Yours Truly

Part 5

It's painful for Lauren to see her so distraught, to say the least. She herself isn't really a big fan of thunderstorms either but Camila's absolutely terrified. What would've happened if she never found her walking? Would she even be okay right now? The possibilities are endless but they all don't end up very well for Camila in Lauren's mind.

Lauren soothingly rubs her back with one hand and protectively holds the side of her head with the other. "You're okay," she whispers calmingly in Camila's ear. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

——

Lauren could've held Camila for minutes or hours and it all would've felt like an instant as soon as Camila let go and the sudden warmth of her small body vanished much too quickly for Lauren's liking. The thunder went on for a while and Camila's body shook violently every time and Lauren was able to see just how scared she really gets and now she's wondering what it must be like without someone there for her. But Lauren held Camila closer and tighter each time and if she had the choice, she never would've ever let go. Things just felt so natural in the way that their bodies conformed to each other perfectly.

When the thunder did die down a little with only the hard pounding of the rain left, Camila felt better and that's when she pulled away, much to Lauren's disappointment. "I need to clean this up," she mumbled sheepishly, her eyes avoiding Lauren's almost as if she was ashamed of just how vulnerable and scared she was.

Lauren reaches out and grabs her wrist, stopping her. "No, I can do it," the older girl offers. "You should call Ally and tell her you're okay. She might be worried."

Camila hesitates for a moment before nodding, still refusing to look at Lauren. She gets up and sits at the kitchen table and Lauren begins to pick up the shattered shards of the ceramic coffee mug carefully before disposing them in the trashcan. She then takes a broom and sweeps up any minuscule piece she can find to prevent someone in Camila's family from accidentally cutting themselves on their feet.

Lauren then saunters over to Camila, who's in the middle of speaking to Ally on the phone, and takes a seat beside her, waiting patiently for her conversation to end.

"Well I'm really glad you're feeling better, Ally. Just make sure you drink a lot of water and rest up. No, actually, Lauren took me home. Jauregui. Yeah. Yeah. She's here with me right now. Yeah. Okay, I will. Bye." Lauren would've assumed she was talking to her mom instead of a close friend based on only hearing from Camila's side.

The younger girl fumbles with her sleeves with Lauren watching her long, nimble fingers graze and pick against the fabric. "So," Camila begins, "Ally said thank you for finding me and getting me home safely because she didn't know the storm was going to be this bad and that you're really considerate for staying with me."

Lauren smiles. She likes Ally already. "Well, trust me, it was all my pleasure and I'm glad I found you. I can't even imagine what would have happened if I didn't."

Camila looks up (finally) and connects their eyes. Warm, soft and gentle. "I'd honestly be hiding under a box or something right now," she chuckles, the smooth sound being the most relieving thing Lauren's heard in a while. "God, I'm sorry. I'm just so terrified by thunderstorms," she says with a self-deprecating shake of the head. "You must think I'm so lame."

Lauren frowns and gently nudges Camila's knee with her own. "Hey now, don't feel bad about that. Everyone is scared of something and that doesn't mean you're weak or vulnerable or a coward. It just means that you're human and that's perfectly okay."

Camila gives her a small but genuine smile and Lauren knows that her words were able to get to her a little bit. "What is something that you're scared of?"