Journals (Camren)

Chapter 20

Camila took Clara's words very seriously. For the rest of that Saturday, she didn't bother texting or calling Lauren. It wasn't like Lauren hadn't made an effort, though. She'd texted her a few times just to make sure she was alright, but after several failed endeavors with no responses whatsoever, she gave up. Sunday, no interactions between them occurred at all. Camila received no texts, calls, or visits from Lauren. Which was rare. Lauren was always with her in some way, whether she was right beside her or on FaceTime or something. She was always there. But she wasn't.

It was mostly Camila's fault. She took Clara too literally. She interpreted it to mean don't talk to Lauren at all. So she didn't. And she couldn't bring herself to respond to anything. Each time she was about to, she was reminded that she wasn't supposed to. Because her mom didn't want her seeing her anymore.

For the most part, the rest of her weekend was spent in her room. She spent hours upon hours just laying there, thinking of a solemn reflection. She found it kind of funny how vastly things had changed. They'd gone from ultimate secrecy to complete recklessness. This weekend had been a whirlwind. Friday night was amazing, followed by a great Saturday morning. But Saturday evening was when everything crashed. Right when things were finally starting to go in the preferred direction. And here she was on Sunday, looking back on all of it.

Camila felt like she'd shed enough tears about the situation. But she was trying to be optimistic. If this was the end, then she was grateful that it lasted that long. There were still times where she had trouble picturing herself with Lauren the way she actually was. They were still dating, she assumed. They just weren't exactly on speaking terms right now.

Her parents caught onto the shift. They'd been observing Camila's recent social behavior. There was once a time she barely left her room, but now she was rarely in the house. Sinu and Alejandro weren't exactly informed on what caused the change, but they were grateful that Camila was finally branching out. But she'd reverted to her old ways. They were kind of concerned.

"Mija?" Sinu prompted quietly. She knocked on the door softly and peeped her head inside.

Camila turned at the sound of her voice, but didn't have the energy to speak. She just looked at her mother expectantly, waiting to see what she wanted.

"Are you alright?" Sinu asked as she leaned against the door frame. Camila shrugged and laid her head back down on the pillow. Sinu sighed and crossed the room, sitting on the edge of Camila's bed. She soothingly trailed her finger along Camila's back. She was sensitive to her situation, although she was clueless as to what it was.

Camila debated on telling her. Not that it would matter anyway. It probably wouldn't change anything. They'd probably have to break up soon. You couldn't exactly date someone you weren't supposed to be seeing. And Sinu's gesture was comforting, but it saddened her at the same time. Lauren did that same exact thing whenever she was feeling down.

"Lauren's mom said I couldn't see her anymore," Camila admitted after a few more seconds.

"Why would she say that?" Sinu asked with a frown.

"Because..." Camila trailed.

Sinu wondered if Camila would admit to dating Lauren. She knew all along. And Alejandro knew. It wasn't exactly rocket science. Anyone could catch on to the never-ending smiles and clear joy Lauren elicited. The hand holding and cuddling would've been indication enough, if the few times they'd caught them kissing didn't spell it out for them. And they were fine with it. As long as Camila was happy, it was fine. Perhaps Clara could learn a few things from the Cabello's.

"We um..." Camila tried to find the words, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. "She just said I couldn't see her anymore," she settled on saying. She didn't want to lie, but she really couldn't share that with her. Not right now.