Black.
That's all Camila sees when she looks around her.
Black suits. Black dresses. Black sunglasses.
The only things that aren't covered in black are the grass beneath her high heel clad feet and the two caskets that are less than 5 feet away from her. She chokes back a sob as her eyes rake over the shiny rectangles boxes that now hold the two people who gave her life.
Sofi is standing at her right side, wearing a sleeveless dress with a big bow on the front. Her little bottom lip hasn't stopped quivering since she woke this morning.
Lauren is standing at her left side, wearing a long-sleeved black dress. The green-eyed girl has one arm wrapped around Camila's waist and her other hand is holding onto her hand.
All of their friends and family came to support Camila and Sofi. Dinah, Ally, Normani, Shawn, and all of Lauren's family are standing behind the three girls. Ally and Shawn even brought Cam to the funeral because they knew the pup could cheer Camila up. The two of them have been taking turns keeping Cam after Lauren insisted that Camila's night terrors may scare the dog.
Camila's family are all standing on the opposite side of the caskets. The Cuban was never really very close with anyone on her mom or dad's side of the family. Sinu lost both of her parents at a young age and Alejandro's only came around on holidays. During the majority of the service, both girls try their best to ignore the rude looks that they are getting from Camila's relatives. They obviously have the same views as Sinu and Alejandro when it comes to Camila's sexuality.
The younger Latina is doing a better job at the ignoring part than Lauren though. The green-eyed girl makes sure to send them a few glares here and there when she catches them staring disapprovingly at her and her wife.
Lauren watches her wife the entire funeral, her heart breaking at the sight of the love of her life looking so broken. It kills her to know that there's nothing she can do to take Camila's pain away. She would take it all away in a heartbeat if she could.
The younger brunette finds herself lost in her thoughts for the entirety of the funeral. It is not until she hears a small thud that she realizes that they have lowered both caskets into the ground. She feels a bunch of pats on her shoulder and she even allows herself to be pulled into a hug by her friends and family. However, she just stands there, her eyes trained on the two graves before her.
When the funeral is over, Lauren finally decides to speak up and break Camila from her trance.
"Baby, the service is over. Are you ready to go?" Lauren leans in and whispers softly in Camila's ear. The younger brunette just shakes her head. She's not ready to go because she knows that next time she returns to this very spot, there will be 6 feet of dirt between her and her parents and it will all feel too real... too final. "Take your time, Camz."
The younger brunette feels something wet nudge her hand and she looks down to see her not so small puppy sitting beside her, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. For the first time this entire day, she cracks a smile at the sight. When he nudges her hand again, she lets go of Lauren's and sits down in the grass next to him, not caring one bit if the mud from the ground ruins her dress.
"Hi, buddy. I've missed you." She cooes as she scratches the pup behind his ears. He thanks her by licking the right side of her face. She giggles at the unexpected gesture and Lauren's heart does somersaults when she hears her favorite sound. She hasn't heard it in a few days and she's missed that laugh so damn much.
"I'm going to go see my parents off, I'll be right back." Lauren leans in and plants a kiss to Camila's cheek.
"Can I go with you, Lolo?" Sofi asks and Lauren turns around and pats her back.
"Sure. Hop on, kid. Lets go." The brunette waits for Sofi to hop on her back and when she does, she takes off in the direction of where her parents are standing.
A couple of minutes after Lauren leaves, a big man walks up. He has tattoos covering both of his arms and he has two black eyes. When Camila notices that he is walking up to her, she stands up and dusts her dress off. The man gets within 10 feet of Camila and Cam starts to growl at him. Noticing that Cam is getting defensive, she quickly snakes a finger under his collar to make sure that he doesn't launch at the man.
When the man finally reaches Camila, he clears his throat. "Are you Camila Cabello-Jauregui?"
"I am." She answers nervously. s
"I was driving the truck. The one that killed your parents." He says, looking everywhere but at the smaller girl in front of him.
Before Camila can stop herself, she slaps him across the face. The man in front of her is the reason her parents are 6 feet under right now. However, when the details of the accident replay in her mind, she stares down at her hands in horror until she can't even see them anymore because of the tears clouding her vision.
"I deserved that." The man nods his head and rubs his cheek to try and soothe the sting.
His soft words break Camila from her thoughts and she immediately shakes her head.
"No you didn't." She finally looks up from her hands to meet the man's soft, apologetic gaze. Before she can speak up again, she hears another voice.
"Hey!" Lauren shouts as she sprints over to where the two are standing. The green-eyed girl was hugging her parents when she heard the slap. She looked over immediately and saw Camila staring at her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Who the fuck are you?" Lauren positions herself between the man and her wife.
"Baby, it's okay. It was a misunderstanding." Camila lays her hand on Lauren's shoulder in an attempt to try and calm her. Lauren turns around and looks at her, her eyebrows knitted together in concern. "He was driving the truck." It takes a moment for the green-eyed to girl to understand, but when she does, her mouth forms an O shape. Camila, seeing that Lauren is at a loss for words, gently pulls her wife back so she can be face to face with the man again. "They ran the red-light. You were just driving. You didn't do anything wrong."
"I'm sorry I couldn't stop in time." He looks down in shame and Camila's heart breaks for this man. Even though it wasn't his fault, he still has to live with what happened. There are some things you just cannot unsee. Some things you just cannot let go of. "I just wanted to come here because your mother, she um told me something before she passed."
Camila's brown eyes widen and she feels Lauren's hand grab her own.
"As soon as it happened, I jumped out of my truck. Your father was already gone by the time I reached the car, but your mother was still alive." He confesses and Camila feels more tears cloud her vision. "I ran over and tried to get her out, but the door was jammed and her seatbelt would not budge. Finally, after many attempts of trying, she placed her hand on mine and asked me to listen to her for a moment. I did as she asked." Camila watches as he reaches up and wipes away a stray tear from his cheek.
"She told me to tell you that she's sorry and that she loves you and Sofi so much. She said that she wanted you to know that what her and your father did was wrong. She said that she should've accepted your love for Lauren and that not telling you that Lauren existed after your accident was the worst mistake she's ever made." Camila covers her mouth with the hand that's not holding Lauren's and starts to sob. "She said that you and Sofi were the best things to ever happen to her and that her and your father loved you both so much. She made me promise that I would find you and tell you. I promised her that I would and then I stayed with her, holding her hand, until she took her last breath."
After the words escape his lips, Camila launches herself at him and wraps her arms around his waist.
"Thank you." She sobs into the strangers chest. "Thank you for giving me closure... and my mom peace." The man nods and just pats her back. Realizing that she's probably been hugging this man for a little too long and he may be getting uncomfortable, she takes a step back and positions herself back in her previous spot next to Lauren.
"I should get going." The man points his thumb back to where his truck is parked and Camila nods understandingly. Before he can turn around, Lauren extends her hand to him.
"Thank you for being a kind, considerate human being." The green-eyed girl says as soon as he grasps her hand and shakes it. When the handshake ends, he gives the two girls one last nod before walking back in the direction he came from. As soon as he is out of sight, Camila throws herself into Lauren's arms. She buries her face in the green-eyed girl's neck and sobs hysterically. The older Cuban just tightens her grip on her wife and whispers sweet nothings in her ear until she calms down. Once the younger girl's sobs turn to sniffles, Lauren pulls back and wipes at Camila's damp cheeks with her dress sleeves. "You're going to be okay. I'm going to make sure of it." Lauren promises and Camila just leans in and captures her wife's lips in her own. They share a few soft kisses before Camila pulls back.
"I know you will, Lo. Thank you for being here. For being you." Camila brings Lauren's hand up to her lips and plants a sweet kiss to the back of it. "I love you to the moon and back."
Lauren smiles softly at the girl who holds her heart. "I love you more."
"I need to say goodbye." Camila whispers. "Do you mind taking Sofi home?" The younger Latina looks over to where Sofi is standing with Dinah and Normani.
"Camz, I don't want to leave you-"
"I'll be okay." Camila assures her favorite brunette and Lauren nods.
"Call me if you need anything. I'll ride with Normani and Dinah." She extends the car keys to Camila. When the girl goes to grab them, Lauren just balls them up in her fist again. Camila watches in adoration as the green-eyed girl taps her lips with her pointer finger. Rolling her eyes playfully, the younger girl leans in and kisses her wife on the lips. "I'm serious, Camz. Call me if you need anything."
"I will, baby." Camila assures her wife and grabs the keys from her wife's hand. "Take Sofi for ice-cream, yeah? She needs some cheering up."
Lauren just nods before leaning in and planting one last kiss on her wife's lips. When the kiss ends, Lauren turns around and walks over to where the other girls are standing.
Camila watches all of them pile into Dinah and Normani's car and when they are out of sight, she sits back down on the grass and faces the two graves. The first tear hits her cheek, and then the second, and after the third rolls down her cheek and lands on her dress, she stops counting. Cam must sense her sadness because he lays down in the grass beside her and places his head in her lap. She places her hand on the top of his head and takes a deep breath before beginning her goodbyes.
"Mami, papi, they put you to rest today and I am hurting." She wipes the warm tears from her cheeks. "I know I have to say goodbye, but I don't know how. I know they are going to cover you with dirt in the next couple of days, but don't be scared because our bodies are seeds. That is why we are placed in the ground and covered with red dirt when we pass. They do that so that we can grow and be born again in a better place. One that is not scary or full of hate. Mami, I know you never liked thunderstorms, but don't be scared when it storms because that means there will be rain and the rain will only help you to grow." Camila picks at the grass beneath her with one hand and strokes Cam's head with the other. "I know we had our disagreements, but I loved you both through them all. You hurt me, but I know I hurt you too. I forgave you both a long time ago, I just didn't know how to tell you." She pauses and takes a shuddering breath. "Go find peace, mami and papi. I love you both so much." She places a kiss to her fingers and then places her palm on the ground beneath her. Cam receives a kiss on the head next and then she stands up from where she's sitting and dusts off her dress. Cam immediately scrambles onto all fours and follows Camila as she walks to where her and Lauren's car is parked.
When she gets to the car, she looks back one more time at the graveyard where her parents will be residing from now on. She feels something wet drop on her cheek, but this time, it's not a tear.
It's rain.
This causes a smile to make it's way across Camila's features.
"Don't be scared when it storms, Mami, because that means there will be rain and the rain will only help you to grow." She repeats the words the said earlier before getting in the car and driving off.