Hey y'all, I'm sooooo sorry for not updating for like, two weeks (or more). I'm just having a huge mind block for this story and it keeps happening to me when I'm almost finish with one story, which really sucks.
But anyways, here is another chapter! 😊
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Camila stared at the lithe girl in front of her, watching as she reaches up to pull her long wavy dark brown hair up into a ponytail and let's a smile grace her lips with a warm welcome.
The girl in front of her was definitely different than the girl she was before and not just by appearance.
She knew she had improved a lot these past weeks, in fact, it had been exactly 2 months since her birthday. It wasn't that long but it definitely was enough for her to improve herself step by step, little by little. Time was dragging by too quickly for her liking and she could do nothing about it but just live and continue her life just like how the earth continued to rotate without a doubt.
Everything seemed to be falling into place and maybe not the way she expected it to be when she was younger, but it was better than what her life had been after the accident. She had finally moved on from her sister, it might have been really hard for her but Lauren was there with her along the way.
She even got to speak to her parents, like, actually speak to them. She apologized for not being the daughter they had wanted her to be, for pushing them away when they had gone through the same as she did but had learned to accept it earlier, she apologized for the things she did to herself and to them because all they ever did was try to help her and... she apologized for being selfish.
The conversation was full of tears and apologies before the air became lighter with laughters and jokes included. They talked as if they hadn't seen each other for years and it felt like seeing that Camila was literally like a ghost in the house, she was there but wasn't actually there.
She hadn't been that happy for what felt like forever and she knew then that the 13 year old Camila, before the accident happened, was slowly coming back but in a better and more mature version of herself.
She started eating breakfast again (as small as may that be), she started having good night sleeps, she goes out more mostly to hang out with her childhood friend to catch up things with him whom she had started talking to a few days after she talked to her parents; she even talked to Dinah and Normani. They were quite happy to finally being able to hear her voice, to put a voice to her face even if they didn't actually know what had happened to her to make her like she had been.
Maybe Camila will tell them all about it soon, but now wasn't the right time, not until she would actually stop crying over her sister. Or maybe, Lauren could tell them herself. After all, the girl was better in explaining things to people than her.
Apparently, Camila still couldn't talk about the whole incident without breaking down completely. The pain on the thought of not seeing her sister for God knows how long is still there and it would never leave her, of course it wouldn't, but it didn't mean she couldn't move on. That's what Lauren told her, reminding her that it was okay to cry, not to ever feel ashamed of it - that there was nothing wrong of feeling. It was what makes us human, as Lauren says.
Though There were still those times when she would wish that God should have just took her from the world as well together with her sister so she could be her sister... But then another part of her had to remind her that she didn't want her parents or the people who actually cares for her to go through it twice as painful. It was like there was a voice at the back of her mind that was constantly reminding her that she should never be selfish and think about the people surrounding her.
It sounded like Lauren, she thought, or maybe she was just being delusional.
Another month and it would be Lauren's birthday — which also means that in one month, it would be exactly three years since Sofi was swept out on the face of the earth, finishing her adventures abruptly here in their planet to go to another one in a different dimension.
Camila thought it was such a coincidence that the accident happened on the day of Lauren's birthday and she didn't know what to exactly feel once the day comes. Should she grieve for her sister or be happy and celebrate Lauren's birthday?
She honestly didn't know. she'll just cross the bridge when she gets there.
Speaking of Lauren (again), the girl was being quite... weird? She couldn't quite comprehend it but she wasn't her usual self. Camila didn't want to overthink it and just figured that she had changed as well, but she just didn't know if it was for the good or for the bad. Lauren was so close to her but her actions were very hesitant, as if she was contemplating whether she should help her or not.
She was distant yet so close to her but she still helped Camila a lot just by being there by her side.
Camila lets out a deep sigh and snapped her head to the door, startled when she heard someone scratching against it with sharp edges. She tittered when she realized who it was and reached over to the knob to pull it open and instantly, Jake enters her bathroom with its tail waggling enthusiastically while looking up at her almost pleadingly.
Camila's smile widened at the sight of her dog, ruffling jake's golden fur with her palm. "You scared me there, buddy."
Jake barked as if he understood what she was saying before turning around to run back downstairs ready for their walk, leaving Camila behind who only laughed at the dogs antics. She grabbed her phone and headphones before walking out of her room and jogged down the stairs, while being careful not to trip on her own two feet and send herself flying off the ground.
There stood her best friend, kneeling down in front of Jake and ruffling his hair as words came out of his mouth that Camila couldn't quite hear from where she was standing on the end of the stairs.
"Evan!" Camila grinned widely and happily ran to the boy to engulf him in a hug. "What are you doing here?"
"Came to visit you of course, Jake entertained me while you were upstairs." He replied just as enthusiastic, wrapping his arms around her waist and squeezed it to return the gesture before removing his arms to connect the leash with the dog's collar.
"Oh no, you don't have to do that. Jake is a good boy, aren't you Jake?" Camila cooed at the dog, kissing the top of his head and unhooked the leash Evan had placed, kicking it to the the side where nobody would trip onto (by nobody she meant herself). "So you're going with us?"
"If it's okay with you." Evan shrugged, reaching up to run his hand through his hair, only to push the beanie off of his head that he must have forgotten about. He quickly picked up the beanie on the ground with a light tint of pink on his cheeks before looking back at the girl. Camila softly chuckles and turned around.
"Mom, we're going out!"
"Okay, take care, love you!"
"I Love you too!" Camila calls back before stepping out of her house with Jake and Evan following behind. She sighed in content as the warm rays of the sun hits her body, A smitten smile instantly growing on the girl's face at the sight of her crush across the street.
If she were in a cartoon animation, there would have been hearts swarming around her body as well as her eyes would have been the shape of a heart.
Lauren suddenly stopped walking and averting her gaze from her phone, looking around until her eyes landed on the brunette as if she could feel the girl's stare from a far. She smiled and awkwardly raised her hand to wave at her, Camila waving exuberantly back at the girl with a widespread grin on her face when she saw that Lauren noticed her.
Jake started barking loudly in recognition at the green eyed girl and ran across the empty road towards Lauren, jumping up on her and rested his palms on her legs once she was in front of Lauren. The girl chuckled and patted his head, her mouth moving indicating that she was saying something to the dog as if it was a person. Camila beamed and ran towards the girl as well, not before watching if there were any cars unlike what Jake did and wrapped her arms around Lauren's waist for a tight hug.
"Lauren," Camila breathes out, earning a chuckle from the older girl.
Camila was literally oozing out ubiquitous happiness these past days; also acting a hundred times more affectionate towards her and she couldn't have been more happy for it but there was still something she had to tell her soon, something that was blocking her happiness and preventing her from straightforwardly telling the girl about her feelings. They both were aware of it but Lauren hadn't actually told her yet to make it.... More Real.
She wanted to tell her the lachrymose information she always wanted to tell her since that day and soon but not this early in the morning. Honestly, she didn't really know when would be the right time, she felt like there was never the right time for her to tell the girl. It was complicated -risky.
However, Camila deserved to know and even if it's going to tear them both apart Lauren just had to. She'll do it, before anyone does, before time would just drag on and Camila would think she was hiding something from her based on her peculiar behavior, she would do it even if she was scared. She just had to, kind of like for Camila's closure.
"Miss me that much?" Lauren teases, giving Camila's arm a squeeze before looking up when she felt another presence close to her. "Morning Evan,"
"Good morning Lauren," the boy didn't hesitate to reply, a soft smile appearing onto his lips.
"You guys going for a walk?" Lauren asked glancing at Jake before looking back at Camila. The girl nodded, one of her arms still loosely wrapped around her waist but Lauren didn't quite mind, it felt nice but so wrong at the same time.
"Go with?" Camila almost pleaded, slowly letting her other hand around Lauren's waist to fall back down to her side when she realized it had been lingering there for too long. She didn't want her too feel uncomfortable.
Lauren sighed and tucked the loose hair that fell on her face behind her ear, Camila watching her expressions carefully to try to decipher what she would have to say. "I would love to..."
"But?" Camila slight jutted out her bottom lip, knowing that Lauren wouldn't be going just by the tone of the girl's voice and tried to hide her disappointment in her own, but it was still highly noticeable.
"I can't," Lauren simply answered, shoving her hands inside the pocket of her jeans and smiled apologetically at the girl. Camila nodded in understanding, running her hand through Jake's fur when the dog sat beside her. "Maybe next time?"
"Yeah, I mean, it's almost summer." Camila muttered, not knowing why she felt like she had just been rejected. "I'll just see you around, I guess."
"Of course, have fun you two." Lauren offered her a smile to lighten up the mood, giving Camila's arm a soft squeeze and waved at Evan before turning around to the opposite direction. Camila watched the girl leave with a pout while Jake turned around and started running to the direction of the park.
"Mila, you coming?" Evan called from behind, glancing between where Jake was heading and Camila who stood like a statue watching Lauren leave until she was out of sight but never moved until then.
"Yeah, yeah." Camila made a weird swatting motion with her hands without looking at him, prompting for the boy to sigh and jog to catch up with the dog so he wouldn't lose him while Camila was in her own little world.
"Well, if you're done daydreaming about your girlfriend, don't hesitate to go to the park with us!" Evan loudly says in a teasing tome, glancing behind his shoulder only to see the girl still frozen on her spot and he laughs softly before quickening his pace so he was now behind the dog. Camila would probably kill him for that.
"Girlfriend..." Camila breathes out, her eyes looking far distant and looking as if she was some kind of a trance Lauren had blindly created for her.
As if a switch had been turned, Camila's eyes widened in shock. "Girlfriend? Evan, what the fu—"
Camila frowned when she realized she was unexpectedly alone, frantically looking around for a sign of her dog and best friend only to see not a single person on the street. She groaned and turned around to the direction of where they went and started walking as well, too lazy to actually try to catch up with those two.
How dare they leave her behind?
"She's not my girlfriend." Camila sighed audibly, reaching for her headphones in her pocket and placed it in both of her ear to play some music while she gets there. Maybe not yet. Hopefully Lauren would just ask her out soon because Camila surely couldn't do it by herself, nor could she hold it in anymore.