Old Money || Shawmila [Completed]

11. Lighter

It was mid-November. A week had passed since Camila last saw Shawn e she didn't know what to think. Their last encounter had been one of the weirdest between them, and she truly didn't understand what to get of out of it. Those few hours they had spent together had been a rollercoaster of emotions: Shawn had been flirty, then shady, and ultimately surprisingly accommodating. The only thing she knew was that the ball was now on her court. 

He said he wanted to see her again and, despite the tension emerged during their dinner, he was just waiting for one of her calls. Camila decided he could wait a little more. Honestly she had been so busy that she truly didn't have the time to even think about another date with Shawn – if that's what she could call that.

Her main focus was on her father. During that last week, doctors had noticed a slight improvement, and Camila's hope skyrocketed. She was aware that she shouldn't get her hopes up, but she couldn't help herself. She just wished the best for the man who raised her with unconditional love.

So, it wasn't a surprise if once again she was walking down those frigid halls, headed to her father's room. She opened the door, and the man was lying awake on his bed, his bored sight fixed beyond the window glass. When he noticed her, he smiled warmly. The moment his lips moved and a hoarse, breathy "hi" leaved his mouth in a whisper, her heart skipped a bit.

«Hi dad!» she exclaimed speeding towards him. «How are you today?». She gripped his hand and noticed it was warm, a sign that he was slowly recovering. His eyes were still drowsy and his sunken cheeks pale, but the smile he had gifted her made him look as normal as ever. The man was still too tired to speak properly, so he just nodded his head from side to side. It was his way of telling her that it could have been worse.

The hospital room was always so quiet, only the beeping of the machines broke that monotonous silence, so every time Camila stepped inside, she talked to her father, no matter if he was awake or not. Obviously it was much better when he could actually listen to her. That day she told him all about her week, about Connor and Mr. Mellon and the Caplan & Gold case. She ranted for a good twenty minutes, carefully leaving Shawn out of her speech. It wasn't like she wanted to keep him a secret, she was just not sure what she was supposed to say about him. Nothing really happened between them.

She was almost running out of words when the door opened and the small frame of her mother appeared. Beatriz was smiling hopefully, but Camila saw her grin faltering just for a moment the minute she noticed her daughter's presence. With fast and short steps, the woman moved beside her husband, almost ignoring Camila. She took his hand and squeezed it lightly. «I have great news, my dear. The doctors say that in a week or so you are cleared to come back home».

«Oh my god! Are you for real?!» Camila couldn't keep at bay the sudden outburst of joy she felt. «That's great!». Her mother only gave her a tight smile, but in that moment her rudeness couldn't bother Camila.

She stayed with them a little longer, but eventually her father got tired and needed to rest, so she left them. Before leaving the hospital, she asked her mother to step outside for a minute. «I just wanted to tell you that I was serious when I told you that I came here to help» she started. «I know things between us are tense, and we both have our reasons. But he's my father and he needs me. So please, don't push me away when he'll be back home again».

Her mother was staring at her with an unreadable face, and Camila bet she was going to belittle her as her usual. Instead, her mother sighed. «If you're honest and you really came back from California to help your father, I'm not going to stop you. I guess I'll need your help with moving him back to our place, and maybe I could use a couple of hours a week to run some errands, so if you'll stay with him it would be great».

Maybe hugging her mother was crossing a line, so Camila simply thanked her. She left the building feeling lighter than usual, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Outside, the biting air made the skin of her nose and cheeks sting, but it still felt nice.

That little succession of fortunate events gave her the courage to type a message she had been putting on hold for days.

Want to go for a walk?

She was waiting for a text back, instead her phone rang. «Do you realize it's almost December and it's fucking freezing outside, right?»

«Hello, to you too, Shawn. How are you today?» she replied sarcastically.

«Right. Hi Camila. It's fucking cold outside, so are you serious?». Maybe the winter weather should have been turning her fingers and nose into popsicles, but his honeyed voice was making her warm in a way only he could.

She chuckled lightly. «Of course I am. I thought about the fact that you are basically a newbie to the city, so it's time you visit some of its corners. What do you say?».

He sighed, pretending he was exasperated. «All right, I'm in»

And for the umpteenth time that day, Camila grinned.

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It's been a while since I last updated, but now I have a few days off work so I wrote this. I hope you're still interested in this story.

Also I've been thinking of a new cover... what do you think?