in my pocket with a frown. "That's not money," She laughs softly.
"Yeah, it's just a grocery list my mom wanted me to save when I had time." I lie straight through my teeth.
"Oh, alright..." She moves past me and into the fridge to pull out a drink and a snack. "I'm starving. Maybe we should all go shopping tomorrow with that list, kill two birds with one stone now that the fridge is empty as fuck."
"Sounds good," my voice is trembling.
Lauren offers me one last smile and walks past me into the living room again.
What am I supposed to do now?
-
Here it is, as promised, only a week later. I'm trying to keep shit on schedule as promised. An update every week so that everyone's happy :)
Take time to check out my other stories if you haven't so that you don't get bored waiting for another update. All of my stories get updated separately every week. One Wish will be updated next week. Just Different the next. And finally you'll get your update the week after.
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Until next week,
Xx.